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?”
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