Sweet Southern Nights

Smiling, Levi shook his head. “No. He’s a judge.”

“So he likes putting away the bad guys.”

“He loves it.”

Angela’s eyes lit up in excitement when her mind churned with ideas. “Tell me about the Eatons, Levi.”

Levi took a surreptitious glance at his watch. It was after ten—much later than he thought. Somehow he’d lost track of time talking with Angela, and for him that was a good sign. “Perhaps I’ll tell you about them some other time. Besides, you know enough about me so that we won’t seem to be total strangers tomorrow.”

“What do I tell people when they ask how long we’ve been seeing each other?”

“We tell them the truth.”

“And that is?”

“We’ve just started dating.”

Angela nodded, wondering if that explanation would satisfy her mother. That was why she was always reluctant to introduce a man to her family—her mother in particular. She’d immediately launch into an interrogation. Her father was less concerned with her love life as long as word didn’t get back to him that some guy had caused her grief.

Benton Chase had wanted to personally go after Robert when he ran off with her maid of honor. It had taken everything for Angela to convince the men in her family not to inflict bodily harm on Robert Gaskin. She had always been a believer in “what goes around comes around.” If he cheated on her, he would eventually cheat on his new bride or she would cheat on him.

When Angela’s engagement had been announced, a collective sigh went up all over Louisville since she’d managed to snag one of the city’s most eligible bachelors. They were the perfect couple—the children of two of Kentucky’s most prominent African-American families. Uniting the Chase and Gaskin families was cause for celebration, and had Louisville buzzing.

However, what Angela didn’t know at the time was that her fiancé had been sleeping with her best friend, Savannah, who was to be her maid of honor. They’d managed to keep their relationship a secret until the night before she and Robert were to be married. A few hours after the rehearsal dinner, Robert had called to tell her that he and Savannah were flying to Las Vegas to marry, because they were expecting.

What had surprised Angela most was that she didn’t cry. Pain, humiliation and anger had rendered her emotionless. It was as if all of her feelings were suppressed, and as her life unfolded she seemed to be just going through the motions.

She shifted in her chair when she heard soft meowing. Miss Divine had emerged from her hiding place in the laundry room. Pushing back his chair, Levi stood up. “I didn’t know you had a kitten.” He stared at the tiny white feline with splotches of dark brown fur. Her eyes were blue-gray, and her nose was pink and black, with a long tail that was darker brown than the rest of her body.

“Miss Divine is not a kitten. She’s almost four.”

Levi approached the cat as she sat still, watching him come closer. “Is she the runt?”

“Miss Dee is not a runt!”

He gestured at Miss Divine. “What else can she be, Angela? She’s no bigger than a six-month-old kitten.”

Angela walked over to her cat. And when she leaned over to pick her up, Miss Divine scooted to sit between Levi’s legs. “Come here, baby,” she said, beckoning her closer. Miss Divine responded by rubbing her face against the leg of Levi’s trousers.

“Why you little traitor,” she gasped when Levi picked her up.

Levi rubbed a finger over the soft fur. “She knows I like cats.”

Angela rolled her eyes. “Miss Dee is usually skittish around strangers. Whenever the doorbell rings she runs and hides.”

“I’ve never seen a full-grown cat this small.”

“She’s what is called a Singapura. The breed originated from feral cats that lived in the drains of Singapore. Because they’re quite scarce in the States, they are very expensive. I heard that an owner of a male Singapura was offered ten thousand dollars from a breeder.”

“That’s incredible.” He smiled when the cat purred loudly. “You came to see who’s taking up your mama’s time, didn’t you, Miss Divine?” He winked at Angela. “Do you think she’s a little jealous?”

“Don’t flatter yourself, Levi.” He gave her a smile that made her heart stop, and then start up again much too quickly.

“You wouldn’t say that if I took her home with me.”

Angela let out a gasp. “You wouldn’t!”

He winked at her. “I would if you let me.”

“That’s not happening. I would’ve thought you were a dog lover, not cats.” Levi angled his head and stared at Angela as she stared up at him. It was the first time he noticed that her head only came to his shoulders, even though she was wearing heels. He was six-two, and if he had to guess, Angela was at least eight inches shorter than him in her bare feet.

“I like dogs, too. But cats are different. They’re more independent and completely unpredictable. You have to walk dogs, play fetch, and they hog up the space on the sofa when you’re trying to watch a game. I doubt whether this little darling weighs more than six pounds.”

“She weighed four pounds during her last visit to the vet.”

His gaze shifted to the cat purring contently in his arms. “She likes me.”

“I like you, too. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you live with me.”

Without warning, Levi’s expression became stoic. “Did I ask if I could live with you?”

Her face reddened, the color settling in her cheeks. “I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.”

Levi handed Miss Divine to Angela. “You can cradle your baby, while I clear the table.”

Angela shook her head. “That won’t be necessary. There’s not much to clean up.”

He smiled, but the expression did not reach his eyes. “You cook, I clean.”

She wanted to tell him not to push his luck, but decided better of it. After all, there was more than one way to skin a cat. Sorry, Miss Dee, she thought. There was something about Levi Eaton that reminded her of the male characters in her romance novels—pushy, arrogant, and oozing with enough sex appeal to earn an R-rating. Smiling sweetly, she said, “Leave everything on the countertop and I’ll take care of it.”

“Okay,” he agreed.

Twenty minutes later, she stood on the front porch with Levi. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Levi took a step closer, cradled her face, dipped his head and brushed his lips against hers.

She froze, and then relaxed as he deepened the kiss. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He was there and then he was gone. Angela stood watching the taillights of his car fade into the darkness. Steadying her shoulders, she closed the door and locked it. It wasn’t until after she’d cleaned up the kitchen, put everything away and extinguished the candles that Angela finally admitted that Levi Eaton was exactly what she needed to put to rest any notion that she’d been pining for Robert Gaskin. She’d never been one to seek revenge, but this was one time she was looking forward to it.

Spending time with Levi had convinced Angela that she was more than ready to face her past and finally put it behind her.

Chapter 4

The telephone on the bedside table rang twice before Angela raced over to answer it. “Hello,” she said, trying to catch her breath.

“Hey, you. Do you still need a date?” asked a familiar voice.