Dating A Silver Fox (Never Too Late) (23 page)

“We—there’s a festival at Wallingford Park this afternoon. We thought it would be a pleasant surprise and that you might want to go with us. I never thought—I guess you have other plans,” Lauren said weakly, not sure of the proper etiquette for getting over her social faux pas. It wasn’t like this situation had ever come up before. She didn’t walk into her mother’s house and find her with men.

“We have no plans that can’t wait,” Morrie said, coming back to the foyer, still barefoot. “Lydia and I were already arguing about what we’d read anyway. We could use a break to think about each other’s opinions on the matter. What do you think? I say we go with Lauren and Jim.”

Lydia looked at Morrie and blinked. JD squirmed, and she put him down. He walked directly to Morrie, smacked his leg hard and stared up at him. “Dada an. Up!”

Morrie looked at Lydia. “Need some translations help here.”

Lydia cleared her throat. “All men are ‘dada man.’ And he wants you to pick him up.”

“Up?” Morrie asked, looking down to see JD raise his arms.

Bending, he scooped the toddler up high. The boy stuck his thumb in his mouth and laid his head on Morrie’s shoulder, hooking one arm around his neck.

“Well aren’t you the charmer?” Morrie said, rubbing his cheek on the top of the boy’s head. His gaze sought and held Lydia’s. “See? Your grandson trusts me. Why are you finding it so hard?”

“Don’t start,” Lydia warned, her voice practically a growl. “I’m in an ass-kicking mood today, and you’re the top ass on my list.”

JD’s head popped up, eyes wide. “Awww. Ganma! Blaga dada blaga. No, no, no,” he said firmly, shaking his whole hand at her. Then he promptly went back to his shoulder perch, eyes closed, thumb in mouth again.

Morrie’s snickering didn’t seem to disturb the boy, so he didn’t bother trying to stifle his amusement. “I guess he told you, Ganma.”

“I swear I will put a hit out on you if you turn my grandson against me,” Lydia warned, frowning when it just made him laugh more.

She turned back to Lauren and Jim, who were still standing and staring.

“I guess we’re going. Let me change into some real clothes,” Lydia said, walking away.

“Why don’t we wait in the living room?” Morrie suggested, turning with a now snoring JD on his shoulder, and leading the way. He picked a chair he favored and lowered himself gently enough not to wake his new fan.

Then he looked up to see Lauren’s wide gaze taking in the pillows strewn across the floor in piles. “Yeah, I didn’t take time to pick those up after I put the books away. You’d save me a world of more grief from your mother if you don’t mind picking those up for me.”

Seeing Lauren speechless and inert, Jim bit the inside of his jaw and gathered up the throw pillows. He held them out to his stunned wife. “Know where these usually go?”

Coming out of her shock at last, Lauren took the pillows and arranged them on the sofas and chairs exactly as her mother always kept them.

Jim picked up the two bed pillows and looked at Morrie, trying hard to keep the laugh from his question. “Where should I put these?”

Morrie smiled back, keeping his expression as innocent as possible. “Just stack those on one of the couches. Lydia and I will be using them again later.”

Jim coughed to cover the laugh that escaped but did exactly as he was told. He saw Lauren sink down onto one of the couches, so he went to take his place by her, linking their hands to try to ground her to reality. He supposed it was probably a shock to come across even mild evidence of her mother’s intimacy with Morrison Fox, but she would be happy about it when that initial wave of disbelief wore off.

Lydia came tearing into the living room, looking around frantically. Her sigh of relief was audible.

Jim and Morrie grinned at each other while Lauren just stared at her mother in shock.

“So are we ready to go?” Jim asked.

Lydia walked to the chair. “Pass JD to me and go put yourself back together. You can use the hallway bathroom. Tuck your shirt in.”

Morrie stood and gently transferred the sleeping boy, who sighed and hugged Lydia’s neck.

“Yes, ma’am. I won’t be but a minute or two,” Morrie said, bending to brush her cheek with a kiss before she could stop him. He scooped his shoes and socks from the floor and headed out of the room.

“Mother—what’s going on here? I thought you said you weren’t dating Mr. Fox,” Lauren demanded softly.

“I’m not really dat. . .” Lydia stopped and drew in a breath. “I suppose we are sort of dating. Morrison is helping me with a
project
I’m working on. It’s not dating in the normal sense. He just comes by for dinner. Sometimes we go out to eat. Since I don’t really cook, that’s necessary.”

Lauren narrowed her eyes. “Mother, that sounds like dating to me. And I think it’s great. Why are you in denial?”

“I assure you I am not in denial,” Lydia said firmly.

“Don’t buy that, Lauren. Your mother thinks it’s a river in Egypt,” Morrie said, walking back into the room as he buttoned his cuffs. “And we are not ‘sort of dating’—we
are
dating.”

Lydia snorted and rolled her eyes.

Morrie narrowed his. “When our
project
is finished,” he said firmly, letting Lydia know he had overheard her weak-ass explanation, “I expect you to share the positive results with the world as well as your family. That means I expect you to introduce me as more than just someone helping you with a damn project.”

JD raised his sleepy head. “Blaga dada an. No, no, no,” he said, sighing heavily as he fell back into his comfortable spot.

Lydia laughed as she looked at Morrie, who sighed and glared at her. “Now who’s in trouble?” she bragged.

Lauren looked back and forth between them thinking the coupledom vibe was unmistakable regardless of what her mother said.

“JD has become quite the swearing policeman. Instead of imitating the words like other toddlers, he has chosen to fuss at us if he catches us swearing. We don’t know how he even knows which words. We figure it must be the angry tone of voice a person uses.”

“I normally don’t swear much anyway,” Morrie said. “Your mother just heats me up so bad that I run out of nice words trying to make a point. Next thing I know I’m resorting to swearing at her.”

“Your swearing is not my damn fault,” Lydia said fiercely. “I never swore much before I met you either. But you would try the patience of a saint.”

When Jim whispered “like daughter, like mother” in her ear, Lauren elbowed her smart-ass husband and shushed him so she wouldn’t miss anything.

JD rose up, looked at his grandmother and breathed a heavy sigh of frustration.

Morrie laughed at the boy’s chastising look at his grandmother, and laughed more when Lydia sighed harder than her grandson.

“I’m sorry, Sweetie,” Lydia whispered softly and with genuine regret, pushing JD’s head back down to her shoulder. She looked at Morrie. “I’m still upset about our argument this morning, but I don’t mean to snap at everything you say.”

Morrie smiled at the genuine apology. “Lucky for you I’m a patient and forgiving dada man.”

The giggle escaped before Lydia could contain it. It died when she noticed Lauren and Jim once again staring at her in shock. You’d think they had never heard her laughing before.

“I guess we’re ready,” Lydia said softly, passing JD to Jim, who had risen to collect his sleeping son.

When Morrie took her hand as they walked out, Lydia sighed heavily again, but she didn’t complain.

***

“What’s up with Lauren?” Regina asked as she and Ben joined Casey and Alexa at the table.

Alexa shrugged one elegant shoulder, sending a camisole strap slipping down her arm again. Casey deftly slid it back up, smiling at her. “That’s the twentieth time that’s happened. You’re just doing that on purpose to entice me.”

Alexa laughed. “Entice you? I still don’t know where your off button is, Sweetheart. Enticing a man with your libido is the last thing on my mind today. And for your information, the straps of this top are made to fall. It’s considered sexy and alluring.”

“Damn straight it’s sexy,” Casey agreed. “So why are we having dinner with friends instead of being at home where I can enjoy the effects of your clothes.”

“Lauren wants to talk to us about something,” Alexa said.

Casey nodded, picking up his wife’s hand to plant a kiss in her palm. Though not all that much older than Lauren, Alexa spent a lot of time mothering her. It did not take much to send Alexa running to Lauren’s side. At least they were all going to get a great meal out of it this time.

Lauren and Jim arrived, running behind, which was fairly typical for the still relatively new parents. “Sorry. We had to bathe JD before we left. He won’t let Martha do it. How’s baby Alicia, Grandma?”

Alexa smiled. “She has Daddy Seth and Poppy Casey running to do her bidding whenever she’s around. And I confess I’m not much better. The only person she minds is mommy. Well and she adores Allen. Have you seen him with kids? He just whistles and they behave instantly. Seth says he’s trying to figure out the man’s secrets. Oh. . .and I’m losing him at the office for three months. Sydney—the traitor—has hired Allen for a showcase of men’s athletic wear.”

“Jim showed me where Jenna got yet another magazine spread on their house. What is that like twelve now or something. I know it’s that fireplace that did it. Jenna probably has to keep a housekeeper coming in constantly with all those photographers showing up,” Lauren said. “Between JD and me working at home, we have them coming once a week now. I just didn’t have the energy for it all.”

“And why would that be?” Jim prompted, his wife blushing at his words.

“Probably because I’m pregnant again,” Lauren said on a sigh. “I thought we were only practicing, but when I was late—I just knew. The first test was a strong positive.”

As congratulations were offered all around, servers came and went, first bringing drinks, and then fragrant plates of food. Lauren sighed over the bounty on the table.

“This is so bad. I could eat everything on the table. I haven’t been sick at all this time. It’s going to be hard not to gain a bunch of weight,” she said sadly.

Alexa laughed. “I’m sure Lydia will keep an eye on that for you. She’ll let you know if you gain too much.”

Lauren swallowed a bite of her delicious filet. She was craving red meat something awful. She tore her attention from her food to Alexa. “Maybe not. Mother is dating. Turns out Morrie Fox is a darling man and seems to have a way with her.”

At the end of the table, Regina swallowed wrong and ended up coughing.

Alexa bit her lip but ignored the plea in Regina’s gaze.

“So tell us something juicy, Lauren. Casey needs some titillation. His motor has been running a little slow lately,” she lied. The evil look full of promise Alexa received from her husband was a great reward for her teasing.

“Something juicy?” Lauren repeated, letting the question float as she chewed another bite. “Well, Jim and I walked in on them Saturday morning. I don’t know what was going on, but Morrie’s shirt was hanging outside his pants and he was walking around her house barefoot. Oh, and there were lots of pillows in the middle of the living room floor. From the conversation and other evidence, I think they might be reading sex books together. Can you imagine people their age doing that?”

Regina choked on a drink of water and excused herself to go to the restroom. She just couldn’t handle it any more.

“What’s wrong with Regina?” Jim asked, concerned.

Ben pressed his lips together, saying nothing. A stressed Regina had spilled her dilemma to him days ago, not filling in details, but he could easily imagine how hard it was for her to keep things from Lauren and Alexa.

Lauren looked after Regina. “I’ve got to behave myself. Morrie either was or still is her client. But even before that, Regina started having very strange reactions every time I mentioned Mother dating. I mean—I
know
Regina hates my mother, probably because of all the things I said when I was in therapy. I guess I need to stop talking about this stuff to her.”

“No—don’t you dare stop,” Alexa said firmly. “We’re all friends. That’s an important bond. We don’t need to start keeping things from each other just because one of us hasn’t worked through something. Whatever Regina’s issues are, I’m sure she will tell us when she can. For now, let’s just agree to tolerate each other’s quirks. God knows our beloved Dr. Logan has a right to have a few.”

“Yes, Mama Alexa,” Lauren said with a grin. “I don’t know why you don’t just hang out a shingle too.”

Alexa raised her eyebrows. “Me a doctor? Looking like I do? Honey, I’m using what God gave me to full advantage already.”

“Amen, sister. Hallelujah for my legal right to benefit,” Casey said, getting a laugh from all the men at the table.

“And that’s another thing,” Lauren said, lifting her bread, ignoring the innuendo that always flowed faster than wine when they were all together. “Morrison Fox is Jewish. I never know if I’m going to say something to offend him or not. He’s a terrible tease, but what if I say something to make him quit dating my mother? Anybody know anything about Jewish men?”