The Edge of Recall Read Online Free PDF Page A

ride along had less to do with accompanying her and more to do with Bair’s driving. The moment they turned onto the two-lane highway, he took off through the woods, past slate blue inlets, fields, and scattered houses as though the country road were a Grand Prix course. That kind of aggression could come out in brawls, she supposed, though if Bair hadn’t hidden his knuckles, she would have thought Smith exaggerated. Now she caught a glimpse of the bear.
    He turned at a post office and mini-mart and parked a short distance up the side road in the narrow lot of a faded lavender Victorian house. The hand-painted sign out front read Ellie’s Teashop. Not exactly the locale for a power lunch. At least Smith wasn’t trying to impress.
    He held open the door to the flowery foyer and acknowledged her wry glance with a tilt of his head. “Bair’s got a thing for Ellie’s granddaughter.”
    “I’ve not got a thing. ” Bair’s face flushed as an aging woman approached.
    “Well, who’ve you brought with you today?” Her peachy cheeks crinkled into her warm smile.
    Smith returned the smile. “This is Tessa Young, Ellie. She’s on my design team.”
    Though she had not signed the contract, Smith knew she would take the bait and swallow the hook whole. She wished she could be like the wise old bass in the bottom of the pond, but the shiny lure he dangled was too tempting.
    “You’re a builder too?”
    “A landscape architect.”
    “Oh, I love gardening.”
    Tessa didn’t say her profession required a great deal of technical expertise. It was enough that Ellie had called Smith a builder. They followed their hostess to a table tucked into a bay window, though they could have had their choice of empty seats.
    The parlor room had a fussy, feminine charm. Sprigs of silk lilac graced the lacy tables set with china and silver. Even in that setting Smith managed to look appropriate. Bair looked like Babar the elephant in a dollhouse as he hunkered down at the finely set table. Smith pulled out her chair, reminding her how it was to be with a gentleman. She quickly recovered. No matter how courteous, he had ultimately failed in elemental chivalry.
    “So.” Smith lifted the menu. “The turkey croissant is excellent.”
    Not fair that he recalled her old standby or assumed she had not developed other tastes. He’d learn soon enough that she was not the girl who had seen in him all that she wanted to become. Instead she’d become herself, and while there might be areas she could improve, she didn’t need Smith’s hand to do it.
    Bair’s napkin slid off his lap and he bumped the table retrieving it. “My favorite is the pesto chicken on ciabatta.”
    Tessa glanced up. “You guys eat here often?”
    Bair’s ruddy cheeks deepened a shade. “We’ve only been on-site two weeks, but Ellie’s, uh, reminds me of home.”
    “So, yes.” Smith set down his menu. “Every lunch we’ve had out.”
    Tessa glanced at the choices, saw a grilled salmon on field greens salad, and set the menu aside. Smith was buying, after all, and she’d never seen him counting pennies. “Well, I suppose we should get down to business.”
    Before they could, a waitress came over with a pot of tea and filled their cups. Tessa would have preferred it iced, but the girl had merely brushed her with a glance that imitated contact without connecting. Her focus stayed firmly on the guys, making her priorities clear.
    “Ready to order?” Her kinky red hair had been tortured into braids and wound tightly at her nape. Her eyes were the color of cornflowers, and the copper lashes provided an extraordinary complement in an otherwise unremarkable face.
    The moment she’d approached the table, Bair had gone completely still. This was the granddaughter he liked?
    Tessa ordered her salad and Smith toasted cheese with a tuna- stuffed tomato. Bair cleared his throat, the flush creeping up his neck like dye. Tessa had the urge to slap his back to clear the