The Lure of Love Read Online Free Page A

The words were out before she could stop them. She
clapped a hand over her mouth, unaware that he was also laughing. “I’m sorry.
That didn’t sound very gracious.”
    “It was
perfect.” He was still smiling. “He really should have known better.”
    “No kidding,”
she murmured. She picked up a menu, then glanced over at him. “Brooke told me
that six o’clock was ridiculously early for dinner. She said you probably eat
around eight, but I was so hungry I wasn’t thinking straight. I hope you’ll
forgive me.” She knew exactly what was on the menu, but she was nervous. And
she really was hungry.
    “I’m just
happy that you agreed to join me. The time doesn’t matter. What’s good?”
    “It’s all
good but I usually have a steak and salad.” She lifted her wine glass. “One is
my limit, so I make it last through dinner.”
    “Then that’s
what I’ll have, too, but no wine.” He looked at his glass of Scotch. “This and
the beer I had this afternoon are more than I’ve had in a long time.” He stared
into the amber liquid. “I went a bit overboard on the drinking a couple of
years ago. Thankfully it didn’t last long, but as they say it wasn’t pretty.”
    “It happens.
We see a lot of odd behaviour here. People act differently when they’re away
from home. I’ve never understood why, but they do.” She gave her head a quick
shake. “Why are we having this depressing conversation?”
    “My fault, I
guess.” He looked out over the lake and his gaze finally came to rest on the
Beaver. “Do you mind if I ask you why you learned to fly? Was it something you
always wanted to do?”
    Jamie had
been told that she came alive when she talked about flying and tonight was no
exception; she found herself eager to share the reasons with the man who sat
across from her.
    “I was always
pestering my Dad to go up with him when I was smaller. He promised to let me
get my license as soon as I was old enough.” He was watching her quietly and
she decided to get the hard part over with. “Mom and Dad were killed in an
accident when they were holidaying in Asia.” It was a relief to have that out
of the way. “I’d already been taking flying lessons for six months by then and I
got my license the next year. I’ve been flying ever since.”
    “I’m no
expert, but the way you handled that plane today…” he shook his head. “You
look pretty good to me. Ah, here are our steaks.”
    For some
reason his compliment pleased her. She knew she was a good pilot, but coming
from someone who might be afraid to fly, it meant a lot.
    As they ate,
the conversation turned to talk of fishing. He inquired about fly fishermen in
the area and she assured him that there were a few locals who were regarded as
experts. She hadn’t contacted any of them in case he preferred to make his own
arrangements, but she was fairly sure that they’d be delighted to be in any
film made by the famous Craig Hansen.
    The server
removed their plates and inquired if they would like dessert.
    “No thanks,
André.” Jamie deferred to Craig. “How about you?”
    He patted his
stomach. “No thanks.” A family got up from the adjoining table and she noticed
the way his eyes kept returning to the young boy. “But what I would like is
coffee down by the lake. I noticed the chairs down by the water when I arrived
and I think the weather is co-operating. That storm that was threatening
earlier seems to have passed us by.” He turned to her. “Will you join me?”
    “Sounds
great.” She started to rise and he hurried around to pull out her chair. “I
wasn’t sure about those chairs when I bought them this spring, but they’ve been
popular.” The brightly coloured plastic Adirondack chairs added splashes of
colour to the grounds and were easy to keep clean. “We used to have the
traditional white wooden ones, but it got so we were spending too much time
sanding and repainting them every year.” She shrugged. “It’s all