Dating A Silver Fox (Never Too Late) (27 page)

“Every time you say that sort of thing, it just makes me like you more for seeing the real me. Do you believe in love at first sight?” Walter asked. “I think I really have fallen for you.”

Jane laughed loudly and turned away from the earnestness in Walter’s gaze. “You know, you have some great lines, Walter Graham. But I know their source, remember? Now go play with someone your own age.”

“My sense of fairness won’t let me do that. I don’t want to be with some random female while I’m wishing she was you,” Walter said, rising. “And I’m definitely wishing for you. Try to adjust your thinking about us before I get impatient.”

“Give it up, boy. I’m flattered but not going out with you. If I see Harrison, I will tell him you’re looking for him,” Jane said softly, keeping her gaze on the screen even though she saw Walter’s shoulders sag as he left.

She watched him push open the door of the building and exit. Her relief was enormous and she let out the breath she’d obviously been holding. Then realizing how wound up she was over Walter, she put her face in her hands and fought not to scream.

“Damn it—no. I can’t do this. He’s a kid. He’s a kid. He’s a kid. Snap out of it, Jane,” she ordered herself.

“Who’s a kid?” Lydia asked, coming into the office uninvited when she saw Jane with her head in her hands. “What’s the matter? Are you okay?”

Jane dropped her hands to the desk. “No. Frankly, I’m not.”

To her surprise, the truth tumbled out to the last person she would ever have thought to be telling her personal problems.

“Walter Graham wants to date me. Can you believe that? What is the boy thinking?”

“Is that all?” Lydia snorted but found a smile for Jane as she took a seat. “The chair is still warm. Young Mr. Graham puts off a lot of heat.”

“If that’s a joke about how attractive he is, it’s not really funny today,” Jane said, running a hand through her hair and snagging the clip. She had to undo it and refasten it. “He’s tempting, and I’m running out of creative ways to say no. Walter has been on my mind way too much lately. He’s stopped by practically every day. How do I get him to stop?”

Lydia looked at the stress starting to show on Jane’s face. “If you keep frowning like that, those lines are going to set in hard. Wrinkle removers can only do so much.”

Jane laughed in disbelief and looked at the woman staring at her with disgust. “Yeah…me and my wrinkle problems. Maybe if I turn into a prune, Walter will see the lines on my face and just give up.”

She flushed as her gaze met the older woman’s. Shame for her prune joke about Lydia colored her face. Her mother used to chastise her for making snide remarks about other people. She heard her now every time she talked to Lydia. Apparently guilt could be sent from the grave.

“If you have any sage advice, tell me,” Jane ordered. “I’m out of ideas.”

“Use your people intelligence in this matter. Is a Graham male going to give up once he fixates on a goal? Doubtful,” Lydia said flatly. “Did you know Doris Graham?”

Jane shook her head. “No. Who’s that?”

Lydia settled back in the warm chair, bringing a visual of Walter’s grandmother to mind. Doris had loved Walter when he was born almost as much she now loved JD.

“Doris was Harrison’s wife—his only wife—even though his father married many times and set a very bad example for Harrison. Doris was a decade older. Before her, he was mostly a womanizer, a typical male of his day dallying with all the females he could. Married Doris late in life. She was in her mid-forties then. She died when she was around the age Harrison is now, and he never remarried. There were other women, but he never fell in love again. I have to say that since Harrison married Doris all the Graham men have been loyal husbands as much as any man is capable of being. Leland and April have been married for probably thirty years now. Walter’s father is besotted with his mother.”

“And you’re telling me all this family history because. . .?” Jane prompted.

“Because I like you. And because I do, I’m going to give you some advice. Date the boy—he’s obviously interested. What’s the harm?” Lydia advised. “Throw him back if it doesn’t work out. So long as you keep avoiding him, Walter Graham will probably just take that as a challenge. Harrison made him persistent to a fault. Give in a little and maybe he’ll give up. Or maybe you’ll be surprised.”

Jane nodded numbly. Shocking was too mild a word for the advice Lydia was offering. Wise didn’t work either, because she knew dating Walter would be a mistake.

“So is that how it’s working between you and Dad? Is Dad giving up on you now that you’re dating?”

Lydia squirmed under Jane’s stare that dared her to lie. “Your father doesn’t think like other men do, or function. . .well let’s just say he’s different from other men I’ve known.”

“I know. So are you interested in Dad now?” Jane demanded, her mouth wanting to twitch at the older woman’s wrinkled brows as she considered how to answer such a direct question from Morrie’s daughter. “Better watch those puzzlement lines while you figure it out, Lydia. Like you said, wrinkle treatment is expensive.”

Lydia lifted her reading glasses to her nose and looked over them, pleased when Jane laughed.

“I can see Morrison was right. You really are like him. Now I’m even surer my advice is good. Give young Walter some serious consideration. You’re going to need a man who can keep up with that wit of yours,” Lydia said.

“I’ll take what you said under advisement,” Jane conceded with a laugh. She looked at Lydia, for the first time seeing maybe a little bit of what her father seemed to like about her.

“I almost forgot that I actually came with a question. Have you seen Harrison today?” Lydia asked. “When I went to check on him, he wasn’t answering his door.”

“No,” Jane said. “Walter was just looking for him as well.”

They heard the ambulance sirens then. Both left Jane’s office running.

***

Walter leaned forward in the waiting room chair, elbows on his knees and hands over his face. What a day, he thought. Jane turned him down and now Harrison was mad because he’d called the ambulance to come get him.

Now that the initial panic was over, he could admit to himself how scared he had been. His heart almost stopped when he’d found his grandfather lying on the floor of his residence, cane at his side. No amount of Harrison’s inventive swearing had dissuaded Walter from calling the medical authorities to come check him. The problem turned out to be mostly dehydration, but given his age they wanted to run a few more tests. To do that they were keeping him overnight, so at the moment his grandfather was not at all happy with him.

Walter closed his eyes, trying to catnap, but his overactive brain wouldn’t let him. His parents had come but gone once they knew there was no real danger. Attending some function or the other was on their schedule for the evening, so Walter was left alone and brooding. He should be getting something to eat instead of sulking about his bad luck day, but he didn’t have the energy to chase down edible food in a hospital.

With eyes still closed, he heard a soft rustle beside him and the sound of a butt landing in a nearby chair. He opened his eyes to check who it was with so many other seats available in the empty geriatric floor waiting room, totally surprised to see Jane beside him. When his gaze found hers, she held out a brown paper bag.

“My mother trained me to be a nurturer even though I fought it for many years. I bring food when I don’t know what else to do to help a person. This is a turkey club with avocado from my favorite deli,” she said.

“You brought me food?” Walter said in awe, trying hard not to be shocked.

“Yes—why? Did your mother already bring you something? I should have guessed. Well, keep it for later. Hospital food is awful. That’s from Gibaldi’s,” Jane said reverently, patting Walter’s massive bicep and then promptly wishing she hadn’t touched him. She did not need more fuel for her fantasies. And she was definitely not into torture.

“I’ve been foraging on my own since I was a teenager. My mother made me take dance lessons and wear braces but was not really domestic. We had a cook. Mom assumes I’ll manage to eat when I get hungry,” he explained, lifting the bag to his nose. “God, this smells great. Where did it come from again?”

“Gibaldi’s?” Jane prompted.

“Never heard of it,” Walter replied.

Jane laughed. “You’re a Gibaldi’s virgin? Maybe there
are
some things I can teach you. Let’s start with the fact that you’re about to eat the best turkey club sandwich in Falls Church. It even has turkey bacon.”

Walter fished out half. Wrapped in wax paper, it filled his entire hand. He had big hands. “I’m starving. Remind me to kiss you for this later and show my gratitude properly.”

“Men are so easy,” Jane remarked with a head shake, teasing to cover her stomach fluttering at his words. Now why was she here again? Oh yeah, she liked Harrison and wanted to see if he was alright.

Her gaze went to the man beside her murmuring praise about his sandwich and already looking a lot less strained than when she’d seen him sitting alone, eyes closed, and forehead creased in worry. He had certainly looked much older than his age then.

Okay, Jane admitted, maybe it had been the genuine worry on Walter’s face as he had watched the EMTs loading his complaining grandfather into the ambulance that made her do more than just make a couple phone calls.

She watched Walter take a giant bite and had to look away so he wouldn’t catch her envious look as the edges of his even white teeth flashed. She loved perfect teeth. It was something she always noticed about a person.

“So how’s our favorite maniac doing?” Jane asked finally, pushing her admiration of Walter’s teeth from her mind.

“He’s mostly fine. When they kicked me out for a bit, Harrison was still trying to bribe the doctor into letting him go home,” Walter replied, fishing the other half of the sandwich out of the bag. “He got dehydrated this week. At his age, that’s very dangerous.”

He peered into the bag, sniffed, and frowned as he turned a mischievous gaze in Jane’s direction. She was chewing her bottom lip and staring at his arms. His body tightened, but he ignored it. Now was not the time. “Did the sandwich come with a pickle? I thought I smelled one in the bag.”

“You are a sharp man, Walter Graham. It was kosher, and I was hungry,” Jane replied with a laugh.

Walter stopped mid-bite to grin. “Jane, I’m shocked. You ate my pickle?”

“In the car on the ride over,” Jane admitted without apology, grinning back despite herself.

“Sorry I missed that show,” Walter said, mock sighing as he took another bite. “You must have been
really
hungry.”

“Still am, but I’m meeting a friend for dinner tonight,” Jane said on a laugh. “Now get your mind out of the gutter and eat the rest of your sandwich.”

“Planning on it. Are you bossy by nature?” Walter asked with a smile, wondering what it would take to ruffle that composure of hers. He bet seeing him naked would.

“Like every good woman, I’m as bossy as I need to be to take care of people I care about,” Jane declared with a laugh. “Listen, I have a list of home health service providers who could go by and check on your father every day to make sure he’s doing the right things—like getting enough fluids. I required they all be set up as independent contractors, but I vetted them. They’re reliable and priced competitively.”

“Sounds good. I’ll check them out. So tell me—girlfriend or man date tonight,” Walter asked, pushing the last of his sandwich into his mouth. He watched Jane blink several times at the personal question, trying to formulate a polite response, which Walter sadly knew was already the answer. She was going out with a guy.

“I’m sure you don’t need to hear the details of my social life,” Jane said on a laugh, standing.

“You know it matters to me. I asked you out earlier,” Walter said firmly, standing as well and in time to catch Jane’s sigh as she looked at him like she always did. It divided his patience in half. “It matters because that little sigh thing you do after checking me out drives me crazy. It makes me want you, especially when I know you want me back.”

“You’re assuming too much from a common expression,” Jane denied.

It was a bold lie, and one look at Walter’s face told her he knew it too.

“Is that right? I’m hanging around you like a puppy waiting for you to pay attention and pet me. What do you think about that?” Walter asked on a laugh.

“Well, my father did tell me I needed to buy a big dog, but I’m not sure you’re what he had in mind,” Jane replied instantly, then clapped a hand over her mouth as Walter chuckled.

“Dogs don’t get much bigger than me, and I’m partially house-trained,” he replied. “Do you have any idea how much I’d really like to kiss you?”

“You are not allowed to kiss me. I have a date tonight,” Jane said flatly. “With someone my age, someone more appropriate.”

Walter sighed and frowned, then told himself not to get all bent over it. It wasn’t going to work with the guy her age. His instincts told him he and Jane belonged together.

“Okay. I guess this is where I just say thanks for the sandwich and coming by to check on Harrison. Let me hug you goodbye,” Walter said easily, stepping to her and surrounding her before she could refuse.