Chapter Eight
“We’re making a quick stop—I want to show you something.”
She frowned but didn’t say anything. The place was only two streets down, and a few minutes later he stopped in front of a big showroom full of cars.
Dana looked at him. “Why are we stopping here?” she asked, ice lacing her voice.
He got out of the car. “To look. We have time. You need a car; they sell cars.”
“These are brand-new cars. I can’t afford any of them,” Dana said and stared straight ahead.
David walked around the car and opened her door. This had seemed such an obvious solution that he didn’t understand why she was so stubborn.
“You can’t know that if you don’t look. Besides, they also have secondhand cars. Just look. You don’t have to buy anything.”
She sat, obviously fuming, for a few minutes more before she got reluctantly out of the car.
Clutching her bag under her arm, she turned to him. “I told you I can take care of myself, I can buy my own car, I can—”
He bent down and kissed her. It was the only way he could think of to shut her up. He lifted his head slightly and smiled down at her.
“I know. But here we are. Let’s see what they have that might suit you.”
She inhaled sharply and put one hand on her hip, but before she could say another word, he kissed her again. It seemed to get her to be quiet at least for one minute.
“You can’t keep doing that.” She hissed. “I’m—”
Before she could utter another word, he simply kissed her again. But this time, she bit his bottom lip again, as she had done not so long ago when he’d kissed her for the first time. And, like that time, his body reacted instantly. Blood pooled below his belt, leaving him breathless.
With a triumphant glint in her eyes, she turned way and walked toward the showroom. The little minx; she knew exactly what she did to him.
Groaning, he stood still, willing his body to return to normal. With a mocking glance over her shoulder, Dana entered the showroom, making it clear she knew exactly why he wasn’t already following her.
He smiled and slowly followed her. She knew what she did to him and blatantly used it. But two could play this game. There was no way he could leave her with the upper hand.
When he entered the big showroom, she was already talking to one of the salesmen. One who was standing way too close to her for his liking. He quickly joined them and slung an arm around her shoulders, staking his claim.
With a nod, the salesman smiled in his direction, indicating he’d received the message.
While Dana explained what she was looking for, David looked around and played with her hair with his fingers. She tried to move away, but he moved so he was behind her and put both his arms around her body.
“Well, sweetheart,” he said, pulling her close to him, “I’m sure you’ll find something here.”
Dana turned her head and smiled up at him.
He didn’t trust the light in her eyes, and a second later he knew why. She touched his face, and when he lifted his arms to pull her even closer, she slipped under his arm and skittered away to the secondhand car section.
“What can you tell me about this one?” she asked the salesman, smiling up at the guy.
*
Dana was beginning to enjoy the whole thing.
David was obviously used to having his own way most of the time.
But she could manage her own life and didn’t need a rich man to help her out.
He was probably trying to ease his conscience this way, but it wasn’t necessary—she was fair enough to understand he wasn’t the one responsible for what had happened to her dad.
But it was a heady feeling to see David Cavallo at a loss for words for once, to see that only a touch of her hand could rattle him.
Although her own flirting was playing havoc with her hormones, if she was honest, she liked the way his eyes darkened as they had just now when she’d touched his face.
While batting her eyelashes at the salesman, she cast a furtive look in David’s direction. His eyes narrowed, and it was clear he didn’t like her flirting with another man. Which, of course, was all the motivation she needed to move a little bit closer to the poor guy.
The salesman talked and explained, opened doors, showed her the engine—all of which went way over her head. But she nodded, trying to look interested, although she’d known from the beginning she wouldn’t be able to afford any of these cars.
“Well, thank you very much. I’m afraid I’ve wasted your time, but—”
“The price on this one?” David asked, coming closer.
Irritated, Dana turned to walk away, but when she heard the figure the salesman mentioned, she looked around, stunned.
“Really? I thought they’d go for a lot more.”
“Well, normally they do.” The salesman gave David a nervous look. “But we have a special today.”
David started asking questions, and Dana walked around the car again while her brain was working overtime. She had enough saved to pay for the car, but now her mother wanted money again.
Her mother used to be a kindergarten teacher, and after her dad’s death, Dana thought her mom would like to go back to teaching again.
Dana had actually been able to find her a teaching job at the local primary school, but her mother had been horrified.
How could Dana even think such a thing; she didn’t have the stamina, etcetera, etcetera.
Maybe she should try to talk to her mother again. If she was prepared to work again, it would be such a big help. But maybe she was being selfish, maybe her mother was too frail.
“So, what do you think?” David’s voice pulled her back.
“I… don’t know. Let me think about it?” she said to the salesman.
“Of course, but we can talk about the price again. I could even go lower.” He mentioned a figure.
Dana’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “Really? That sounds even better. I’ll think—”
“What’s to think about?” David interrupted. “This is a good make, you like it, it’s available. What’s more, you need a car.”
Dana lifted her chin. “I said I’ll think about it,” she said before turning to the salesman again. “Thank you for your time. If you give me your card, I’ll let you know.”
“Of course.” He handed her his card.
On their way back to the car, David flung his arms around her shoulders again. “You’re going to take the car. You could just as well have signed the papers.”
Dana looked up at him. “I said I’ll think about it. There are a lot of things I have to consider.”
David opened the car door for her, and she slid in. “I know. But you’ve made another conquest back there. If you decide to take it, the salesman will probably offer to deliver the car to you.”
Dana nodded. She hadn’t even thought about the fact that come Monday, David would probably be back in Cape Town. Restlessly, she moved in her seat while he walked around to his side. She’d miss him. And she didn’t know that she liked the feeling.
Within the span of a few days David Cavallo had become an integral part of her life. She was even buying a car with him!
*
“So, who is this guy?” Dana asked as they stopped in front of a huge house in the beautiful small coastal village of Kleinmond.
“Sam Jordan.” David opened his door. “He was one of the financial advisors I spoke to two years ago.”
Dana stared at the big house. It was a huge place sprawling over what looked like at least three plots and had a lovely view of the sea. She didn’t know much about real estate, but she knew a house with this kind of view would be pricey. Very pricey.
What had happened had clearly not affected this Sam guy. If he had been punished in any way, he’d bounced back quickly enough.
David opened her car door.
Frowning, she got out. “You don’t have to open car doors for me, David. I can do it—”
Before she could finish the sentence, his mouth was descending on hers.
She tried to keep his mouth from reaching her by pushing against his shoulders. “Don’t do that…” She moaned into his mouth.
Then her brain cells ceased to function.
When he lifted his head, they were both breathing hard. “If you keep telling me you can do things yourself, we’ll end up making love before the end of the day.” David growled and closed the car door. He took her hand and, stunned, she let him.
Making love. Immediately, the two words conjured images of their entwined bodies. The heat from his hand around hers spread lightning-quick through her bloodstream, making it difficult to breathe.
“David, d-don’t,” she stuttered.
He pulled her hand through his arm and walked in the direction of the front door. “Then accept that I want to help you.” He smiled, and lifting her hand, he kissed her fingers. “Let’s find out what really happened, and then we can get on with the rest of our lives.”
That warm feeling she kept experiencing when he was around opened up inside of her again, and she swallowed.
If she wasn’t careful, this man might steal her heart.
Having had her fair share of bad dates, some of which her friend Caitlin had blogged about, she’d learned that most men are only interested in their own comfort and are usually so full of themselves they hardly noticed anyone else who needed help.
But not David. It was as if he knew what she needed even before she realized it herself. But she had to remember this was a temporary thing. As he’d just said, after this, they’d be able to go on with their lives.
He was on a mission to help her, but once the puzzle had been solved, once he’d done what he’d set out to do, she’d probably only see him again at family gatherings. As a family friend. Which was a good thing. Wasn’t it?
They’d reached the front door and David knocked.
*
Half an hour later David drove them away from the big house. Dana was silent. He glanced at her. He was learning to read her body language.
When she became quiet, like she was at the moment, she was trying to sort things out in her head.
“He was very friendly,” David said.
She turned her head in his direction. “Very.”
“But…” they said simultaneously.
Dana smiled. “Yeah, but… His smile never wavered, but he was a bit vague, don’t you think? He never answered a direct question.”
David nodded. “I agree. For one, he never answered your question about whether he knew for sure if your dad was also selling Hastings’s product. I wonder why.”
“Plus, I still don’t know what his part in the whole thing was. He managed to evade all questions about that.”
“Well, he definitely marketed the product and received commissions. But it’s obvious he’s never spent any time in jail.
The guy we’re going to see in Caledon, Toby Johnson, went to jail for a year.
There were several articles about him, but I couldn’t find anything else on Sam.
And he evaded all our questions about that. ”
Dana fell silent for a few minutes. “He has a big house,” she remarked.
“It would be easy enough to find out when he bought it and what the price was,” David said.
“You could do that?”
David smiled. “Finding things out was my job for about ten years, remember. I was an investigative reporter; I investigated.”
Dana became quiet again, and David turned onto the N2 toward Caledon.
This part of the Western Cape was known as the Overberg, literally meaning over the mountain.
In front of them lay the beautiful countryside.
Nowadays kilometers of vineyards could be found alongside the highway, but the region was mostly known for producing wheat.
It was a beautiful summer day, and although talking to these people was not something he wanted to be doing, driving through this part of the country with Dana next to him was quite something.
“So, why didn’t you finish your story two years ago? I mean, I know you were angry with the editor, but didn’t you want to know how the whole thing ended? That is, if you don’t mind my asking?”
“No, it’s fine. It’s not as if I haven’t asked myself the same question, you know?
But I was so ticked off, had been for a while actually, and this story was just the final straw.
It was also around that time Don asked us if we wanted to join his business.
For me it was a no-brainer. Although I loved the reporting bit, the politics wasn’t for me.
The paper I was working for was also moving in a direction I wasn’t comfortable with.
Yes, I believe the public has a right to know, but it was relying more and more on a sensational kind of reporting, wanting us to draw conclusions, and as far as I’m concerned that wasn’t my job.
My job was to report facts. That’s why I was so angry.
I very specifically told the editor I was still checking facts, but he wanted to sell newspapers and ran with the story.
So I simply walked away, turning my back on everything. ”
“So, why do you want to get involved again?”
He glanced at her. She was genuinely puzzled.
“Surely you must know why?” He smiled, but she gave him a blank look.
“Because of you,” he said simply. “You seem so confident that your dad could not have been involved. And to tell you the truth, I’ve never stopped thinking about the case.
Your dad’s death has been haunting me ever since I found out. ”
She folded her hands and looked down. “The dad I knew was a caring, loving man. He wouldn’t knowingly have been dishonest—it was simply not part of his nature.”
“You were close?”
Dana nodded. “Very. He was my rock, my go-to person. If it hadn’t been for Caitlin and her mom, I don’t know how I would have coped after his death.”
“You and your mother don’t get along?” David asked then held his breath. Would she answer such a question?
She shrugged. “We’re just so different, and she struggles to cope with life.” She didn’t elaborate, but sadness filled her voice.
He couldn’t imagine another kind of mother than his own.
Even though she had always worked as a chef, first for other people and then in her own restaurant, her children had always been, and still were, her priority in life.
And as far as he was concerned, that was how mothers were supposed to operate—they handled things, they hugged, and they wiped tears.
But it sounded like in Dana’s case she was the one having to do the hugging and the handling.
Taking her hand in his, they drove the last few kilometers in silence.