AlTonya Washington - Silver Screen Romance

“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.” Kale 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.