Silver Screen Romance

by Altonya Washington

  You did right by Martella. The quiet voice wedged in from his subconscious.

  With a grunt, he took another swig of the beer.

  * * *

  Davia completed her packing and shower in record time. She left her bedroom carrying the weight of her suitcase, garment bag and tote with apparent ease. Impressive, when one considered the stiletto-heeled, mocha-suede boots climbed just above her knees.

  Though he approved of the vision she was, Kale didn’t hold much hope that the stairs, heels and luggage would play well together. He took the steps two at a time and relieved Davia of her things before she took the third step down.

  “Nice boots,” he said.

  Davia glanced down. “Thanks. I thought so, too.”

  Kale hoisted the garment bag strap over a shoulder. “Not sure how well they’ll go with an Iowa cornfield.”

  “I’m sure I won’t be finding out.” Davia’s reply was full of humor. “My plan is to be in a pair of sneakers or hiking boots by the time I’m in range of one.” She gave another look toward her stylish stems. “These are just for first impressions.” And to appease my unhealthy obsession, she added silently.

  Kale carried down the luggage with a fluid grace. “So we’re trying to make a good impression? I should’ve kept my suit on, I guess.”

  “I think they’ll take you seriously enough.” Davia admired the quarter-length chamois suede jacket he wore with dark green hiking boots and a shirt of the same color that hung outside a pair of indigo jeans.

  “So tell me why we’re trying to make a good impression? I assume it’s for more than the obvious reason of being polite.”

  Davia was making a quick check of her tote for anything she may have forgotten. “We don’t know what we’ll find when we get there,” she said. “We may actually want to hold on to our inheritance. If so, we’ll want our new neighbors to like us, right?”

  “If so?” Kale set the bags down near the door and turned to face her. “Do you think you might sell it? I got the impression before that you wanted to keep it at all costs.”

  “Well, well, Mr. Asante, it seems you’re the one who’s thoughtfully listening now,” she teased.

  Kale shrugged, his smile indicating he might have been faintly embarrassed. “You’re having a good influence on me, I guess.”

  Davia smiled approvingly and then sighed. “I’ve been thinking about our talk with Estelle Waverly. Ever since we hung up with her, I’ve been growing more suspicious of what we’re stepping into.”

  Kale crossed to where Davia stood near an armchair in the expansive space that held a living room and a den on opposite sides.

  “You’re thinking she’s not on the level?” Kale asked.

  “It’s not that.” Davia quickly shook her head. “But I do get the sense that there’s some kind of...drama involved and that it might play heavily into why my aunt and your uncle never got more involved with the property.”

  Kale moved past Davia to pace the living room. She noticed he was stroking his jaw and recalled that he’d done so in her office while they’d talked. The mannerism, teamed with the assessing look that took hold of his jarringly attractive face, made for a captivating mix.

  “Do you remember what Estelle Waverly said when I asked if we were expected to attend that council meeting?” Kale said after a long, quiet moment.

  Davia sighed again and nodded. “She said ‘it depends on who you ask.’”

  * * *

  Davia admitted—and wasn’t at all hesitant to do so—that there was a lot to be said for flying by private aircraft. The drive to and subsequent boarding of Kale’s jet had been leisurely and not at all marred by the frenzy and frustration generally associated with a commercial flight.

  So much relaxation, however, played to the exhaustion that had mounted in preparation for the trip. Davia gave in to the need for a catnap some fifteen minutes after she and Kale settled in aboard the luxurious craft.

  But while she had settled in, such was not the case for Kale. He’d been issuing silent commands to himself not to stare ever since he’d met her. He was determined not to play into any of the behaviors one might associate with the kind of man Davia had taken him for over the past several years.

  After leaving her office he’d told himself it was, of course, her looks that had sparked his jaw-dropping reaction to her. Now he completely understood that that perception had merely been his way of avoiding the truth of it. Davia Sands’s looks were simply one aspect of why he’d been so powerfully and unexpectedly captivated by her. Her poised, easy demeanor; the confidence in her words and outlook... Kale knew those elements had been the lure now reeling him in so effortlessly.

  Davia had fallen asleep shortly after they’d boarded and Kale was grateful for the chance to ease up on his silent warnings against staring. With the woman at ease, he could stare until he’d had his fill.

  A smile further defined the lush curve of Kale’s mouth. Davia’s breathing had deepened and he took a chance on satisfying a bit more of his curiosity. Slowly he allowed his fingertips to drift ever so gently along the line of her cheek. His smile deepened when he discovered her skin felt as silken as it appeared.

  He was rubbing a few tendrils of her clipped hair between his fingers when Davia’s lashes stirred to hint of her waking. Kale was cool in his retreat and had distanced himself by the time her eyes opened.

  Davia woke with a small yawn and smaller frown as she worked to get her bearings. Finding Kale seated across the small aisle, she smiled.

  “How long was I out?” she asked.

  Kale raised a shoulder in a lazy shrug. “About forty-five minutes. We aren’t even halfway there so you’ve got time to catch a few more z’s if you want.”

  Davia gave in to another yawn. “I think I’m okay now.”

  “Get you a drink?” Kale offered, already pushing up from the swivel chair he’d occupied.

  “Sure.” Davia’s face brightened with a cunning smile. “I need you to prove to me that you’ve got my beer on this plane.”

  “Sit tight.” Kale was already bending to check the mini fridge behind the small bar in the rear of the cabin.

  “It’s good to know we’ve got a reach all the way back east,” Davia noted.

  “They were serving it at a party I went to out west,” he explained while silently admitting he’d have visited the brewery had he known earlier she was part of it. “How’d you get into that business anyway?” he asked, retrieving two bottles of the chilled brew.

  “What?” Davia feigned an affronted look. “Don’t I look like a beer connoisseur?”

  “No.” Kale didn’t blink when he gave the response unapologetically.

  Davia took no offence and simply laughed. “It was just a funny idea some friends from college kicked around one night. One night long after college.” She laughed softer then. “We’d gotten together for drinks. The bartender gave us all funny looks when we passed on the wine. From there, the conversation took hold.

  “We researched the idea. Then we actually thought we might be on to something and figured what the hell? Thanks.” She accepted the bottle from Kale.

  “Anyway, we all got very devoted to making it a reality. That while devoting time to our real jobs.”

  Kale’s rich laughter filled the cabin. “Wonder what the bartender would think if he could see you guys now?”

  “I think his bar was one of the first places to start carrying the beer.” Davia raised her bottle to Kale in a mock toast before she took a swig. “I haven’t thought about that night in so long,” she said after they’d imbibed silently for a few moments. “The bartender didn’t even try to hide his surprise. I mean, why would he? We were a group of Cali girls out for a night on the town, so obviously wine would be on the menu.”

  “Obviously.” K
ale chugged down another swallow of the brew.

  Davia sighed. “I guess it’s good to know I’m not the only one with the capacity to misjudge people.”

  “Can I ask you something?” Kale said after another few moments of silence had passed. “How’d you figure out or how’d you...come to the conclusion that me and Tella...that we’d slept together? Did she say something to give you the idea there was or could’ve been something like that going on?”

  “No, not really.” Davia straightened, pushing out of her comfortable position on the loungechair. She appeared suddenly stressed. “It was nothing like that.”

  “So?” he prodded. “What was it?” He held the bottle poised while waiting on her answer.

  Davia didn’t seem in much of a hurry to provide one. “When she sold to someone in pretty much the same business that I was in, I just...figured it had to be about that. I mean...I could’ve matched your offer, Kale. Could’ve beaten it.” She shrugged. “I just assumed you’d offered something I couldn’t match.”

  Kale appeared thoroughly intrigued. He sat with his elbows to his knees. The bottle hung between his fingers and was almost totally forgotten. “But why would you think it had to be that and not that she was just too proud to sell to you?”

  Davia helped herself to another swig of the frosty lager and realized he wasn’t going to let the conversation end until she confessed all. She decided to just say it and be done with it. “Kale, have you ever looked at yourself?”

  He straightened, total bewilderment taking hold of his features. “Looked at myself?”

  Davia only watched him. Patiently, she waited for her words to click. She almost smiled when he blinked as awareness began to dawn on him. She looked on in complete appreciation of the adorable element the reaction brought to his gorgeous features.

  “Oh,” he said.

  “Yeah.” Davia nodded succinctly and then gave in to her need for a smile.

  “Should I be flattered?” he queried in a slow, uncertain manner.

  “You wouldn’t be if you knew what I was thinking about you.” Davia enjoyed a swallow of the full-bodied beer.

  “Wow.” Kale spoke the word reverently while stroking his smooth, strong jaw. “Guess I’ve now got some idea how women must feel when we men make assumptions based on their looks.”

  “Well,” Davia sighed, watching the bottle while swirling the liquid inside, “if it makes you feel any better, it’s my first time making that kind of assumption about a man.”

  “Any reason why I lucked out?” Once again, Kale seemed completely bewildered.

  Davia couldn’t hold back her laughter over his cluelessness. She raised her hand as if about to offer a testimony. “Somebody get this man a mirror,” she groaned.

  Chapter 5

  Mullins, Iowa

  It was approaching dusk when Kale and Davia arrived from California. A dark, roomy SUV sat idling outside the hangar where Kale’s plane had been directed upon landing. Once the flight assistants had stored their luggage in the back of the vehicle, Kale and Davia were on their way to Mullins. The area was a wonderland blanketed beneath thick drifts of snow. The town was located about forty minutes outside the airport in Des Moines. Utilizing the built-in navigation system, they found the Waverly Bed-and-Breakfast with relative ease.

  “Wow.” The expression followed Davia’s initial gasp when Kale pulled to a stop at the inn’s wide, brick driveway.

  Kale appeared equally impressed as he put the vehicle in park. “You think the rest of the town looks like this?” he asked.

  Waverly Bed-and-Breakfast was the first stop when entering Mullins from the west. The place was a stately three-story building of stone, brick and glass. Golden light beamed from practically every wide window that adorned each level, giving the place the look of a gleaming oasis amid some dark, unfathomable expanse.

  Kale and Davia just had time to trade prompt, approving glances before the red double doors on the front porch opened. A man and woman stepped out, waving to Kale and Davia. The woman moved further out onto the wraparound porch and urged the guests forward while the man headed toward their SUV.

  “Here goes,” Kale said as he left the truck.

  Davia put a resolved smile in place as she exited the passenger side.

  Kale and Davia’s expressions were decidedly brighter by the time they shook hands with the ginger-haired Caucasian man who approached the SUV.

  “Barrett Waverly.” The man extended a hand and offered a generous smile that reached his pale green eyes.

  Kale introduced himself as he accepted the handshake.

  Davia did the same. “This is a beautiful place, Mr. Waverly.”

  “Thanks so much, Ms. Sands. We’re proud of it.”

  Smiling, Davia shook her head. “Please, it’s Davia.”

  Barrett Waverly’s smile widened. “And you can call me Barry.” He squeezed her hand between both of his and then glanced back toward the inn. “You should go on inside and get warmed up. My wife’s ready to pamper you with your favorite drink.” Releasing Davia’s hand, he motioned to the SUV. “Help you with the bags, Mr. Asante?”

  “It’s Kale, please. And, yes, by all means.” Kale took Barrett’s hand in another hearty shake.

  The men launched into friendly conversation while Davia carefully made her way toward the house. Though the brick drive appeared dry and well-treated, she still entertained the thought of black ice meeting the spiky heels of her boots.

  The woman waiting on the porch had Davia’s complexion and a petite, curvy build. She greeted Davia before offering her hand to shake. “I’m impressed,” the woman said. “The last time I took that driveway in heels like that...it was the last time I took that driveway in heels like that!”

  Davia laughed as she shook the woman’s hand. “I thought this might be a good test of my stiletto-wearing ability,” she said.

  The woman threw her head back to laugh. “I believe it’s safe to say you passed.” She dropped her free hand over the one still clutched inside Davia’s. “Estelle Waverly. You already met my husband, Barry.”

  “Yes. I was telling him how beautiful your place is.” Davia cast another look up at the house.

  “Let me show you around.” Estelle kept hold of Davia’s hand. “This is where Barry grew up,” she explained as they entered the main hall. “When we moved back, we had the place completely remodeled and converted it to the inn.”

  “So you’re not from here?” Davia asked when Estelle released her hand. She watched the woman rush over to stoke the fire in the enormous hearth at the back of the great room they’d just entered.

  “I’m not. Barry and I met and married in Seattle.” Estelle stood in front of the hearth satisfied when the fire was once again burning high and bright.

  “Husband and partner.” Davia laced her words with a teasing air. “How do those labels get along in business?”

  Estelle raised her hands, gesturing to the room surrounding them. “When ‘business’ consists of this, not bad at all.”

  The front door opened and with it came a frigid gust of air and the rumble of male voices and laughter.

  Kale watched as Barrett set the baggage in paneled sections inside a wall just off from the main corridor they’d entered.

  “This mini freight elevator will transport your things to the third level, where you’ll be staying,” Barry explained.

  “Interesting system,” Kale said.

  Barrett finished loading the elevator and stood. “It provides the guests with more privacy. We use a system like this to transport everything from luggage to meals. Besides, there’s no elevator, and neither I nor Estelle wanted to be carting bags all the way up to the third floor. Potential bellboys have taken one look at those stairs and run for the hills.”

  Lau
ghter flooded between the two men as they continued their trek down the hall and into the great room.

  After he was introduced to Estelle, Kale complimented her home. “I was telling Barry that this is quite a place you guys have here. It’s a gorgeous thing to see when you’re just arriving in a new town.”

  “Thanks, Kale, and there’s plenty more to see,” Estelle promised.

  “But before we get into all that,” Barry said, “let’s get you guys out of your jackets and have you warm up near the fire.”

  “What’s everybody having to drink?” Estelle called while Kale and Davia moved closer to the hearth. “We’ve got pretty much every kind of tea and coffee. Even hot chocolate or something stronger, if you like. Our bar is well stocked.”

  “I’ll have whatever you do, Estelle,” Davia called, taking great delight at the warmth gliding its way to her chilled skin.

  “Tell me you’ve got brandy and I’m a customer for life.” Kale rubbed his hands in brisk fashion in front of the flame.

  Barry applauded. “Will a bottle aged twelve years do the trick?”

  “It’ll do more than that.” Kale laughed and watched Barry head for the corner bar situated to the far right of the fireplace.

  “How many rooms do you guys have here?” Davia asked Barry once the warmth had thoroughly penetrated her bones.

  “Five to rent. Este and I have our own suite on this level.”

  Kale and Davia exchanged curious looks.

  “You guys do well with such a small number of rooms?” Kale asked.

  “You’d be surprised,” Barry chuckled just as his wife returned to the room.

  Estelle carried a tray laden with a plate of small sandwiches and a teakettle emitting a delightful fragrance.

  “The fact that this is my hometown isn’t the only reason we moved back and tried to make a go of this place.” Barry shared the information as he handed Kale one of the two brandy snifters he’d brought over from the bar.