Page 46 of Scarlett and the Big Bad Billionaire
Gray chuckled. “I like driving, so investing in a nice car was worth it for me.”
He opened the door for me and then for Vivi, helping her into the front seat where she could see the scenery as we traveled.
As we made our way down Oceanside Avenue, she pointed out various houses.
“That’s where Sullivan Reece lives—he was the heavyweight boxing champion of the world, but he retired not long ago to spend more time with his young family.”
Indicating an enormous Italianate stone mansion, she said, “That’s the home of Jack R. R. Bestia, the author. He writes those dragon books they made into a TV show.”
I nodded. “I’ve read them.”
“His brother Hunter used to live in this next one with some of his friends and co-workers—the young men who created that Chipp company, something to do with computers. They call that place the Billionaire Bachelor House. Several of the boys have gotten married now and moved out, but I think a few still live there.”
“And this one is the summer home of the Wessex family—the prince of Aubernesse and his wife and three children,” she said. “Cinda Wessex grew up here in Eastport Bay. I think she was his maid before they got married,” Vivi said.
“Thatsounds like an interesting story.” I had Hollywood rom com visuals running through my mind, wondering if the princess of Aubernesse looked more like Jennifer Lopez or Amy Adams.
“Gray, your friend Wilder lives around here doesn’t he, with that cute little singer he married?”
Gray, who’d been quiet as he drove, said, “He moved into her house after they married. They live on Atlantic, not too far from here. I’ll drive you by their house and point it out sometime.”
“You certainly have a lot of famous neighbors,” I said.
“That’s Eastport Bay for you,” Vivi said. “It used to be all old-money families dating back to the Gilded Age. Then word got out about the beautiful coastline and mild summer weather, and all the celebrities and CEO’s started moving in. It’s good to have fresh blood—keeps things interesting.”
Speaking of interesting, Gray drove us through Eastport Bay’s downtown, along the waterfront main street with its yacht-filled harbor and quaint shops and restaurants. The Colonial-era village looked like something out of a storybook.
“This is charming,” I said.
“You won’t find anything likethisin Minnesota,” Gray said, meeting my gaze in the rearview mirror.
I squirmed to stifle the tingly sensation that filled me, and my eyes flickered away to the view outside the window.
We left the bustling tourist-filled area and drove into a more industrial looking section of town. Gray parked outside what appeared to be a warehouse.
“This is it?” I asked.
“Yep. We’re here.”
As I followed him and Vivi toward the nondescript building, I couldn’t imagine what kind of “fun” we could possibly find in a place like this. Once we rounded the corner, the answer became clear.
The side of the warehouse had been painted a royal blue and decorated with large, bright yellow flowers. Near the entrance was parked an antique truck that had also been painted yellow.
Above it, a sign read, “The Original Immersive Van Gogh Exhibit.”
Vivi picked up her pace, hurrying toward the entrance. “I’ve heard about this! It’s like being inside his paintings, isn’t it? How do they do it?”
Gray smiled. “You’ll see. It’s a digital presentation of his works throughout his career, but it’s all around you, on every wall, and it’s always changing. The soundtrack is phenomenal. I’m excited to experience it again—once is definitely not enough when something is really good.”
For some reason he shot a glance at me just then. And for no reason at all, I flushed with heat.
The immersive exhibit was all in one large high-ceilinged space. People sat on the floor on cushions so they could turn to observe the walls in each direction.
There were also a few two-person benches, and that’s where I took Vivi, sitting beside her. Gray sat on the floor in front of us just as a bloom of color raced across the floor and up the walls.
The projected visuals were almost overwhelming. Beautiful, shocking, fascinating, they showed some of Vincent Van Gogh’s most famous paintings being created stroke by emphatic digital stroke.
Some of the paintings were split into their individual elements then combined again. Fields of grasses and flowers seemed to grow up from the cement floor, and fantastical heavenly bodies danced in whorls and bursts across a midnight blue sky.
