AlTonya Washington - Silver Screen Romance

“I have.”

“Something I said?”

Davia’s thinly veiled insinuation was met with a grin that broadened as he spoke.

“It is, actually.” Kale could see the wave of shock freeze her exquisite features.

There was no going back now. The conversation he’d just as soon put off until...well, never, would soon be under way. Before that, he thought a little clarification of his earlier comment was in order.

“It’s about what I overheard you say when you walked in earlier.”

Davia drew into herself, attempting to rewind her thoughts.

“You said you’d planned to be out of town for the next few days, maybe longer,” Kale supplied.

“Yeah. That...that’s right.” Davia silently admitted she was stumped, having no clue where the conversation was headed.

“May I assume you meant out of town in Mullins?”

“You may.” Davia folded her arms over her chest. Her curiosity was through the roof.

Kale lowered his head as if deeply focused on the unraveling of a mystery. “Is it also safe to assume that you’re not thinking about selling your part of the property?”

“Well, I... No.” Davia blinked, once again stumped. “No, I don’t think I could sell it, Mr. Asante.”

He shook his head. “Just Kale. Kale’s fine.” Actually, most everyone who knew him referred to him by his first initial but—and he would only admit it to himself—he very much wanted to hear her say his name.

Davia obliged. “Kale. I just don’t think I could sell it.”

The hint of a frown began to darken his dreamily crafted face. “Why? Did your lawyer say something that turned you against it?”

Davia remained cool. “Well, no, it...it’s a gift. Or it was. A gift from my aunt—something she would’ve wanted me to have.” She left her perch on the desk and moved to the floor-to-ceiling windows that provided a spectacular late-evening view of the Bay area.

“I have my aunt to thank for my career.” Davia’s voice held a soft, faraway tone that hinted of some nostalgic air. “She could’ve done anything with that property had she known about it. That it’s come to me...that it belonged to her...that means something to me.”

Kale had moved to the windows. He stroked his jaw, a contemplative look taking over his features. “Yeah... I see what you mean,” he murmured while he looked out over the evening skies, as well.

Davia turned, resting her shoulder against one of the tall windows. She watched him, trying to decipher the path of his thoughts.

Kale didn’t keep her in the dark for long. “Why do you think your aunt and my uncle left it to us? Why are we just finding out about it now?”

Davia let a quiet sigh escape. The question was nothing new to her. “I asked my lawyer the same thing. She doesn’t think it was so much left to us as it was an asset that was somehow overlooked when the estates were settled after their deaths.” She stood back to fix him with a kind smile.

“I don’t know how it went with your uncle, but my aunt never married, never had kids. Everything she had went to me. We, um, we were close like that.”

“Same with me and my uncle.” Kale turned, putting his back against the window. “My mom’s got four brothers, but she and Uncle Bry—Bryant Leak was his name—were closest in age and he was the one I bonded the closest with.” He smiled, the nostalgic air having claimed him then, as well.

“I got my love of the movies from my uncle.” Kale grinned, resting his head back on the window. His grin took on a heightened definition when he heard Davia laugh.

“I’ve got my aunt to thank for that,” she said. “That’s why all my projects are theaters.”

“Same here,” Kale concurred. “So what do you think caught their eye in Mullins, Iowa, that made them buy it?”

Davia shrugged. “Did your uncle ever mention the place?” She strolled back to her desk, resting against the edge once more.

“Not a peep.” Kale pushed off from the window. “I never heard of it before talking to my lawyer yesterday.”

“Yeah, me, either.” Davia sighed. “I guess it’s worth it to at least go and see what’s out there. Then I can decide where to go from there.”

“Well, just so you know, I don’t plan to fight over it—whatever it is. I mean to accept whatever offer you make me and I only plan to accept it from you.”

Davia closed her mouth once she’d finally realized it was hanging open. Easing off the desk, she reclaimed the chair behind it. “Why would you do something like that?” she managed to ask after a lengthy pause. “From what I’ve heard, there’s some developer already interested in the area. You’re sure to get a pretty penny from selling to them. Why give me the option?”

Kale claimed the spot Davia had abandoned along the edge of her desk. “A few reasons.”

She laughed, swiveling her chair a bit. “You still haven’t shared all the reasons you came to see me.”

“That’s right.” He gave a playful wince that simply intensified the dreamy appeal of his creamy, chocolate-doused features. “Like I said, I came to see you about selling the place.” His expression turned more serious and his eyes darkened. “I also came to see if you were as incredible to look at in person as you were in the file photo my lawyer gave to me.”

Davia felt her heart make an unexpected and frantic shimmy into the back of her throat.

“And...I came to talk to you about Martella Friedman.”

Davia’s heart stumbled into a suddenly upset stomach. She sighed. “And just when we were getting along so well.”

Chapter 3

“So your generous offer is motivated by guilt.”

“No.”

Davia regarded him through narrowed eyes. “Then why are we discussing Martella Friedman?”

“Because you’re misinformed about what went on there.”

“I see... Misinformed that you seduced her business out from under her.”

His laughter was brief yet full of genuine humor.

“Very misinformed,” he insisted.

Davia resented the feel of her mouth tightening but she couldn’t help it. “Kale, this all went down years ago, you know? Why offer an explanation about it now?”

“We’ve never been business partners before.”

“We aren’t business partners now.”

He gave a slight nod. “Closest we’ve ever come.”

“Not quite.” Davia left her chair and returned to stare out over her view again.

“I was there the day her creditors came calling.”

Davia rounded on him, her expression a mixture of amazement and suspicion. “I think you mean her predators.” The clarification sounded hard as stone.

Kale seemed satisfied. “Looks like we’ve at least got a little information in common.”

Davia turned to the windows again. She didn’t want to cry for her friend in front of this man—this stranger. “So, what happened? How is it you came to own Tella’s theater?”

Kale smoothed his fist inside his palm. “I think you know I don’t own it now.”

“But you did. Explain that.”

Kale took a seat in Davia’s desk chair, appreciating the decadent peach suede encasing every inch of the furnishing. “I was there that day for inspiration for an annex I was building on one of my multiplexes. I was looking for something inviting, quaint... Martella’s theater had what I wanted...what I was hoping to recreate in my spot. That’s all. We weren’t in business, Davia.” He waited, hoping she would turn so that he could judge her expression. There, he hoped to find just a little understanding. When she didn’t turn, he continued.

“I was on my way out for the day. I was in town for a few days and had planned to come back to make a few notes before I left for Miami. I went by her office to let her know that I was going and I overheard her inside with her...creditors. It didn’t take much to get the gist of what was up. The place wasn’t open yet for business. I guess they figured they’d caught her there alone.” He paused as the memory overtook him.