Page 48 of A Future in the Bay

“We should get to work,” she said, feeling as though she might be blushing and wanting to distract herself a little. “Are those the right cans of paint over there?”

“Wow, right to the grindstone, huh?” he teased, his lips curving upward.

“Well, we’re here to paint, aren’t we?” she said, unable to keep from smiling at him despite the way she felt flustered. “I want to make sure I’m doing my job.”

“I think part of our to-do list can be getting to enjoy each other’s company,” he said, almost shyly. “After all, you’re a volunteer. You don’t have to take our tasks all that seriously.”

“Mm, clearly you don’t know me that well yet.” She laughed, opening a can of paint and starting to mix it carefully.

“Well, I’d like to.” He smiled at her, and she felt butterflies dance in her chest.

They began to paint the walls of the classroom a beautiful sunshine yellow. She enjoyed the work—the way they were transforming the room felt satisfying and almost exciting. And she was enjoying getting to work alongside Isaiah—she admired the way he moved quickly but not sloppily. He seemed to be focused on his work, and he hadn’t been lying about the fact that he was very good at painting. Since she was as well, it was clear that they were going to complete each room they worked on together in excellent time.

She couldn’t stop herself from glancing over at him now and again as they continued to paint. They kept bantering and teasing each other on and off, but even when they weren’t having a conversation, she felt drawn to look at him. She felt curious about him in a way that excited her. She found herself wondering all kinds of things about him, and looking forward to having her questions answered.

She thought about her conversation with Heidi, about embracing the unexpected. She hadn’t planned on becoming interested in someone romantically when she moved to Blueberry Bay, but it was certainly happening.

He’s so good-looking, she thought, glancing at him again and biting her lip.And more than that, he seems like such a good person. He’s challenging me to see the world in a new way.

She told herself that she was definitely going to have to learn to embrace the unexpected, since she was discovering that the unexpected could be wonderful. She couldn’t think of anything that was more unexpected than this man stealing her heart and showing her how to think about life differently.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Isaiah glanced over at Gwen, feeling his heart thump with excitement. They were walking along the dock together toward his rented jet boat, and he couldn’t believe she was really there with him and that they were about to go on an official date. He felt as though he should pinch himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

They’d spent a fun, rewarding day painting the school together. He’d been impressed by her work ethic and efficiency—her can-do attitude hadn’t wavered once during the day even though they’d worked for a long time. They’d accomplished a great deal, and he guessed she felt just as proud of their work as he did.

“Are you excited?” He grinned at her as they reached the boat.

She nodded, looked flushed and a little nervous. “I am,” she said, although she was looking at the boat as if it was a giant dog that she liked but thought might bite her.

He clambered on board first and then helped her onto the boat. She took her seat next to his pilot’s chair, and as he started the engine of the boat, he glanced over at her. He saw her take a deep breath, looking out across the ocean with shining eyes. Allof a sudden, he felt like he’d been hit in the stomach, she looked so beautiful.

“Are you ready?” he asked, grinning at her.

“Yes,” she said without hesitation, although she gripped the handholds she’d used the last time.

He steered the boat away from the dock and then accelerated the engine. The boat zipped across the water, and he let out a whoop, thrilled by the speed. Wind whipped their hair back and a mist of salty water brushed their cheeks. He looked over at Gwen and saw that she seemed to feel more confident than she had the first time on the boat—she was leaning forward a little and smiling with her eyes wide open. He grinned, pleased that she seemed to be having a good time.

After enjoying the speed of the boat for a while, he slowed it down in a place where they had a breathtaking view of the ocean on one side and the coast of Blueberry Bay on the other. The sun was setting, and the sky glowed with pastel colors—pink and yellow and orange. A light breeze, scented with the salty smell of the ocean, kissed their faces.

“This is nice,” she said, smiling and gazing out across the water at the incredible view. She turned to him, and her eyes had a glow to them. “I’m glad you invited me out here.”

“I’m glad you came with me.” He smiled back at her, feeling his heart dance with a rhythm similar to that of the waves rocking the boat underneath them. “I know you just got out of a relationship, so I appreciate you being willing to take a chance on me like this.”

She nodded, keeping her eyes down shyly for a moment. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been on a first date. But I—well, I wanted to be here.” She looked up and smiled at him.

He grinned, feeling thrilled by her words. “It’s been a long time since I went on a first date too,” he said. “I kind of gave up on dating for a while there.”

“How come?” She placed her hands in her pockets and leaned back in her chair as if she was settling in for story time. The gesture made him chuckle.

“Oh, well, I just never seemed to find anyone that I felt I wanted to make the effort for. I think my easygoing, casual nature kept me from getting serious about anyone. Pursuing a serious relationship always seemed like so much work and pressure, and I never felt the need to get into all that.”

“Huh,” she said, and for a moment he wondered what she thought of him.

“It’s not that I don’t want a serious relationship,” he added hurriedly, “or at least—I always knew I wanted one eventually. But I’d wanted to keep things simple, not realizing that there’s a lot of good things that are more complicated. Like relationships.”

She nodded, looking out across the water but smiling a little at his words. “A lot of good things are very complicated,” she said softly.

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