Sunset: 4 (Sunrise) Read Online Free PDF Page B

one of the editing rooms. Left alone together, Randi asked Luke to take a walk.
    At that point in the story, Reagan flashed him a look, her way of marking the fact that the walk was the first of his compromises.
    There was no point justifying why he’d agreed to the walk or thought it was okay to stroll into the dark of night on a remote foreign beach alongside a single, beautiful woman. Luke didn’t even try. Instead he stuck to the facts. He and Randi walked a distance, and when they stopped to talk, her phone rang. The news was about her mother, and it wasn’t good.
    “She started crying, and I . . . I went to her. Maybe I was thinking I could comfort her—” he looked down—“or maybe I wanted something more. I’m not sure.”
    Reagan’s expression told him that she knew the answer even if he did not. She didn’t blink, didn’t turn away as she waited for the rest.
    This was the part Luke could’ve done without. Wasn’t it enough that the tabloids captured the kiss for all the world to see? Did he really need to go into details about what happened as the hug between him and Randi became something terribly more?
    Luke clasped his hands and sighed. “Again, it wasn’t like I planned it. We were hugging, and the next thing I knew we were kissing.”
    “How long?” Reagan’s question came sharp and quick, her eyes wide, her emotions a mix of cool anger and indifference. “How long did you kiss?”
    “I don’t know.” Irritation crept into Luke’s tone. “Awhile, okay? We kissed for a while. We didn’t see or hear the photographers; I can tell you that.”
    Reagan didn’t ask what else happened. She didn’t have to. The look on her face asked it without any words whatsoever.
    Luke rushed ahead. “There was nothing more. We kissed, and then at some point I pulled away and told her I needed to go. We . . . we held hands back to the bonfire, and when we were almost within sight of the others, we split up. I went to my room, and she went toward the fire pit. So no one would think we’d been together all that time.”
    “But there was more.” For the first time, the hint of hurt crept into Reagan’s voice. “That night, right? And after that?”
    She was right, and Luke hated this part just as much. Things between him and Reagan might be different today if only he’d come to his senses as soon as he reached his hotel room. He rubbed his temples with his thumb and forefinger and summoned the strength to tell Reagan the rest of the story.
    Hours after the kiss, Randi had knocked on his door, and when he opened it, she was in his arms before he could stop himself. Again they kissed, and this time Randi told him she was attracted to him, drawn to him.
    “She told me she knew I was married, and she was willing to wait until I figured things out.”
    “Nice,” Reagan muttered.
    The guilt was a physical presence, eating through him like a disease. Luke ached all over, the way he’d felt freshman year of college when he got the flu. “For a while after that we would text each other. We talked on the phone. Eventually she asked if I was willing to leave you.”
    Reagan raised her eyebrows.
    “I told her the truth.” Luke felt like the world’s worst creep. “I said I was attracted to her, but I couldn’t imagine leaving you.”
    Reagan nodded. “Considerate.”
    Luke hated her sarcasm, but he deserved it. “Nothing I did was considerate. I just thought you should know.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “Even caught up in the moment, I couldn’t picture life without you.”
    For a moment, she didn’t say anything. Her eyes softened the tiniest bit. “I’m glad.” She looked away. “Really.”
    He wasn’t sure what to make of the subtle shift in her attitude, so he didn’t acknowledge it. His story was almost finished. He could hear the defeat in his voice as he continued. When the pictures hit the tabloids, he and Randi talked about the damage done, and she begged him to