Whisper's Edge Read Free Page A

Winston, whom I’m sure you’ve already met. I do my best to schedule fun events and help keep daily operations running smoothly.” She squeezed his hand. “I’d like to give you a warm…instead of
wet
, welcome!”

2
When Pigs Fly
    “T HANK YOU,” TRISTAN REPLIED. SAVANNAH’S GRIP FELT surprisingly strong for such a little thing, and although he wasn’t easily charmed, Tristan found her sweet smile to be infectious.
    “Sorry I was so snarky earlier.” She pressed her lips together and gave him a small shrug. “And you know, that you jumped into the pool and all that.”
    “Don’t worry about it.” Tristan found himself grinning. “I’m not going to melt, as you pointed out.”
    “Sorry ’bout that…” she said with a wince. When she tilted her head to the side, sunshine glinted off her auburn hair, which was starting to curl as it dried. Nutmeg-colored freckles dusted a perky nose. She was pretty in a wholesome girl-next-door kind of way—totally not Tristan’s type and yet he felt a tug of awareness when her fingers slipped out of his grasp.
    “Like you said, gives me something to talk about.”
    “So true.” Savannah’s laugh was a throaty, pleasant sound that made Tristan want to tell a joke just to hear it again. She glanced at the onlookers, who watched with raptinterest. “And the main subject over the dinner table at Whisper’s Edge. Am I right?” Nods and the tinkle of giggles followed Savannah’s question. Tristan couldn’t help but notice that the assembled crowd looked at her with fondness, making him believe that she really did excel at her job. “See?” She put her hands on her hips and grinned.
    “I do.” Tristan felt a flash of guilt. If things went as planned, Savannah’s position wouldn’t be necessary. But as he frowned, her lively expression dimmed.
    “We are a close-knit community,” she explained uncertainly. “News travels fast here.”
    “I don’t mind being the topic of conversation,” Tristan assured her. “Believe me, it’s happened many times.” In this very town, he thought with dark humor.
    “Oh, well, good,” she said with a smile but the uncertainty remained in her eyes. “I guess…”
    Tristan found himself laughing. “Not always,” he acknowledged. His laughter seemed to put her at ease. “I’m not one to care much what people say or think about me.” Not that he wasn’t above making his grandfather eat crow. The judgmental old coot had caused him and his mother a lot of heartache.
    “Good for you. Be true to yourself,” Miss Patty chimed in, and Tristan found himself getting yet another round of applause.
    Savannah leaned close and stood on tiptoe. “Looks like you’ve already won them over,” she said as near to his ear as she could manage. Although short in stature, Tristan knew from recent up-close-and-personal experience that Savannah had an abundance of curves in all the right places. He wouldn’t soon forget the feel of pulling her out of the water. Sweet yet sexy came to mind and Tristan forced himself to rein in his thoughts in order to concentrate on what Savannah was saying. “Good for you.” Savannah gave his forearm a squeeze but then quickly dropped her hand as if she thought she might have overstepped her bounds. When she took a step away from him Tristan had the odd urge topull her close once more. “Now, let’s get you out of those clothes.”
    “I…uh…” he stuttered as an instant image of her undressing him popped into his mind. For a lawyer with a hard-nosed reputation, he wasn’t usually at a loss for words, but Tristan suddenly found himself feeling terribly tongue-tied.
    “Cat got yer tongue?” one of the tennis-clad twins inquired and then elbowed his brother.
    No, the thought of Savannah removing his clothes got his tongue. “Excuse me?” Tristan managed to ask.
    “I meant your…you know…your
wet
clothes.” Savannah blushed and shot an I-can’t-believe-you look at the twins. “I can