Sweet Silver Bells Read online

  She thanked the waiter when he pulled out a chair at a table in an alcove, seating her at the same time her cell phone chimed softly. Reaching into her handbag, Crystal retrieved the phone and glanced at the display. It was Algernon. Tapping in her pass code, she answered the call.

  “Good morning, Al.”

  “Crystal. I’m glad I reached you. I rang your room, but it went directly to voice mail. I’m on my way to the airport to catch a flight to Vancouver. My daughter was injured on a movie set, and even though I’m told it isn’t serious, I need to see her. I’m not certain when I’ll be back, but I’ll keep you updated. I’m sorry you had to come and—”

  “Please don’t apologize,” Crystal said, interrupting him. “Take care of your daughter and don’t worry about me. I’ll be here when you get back. The last time I was in Charleston I didn’t get to do much sightseeing, so I intend to tour the city until you return.”

  “Thanks, Crystal, for being so understanding.”

  “Have a safe flight and I’ll see you when you get back.”

  She ended the call, exhaling an audible sigh. Although anxious to see the restored buildings, Crystal also understood an unexpected personal predicament. And taking care of your family always took precedence over everything. There were Eatons living in different parts of the country, but whenever there was a significant occasion, they all came together as one whether it in sickness, tragedy, marriage or a new birth.

  She’d attended so many weddings over the years Crystal needed a scorecard to document which first cousin had married whom. It began with Belinda marrying her brother-in-law sports attorney/agent, Griffin Rice. Belinda and Griffin had become guardians of their twin nieces after the death of their parents, who were Belinda’s sister and Griffin’s brother. Belinda made Griffin a biological father for the first time after giving birth to a baby boy.

  The marriage bug then bit Belinda’s brother, Myles, when he married his ex-fiancée after a ten-year separation. Myles hadn’t known Zabrina was pregnant with his son, because she’d been blackmailed into marrying another man. They added to another generation of Eatons with a daughter.

  Myles and Belinda’s sister Chandra married celebrated playwright Preston Tucker, and they were now the parents of a daughter, and Xavier and his wife, Selena, also had a daughter. All the Eatons were wagering whether Denise and Mia and their husbands would have boys once they decided to increase their family, because it looked as if girls were outnumbering boys in the latest generation of Eatons.

  Crystal still did not picture herself a wife or a mother. The closest she’d come to a committed relationship was when she lived with a man after enrolling in graduate school. Her parents disapproved of her living or shacking up with a man, because they claimed they’d raised her better than that.

  Jasmine lamented, why would the man want to buy the cow when he could get the milk free? Her comeback was that she didn’t want to be bought, because her goals did not include becoming a wife.

  Her relationship with Brian worked well; he also didn’t want to marry or father children. As a child he’d been physically abused by his parents, spent years in foster care and feared he would turn out like them. He and Crystal had lived together for three years before Brian was offered a teaching position at a Los Angeles college. Crystal encouraged him to accept the position, and after graduating she gave up their miniscule New York City Greenwich Village studio apartment and moved back to Florida.

  She lived with her mother until she secured employment with a Miami-based design firm. Once she transferred to their Fort Lauderdale office, she purchased a two-bedroom condo in a gated community.

  Living alone was a wake-up call that she was in complete control of her life and future.

  She beckoned a waiter as he finished filling a water goblet at a nearby table. “Is it possible for me to change tables? Mr. Beaumont won’t be joining me.” Crystal didn’t want to sit in the grotto-inspired alcove alone.

  The waiter glanced around the room. “There’s an empty table near the window.”

  Crystal nodded. “I’ll take it.”

  It wasn’t until she was seated near a wall of glass that she saw her penthouse neighbor. Joseph sat at a table several feet away. Their eyes met and she returned his open, friendly smile with one of her own.

  “Good morning, neighbor,” Joseph said in greeting.

  Her smile grew wider. “Same to you, neighbor.”

  “Did you sleep well?” he asked.

  “Yes, I did. Thank you for asking.”

  Joseph stared boldly at the woman, who’d exchanged her jeans and sweater for a navy blue pantsuit and white silk blouse. A light covering of makeup enhanced her best features: eyes and mouth. His gaze lingered on Crystal’s flawless dark complexion. He took a quick glance at her hands. She wasn’t wearing a ring, but that still didn’t mean she wasn’t married or involved with someone.

  His interest in the woman occupying the neighboring penthouse was a reminder of how, for the past two years, his life had not been his own to control. He hadn’t found time to embark on another relationship since his breakup with Kiara, but now that he was stateside his days and nights were more predictable.

  “Are you expecting someone?” he asked Crystal.

  “No, I’m not. Why?”

  “I see several people waiting for tables, and if we sit together, it would free up one for them.”

  Crystal’s gaze shifted from Joseph’s deeply tanned face to the couples standing at the entrance. She was seated at a table for two while he sat at a table seating four. “You may sit with me.”

  As he moved over to sit opposite her, Crystal inhaled the subtle scent of his masculine cologne. It was if she were seeing Joseph for the first time. Last night she hadn’t realized he was so tall. She was five-nine in her bare feet, and estimated he had to be at least three or even four inches above the six-foot mark. He was casually dressed in relaxed jeans, black Timberland boots and a white button-down shirt, opened at the collar under a navy blue blazer.

  The hint of a smile softened her mouth. “I see you’re Greek.”

  Attractive lines fanned out around his large dark eyes when he smiled. “Alpha Phi Alpha,” he said proudly, glancing at his belt buckle with the Greek alphabet. “Are you also Greek?”

  Crystal nodded slowly. “Alpha Kappa Alpha.”

  Joseph smile grew wider. “Well, Miss AKA, where did you go to school?”

  “Howard. And you?”

  “Cornell.”

  Her eyebrows lifted. “So you’re an Ivy Leaguer. I’m impressed.” It wasn’t often she met many African-American men who’d attended Ivy League colleges. Most she knew had enrolled in historically black colleges. “Are you active?” she asked Joseph.

  He flashed a set of straight white teeth. “Active and financial.” Since his return to the States, Joseph had rejoined his local chapter. He planned to drive to West Palm Beach one weekend each month to attend chapter meetings.

  Crystal glanced at a spot over Joseph’s broad shoulder. She didn’t want him to think her rude for staring. Despite the stubble on his lean jaw, there was something about his features that made Joseph almost too pretty to be a man. “I’m financial but inactive. Unfortunately,” she admitted, “I don’t have the time to attend my chapter meetings.”

  “Where is your chapter?”

  “Miami.”

  Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest. “So you’re a Gator.”

  Crystal wasn’t able to discern from Joseph’s expression whether he was being derisive or complimentary. “Is there something wrong with being a Gator?” she asked defensively.

  “Hell no, because you’re looking at a fellow Gator. Palm Beach,” he said before she could ask.

  She laughed softly. “It looks as if we’re truly neighbors
in every sense of the word.” Crystal paused, and then asked, “What are you doing in Charleston?”

  Joseph picked up the menu, studying the selections rather than looking at Crystal. He’d never been one to engage in what he deemed inane repartee in order to glean information from a woman, yet that was exactly what he was doing with Crystal.

  “I’m here on business.”

  “So am I,” Crystal concurred.

  He glanced up, meeting her direct stare. “It appears we have a lot in common. We’re both Greek, Floridians and we’re in Charleston on business.”

  “That’s three for three.”

  Joseph angled his head. “What about your marital status?”

  “What about it?” she asked, answering his question with one of her own.

  “Are you single?”

  “I’m single and unencumbered.”

  A beat passed. “Is that the same as not having any children?” Joseph asked

  “It is.”

  He went completely still. “That’s four for four.”

  “What else do you want to know about me, Joseph?”

  There was another pause before he asked, “How long do you plan to be here on business?”

  “I estimate a couple of months.”

  The slow smile that spread over his features did not reach his eyes. Joseph thought about the odds of meeting a woman, an incredibly beautiful woman who was staying in the same hotel as his, on the same floor and with whom he shared much in common. If he’d signed up with an online dating service, Crystal would’ve been the perfect candidate. He wasn’t looking for a relationship, but friendship—something he hadn’t had in a while.

  And for him it had never been about how many women he could sleep with, because there had been more than he could count or remember who were more than willing to become his dessert after he’d taken them to dinner. He didn’t know why, but Joseph always thought about his sister and the lengths he would go to if some man sought to take advantage of her. His mantra of protect a woman as if she were your sister was never that far from his mind, and he knew that was why he’d continued to stay in his past relationship longer than necessary.

  “Five for five,” Joseph drawled. He’d planned to live at the hotel for the next four months; the tea garden’s manager who was overseeing wanted to return to Nebraska with his wife, where she would give birth to their first child.

  Crystal smiled as she glanced at the menu. It appeared as if she had more in common with Joseph than she’d had with Brian. The man with whom she’d lived eschewed fraternities and sororities, claiming they were socialized cults. The subject always started an argument where they wouldn’t speak for days. It wasn’t their only disagreement, but it was one subject she refused to allow him to vilify. Her mother had been an AKA and her mother before her.

  Her stomach rumbled loudly and she hoped Joseph hadn’t heard it. She motioned to a waitress standing several feet away. “I’m ready to order now. I’ll have grits with soft scrambled eggs and one slice of buttered wheat toast.”

  The waitress scribbled on her pad. “Would you like coffee, tea or juice, ma’am?”

  Crystal closed the binder. “I’d like green tea and grapefruit juice.” Joseph had just given the woman his order when an ear-shattering piercing sound reverberated throughout the room.

  The waitress slipped her pad into the pocket of her apron. “I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave the hotel. That’s the fire alarm.”

  As if on cue, everyone began filing out, Joseph reaching for Crystal’s free hand as she gripped her handbag with the other. Hotel personnel were escorting guests down the staircases, because the elevators were shut down, through the lobby and out to the parking lot. The wail of sirens in the distance came closer and closer. Members of the police and fire departments were now on the scene, urging everyone to leave the parking lot and move across the street.

  Joseph tucked Crystal’s hand into the bend of his elbow as they followed the crowd away from the building. An elderly woman complained loudly that someone on her floor had been smoking in their room and she thought it shameful they’d ignore the hotel’s smoke-free policy.

  “It looks as if we’re going to have to forgo breakfast,” Joseph said softly, leaning closer to Crystal.

  Her stomach rumbled again at the mention of breakfast. “Maybe you can, but I have to get something to eat. The last time I had solid food was more than eighteen hours ago.”

  He went completely still, his eyes meeting hers. “Do you have an eating disorder?”

  Chapter 3

  It took several seconds for Crystal to process what Joseph had just asked her. She wasn’t underweight and she definitely didn’t look emaciated, either. “No!” she said. “I didn’t get a chance to eat yesterday. I drove up from Miami and I wanted to get here before nightfall,” she explained when he continued to stare at her. “And there’s nothing anorexic-looking about me.”

  Joseph blinked slowly before a slow smile spread over his features. His gaze moved over her body. “No, there isn’t.” He sobered quickly. “I know of a small restaurant not far from here.”

  Crystal wasn’t immune to the hungry look in his eyes, and wondered if Joseph knew how much his eyes mirrored what he was feeling. It was apparent he hadn’t learned to hide his emotions behind a facade of indifference. “How far is not far?” she asked.

  “It’s about ten blocks. If we start out now, maybe we can get there before it gets too crowded.”

  Crystal eased her hand from his loose grip, reaching into her handbag for her phone. She had no intention of walking ten blocks in four-inch heels. “I have a cousin who lives downtown and I’m going to call him and let him know to expect us.”

  Joseph narrowed his eyes. “Are you certain he’s not going to be put out with bringing a stranger into his home?”

  “He’s not going to be put out. We Eatons have an open-door policy when it comes to family.” She’d proudly stressed her family’s name.

  His smooth brow furrowed when she mentioned the name Eaton. “Are you related to Judge Solomon Eaton?”

  “You’ve heard of him?” Crystal asked.

  “Are you kidding?” Joseph couldn’t keep the excitement out of his voice. “I clerked for him for a year before joining my family’s business.”

  Crystal couldn’t stop her hand from shaking as a shiver of unease eddied up her back, making her more than apprehensive. She did not want to believe she was indirectly connected to a man she’d met less than twenty-four hours ago. “You’re a lawyer.” The query was a statement of fact.

  He nodded. “Yes.”

  “And you’re certain it was my uncle you clerked for?”

  “Yes,” Joseph said emphatically. “We happen to be fraternity brothers.”

  She ran a hand over her short hair. Her uncle had pledged Alpha Phi as a Howard University undergraduate. “This is much too weird. If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were stalking me.”

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Joseph gave her a direct stare. “I can assure you that I’m not stalking you. In fact, I didn’t know you existed before last night. And the name Eaton isn’t that common. And with you being from Florida, I just assumed you were related.”

  His former boss had distinguished himself as a federal prosecutor before he was appointed to the bench, and still held the distinction of presiding over more drug cases than any other U.S. attorney in south Florida’s history. He indicted a drug kingpin, several traffickers responsible for high-end deals and midlevel dealers caught with large amounts of cocaine and marijuana.

  “Solomon Eaton is my uncle,” she confirmed. And he was also Levi, Jesse and Carson’s father.

  Reaching into the breast pocket of his blazer, Joseph retrieved his cell phone. “I’ll call a car service while
you call your cousin.”

  Walking away to put some distance between them, Crystal turned her back, tapping the screen for Xavier’s number. “Good morning, Crystal,” Selena answered in greeting.

  “Good morning to you, too,” she replied. “Selena, I’m afraid I’m going to have to take you up on your offer to hang out with you guys earlier than I’d anticipated.” She told her cousin’s wife about her aborted meeting with the hotel owner and having to evacuate the hotel because of a fire situation. “I hope you don’t mind if I stop by for breakfast.”

  “Crystal, please. You know you don’t have to ask.”

  “I’m asking because I’m bringing someone with me.”

  “That’s not a problem. I was just preparing brunch for Xavier. He doesn’t have classes until this afternoon. I’ll hold off cooking until you guys get here.”

  “Thanks, Selena.”

  Crystal ended her call at the same time Joseph ended his. “My cousin says you’re welcome to come with me.”

  He smiled. “Thank you. The car should be here in about fifteen minutes.”

  Staring at him in the bright sunlight, she noticed flecks of gray in his coarse, cropped black hair. Crystal doubted whether he was that much older than she, which meant he was graying prematurely. She also wondered how many times Joseph came to Charleston on business for him to have had a local car service programmed into his phone.

  There was so much more she wanted to know about him, yet was reluctant to ask. She just wasn’t prepared to accept any more revelations. And because he knew her uncle, there was also the possibility he had been familiar with her aunt and cousins.

  She wrapped her arms around her body as much to ward off the morning chill as to protect herself from someone she wasn’t prepared to possibly become involved.