Dawn in Eclipse Bay Read Online Free PDF

let on.
    She shrugged and put down the menu. Before she could answer his question, however, the waiter arrived to take their orders. She chose a glass of chardonnay. He asked for a beer.
    When the waiter left, there was a short silence. He thought he might have to remind Lillian of the question. Somewhat to his surprise, however, she started to talk.
    â€œAfter I graduated from college I worked in Seattle for a while,” she said. “Then I moved to Hawaii. Spent a year there. After that I went to California and then back to Seattle. I didn’t return to Oregon until I decided to open Private Arrangements.”
    â€œWere you running matchmaking businesses in all those different places?”
    She eyed him with a wary expression. “Why do you want to know?”
    â€œBeen a while. Just catching up.”
    â€œYou and I don’t have any catching up to do. We hardly even know each other.”
    That was almost funny, he thought.
    â€œI’m a Harte and you’re a Madison,” he said. “My brother is now married to your sister. Trust me, we know each other.”
    The waiter returned with their drinks and disappeared once more. Lillian picked up her chardonnay, took a sip and set the glass down very precisely on the little napkin. He got the feeling she was debating how much to tell him about herself.
    â€œThe official Harte family version of events is that I’ve spent the last few years trying to find myself,” she said.
    â€œWhat’s the unofficial version?”
    â€œThat I’m a little flaky.”
    Definitely not wife material, he thought. Probably not good affair material either. He did not date flakes. He didn’t do business with flakes, either. If he had known Private Arrangements was run by a flake, he would never have signed on as a client.
    Then again, who was he kidding?
    Damn. This was not a good idea. If he had any sense he would run, not walk, to the nearest exit. Some lingering vestige of self-preservation made him glance toward the door.
    What the hell, he thought, turning back to Lillian. Plenty of time to escape later.
    â€œDidn’t realize any of you Hartes had to find yourselves,” he said after a while. “Figured you were all born knowing where you wanted to go in life and how you would get there.”
    â€œYou’re thinking of everyone else in the family.” She wrinkled her nose. “I’m the exception.”
    â€œYeah? How exceptional are you?”
    She studied the wine in her glass. “Let’s just say I haven’t found my niche yet.”
    â€œFrom all accounts you’ve been extremely successful with Private Arrangements.”
    â€œOh, sure.” She raised one shoulder in dismissal. “If you’re talking business success.”
    He went blank.
    â€œThere’s another kind?” he asked.
    Irritation gleamed in her eyes. “Of course there’s another kind.”
    He leaned back in the booth. “This isn’t about finding yourself and inner peace through work, is it?”
    â€œYou’ve got a problem with the concept of work as a source of happiness and personal fulfillment?”
    â€œI’ve got a problem with people who think work is supposed to be entertainment. Work is work.” He paused. “Probably why they call it work instead of, say, fun. A lot of folks don’t seem to get that.”
    â€œYou ought to know,” she said.
    â€œWhat’s that supposed to mean?”
    â€œYou’ve been working night and day since you were a boy to build Madison Commercial.” She smiled wryly. “Folks back in Eclipse Bay always said that you were a different kind of Madison.”
    â€œDifferent?”
    â€œOne who might actually make a success of himself. You certainly proved them right, didn’t you?”
    How the hell had the conversation turned back on him like this?
    â€œAll I proved,” he said carefully, “is that you