Page 39 of California Dreaming

He’d bought a crazy-huge bouquet that included everything from sunflowers to daisies to roses and had Mila place it in a large vase on the kitchen table. He’d taken his time choosing the perfect thank-you card and could tell from the heavy silence that Tessa was reading it.

“Oh, Arch,” she said, coming back toward him, the card in her hand. “You don’t have to thank me for doing my job.” But he could see how pleased she was.

“As I said in there,” he reminded her, “you make my life better in every way. Flowers are the least I can do to say thank you.”

Oh yes, there were so many ways he wanted to thank her… but he’d vowed that she had to make the next move. So until then, he’d wait and dream of this woman.

The one he was falling more head over heels for every second of every day.

Chapter Seventeen

The following day, Tessa smiled contentedly as she swung her backpack to her shoulder and headed out for the afternoon.

Arch had completed all his exercises that morning without complaint. He was getting stronger every day—she felt the evidence in her hands as she guided his rippling muscles, trying hard not to tremble with need at the sensation of her hands on his skin. And then they’d shared a delicious lunch of fish tacos before Arch excused himself politely to work on learning his lines for the new movie.

She admired how diligent he was, how much he loved his job, and wondered if he would ever ask for her help in reading lines with him. Just the thought made her flush with warmth. She could picture the idyllic scene: the two of them on opposite ends of the couch, two glasses of wine, the sun setting through that huge window.

But no. She shook her head, letting the dark curls tumble over her shoulders. Her romantic daydreams were getting out of control. For starters, neither of them was drinking alcohol at the moment—Arch for health reasons and Tessa because she was trying so hard to stay professional. She couldn’t get tipsy and risk saying something she’d regret. Besides, the more she stayed out of his movie-star world, the better.

One huge upside to Arch having such a creative drive was that she could indulge in her own. While Arch learned his lines, she spent a couple of hours each day painting. Since she’d moved onto Ocean Drive, the ocean had become an even more prominent source of inspiration, and she’d taken to painting in a secluded spot by the beach.

This was a new move for her. For so long, she had hidden her painting away, seeking out isolated rooms in her clients’ homes, trying her best to paint the outside world from memory without actually being in it. But in the last ten days, something had shifted inside her, and with Arch safely resting at home, she saw no harm in following her passion to paint en plein air.

It was the only passion she could indulge in while she was living with Arch.

After saying good-bye as she left the house, she slung her pack and easel in the back of her car and headed for the remote end of the beach. Her belly fluttered with anticipation as she considered how close she was to finishing her current piece.

There was nothing like laying down the final stroke of paint, then standing back to observe what had somehow flowed from her fingertips.

It was magic every time.

And there was something different about this new painting, something more sophisticated than she’d ever managed before. She wasn’t sure what it was, exactly. But she liked it.

It was rare for her to feel proud of her work, but it felt good. Almost as good as Arch’s abs had felt that morning…

The afternoon light in Carmel-by-the-Sea was gorgeous, and she put on her sunglasses to shield her eyes. Since arriving in Carmel, she never tired of driving through its streets and soaking in the atmosphere. Although she’d never traveled abroad, she felt as though Carmel had a European feel to it, with its blooming flowers and the scent of the sea that rode on the breeze from the beach to the forest in the mountains above them. She could easily imagine she was in a charming village in the Netherlands or Switzerland, with cobblestone streets, quaint hotels, and laid-back charming inns.

But it was the beach that most captured her imagination. Golden sand like flawless sugar and stunning blue water, which appeared to melt into the blue, cloudless sky. She parked, then carefully carried her materials to the secluded spot on the rocks where she’d been painting all week. Her fingers itched to get started, and after she set up her easel and taped the unfinished painting to it, she mixed her colors.

She heard footsteps coming across the rock and turned in surprise.

In all the days she’d been painting here, she hadn’t encountered a single person. But now she saw a woman wearing a multicolored loose blazer over a swirling green skirt that danced in the breeze, as did her curling gray hair. Chunky jewelry in silver and turquoise caught the sun as she approached, carrying her own easel. Tessa never painted in anything but a T-shirt and jeans, so she admired the woman’s bravery in not worrying about ruining her expensive clothes.

Uneasily, Tessa watched the woman set up nearby. She looked vaguely familiar, and Tessa wondered if she’d seen her around town. Tessa wasn’t used to painting around other people, but after they both smiled and exchanged a nod of greeting, the woman angled her easel away from Tessa, and she breathed a sigh of relief. The stranger wasn’t going to chitchat; she was there to work.

Before putting paintbrush to paper, she made sure to set her alarm to remind her when to stop. Otherwise, she might become so lost in her painting that the concept of time would melt away. As hard as it was to stop when she was in the flow, she couldn’t take really long breaks while working for Arch. She hated the thought of not being there for him if he needed her. But she comforted herself knowing that her phone was always on, and Arch would call.

Now she just had to empty her head of all things Archer Davenport and actually concentrate.

She turned her gaze to the beautiful ocean, tracing the trajectory of the waves as they lapped against the shore. From her vantage point, it felt as though Carmel were showing off its best features today, just for her painting. She had returned to focus specifically on one of the classic Carmel cypress trees in her sightline and to add detail and shadow to the craggy rocks. She loved these finishing touches.

Soon, her thoughts melted away until all that was left was color and the movement of her rigger brush among the rocks. Tessa fell into a pleasant meditative state, so she jumped when her alarm suddenly sounded its urgent call. Zing! Zing! Zing!

She reached for her phone and turned off the alarm. While she’d been painting, she’d completely forgotten about the other woman painting nearby. But now she caught the woman’s confused expression. Tessa smiled apologetically, and the woman set down her brush and came over.

“I’m sorry,” Tessa said, meaning it. “I set an alarm to keep track of time. Otherwise, I’ll just stay here until nightfall. But I didn’t mean to disturb your own painting. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

The woman laughed, showing a set of pearly-white teeth. “I know the feeling. But would it be the worst thing to while away a few more hours?”

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