Davia was as amazed as a child viewing something she’d only dreamed of as she took in the allure of the elegant multiplex she and Kale had visited that morning. At that moment and in all its bedazzled beauty, the structure was quite a sight. “This is incredible.” She clutched Kale’s arm with a bit more urgency while breathing out the compliment.
“It sure is.”
Davia believed Kale’s response was made in earnest, though it was clear to her that he was preoccupied. They hadn’t spoken much more since the scene back at the house while they were dressing. She was desperate to make amends, though she knew the only way to do that was to be totally honest herself. How was she to do that with Kale? Davia wondered, when she hadn’t figured out how to do that with herself.
They were met by a broadly muscled man with smiling amber eyes who had rushed forward to take Kale’s hand in a hearty shake. However distant Kale had seemed, none of it showed when he launched into introductions.
“Davia, this is my chief architect and a guy who’s known me since we were both in diapers, Lyle Neese. Lyle, this is Davia Sands. My partner in the inheritance from Uncle Bry,” Kale explained.
“It’s a pleasure, Mr. Neese.” Davia spoke through her smile.
“The pleasure is all mine, Ms. Sands. And, please, call me Lyle.”
She responded with an easy nod. “Thanks—and it’s Davia.”
Lyle enveloped Davia’s hand in both of his. “Lovely name for a lovely lady.” He studied her face as though committing her features to memory. “It’s so great to have you here.” He regarded Davia for a few seconds more before he turned back to Kale. “You’ll find the escort to your seats waiting just inside. He should be holding up a name card to get your attention.” Lyle clapped Kale’s shoulder and then moved on.
“Someone’s excited,” Davia remarked, feeling her own anticipation for the evening approach Lyle’s obvious demeanor.
“It’s no surprise,” Kale said as he watched his friend disappear into the heavy crowd. “No one can say Lyle isn’t dedicated and passionate about his work. Especially on nights like this.” Kale paused to scan the circus-like intensity. “He’s like a kid whenever there’s talk in the air about some premiere being held at one of our venues.”
“Well, his excitement is contagious and I don’t think I need any more help being excited.”
Davia had been to a few movie premieres in her day, but never anything quite like what she stood in the midst of. Silently she gave thanks that Estelle Waverly, in addition to being an innkeeper, was a damn fine boutique owner. Davia had already added several to-die-for pieces to her wardrobe, courtesy of Estelle’s and the gown she’d selected for that evening’s event was no exception.
Not only did the pearl tone of the gown complement the champagne color of Kale’s tux, it added an even more dewy allure to Davia’s dark complexion. Matching open-toed pumps peeked out from a scalloped hemline that almost dragged the carpet. The shoes added several inches to her noticeable height while calling attention to her willowy form and its subtle yet beckoning host of curves.
The gown’s halter bodice drew the eye to her bare back and shoulders before it cinched tightly at the small of her back. There, Kale’s hand rested between intermittent bouts of dancing along her spine. The gestures were subconscious yet effective displays of possession.
“Lyle loves this stuff but that’s not why he’s so excited,” Kale was saying as he and Davia neared the multiplex lobby.
“What’s his excuse?” Davia playfully inquired, enjoying the lighthearted sensation that could’ve taken her off her feet.
“He’s so excited because I once told him the only woman I’d ever bring to one of these things is the woman I intend to marry.” With that, Kale moved on to shake hands with someone who’d just greeted him.
Davia was barely able to put one foot in front of the other, nor could she swallow around the lump that had found its way to the base of her throat.
* * *
The Xyler Chronicles V: Stealth Capture lived up to all its hype and then some. The South Beach Array proved to be the perfect venue. Every explosion, gun battle and car chase was effectively presented and heard in the tri-level state-of-the-art theater.
There wasn’t a bad seat in the place, literally. Besides being perfectly positioned, the seats were thick, deep armchairs that offered maximum comfort. Davia had an excellent time, despite the fact that every romantic moment shared between the film’s hero Dex Xyler and his leading lady Chelsea Minx only took her thoughts back to Kale. And the words he’d uttered just before they headed into the theater.
...the woman I intend to marry.
The premiere wrapped and another trip down the red carpet was needed for film reactions and photo ops. Afterward, Kale and Davia were whisked away to a club on the penthouse level of a skyscraper where a well-attended party was in full swing. It took Kale and Davia at least twenty minutes to make their way across the room, because Kale was called in myriad directions for handshakes and more photos.
Davia didn’t mind being the man’s arm candy, but it was an added bonus when she garnered her own share of attention from business acquaintances she hadn’t expected to see. The evening was pretty much perfect, especially when she had the chance for her own photo op with Xyler Chronicles’s leading man, Coyt Vincent.
And then came the dancing.
“I hope this was all worth the money you spent on the new dress,” Kale was saying later when he held her as they danced to a slow song.
“Are you serious? Tonight has been sooo worth it.” Davia beamed. There’d been times she’d had to steel herself from jumping in place over all the exciting aspects of the evening.
Kale reached for the champagne glass Davia held while they danced. Each had sipped from a single flute while swaying to the jazzy instrumental.
“I still don’t think we’ve done all that we set out to do,” he mused once he’d handed the glass back to Davia and eased his hands back around her waist.
“I think we accomplished a lot. You know what I like. I know what you like.”
“I suppose that’s true.” Kale’s gaze intensified the longer he watched her. “What I like goes far beyond a movie theater, Davia.”
She finished off the champagne. “Kale, um, I’m sorry that I... I just can’t seem to say more about what I want for us and I—”
He dipped his head, suddenly and effectively silencing her. “I don’t expect you to say anything now. But I want you to—when you’re ready.” He followed with a wink and smile, giving her a quick nod when she reciprocated the gesture, and then put a kiss to her forehead.
“I know we have a strange situation here, Davi. It’s not following the normal route things like this are supposed to take. At least, I don’t think this is the route it’s supposed to take.” He shrugged but faintly. “Guess I’ve been in enough wrong situations to know when a right one hits me.”
“And I can’t believe you think I’m a right one with the unbelievable amount of angst I’m carrying around.” Davia gave a short laugh in spite of herself.
“Maybe that’s why.” He reached out to finger a lock of her short, dark hair. “Maybe how uncertain you are is what’s driving it home for me—driving home how certain I am.”
“Certain enough to bring me to a movie premiere, huh?”
When he gave another shrug in response, Davia moved close with intentions of putting a kiss to his cheek. Kale turned to capture her mouth instead, his tongue thrusting deep the instant his lips touched hers. Her grip on the glass tightened and she feared the delicate stem might shatter in her hand. Her worries quickly faded as the kiss soon overruled all thought save the sensations coursing through her veins like sweet, warm syrup.
They shut out the room and everything in it. Soon the only thing existing for them was each other
and the feel of their hearts pounding amid the strong, steady surges of their tongues battling in the grip of fierce emotion. Davia gasped sharply when she felt the proof of Kale’s arousal against her. He felt it, too, and was breaking the kiss to put his forehead to hers.
“We should probably hit the road.” His words were labored and he fought to calm his breathing. “My part in this thing is done. We’re out of here tomorrow and I want as much time with you as I can have before then.”
Davia pressed her nose against his cheek. “You’re having time with me now,” she murmured.
“Not for what I want to do with you. It’s not nearly the right place for what I want to do with you.”
“We could always stay here longer—in Miami.”
Kale grinned over the tempting idea. “If only we didn’t need to go back and get a decision so we know where we stand with that property. Besides,” he added as he gave another tug to a lock of her clipped hair, “I need to get you back. You’ve got some thinking to do.”
Davia’s curiosity piqued momentarily but before she could ask what he meant, his eyes lit on her lips and all she felt was arousal. This time when he whispered that they needed to get out of there, she didn’t hesitate.
Chapter 17
Kale and Davia were returning to Iowa before lunch the next day. Though the trip had been a quick one, both felt extremely rejuvenated and ready to tackle the challenges facing them.
Barry and Estelle weren’t at the inn when they arrived. After a short call to Barry’s cell, Kale discovered that the couple was tending to their other responsibilities—Estelle with her boutique and Barry with town council business. Still, the Waverlys were most interested to hear about the Miami trip. Barry had a special interest as he was a huge Xyler Chronicles fan. The couples decided to meet up at the town café for lunch.
Kale and Davia were seated in a booth, awaiting the Waverlys, when the sound of Davia’s laughter reached him from her side of the table. “What is it?”
She was studying the street from the window next to their table. “I was just thinking what a difference a day makes,” she said while she stirred her coffee. “From sun and fun to snow and relaxation.”
“Relaxation?” Kale smiled curiously. “I thought that’s what Miami was for.”
“Seriously?” Davia ceased her stirring. “I don’t know how you get any rest down there.”
“You’re one to talk.” Kale laughed. “I bet you don’t get much rest in the middle of San Francisco’s hustle and bustle.”
“I’d bet I get more than you do in Miami.” Davia tempered her wager with a small grimace. “But less than I’d get here.” She picked up her coffee mug and offered a small toast. “There’s a peace to all this,” she said as she studied the warm glow of indoor lighting that peeked past frosty shop windows along Main Street. “It’s a peace you think about when you’re home.”
“So you’re saying Mullins is growing on you?” Kale chuckled, returning to browse the folder he’d been studying at the table.
“You can’t deny that this place hasn’t appealed to something in you.”
“Oh, you’re right about that.”
The look in his deep stare was easy to read and soon Davia had a fine idea of what had appealed to him the most.
“I really hope this plan of yours works, Kale,” she was saying once their laughter had eased. “It’d be great to build something special here—something the people we love would be proud of.”
Kale waited a beat and then dropped a thoughtful look at the folder he’d been studying. “Do those people include Martella?”
Her nod was slow but firm. “Definitely yes. Tella, too. At this point, I think we owe it to her.” A hint of resolve took control of her expression then. “I was thinking about what we talked about—me closing that private place where I was holding on to all the guilt I had about her.”
Curiosity brightened Kale’s expression.
“I’m ready to do that,” Davia said.
Kale smiled. “I think she deserves it, don’t you? So long as we never forget that she’s too special to be completely removed from our thoughts.”
Davia’s nod became an enthusiastic one that she followed up with quick laughter. “I think she would’ve gotten a kick out of knowing we own a piece of land and that we were planning to build a movie theater on top of it. She always did love a good turn of irony.”
“How ironic do you think she’d find this?” Kale opened the folder and turned the contents to her.
Davia leaned forward. It was another glossy photo of a theater. But this one sent her nostalgia rising and brought a poignant smile to her face.
“Tella...” Davia inched her fingers across the photo as she remembered her friend. She raised tear-sheened hazel eyes to Kale. “It’s her theater.”
Kale nodded, his expression carrying a similar poignancy. “It’s one of a few shots I took when I visited for ideas. I guess I could’ve just printed images from the web site, but there was something about being there.”
“Such a great place.” Davia scanned the photo with unrelenting intent. “So you sold it back to her family.”
He studied the photo and nodded. “My plan was to let some time pass and then sell it back to her. She knew I had no intention of keeping it and I knew she’d make it hard for me to return it, but I could see how much she loved it.”
“I heard there’s a row of art galleries there now.”
“Better than a parking deck.”
“So what’s your plan?” Davia asked.
Kale shifted another look to the photo. “I think it speaks for itself.”
Her lips parted in surprise. “You want to recreate Tella’s theater here in Mullins?”
“Besides its original locale, can you think of anywhere else it’d be more at home?”
“Nowhere,” Davia sighed.
The volume of voices in the café heightened noticeably and then someone was calling over to Kale and Davia.
“You two might want to get over to the town hall ASAP.”
“Yeah, it sounds like Mitch Barns is on another one of his king-of-the-world rampages. He called an emergency meeting and everything.”
Kale and Davia exchanged looks that were equally dismayed.
Groaning, Kale stood. “This can’t be good.”
* * *
It took quite a while to get the collected crowd settled that afternoon. As with the previous meeting, word had spread quickly about the primary topic on the day’s agenda. Several shops along Main Street closed down as proprietors as well as their patrons made quick dashes for town hall.
Everyone wanted to claim a good seat for the fireworks that could always be expected when Mitchell Barns was on a rant. A great seat for impending drama, however, wasn’t the only reason for the rowdiness of the crowd that afternoon.
Audience members were either huddled close where they sat or dispersed around the lofty room in groups of three or more. Excitedly, they chattered away with their heads angled in study of the photos they carried. Once Kale and Davia arrived, several made a point of stopping by to speak to them and to shake hands, while others waved from afar with their photos aloft. Photos of Mullins from back in the day. Photos of their family members.
“Looks like your idea was a hit.” Davia smiled appreciatively at all the happy faces beaming inside the great hall.
Kale’s handsome face was a picture of approval, as well, before it showed signs of trepidation when he gave a single nod toward the front of the room. “Looks like we’re about to find out what the consequences of a good idea are.”
Concern began to fray Davia’s happiness, too, when she spotted the council members claiming their places at the front of the room. The twelve men and women all wore similar looks of unease. All, includi
ng Mitch Barns. The audience was still filing into their seats by the time Estelle found Kale and Davia and took the chair they’d saved for her.
“Do you know what this is about, Estelle?” Davia asked.
Estelle shook her head, her ebony stare wide with uncertainty. “No idea. No one’s got any idea. The call for the meeting came from Mitch’s secretary a couple of hours ago. Barry said the woman gave no details other than the time of the meeting.”
“Wonder if there was something in those photos I sent to Sheila Barns that her husband didn’t like.”
Estelle sighed over Kale’s concern. “Memories of the past can be a reawakening for some people. For others, they can be more painful than a root canal.”
Kale began to stroke his jaw while considering Estelle’s words. “People do like to lash out when they’re in pain, don’t they?”
Davia couldn’t help but think of her own reactions to the past as of late. Fists clenching, she observed the group of grim-faced council members and tried to get a bead on their thoughts.
Council Chair Lucille Clancy stood behind the console and raised her hands to encourage order. She eventually resorted to a light bang of her gavel to gain the crowd’s attention. Gradually the audience began to take notice that things were getting under way.
“Thank you, everyone, for coming to order.” The councilwoman graced the crowd with a welcoming smile. “Things will be a little informal this afternoon as this isn’t an official meeting. With that said, I’ll turn the floor over to my fellow council member, Mr. Mitchell Barns, who has a few words to say. Mitch?”
Mitchell Barns made a slow push to his feet and nodded to his colleague. “Thank you, Madam Chair, for allowing this spur-of-the-moment gathering and thanks to my fellow council members for taking time out of your schedules to join me here today. I apologize for the mystery and I know you’re all understandably confused about what’s going on.”
“Try edgy as hell,” Estelle grumbled and then smiled when Davia reached over to squeeze her hand.
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