Her Unexpected Admirer Page 0,61
scattered all over the country right now, but we get together pretty regularly.”
A slight smile started forming. It was small, but the light of hope that was simmering inside of her flamed just a little bit bigger. “You’ve told me stories. I’m not sure if I’m strong enough to meet your brothers.”
Davis chuckled. “Yes you are. You’re a strong, powerful woman who is a creative genius.”
That was an odd statement but Kate thought he was just trying to revive her self-esteem after years of having it beaten down by her father. Thankfully, she’d had a solid upbringing with her mother’s kindness. “You don’t know anything about my creativity.”
He smiled slightly, his eyes never leaving her face. “Oh, you have no idea how much about your creativity that I understand.”
She thought he was just talking about their sex life. “Where are we going?”
He shrugged one huge shoulder, maintaining a hold on her gaze. “You’re going to have to trust me.”
She leaned back in the chair. “I don’t trust you.” But she was smiling. Her fears built up because of her father’s rejection were non-existent with Davis. That didn’t mean she was going to shout her love of painting to anyone who asked, but she felt enormously better knowing that he didn’t think it was silly. Davis’ opinion, she suddenly thought, was more important than anyone else’s.
“You love me. You have to trust me. It comes along with the territory.”
She crossed her legs and arms, looking across at him. “Who says love and trust go hand in hand?”
He laughed softly. “Finish your breakfast,” he ordered. “You’re going to need all the energy you can get once we land in Atlanta.”
He changed the subject after that and wouldn’t give her any clue as to what was happening next. As soon as they landed, Davis led her through the parking lot to a grey jaguar parked alongside the airport for private planes. He drove for less than thirty minutes, still refusing to tell her anything. It wasn’t until they were pulling up outside of a beautiful, old house with a lovely garden and enormous weeping willow trees that he explained. The door opened immediately as soon as they pulled up outside the house. “This is my house,” he told her, waving to the matronly woman standing on the stoop. “That’s Ms. Dramond who cooks and cleans for me, takes care of the place while I’m traveling.”
Kate nodded, still not sure what was going on. “Ms. Dramond, this is my future wife, Kate Evans,” he said, introducing the two women. Kate’s eyes snapped up to his. She hadn’t agreed to marry him, but it certainly sounded wonderful to her ears.
“It is a delight to meet you, Ms. Evans. It’s about time this annoying man decided to get married. I’ve been nagging for him to start a family for years.”
Kate blushed at the idea, but she liked that too. And she liked Ms. Dramond immediately. “It is a pleasure to meet you. And please, call me Kate.” She didn’t like being called Ms. Evans. It sounded much too formal for who she felt she was inside.
They shook hands and Kate felt a warmth that she hadn’t felt in a long time as the older woman covered her hands in greeting. “I’m going to whip up something warm and fattening for dinner tonight. You look like you need a bit more meat on your bones.”
Kate looked to Davis to see how he would react but he seemed to be in perfect agreement with that idea. She looked down at herself and noticed her jeans sort of hanging a bit on her frame. Well, perhaps she could stand to gain a few pounds she thought.
“I’m going to take her around to the back. I have something to show her before I give her a tour of the house. We’ll be back in a few minutes,” he explained.
“Show her Jimmy’s roses. He’s been swooning over them lately and devastated that the fall is going to stop their blooming.” And with that, she moved back inside to do whatever it was that she did inside the house.
Davis took her along a pathway that was partially hidden by the stunning gardens. More weeping willows draped over a wooden bridge that crossed a creek and all along the edge of the pathway, different plants were growing every which way. “This is gorgeous!” she gushed, pulling a curtain of leaves back to step through the garden.
“I agree. Jimmy is Ms. Dramond’s husband and