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“Don’t you forget it, mister.”
“I won’t,” he promised and took my hand to help me into the passenger seat of his car. “Stevie and Mickey are all set with homemade chicken mole, rice and a bunch of other stuff. Mickey didn’t even make a big deal out of a rerun dinner as he calls it.”
I laughed as he told me all about Mickey’s usual aversion to having leftovers for dinner. “So he doesn’t mind eating them for lunch but not dinner?”
“Exactly. Says he feels like he’s missing out.” Levi laughed again, that masculine sound intoxicating and contagious.
“Guess you men get picky earlier and earlier.”
“I think I might be spoiling him. How is he going to enjoy a simple burger and fries or pizza after chicken mole?”
“Oh the horror, he won’t have to deal with the health effects of a greasy, fast food diet. What a monster you are.”
“Sarcasm,” he said softly. “I like it.”
The ride to the restaurant was good-natured and full of conversation, and I knew this dinner, whether it was a date or not, wouldn’t be a disaster. Maybe Stevie and Pippa were right, it was time to get back on the proverbial horse.
Levi gasped, the sound more sexual than surprised and the heat in his brown eyes when he turned to me, produced an unconscious shiver. “What is this place?”
I flashed a satisfied smile and stepped from the car. “Let’s go in and find out. I reviewed this place a few months ago and you’re the only person I know, other than Stevie, who would appreciate it.” The Japanese-Indian fusion restaurant was off the beaten path but usually, like tonight, it was packed with dinners, loud with dozens of different conversation and plenty of laughter.
“Oh. My.” Levi’s surprise was even more genuine this time and I couldn’t help but smile at having surprised him. “Japanese and Indian? This ought to be fun!”
It was exactly the response I hoped for and I looked forward to the evening ahead as we were lead to our table and ordered drinks. “I think we could both use some fun in our lives.”
“Definitely that. Every day with Mickey is fun but grown up fun has been seriously lacking in my life.”
“Same.” I smiled and thought about his comment earlier in my office, that he wanted to get to know me better. I wanted the same. “So Levi, did you just fall into serious journalism or were those the stories that called to you?”
He blinked as if no one had ever asked that question before. “I guess a little of both. When I was younger and chasing prestige and recognition, I gravitated towards those stories but once I started to tell those stories, I knew it was what I was meant to do. They deserve to have their stories told as much as anyone, maybe more than most. I’m proud of the effect my work had on their lives. Mostly.”
“You’re more impressive and less egotistical than I thought you’d be,” I admitted sheepishly.
The smile he gifted me with sexy and sincere, a mix I never thought would call to me or my libido. “Coming from you Lacey, that means a lot to me.” He took a sip of turmeric Sake when it arrived and sighed. “What about you, Lacey, did you always want to be a journalist?”
I nodded. “Yes but I had dreams of being more like you than GG. I wanted to write stories about people of the world, not just the serious stories but also human interest pieces that were just different than an American audience could imagine. Things didn’t turn out that way, though.” Conversation paused while the server brought out a variety of small fusion dishes from tandoori sushi to curry gyozas.
“Why not? I’ve read your stuff and it’s good. Well-written, insightful and full of life.”
“Thanks.” His words made me feel good as a woman and a professional. It’s all I wanted, for the world to know that I was more than a little girl who’d gotten ahead because her daddy owned the paper. “I always thought, incorrectly of course, that GG would retire and I could change CCDJ a little bit, modernize the whole thing. I want to keep the small town feel of the paper but add worldwide stories too.” I sighed. “That sounds silly, doesn’t it?”
“Not at all. You want the people of Carson Creek to feel safe at home but to know what’s going on in the rest of the world? It’s admirable.”
“Yeah, I guess. At this point it’s a non-starter. How are things going with Michelle?” It was a clumsy subject change but thankfully, Levi let it go.
“Good, mostly. She’s still not sure that I’m going to stick around which is my fault, I know that. All I can do is show her by showing up. Otherwise, things are good.”
