Somewhere With You (Windswept Bay Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

as she drew close.
    Shar felt an unusual flutter of butterflies in her stomach. “My sister does.”
    He spun around and she almost gasped when those eyes she hadn’t been able to forget bore into her. She lost her voice. Who was she kidding—she couldn’t breathe.
    “Hi,” he said.
    That simple word had her heart drumming again.
    “I thought it was you.” She smiled and hoped to goodness that he could not hear the racket her heart was making. “I thought I was going to have to hunt you down to thank you for helping me save that sea turtle yesterday morning.”
    “Oh really? Glad to know you were going to look for me. And I’m glad I could help. You were amazing. Fantastic, in fact.” He held out his hand. “I came to introduce myself. I’m Gage Lancaster.”
    She took his hand and her pulse went into overdrive, just as it had the morning before. He didn’t let go right away, just held her fingers in his for an extra beat. “You were pretty great yourself,” she forced, trying to think of some dry response like she would normally make but nothing was there.
    “I dropped by the hospital to check on the patient. John gave me a quick tour. It’s a great place.”
    “It is. I love helping out there.”
    “So, your family owns this resort. And your sister has connections.” He glanced at the mural. “They must be good connections to have gotten this.”
    Shar laughed. “Yes, two of my sisters and I run the resort. And my sister Cali has the connection. Grant is her fiancé. So you’re a fan of Grant’s?”
    “I’d say that’s a good connection.” He smiled and Shar felt a little lightheaded. “Who couldn’t be a fan? His work is inspiring.”
    She struggled to focus on what he was saying and not on her crazy uncharacteristic reaction to the man. “You’ll have to see his two other murals that he did,” she managed and then took a deep breath. “One is on the outside of the building facing the coastline. The other is next to the pool.”
    He rubbed his jaw and she so wanted to do that.
    “Do you have time to give me a tour?”
    “A what?” Focus, woman—focus! And not on rubbing his jaw.
    “A tour of the place?” he clarified, looking hopeful.
    And that single look tempted her to stand the plumber up right then and there. Yep, the plumber was lucky she even remembered him in that instant. And it was pure survival instinct on her part that had her remembering her leaky pipes. “Um, no. I…I have a thing,” she admitted with great reluctance.
    One perfect brown brow rose. “A thing?”
    “Uh-huh.” Her brows met. “Appointment. I have an appointment,” she stammered.
    “Then how about dinner?” he asked, without missing a beat.
    “Dinner? No—no, I can’t. I…I have plans tonight.” Something in her, probably those survival instincts, told her to resist the overwhelming pull she felt toward the man.
    He placed a hand on his heart. “I’m being brushed off.”
    He was cute and gorgeous. Shar laughed; that helped her persevere and feel more like herself. “No, really, I have previous plans.” But you could cancel…let the pipes leak for another day.
    She was so very tempted. “No,” she said more firmly. “I can’t.”
    He studied her, probably trying to decide whether he actually was being brushed off and she just didn’t have the nerve to tell him.
    “Are you and Alex together?”
    That came out of the blue. “Alex? Um, no. Wait, I didn’t mean it like that…I love Alex. He’s a great guy, but no, I’m not with him.”
    “That’s good to know. Just wanted to get that cleared up in my head. How about lunch tomorrow?”
    “I’m sorry—”
    “But you’re busy.”
    “Well, yes.”
    “Dinner?”
    “No.” She bit her lip. “Look, I am sorry, but I can’t. I hate to run but I need to go. I’m late. You should go see Grant’s other paintings. Just follow the signs to the pool and then follow the path out to the beach and turn around. You can’t miss it.