A Love So Real: A Christian Romance (New Hope Falls Book 1)

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  They chatted for a few more minutes then Rebecca ended the call saying she needed to take a long, calming bath since she was probably going to have to deal with stress the next day. Arianna wanted to take a long, calming bath too, but hers would have to wait until after her stressful call with Steve.

  The next morning, Arianna was up early after a somewhat restless night. The call with Steve had lasted for an hour, half of which was him chewing her out. When he’d run out of words and paused to take a breath, she’d taken advantage of the break in conversation to present her side, reminding him that the whole relationship deal had been his idea to start with, even though she had ultimately agreed.

  He’d calmed down after that. Steve was usually a lot of bluster until he ran out of breath, then he was rational again. Well, as rational as the guy ever got. Sometimes Arianna wondered how he’d managed to rise to his position, but then other times he showed a real keen sense of the trajectory of something like a trend in the communities on YouTube. She wasn’t the only YouTuber he worked with, but no doubt she’d caused him the most headaches recently.

  The conversation had ended with no clear direction, but he’d made her promise to call in for a meeting with the whole team. He hadn’t been happy to hear that she had no immediate plans to head back to LA. His plan had been for her to be on the next plane, with him promising to send someone to get her car and the rest of her luggage. However, Arianna had stood firm on her plan to stay in New Hope but had promised to make the call to talk with the whole team as long as the call was early because she had other plans for the day.

  It didn’t take her long to get ready for the call since it was voice only. She settled down at the table with her notebook, a bagel with cream cheese and raspberry jam, and a cup of coffee then dialed Rebecca’s number since she’d be the one putting the call together.

  As soon as everyone was on the line, Anna said, “I have to be somewhere in an hour, so let’s just get straight to the point of whatever we need to discuss. I know you’re all upset I left, and you’re not happy I put out the video on my own, but I did what was necessary for my own peace of mind. Now, where are we going from here?”

  There was a beat of silence, and then they began to talk. She gave them a minute to get themselves sorted out as she drank more of her coffee. Eli had said they’d be at the cabin at nine and for her to come any time after that. She didn’t want to delay arriving lest he think she hadn’t been serious about her offer to help.

  She flipped open the notebook and took a bite of her bagel, waiting to hear someone make a suggestion of any worth. It took a few minutes, but eventually, their thoughts began to make sense. That was how it usually went. It was like for the first few minutes, they forgot who she was and what she was about. When she didn’t respond to those initial suggestions, it seemed like their creative juices sparked, and then they began to share ideas she could get on board with.

  At ten minutes to nine, she asked for their final thoughts on everything then told them she’d send an email with her response later that day. Steve protested the delay, but she stood firm.

  Once she’d hung up, Arianna put her cup and plate into the dishwasher and went to get changed. Though she’d brought casual clothes, she hadn’t brought clothes that she’d usually paint in. She finally settled on her cheapest pair of jeans and a plain, dark blue T-shirt. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail and then covered her head with a scarf to keep paint off of it.

  After she was ready, she headed out the door to walk to the other cabin, leaving her phone behind once again. The spark of excitement she felt for what lay ahead made her smile. Now that she’d made the video, it felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She might still have hurdles to cross, but the biggest one was behind her now. And being able to help out with painting the cabins just lifted her spirits even more.

  Things were definitely looking up. Or at least she hoped they were.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The morning air was colder than she’d anticipated, so Arianna went back into the cabin to pull on a jacket. Clearly, she was too used to LA. She left the cabin for the second time and shoved her hands into her pockets as she walked down the stairs. Her thoughts were still on the phone call as she made her way down the road, but they didn’t linger as she approached the cabin.

  Eli’s truck was parked in front of the building, and the door was open a bit, so she could hear muffled conversation as she neared it. Arianna hesitated, not sure if she should just walk in or knock.

  In the end, she decided to knock and then wait for someone to invite her in. It didn’t take long after her light rap on the door for Eli to appear. He wore a pair of loose paint-splattered jeans and a long-sleeve white T-shirt with smears of paint all over it. His hair was covered by a ball cap that he wore backward.

  “Morning,” he said with a quick smile and a nod. He stepped back to let her in, and the smell of paint assaulted her as she moved past him.

  “Morning.” She glanced around and saw Leah standing in the doorway of what Arianna assumed was the bedroom of this cabin. “Hi, Leah.”

  “Hi,” Leah said. There was no smile of welcome in her words, and the expression on her face revealed how she truly felt about Arianna’s presence.

  Arianna had dealt with people like Leah before, and often, it was best to just show them through her actions that she wasn’t there to make life difficult for them. Doing what they told her to do, and doing it well, would prove she wasn’t just playing around.

  “So what do you want me to do?” Arianna asked.

  The brother and sister exchanged looks before Leah shrugged and retreated into the bedroom. Eli watched her go then sighed as he turned to look at Arianna.

  “Please don’t mind Leah,” he said, drawing a hand down his face.

  Arianna held up her hand. “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure she’s skeptical of my abilities, and I can’t say I blame her entirely.”

  “Still,” Eli said with a frown. “She knows better than to act like this.”

  “Well, give me a job to do because the sooner I show her that I know what I’m doing, the more likely it will be that she’ll cut me some slack.”

  Eli seemed to consider her words then gave a shrug before he led her into the bathroom. “How about you start off with taping in here?”

  Arianna nodded then took the roll of green tape he held out to her. “So I’m taping off everything? Switches, sockets, etcetera.”

  “Yep. All of it. We have more tape when you’ve used that up. I’ll be in the living room if you have questions.” Eli paused then left her alone in the bathroom.

  She took a minute to survey the room, planning out a course of action. Music started to play in another part of the cabin. It wasn’t anything she recognized, but it was a pleasant background as she worked.

  Moving methodically and carefully, Arianna began to tape off the sink area then moved over to the trim around the large window and then the whirlpool tub that was set in the corner. She worked steadily, only leaving the bathroom to grab more tape. Finally, she did the edges of the corner shower and the trim along the floor. She wasn’t sure what they were going to do about the ceiling, so she left that to ask Eli about.

  When it was all done, she checked it over to make sure there were no wrinkles, and none of the tape had edged too much onto the wall. She didn’t want Eli or Leah to have any reason to doubt her abilities. For some reason, it had become important to her that they see her as more than the rich, blonde chick from LA. She really wanted them to see worth in her, though she couldn’t say why.

  Arianna went back into the main area of the cabin and waited until Eli lowered his roller to speak. “I’ve finished up in here. Did you want to check it over?”

  Eli laid down his roller and turned to face her. He glanced toward the bathroom door, and she was sure it was because he did want to check it out, but he didn’t want to offend her.

  She gave him a reassuring smile and s
aid, “Go ahead. I’m not going to be upset if you want to check my work. It makes sense since this is the first time I’ve done anything like this with you guys.”

  Eli still hesitated for a moment, his gaze holding hers, before he went to the bathroom. Arianna hovered in the doorway, watching as he ran his finger along the edges, taking in all the places she’d taped.

  “I didn’t know if you wanted the ceiling taped off or not,” she said.

  “It’s fine. I’ll do the cutting in around the ceiling.”

  “Everything look okay?”

  “Everything looks great. You did a good job.”

  Arianna beamed at him, his words of praise warming her from the inside out. “So what do you want me to do next?”

  “Do you want to cut in around the tape?” he asked. “I’ll do the ceiling, but you could do all the rest.”

  “I can do that,” Arianna said with confidence.

  “Let me get you set up with the color for this room.”

  “What color is it going to be?” she asked as they walked to where cans of paint sat on a table covered in a drop cloth and plastic.

  “Some shade named orange marshmallow or peach sorbet. I can’t remember which one it was. I’d call it light peach.”

  Arianna laughed. “Some of those name colors are a bit strange, but considering how many they’ve had to come up with, the paint company definitely had to move beyond the Crayola color names.”

  At the table, Eli prepped the paint then poured some into a container with a handle. He handed that and a brush to her and said, “Have at it. Just give me a yell if you need anything.”

  Leah came out of the bedroom then. “I need more paint.”

  Eli motioned her over then filled her container like he had the one for Arianna.

  “Is she painting the bathroom?” Leah asked, eyeing the supplies in Arianna’s hands.

  “She’s cutting in just like you are.” Eli pulled his hat off and ran his hand through his thick dark hair before replacing it.

  Leah looked like she was going to say something but then apparently thought better of it because she silently turned and returned to the bedroom. Arianna also went back to her assigned place and got to work painting around the edges she’d just taped.

  As she worked, she began to mentally compose the email she planned to send to Steve and the rest of the team. She also planned to send an email to each of her longtime sponsors and would even phone a couple that she had a close working relationship with. It was time to begin picking up the pieces of her life and getting things back on track.

  But she was going to do it all from a distance. She wasn’t quite ready to leave New Hope Falls yet.

  At lunchtime, Nadine showed up with a picnic basket—an honest to goodness picnic basket—filled with sandwiches, chips, and drinks. They sat out on the back deck since the day had warmed up the longer the sun had been in the sky.

  “How is the painting coming?” Nadine asked as she handed them each a bottle of water. “From what I’ve seen, it’s looking good.”

  “The living room is basically done,” Eli said. “And Anna and Leah have been making good progress in the bathroom and bedroom.”

  “That’s great,” Nadine said. “I look forward to seeing more of what you’ve done.”

  “I really like the color you’ve chosen for the bathroom,” Arianna said.

  Nadine smiled at her. “I have a couple of pieces of small artwork that I thought would work well with that color.”

  “So you based your color choice around the artwork?” Arianna asked.

  “Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

  “I’m sure it will be beautiful.”

  As lunch progressed, Nadine talked a bit more about the plans for each of the cabins. “Thank you so much for offering your help. We didn’t know that Sarah would be getting this commission when we planned the project, so having an extra pair of hands is helpful.”

  “Honestly, Anna is doing a better job than Sarah would have,” Eli said. “I think it actually pains Sarah to have to work in only one color and to paint with such large brushes and rollers.”

  Arianna felt a rush of pleasure at his words. Why, she had no idea. She’d grown up being taught that she didn’t need to be praised for a job well done. That the satisfaction of doing a job well should be reward enough. But for some reason, she liked hearing that she was doing the job up to their standards. Probably because they had doubted her abilities—even though they hadn’t said as much…at least to her face.

  “Thanks for helping out,” Nadine said. “I normally wouldn’t accept help from a paying guest, but you seemed quite determined.”

  “Oh, I was,” Arianna agreed. “When I set my mind to something, I don’t like to let it go, so thank you for letting me help.”

  “It seems that in the end, it benefitted us both then,” Nadine said with a laugh.

  It didn’t take them long to finish up their food, and soon Nadine was packing up the remnants of their lunch. Once she was gone, Arianna returned to the bathroom to continue with her work on the edges.

  “You’ve done a very precise job,” Eli said, startling her as she crouched by the bathtub. He bent over to look at where she’d already painted around the edge of the mirror and vanity.

  Arianna straightened up and arched her back slightly to ease the tension there. “It’s either that or do it over again.”

  “I appreciate your work ethic,” Eli said with a nod. He gave her a searching look as he leaned against the door frame, his arms crossed. “You really do know how to do this.”

  “I do.” She couldn’t keep the smile from her lips. “I know you were doubting me, but I figured my work would speak for itself.”

  “And it definitely has. Are you up for rollering in here too? It might be a bit more challenging as this room has smaller sections of wall than the living room and bedroom.”

  “I can do it,” Arianna said. “Just leave this in my hands. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.”

  Eli regarded her for a moment, as if trying to figure her out yet again. Usually she didn’t care what people thought about her, and she normally didn’t want people trying to see beyond the image she portrayed to the world, but Eli…he was different. She’d seen how caring and patient he was with his sisters and mother. Would he be as caring and patient with her if she let him truly get to know her? If he even wanted to.

  “I believe you,” Eli said as he dropped his arms. Their gazes held for a moment before he turned and left the bathroom.

  Arianna watched him disappear into the living room before turning her attention back to the job at hand. She couldn’t help the smile that lingered on her face as she recalled the appreciative look in Eli’s eyes after reviewing her work. The way she was reacting to Eli was so different from how she’d ever reacted to a man before.

  After how David had treated her, Eli’s respectful interactions with her were refreshing and encouraging. For all that she’d felt demoralized and beaten down after everything with David, being around Eli and his family had buoyed her up and for the first time in months, she felt a semblance of peace.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  Eli was drawn to the door of the bathroom to check on Anna several times over the course of the day. It wasn’t so much that he was checking on her work—she’d already proven she was more than capable—but just to watch her work. She’d finished on the trimming and had moved on to using the roller. The smooth, even strokes proved that she did, in fact, know what she was doing.

  Not that he’d doubted it anymore. Between the meticulous tape job and the careful way she’d trimmed around the edges—especially the ceiling—it was clear she knew what she was doing. In fact, she was probably doing a better job than he was on some of the more precise areas of work. If she continued to want to work with them, he might suggest that she be in charge of the taping and edge work, and Eli would take care of the rollering.

  The afternoon went smoothly for the
most part. They each focused on their own area and worked steadily. He thought that perhaps the cabin would be done by the next day. They’d probably have to do some touch up once it had a chance to dry, but he didn’t think it would be too bad. Thankfully, the paint they’d bought didn’t require a primer or more than one coat.

  Once he’d finished with his painting and cleaned up his roller and brushes, he went to check on Leah, happy to see that she’d made good progress in the bedroom. He hadn’t been sure that she’d stick with it, but he had a feeling that because Anna was helping out, Leah wouldn’t quit before she did. There was no doubt she didn’t want to be outdone by a rich city girl, so maybe there was yet another good reason for Anna being there.

  He left the bedroom and went to the bathroom where Anna was standing in the middle of the room, paintbrush in hand, her back to him. All the walls had been done, and as he stepped into the room to look more closely at her work, he couldn’t find fault with it at all. When Eli turned to look again at Anna, he found her regarding him, a smile teasing the corners of her lips.

  “Does it pass the test?” she asked.

  “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, it sure does.”

  Her smile grew into one that he was coming to appreciate more than he should, considering she was just a guest. Just passing through New Hope Falls.

  “I don’t think it will need a second coat, but if you think it does, I can do that tomorrow.”

  Eli nodded. “I agree that it shouldn’t, but we’ll see how it looks. I think for now we’ll call it a day.”

  “Sounds good,” Anna said then went to gather up the stuff she’d been using.

  “You can put those in the sink in the kitchen, and I’ll clean them.”

  “I don’t mind taking care of them. It’s part of the job, right?”

  “Uh, well sure,” Eli said, stepping back to allow her to exit the bathroom.

  Her ponytail swayed back and forth as she walked to the sink in the kitchen. As she turned on the water, Eli fought the urge to tell her to let him do it, but it quickly became apparent that—once again—she knew what she was doing. He supposed it made sense that if she’d painted in the past, she’d know how to clean up after herself.