All Chapters of Sunrise Kisses: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

I took a deep breath in, closing my eyes and taking it all in. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long palm-tree shaped shadows on the white sand walkway. Humid, warm air filled my lungs and it was like breathing in pure happiness. A trip to the Caribbean was exactly the thing I needed, even if it was a work trip. The sky was still blue, but the clouds were starting to bronze and crisp with color on the edges. The trees danced on a gentle breeze carrying the smell of ocean salt. I felt warm for the first time in weeks and like things were actually going my way.That isn't to say I wasn't nervous. My palms were sweating and I was glad I had put on an extra swipe of deodorant before getting off the plane, but it was a good kind of stress. The kind that led to good things happening instead of feeling like I was constantly having to play catch-up.I glanced over at my Dad, noticing he was just as anxious as I was. He rubbed at his shoulder, and despite the grin on his face, I could stil

The room was made of fuzzy gray shapes and indistinguishable shadows. My breath came in short gasps. I sat up, confused and panicked for a moment before remembering where I was. As soon as I remembered I was sleeping in a billionaire's mansion alongside the Caribbean ocean, I sighed and laughed a little at myself. Leave it to me to freak out about sleeping somewhere too nice.I tried to lay back down, but just settling back against the perfectly-stuffed pillows made me antsy. The bed was too soft and the blankets too fancy to be comfortable. I didn't deserve three-million thread count sheets or sleeping underneath what I suspected was a Picasso. I was not billionaire material. I wasn't even Chad material.Besides, I was ready to get started. I needed to show Mr. Belrose that I wasn't just a wanna-be football player who tackled random billionaires taking out the trash. The day was going to be full of exciting work and I didn't want to wait. Not that I could get anything done until Dad

Charlotte walked with us out of the kitchen, leading the way to the main foyer. It was there that Dad and I were going to split up and start on our separate rooms. The foyer made a great middle point for us to base our attack around.“Hold on a second kiddo,” Dad said, eying a something along the far wall. “I know this room isn't first on my list, but I have to look at something.”I followed his gaze to see a small table pressed up against the far wall and I instantly knew why he wanted to look at it. It looked like an Alexander Roux piece. He had a definite fondness for the 1800's Rococo Revival style cabinetmaker. When Charlotte had given him the room full of Roux pieces, she had unwittingly given him one of his biggest dreams. The man had a Roux calendar on his wall, for heaven's sakes.“Go for it,” I said, shaking my head and grinning.He nearly ran over to the small table, with me not far behind. Although paintings and art were more my thing, I knew a good piece of furniture when

I watched the sun rise from it's morning resting place to crest at high noon through a window in the bedroom adjacent to the one my father and Dr. Verner were in. Outside, the world was sunny and bright, full of bright green and cerulean that seemed at utter contradiction with what was going on in my world.Daddy.I had nearly lost him. I still could lose him. The idea of losing both him and my mother was just something I wasn't ready to come to terms with yet.Bastian had helped carry Dad up to his room with the paramedics. He had even sat with me for a little while, but he had a company to run and couldn't sit with us all day. I had replayed it in my head for the past couple of hours.“Are you going to be okay?” Mr. Belrose asked, putting his phone in his pocket and sighing. His eyes watching my face carefully.I looked over at my dad, laying on the bed with the doctor watching the monitors attached to his chest. My soul was shaking.“I'm not sure...” I whispered. “But you should go

“Thank you.” I smiled and shrugged, trying not to read too much into flattering words. “It sounds like it could be me, but I still think you might have me confused with someone who wasn't panicking.”He smiled, light shining in his eyes. “What did you think of the sandwich?”I looked down at my empty plate. It had been absolutely fantastic and now that it was gone, I was considering licking my plate to get at the crumbs.“What sandwich?” I asked, trying to look innocent. “Someone must have taken it.”“Well, that is a shame,” he agreed. “I'll just have to make you another.”“You really don't have to do that,” I said quickly, reaching out and grabbing his wrist. He pulled away as if I had shocked him. “I mean, I'm sure you have more important things to do with your time than make me a sandwich.”“Does it look like I'm doing anything else?” he asked tersely.“No,” I admitted, shaking my head.“Then, this is what I'm doing with my time.” He stood from the table and collected my plate befo