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She sent him a smile and nodded. “Good thinking.”
“I picked up the primer this morning. It’s over in the corner.” He led the way.
He could get used to this friendly side of Sara. Perhaps by the end of this project, they might have something that loosely resembled a friendship. Stranger things had happened on the island.
Chapter Seven
Whoknewpaintingwasso much work?
Sara’s arms were sore. She’d used muscles she hadn’t even known she had. She’d climbed a ladder, only to still have to reach as high as she could to reach the ceiling, and then she had to crouch down to paint the wall near the floor. She was constantly in motion. This lobby was so much larger than she’d thought.
Of course, it took her longer to do her parts because she’d been elected to use a brush to paint along the molding and the corners because it took a steady hand. It also took all of her concentration as she painted from top to bottom.
Kent followed her with a paint roller to cover the main expanse of the wall. He worked the roller in a W-pattern across the wall. As they worked together, the room slowly transformed before their eyes.
Sara bent over and stretched out her muscles. She was going to have to start going back to yoga at Beach Love Yoga. She’d stopped in order to… She couldn’t remember why she’d stopped. But it was definitely time to get back to it.
“Thank you for your help,” Kent said. “You’re good with a paint brush.”
“Thanks. I’ve had some experience. I painted my childhood home before it was sold.” The thought filled her with sadness. She’d never wanted to part with the house, but it was just too much for her to keep up with on her own. “And then I painted my entire apartment before I moved in. It made it feel more like my own place.”
“So what you’re saying is that you’re secretly a professional painter.”
She let out a laugh. “I definitely wouldn’t go that far, but I do okay with a paint roller in my hand.”
“Good. Because we have to paint over this primer tomorrow.”
“Oh, lucky us.” She leaned her upper body to one side, straightened, and then leaned to the other side. When she straightened again, she asked, “What’s next?”
His brows rose. “You want more work to do tonight?”
She shrugged. Her muscles groaned with every movement. Her stomach protested the fact they’d skipped dinner. She hoped Kent hadn’t heard the noise.
Not willing to give in to her body’s demands, she said, “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to finish this project.”
“Well, we can’t do it all in one night. And we can’t have you making yourself sick from malnourishment.” He closed the primer can and wiped off his hands. “I say we grab some dinner.”
She had no idea what time it was because she’d taken off her fitness watch when she’d started painting to keep it from getting splattered. She retrieved it from her pocket and was surprised to find it was going on eight o’clock.
“I guess you’re right. I had no idea it was this late.”
Together they cleaned up their equipment so that everything would be ready for them tomorrow. They exited the front door, and she made sure to lock it. She repositioned the sign directing guests to the temporary entrance to the inn.
Then she turned to him. “Well…um, goodnight.”
He didn’t say anything for a moment. “Do you want to grab something to eat?”
She mentally inventoried her fridge at home and realized she’d been so busy over the weekend that she’d failed to pick up any groceries. So if she went directly home, her choices would be a can of soup or ramen noodles. Neither appealed to her. Her stomach growled again as she thought of food.
“I can see by the look on your face that you don’t have anything at home you’re anxious to eat, so come with me.” He waved for her to follow him to his golf cart.
In that moment, she was too tired to argue. The thought of someone else preparing the food and cleaning up the dishes definitely appealed to her.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want to intrude on your plans for the evening.”
He shook his head. “You aren’t intruding on anything. With or without you, I still have to grab something to eat. What are you hungry for?”
Her mind filled with ideas from pizza to tacos. It all sounded good to her. She couldn’t remember the last time she was this hungry. “I’m not picky.”
