“Yes and no. I always knew I wanted to get into a career that involved the environment. My father encouraged me to go to school for forestry. I chose wildlife biology and took some forestry classes.”
“What do you love about what you do?”
She pushed the salad away and leaned her elbows on the table, blurring his view of her through the candle flame. “Being outside. Preserving the forest and the wildlife.”
Humble indeed. She cared about doing good in this world. She was driven like him. Smart, too. Decker experienced a jolt of excitement along with his increasing awareness of her, her sexy shape, her hair, her eyes, everything. He definitely wanted to see her again.
“I found a small pack of gray wolves,” she said. “They haven’t existed in the Colorado Rockies since the nineteen forties. Sightings are increasing, which means they are likely crossing the state line from Wyoming.”
“Fascinating.” He didn’t mean her sighting. He meant her.
* * *
Kendall hadn’t expected to enjoy this dinner as much as she did, and not just the food and the presentation of the courses. Decker surprised her. He was so honest, about his father and his work and himself. Gone were any traces of Mr. Popular in high school. He’d grown into a real man and truly fit the tall, dark and handsome cliché to the T. Decker dressed impeccably but not in an overstated way and she sensed his genuine humility and respect for others. That’s where he differed from Russ.
She stood from the table. Having finished the rest of the courses of filet mignon, cheese on a wooden board and a remarkably colorful and tasty dessert, she could literally roll out of the sunroom.
Just outside the room, Decker stopped and faced her. “I’m not ready for this to end. How about I show you my favorite part of this house?”
She could put off meeting her parents, who would surely expect a synopsis on how the dinner went. Besides, she was more than a little curious to see what Decker liked most about his parents’ gorgeous and ostentatious home.
“I would love that,” she said, arrested by his answering grin and how it made his dark eyes smolder.
He led her upstairs and down a hallway. At the end, there was a doorway. To her right she saw a narrow stairway.
“That’s for the staff. It leads to the prep kitchen and their quarters.”
Decker opened the door at the end of the hall. It was narrower than the others along the way.
He flipped on the light and Kendall found herself looking up another stairway.
The wooden stairs creaked as she stepped up. The space didn’t appear to be cared for regularly. The scratched and light-stained wood needed a polish to stand up to the rest of the grandeur of the house.
At the top, Decker entered what appeared to be an attic, or a space that hadn’t been finished. Boxes on one side and furniture on the other gave evidence to that end. There were toys on the floor there, along with an open antique trunk that must be worth a fortune. But everything was dusty.
She glanced at Decker, who seemed to be waiting for her reaction.
She had one. “This is your favorite room?” she asked incredulously.
“It’s the one with the most character.”
He definitely had a point there. The rest of the manor, except the sunroom where they had dinner, was rather cold. Now she was sure he had chosen that room for this very reason.
She felt her heart flutter with greater interest in the man she had only known from afar.
Wandering farther into the six-hundred or so square foot room, she loved the two dormer windows facing the back of the house and the open ceiling. The space had a rustic and unfinished charm.
“The room was too small according to my mother,” Decker said. “It turned into a storage area and the servants took it over. Their kids would come up here and play.”
“Every kid should have an attic to play in.” Kendall smiled. “As long as it’s not haunted.”
He chuckled. “The house isn’t old enough for that, although I’m sure there are plenty of distant Colton relatives who might have cause to haunt us.”
Kendall could not believe how much she enjoyed talking to him. He was so witty and had a lurking sense of humor. As she continued to softly smile, his demeanor changed. He watched her like a man who hadn’t just had a several-course meal. He watched her hungrily.
“Why do you like this room so much more than the rest of the house?” she asked again.
His gaze scanned the dusty, disheveled room before finding hers again. “It’s honest.”
“Honest?” She didn’t quite understand.
“I wouldn’t trade my success or my money for anything, nor would I live in any other kind of house than the one I own, but this—with all its imperfections—is a reminder that humility is important.”
She could relate. She respected the wilderness a little bit like that. She liked nice things, just as he did, but being outdoors and in nature, sharing the land with wild animals, was a much different environment. “Not everything has to be perfect and cost a lot.”
“I am going to ask the staff to clean the place up, though.” He grinned and once again she found herself rapt with fascination over the transformation and the light in his eyes.
“And I did have more of a motive to bring you here,” he continued. “Away from prying eyes, I can put to test something that’s got me curious.”
Hearing and seeing his playfulness, she went along with him. “Oh yeah? What is that?”
He put his hand on her lower back and pulled her gently toward him, until she was flush against him. “I only know of one way to see if we’re compatible.”
With her hands on his chest and staring up at his face, she did nothing as he lowered his head and kissed her.
Tingles spread from the point of contact. He kept the touch soft and light but the warmth quickly heated into something more passionate. He pressed slightly harder and moved his mouth as though he meant to take the kiss deeper. Instead, he withdrew, letting out a long breath with his eyes smoldering hotter than before.
Kendall let go her own breath, unexpectedly starved for air. He removed his hand and she stepped back.
“Well, that answers my question,” he quipped.
Flustered, she said, “W-we should get back. Our parents are probably waiting for us.” Decker walked with her through the mansion toward the formal living room, where a servant informed them coffee would be served. Kendall would venture to guess this was when Russ would want to talk about an arranged marriage.
Sure enough, the four parents chatted there, already sipping coffee.
“Ah, here they are.” Russ stood from a sofa that faced an identical one where Kendall’s parents sat.
She took a chair next to her mother and Decker sat on the one beside her. A beaming Russ sat back down.
“How did it go?” her mother asked.
Feeling like a teenager after a first kiss again, Kendall replied, “Wonderful.” She turned to Mara and Russ. “Please give your chef my compliments.”
“He is an outstanding executive chef,” Russ said. “He vets our chefs for The Lodge and The Chateau.”
“Very nice,” Kendall murmured.
“Well?” Russ turned to his son. “When shall we plan the wedding?”
Decker looked at Kendall. “That’s up to Kendall.”