It was as if the barometric pressure suddenly changed, as if the air were electrically charged with a coming storm. He temporarily lost his place in the conversation but managed not to turn around. It took Herculean effort. His instincts clamored for him to smile at her, to talk to her. Let it go, Beckett. Just as some people were obsessive about getting the last word in an argument, Ty was a bit fanatical about making sure the final impression he left with someone was good. In restaurants, if a dessert was awful or a waiter was rude at the end of the meal, patrons went home with a negative takeaway and might never return. Because of networking, the culinary world was a small one. Even if his and Grace’s professional paths didn’t directly cross again, they were likely to have mutual acquaintances in the industry. After he won this competition, he didn’t want to leave Fredericksburg knowing there was a colleague here who hated him. Although he didn’t intend to do anything as drastic as apologize, there were subtler ways to smooth over last night’s awkward parting.
