Sweet Southern Nights. Rochelle Alers

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СКАЧАТЬ She appeared conservative in her choice of attire, yet her home and furnishings were luxurious and exquisitely tasteful. She seemed reserved yet daring, somewhat of a contradiction.

       “Who do you mean by others?”

       “My mother in particular, and a few of my brothers would probably agree.”

       “They’d like to see you married with children.”

       She nodded. “What they don’t understand is that I’m quite happy being single. Aunt Nikki never married and she enjoys being a free spirit.”

       “In other words she’s content to live with her lover rather than marry him.”

       Angela gave Levi a mischievous smile. “She couldn’t marry him even if she wanted to.”

       “He’s married.”

       She nodded. “He and his wife have lived apart for more than two decades.”

       “Why doesn’t he divorce her?” he asked.

       “He would if his estranged wife wasn’t a devout Catholic. They live apart, but he supports her financially.”

       Intrigued, Levi asked, “Did he and his wife have any children?”

       “They had a son, but he drowned in a boating accident when he was a child.”

       “That’s unfortunate.”

       Angela sighed audibly. “Yes, it is. He wanted my aunt to have a child, but she refused because she didn’t want to have a child out of wedlock. Excuse me. I have to go back and get the salad.”

       Rounding the table, Levi pulled out a chair at one of the place settings. “Sit down. I’ll get it.”

       “That’s all right. You’re my guest.”

       Leaning over her head, Levi took a deep breath, breathing in the subtle fragrance of the perfume clinging to Angela’s body. The scent was like its wearer—subtle and sexy. “You cooked, so it’s only fair that I help out.”

       “What if you open the wine and allow it to breathe while I get the salad and put the asparagus on the grill,” she countered in a soft, but stern tone.

       Levi resisted the urge to salute Angela. Her refusal to let him help told him more than he needed to know about her. She was stubborn and controlling.

       “Yes, ma’am,” he said, reaching for the corkscrew opener resting on a folded napkin. “Are you rolling your eyes at me?” he asked when she rested her hands at her waist.

       “I’m not old enough to be a ma’am.”

       “How old are you?” he asked, removing the foil and inserting the corkscrew into the bottle of rosé.

       “You should know better than to ask a woman her age.”

       Levi lifted broad shoulders under his crisp white shirt. “It doesn’t matter. I can always ask Duncan.”

       Angela rolled her eyes again. “Thirty-two,” she spat out, “and soon to be thirty-three.”

       He winked. “That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

       “What else are you going to ask Duncan about me?”

       The soft pop of the cork was the only sound in the room as Levi and Angela stared at each other. “If I wanted to I would’ve had Duncan tell me everything about you before we met. He asked me to do him a favor and I said I would. I’m willing to be your date tomorrow, and the only thing I’m going to ask is that you do the same for me at my family reunion, since my mother will undoubtedly have some woman there for me to meet. She thinks it’s time I settled down and give her some grandchildren.”

       Angela compressed her lips. “As long as we understand each other I think we’ll get along quite well. Excuse me, but I’m going to get the salad and grill the asparagus.”

       “Angela,” Levi said as she walked away. She stopped but didn’t turn around. “I’d like to sit down and enjoy the food you’ve prepared without talking about us.”

       “So what do you want to talk about?”

       “Your aunt, sports, books, movies or TV for a start.”

       She half-turned and smiled at him over her shoulder. “Thank you, kind sir, for giving me a choice,” she drawled in her best Southern accent.

       Throwing back his head, Levi laughed, the rich sound echoing in the room. “You’re quite welcome, ma’am.”

       Angela couldn’t remember when she’d spent a more enjoyable evening with a man. Not only was Levi a great listener, but he was also a wonderful conversationalist. They’d discussed sports. He’d seemed surprised that she was so knowledgeable about the subject, but after she’d explained that she’d grown up with five brothers and a father who were sports nuts, he’d understood completely.

       Between forkfuls of food, washed down with the chilled wine, dinner was a comfortable and leisurely affair.

       Levi raised his water glass. “When you talk to your aunt again, please let her know her roast chicken recipe is exceptional.”

       Angela inclined her head. “I’ll definitely let her know.”

       “How often do you speak to her?”

       After dabbing the corners of her mouth with her napkin, she placed it beside her plate. Resting her elbow on the table, Angela cupped her chin in the heel of her hand, and stared at Levi through lowered lids. “There are times when I hear from her a couple of times of month, and then it’s like she disappears. Then out of the blue she’ll call me and explain that she’d jetted off to some exotic destination. If it’s not an African safari, then it’s shopping in Hong Kong. The highlight of one of her trips was snorkeling in the Great Barrier Reef. She laughs whenever I say I want to be like her when I grow up.”

       Levi stared at her. “Are you?”

       Angela smiled. “I’m halfway there.”

       “How are you halfway there?”

       “I work for myself and make my own hours. Aunt Nikki was a set designer for film and stage, and she told me I would never be completely happy until I worked for myself. I was a teacher when my cousin Traci, who’d been through a contentious divorce, moved from Frankfort to Louisville and asked me to go into business with her.”

       Levi’s expressive eyebrows lifted when he asked, “What about teaching?”

       “I gave it up. Traci’s paternal grandmother worked as a chef in a Frankfort country club and was a collector. Nowadays you’d call them hoarders. Whenever she catered private dinner parties, she’d ask her clients for their old china, stemware and silver in lieu of payment. The collection was so large and it took Traci three months to polish the silver and wash the china and stemware by hand. Then she hired an appraiser and after he gave her a figure, she decided to open a gift shop called the Garden Gate. We do quite well selling estate pieces, but most of the business comes from wedding СКАЧАТЬ