From This Moment On: Heartwarming Contemporary Romance (Windswept Bay Book 1) (2 page)

Grant Ellington
.

Who wouldn’t be rattled?

The man’s art was incredible. He—the extraordinary, famous artist—was coming here to paint for the resort. She still could not believe that an artist of his caliber was going to fulfill her dream for the resort by creating three murals on their property. And those murals would then be forever part of his impressive portfolio. It was…was…unimaginable.

It was incredible.

She’d been moved by his work for years and though she’d never dreamed it possible to have him do them here, it was his murals that had inspired her to want to add sea life or as some would say, marine life murals to the resort. No, never in a hundred years had she thought the resort would have Grant Ellington originals gracing their walls.

Yes, he was her older brother’s neighbor in Texas, but still, it never crossed her mind. For one, they didn’t have the money to pay his commission fees. So when Cam had called with the news, she’d been floored. She still was and completely unsure how even Cam had managed something so impossible. And for the price that she and her sisters had put into their budget.

And he would be here soon. Her mind whirled with things she needed to do before meeting him. As she entered the building, she was distracted as she clicked off her list:

Shower and change.

Review her ideas for what she wanted on the two, maybe three sites.

Grab a chocolate bar to hopefully settle her nerves. Probably no time for chocolate, she amended, glancing at her watch while rounding the corner and slamming into an extremely hard male chest. “Humph,” she grunted. She staggered back and found herself gaping up into the deep-blue eyes and the sun-bronzed face of Grant Ellington.

McDreamboat
as her sister Shar had labeled him because of his Patrick Dempsey dark curls, lean face, and intense eyes. Her breath froze in her throat—he was better-looking than he’d appeared in any of the photos she’d seen of him. And his gaze bored into hers as intense as fire-lit sapphire.

Strong hands tightened on her arms, steadying her physically while completely discombobulating her mentally.

“Sorry, are you all right?” Concern and surprise rumbled in his deep voice.

“Excuse me. Mr. Ellington, I’m sorry,” she said after a moment. “I’m fine. I was in a rush, but I didn’t mean to run into you. I was just going up to shower and get ready to meet with you.”
Dear goodness, she was rambling.

He smiled easily. “It’s okay, Cali. Everything’s fine.”

He was gorgeous—she tried not to gape. “How did you know who I was?”

“Pictures.” His lips curled upward and he released her, hesitating as if to make sure she wasn’t going to fall over.

“Oh,” was all she managed. Despite that he’d released her, the feel of his hands on her skin remained as the tingle of awareness from his touch continued to radiate through her and completely disarm her.

“And please call me Grant. Or am I going to be required to call you Ms. Sinclair?”

“Of course not. Grant it is.”

“Better. I look around for my dad when someone says Mr. Ellington.” He raked a hand through his cropped waves of dark hair and her fingers itched.

Business
. Think of business,
not
tingling skin. She cleared her throat. “What picture did you see?”

“Cam has pictures of all of you on his walls at his ranch.”

“Oh, right. So, did you get checked in okay?”

“I did, and I was about to go for a walk over the property, get a feel for the surroundings. I’d love for you to come with me.”

She glanced down at her jogging attire. “I just came from a run. I really need to change.”

“You look great to me. No need to change on my account. What do you say? I’m casual, you’re casual.”

He wore a T-shirt and cargo shorts and a pair of boat shoes; he looked like one of the vacationers at the resort. A pair of Oakley shades nestled in the dark curls of hair. It was collar length and rich in tone and texture.
Perfect for running one’s fingers through
—Cali halted her runaway thoughts with a firm reminder that she was in no way interested in running her fingers through his hair or any man’s right now. Or maybe ever.

She’d been through one trial by fire and had no plans to repeat.

Not even one as enticing as Grant Ellington. So why was she even having this conversation with herself? The man simply wanted her to check out the resort with him.

“What you have on is perfect for showing me around,” he continued when she hesitated. “For the murals, I need to see the lay of the land.”

“Of course. Sorry.” She was hot and sweaty but, she reminded herself, she wasn’t trying to impress Grant with anything other than her vision for the resort’s murals.

“Great.” His gaze flickered over her face as if he were memorizing her every feature.

Absurd.
Why would he do that? And why was her pulse rate careening around like lava rocks cascading down a cliffside? On top of that, why was she unable to tear her gaze away from him?

Suddenly, he blinked and his eyes focused, as if coming back from being dazed. He smiled almost hesitantly. “So, where do we start?”

Chapter Two

“I’ll show you what you’ll be working on.” Cali led the way into the main area of the small resort, determined to shake off her fan-girl reaction to Grant.

She focused on the wide-open space that ran from the back entrance to the courtyard, all the way to the front of the resort where registration was located. Several seating areas filled the long, wide space between the entrance and the exit. A long, winding staircase gleaming of dark wood went up to the second floor, where the offices were located. Near the front of the lobby, there was an eighteen-foot-tall wall that she envisioned with an ocean wave, with the varying tones of the gorgeous water gleaming. She could see it in her mind, but her painting skills were limited to the coloring book. She didn’t even paint walls.

“This is one of the spaces I’m hoping you’ll paint.” She looked from the blank wall to him. He placed his hands on lean hips and studied it briefly before he turned to take in the room.

“Nice room. So where to next?”

That was it?
“Well, I thought we’d talk about what I want here.”

“There’s something outside, right?”

“Yes, but on this wall I’d like a bit of beach, but the focus to be a huge wav—”

“I’d prefer to see all of the spaces first before I decide what I want to paint. And I want to get a feel for the whole series before we talk specifics.”

“But, I know what I want—”

“Didn’t Cam explain that I paint what I’m inspired to paint?”

She hesitated. “Actually, no.” This was not the way she’d envisioned it. “My big brother neglected to pass that detail on to us here. Or at least I’m unaware of it if he did.”

Cam wasn’t a man who forgot anything. So, Cali knew if he had left this detail out, he’d done it on purpose. He knew she had her own ideas for what these walls should have on them.

“That doesn’t sound like Cam.”

She gave a tight smile. “No, it doesn’t.” Not unless he neglected to tell her on purpose.
What was her brother up to?

“Are you all right with this? You just need to trust me.”

No, she wasn’t all right. Not at all
. She’d been off-centered from the moment they’d met and felt as if any moment she was going to roll headfirst down the rocky slope. And trust…oh, trust was a hard one for her, even if it was just about a painting. “I’m fine,” she lied, because she couldn’t tell him what was really going through her head. She started to bring up her ideas for the wall and then remembered he was doing this for pennies compared to what he normally charged. Her thoughts racing, she said the only safe thing she could think of: “I guess we’ll continue the tour.”

She led the way toward the beach area.
“You just need to trust me.”
Such a common statement with more meaning than most people realized. Especially to someone like her.

She told herself he was not her ex and she had to fight off her instant need to judge him or all men by Paul. The mere thought of her ex disgusted her.

Grant had no idea that trusting any man other than her brothers and her dad was a hard request to make of her. But that was an irrational problem that she was going to have to overcome.

Starting now. If she couldn’t trust Grant Ellington, then this project was already doomed.

How would they make it work?

And Cam would be upset with her. He’d explained Grant’s situation. She knew he’d been through a horrific tragedy when the plane he’d been flying in had crashed near the runway. There had been three men on the plane and he’d been the only one to live. Cam had told her it had hit Grant hard. She’d been going through her own version of horrible about the same time as she was in the midst of her nasty, long, drawn-out divorce.

Cam had confided that he was worried about his friend. And that this would be his first time to travel from his home since the tragedy. The first time for him to fly, too. Coming here could not have been easy for him.

Determination filled her. They’d make it work. She’d make sure they did.

The plane ride had done a number on Grant. He managed to calm down by the time he’d reached the resort but that didn’t mean his head was screwed on straight yet. But, Cam had been right when he’d said Windswept Bay was an inspiring place and could help him ease back into his work. Grant hadn’t been interested at first, but then Cam had played the “you
said
you owed me” card.

Ironic, considering Cam didn’t really believe Grant owed him anything. It was Grant who insisted that he did and so Cam had known full well that that was the best way to get Grant to make a move.

Grant had made the mistake one evening of telling Cam that he felt dead inside and didn’t think he’d ever feel anything again. And that had been when Cam told him that his sisters had taken over running the small boutique resort that had been in their family for several generations. They were making some changes and updates and one of the sisters wanted murals painted on a few strategic areas. That said, Cam had called in Grant’s debt.

And that was the only reason Grant was here now.

The verdict was still out on whether he’d be able to paint.

But, as Grant followed the quick-stepping Cali, he was fascinated by her. Mesmerized might be a better word. She was distractingly gorgeous, with her gleaming blonde hair and her sun-kissed skin. She’d been soft in his arms when she’d run headfirst into him; he’d wrapped his arms around her and he’d had a very hard time releasing her.

He was having trouble concentrating. She probably thought he was one odd bird but, after feeling numb for months, when he’d looked down into her eyes, he’d felt alive.

And every time since. He had to force himself not to stare at her. She was like a work of art waiting to happen. Her face was made to be painted.

But she was nervous. Shaken, even. And he’d done that to her.

Had it been because she’d felt the sparks too? Or was it something else?

Cam had told him that one of his four sisters had gone through a really bad divorce. It was hard to keep them all straight because he and Cam mostly talked about ranching. But as Grant rifled through his memory, he was certain it was Cali’s name Cam had mentioned with divorce.

As they moved across the courtyard, he couldn’t help noticing how pretty it was. Filled with tropical flowers and cobblestone paths, he focused his attention to his surroundings and off Cali. “This is a beautiful place.”

“We think so. But, I can only imagine the gorgeous places you’ve been to and created your work. Our small resort has to be a let-down.”

“No, not at all. You don’t like your resort?”

“I love it, but it has its shortcomings if compared to world-class resorts. I’ve seen the places that have commissioned your murals.”

“And now you’re one of them. I like the smaller, boutique feel of this. Some resorts can be too large and the landscaping too much. These grounds are fantastic.”

“I agree. My sister Jillian’s responsible for the gorgeous landscape. She’ll be pleased that you like her work. I think she’s an artist with her plants. I’m a big fan of Jillian’s talent. Even if she is my sister and part owner of the resort, we are fortunate to have her as resident landscape artist.”

They walked over a small bridge with a man-made lagoon flowing gently beneath it and he could see the pool area ahead of them. There was a very blank wall running across from the pool.

“As you can see, this needs some livening up. The pool is a popular place despite the ocean being just past the courtyard interior. I’d like to bring the ocean here, to those who don’t want to actually swim in it.”

“It is in need. Is there an outside wall I’m supposed to paint?”