Page 24 of A Field of Beauty

“But ... what about Lovey?” She had to ask. She had to know.

His eyebrows lifted. “Lovey is ... she’s just a friend.” A slow grin came over his face. “She offered to pinch hit for the Biltmore dinner.”

Just a friend?Thatwould have been nice to know. Tessa regretted all the mean thoughts she’d had about Lovey. Suddenly shy, she kept her eyes down. “Why would you do this?”

“Hard to resist a chance to fix a patch of soil.”

But Tessa knew it was more than that. He could have plenty of opportunities to work on large-scale farms, where there’d be low risk and deep pockets. “Dawson,” she whispered. “Why would you do thisfor me?” She hated to ask, but she needed to. “Are you rescuing me?”

“No, I’m not rescuing you. I know you could figure this out on your own.” He looked down, kicking the ground with the toeof his boot. “I just thought, y’know, that we make a good team.” He lifted his head. “So do we have a deal?” He put a hand out to shake. “Partners?”

Tessa looked at his outstretched hand, then up into his blue eyes. She thought his ears were turning a little pink and wondered if it was the only outer evidence of his carefully hidden emotions. If so, she wasn’t going to let him grow his hair long again.

So maybe her picker wasn’t as bad as she thought it was. She might have made mistakes with other men, but with Dawson, she had chosen well. The weight of her past mistakes seemed to diminish around him. Her hand slowly reached out and gently clasped his. “Partners,” she said with a smile, knowing he only wanted the best for her, something she had sensed from the start.

No wonder she felt beautiful around him.