Dating A Silver Fox (Never Too Late) (34 page)

Lydia let out the breath she’d been holding. She wouldn’t change Morrie coming into her life either. Lord knows, she hadn’t made it easy for him. Thankfully he wasn’t as easily put off as most men.

“You’re saying I just have to let all the regret go and forget about it, aren’t you?”

“Well, it won’t do you much good to keep beating yourself up about information you didn’t have before Morrie came along,” Regina advised.

“Even if it was my own fault I didn’t have the information?” Lydia demanded.

“Even then,” Regina said with a nod of support for her conclusion.

“Fine. Consider it gone,” Lydia said with relief, nodding to herself. It made sense to her. Hadn’t she long ago accepted that the past could not be changed? She turned a grateful smile in Regina’s direction. It hit her then how wrong she had been about the woman. “So in your esteemed opinion, how close to being cured am I, Dr. Logan?”

Regina laughed. “Are you intending to engage in coitus with the patient but insistent Mr. Fox again?”

“
Coitus
,” Lydia repeated slowly, picking up her tea. “Finally a word for it I like. It sounds so much better to me than some of the others. It sounds mysterious, like something scientists would do and my mother might discuss accidentally.”

“That’s amusing but not answering my question about engaging in it, Ms. McCarthy,” Regina said with a grin.

“Is ‘every chance I get’ an acceptable reply to the question?” Lydia asked, trying to sound haughty. It was challenging to remain snooty with an answering smile lighting her face.

Regina nodded, and slid the folder out from under her now empty cup of tea. “I’m going to write my notes in your chart today using lots of those terms you hate just to shock my shy but very discreet assistant. You don’t mind, do you? I know how you feel about them, but it will be fun when Ann goes to transcribe. She’ll huff and sigh and blush. It’s very entertaining.”

Lydia laughed. The woman was funny—really funny. “Regina, I’m glad Lauren had a friend like you all these years.”

Regina laughed at how far from the truth that statement would have been a few weeks ago.

“Sure you are,” she said sarcastically, then bit her lip to have slipped up so badly, but Lydia only giggled as she gathered up her purse.

Jotting notes to cover her chagrin, Regina decided Lydia McCarthy might just deserve her ‘most improved by great sex’ award for the year. Morrie must have been a hell of a man between the sheets, but then he had always put off that vibe to her, even when he was grieving his wife deeply.

“I know I haven’t given you the impression that I’ve liked you all that well, but over the last year I’ve seen the happiness Lauren has with Jim. And from their happiness came JD. I realize now that without you my daughter might have led a very different life. So thank you—for helping both of us,” Lydia said, standing.

“I don’t really help people, Lydia,” Regina said with conviction. “I just coerce them into helping themselves. You were already on the right path when you walked through my door, especially with Morrie Fox on your arm.”

“You’re being modest. I’ve seen you bragging on TV so I know you are proud of what you’ve achieved. Stop trying to ruin my impression of what notorious women are like,” Lydia ordered, walking ahead of Regina to the door. “Next thing you’ll tell me is that there was a good reason Alexa dated all those men.”

“Well, appearances can be very deceiving,” Regina said lightly. “Until you came to see me, I thought you were the kind of person who would never change. Look how wrong I was. I love being wrong as much as I love being right.”

Lydia could tell she shocked the doctor with the laugh and hug she gave her in parting, but it had just been something she had to do.

***

Still later that afternoon, Lydia rolled smoothly to a stop alongside the curb of the North Winds Lodge building, shifting the car into neutral so she could take her foot off the clutch. She picked up the cell phone lying in the passenger seat and punched in the now familiar number.

When a male voice said hello, she smiled. “Your taxi is here,” she informed him, trying to make her voice as alluring as possible, but it came out more like a tortured frog instead.

She hung up at his laughing reply and dropped the phone into her handbag before tucking it into the floorboard behind the driver’s seat. She was surprised to see Jane tailing Morrie out of the building, but very pleased to watch two sets of eyes widen over what she was driving. It had been long time since she’d been in the mood to take it out of the garage.

“Look at your car, woman. Holy shit,” Morrie exclaimed.

“I believe that expletive is an oxymoron, Dad,” Jane teased, looking at the beautiful and well-kept car with a pang of envy. One day she was going to buy something this incredible herself.

Morrie walked up and down the sidewalk as he admired the shiny red Z28 Camaro convertible that fit the smile of the blond driving it like a perfect piece of jewelry. So Lydia drove a modern muscle car. He sure would never have guessed that about her. It made him wonder how many other secrets the woman was keeping, and how many she was going to share with him over the coming years.

“Jane said you drove a used Honda Civic that was at least ten years old,” Morrie said, his tone accusing her of something, but even he didn’t know what. Maybe he just couldn’t believe she had kept this car from him for so long.

“I do own a Honda,” Lydia agreed. “I’ve driven it here to work many times. The Honda is like a pair of comfortable sneakers. The Camaro is like a pair of three-inch spike heels. I don’t wear three inch spike heels often, but they make me feel pretty incredible when I do.”

Morrie made one more circle around the back of the vehicle and whistled. It brought another pleased grin to Lydia’s face. Too bad the coast was too far for an evening drive. Maybe some Saturday they’d drive to the beach and stay to watch the sun set over the ocean.

“You were wise to hide this car from me until now,” Morrie told her, walking to the passenger door and opening it to slide uninvited down into the cream-colored leather seats. “I’m claiming boyfriend rights to drive it later. You know I like to be in control.”

He ran admiring hands over the supple fabric, looking at the dash with all the fascination of a male who loved well-kept machines.

“Morrison, this car doesn’t come with boyfriend rights,” Lydia informed him.

“Are you sure? I can make it worth your while,” Morrie promised, wiggling his eyebrows at her. “Ever make out in this beauty?”

“Jeez, Dad, at least wait until I’m out of earshot, will you? Nice car, Lydia,” Jane said, shaking her head and trying not to wince at her father practically propositioning the woman in front of her. It was as bad as watching him grope Dorothy Henderson. “Get it in writing, Lydia. In my experience, men will say anything to drive a nice car.”

Morrie looked at Lydia and winked, his chest contracting when she smiled and laughed. He was so desperately in love with her already. How long was it going to take for her to trust what they had and love him back?

“Want to go for a ride, Jane?” Lydia asked. “We’ll kick your father to the curb and go for drinks somewhere.”

Jane laughed and crossed her arms. “That is so tempting. You have no idea. I’ve had my fill of controlling men this week. Now I remember why I stopped dating.”

“Hey,” Morrie said, pretending to be offended as he pointed to himself. “Boyfriend here. Damn good boyfriend.”

Jane laughed again at the look Lydia gave him that said the older woman wasn’t buying her father’s defense of his character. It was one more thing to like. Her father was never going to be able to completely snowball her. “Better let him go for a ride first. Dad’s a real whiner when it comes to cars.”

“See you tomorrow then,” Lydia said, lifting a hand briefly before shifting the car into gear and zooming off with a chuckling Morrie struggling to fasten his seatbelt.

***

They stopped for dinner at small bistro café with limited seating, but Lydia had phoned ahead. A hostess smiled at them holding hands and led them to a table near a window that looked out over a fountain.

“How’s the food here?” Morrie asked, looking over the menu.

“I have no idea,” Lydia said. “This is my first time.”

“You’re trying something new without me pressuring you?” Morrie said, laying down his menu. “I’m shocked—and impressed.”

Lydia reached in her purse and pulled out a leather case, sliding it across the table.

Morrie looked down at it and back up at her. “A present?” he asked.

Lydia nodded.

Morrie looked back down and smiled at the case between them, and then looked back at her. “I must have been better than I thought last night. Usually it’s the woman who gets presents for putting out.”

“Oh stop that. Just open it. I wouldn’t call it a present. It’s just a practical gift, not a. . .love token, or whatever else you were thinking,” Lydia said, rolling her eyes.

He picked the case up and opened it, sighing when he saw what was inside. Taking them out, he slipped the very nicely made reading glasses on and peered at Lydia over them. “I take it you don’t approve of my rhinestones?”

“Let’s just say they don’t scream ‘masculine,’ to onlookers,” Lydia told him, hoping he wasn’t offended. He didn’t look offended, but he did look caught off-guard. “You don’t like the new ones, do you?”

Morrie slipped them off and folded them back into the case. They probably cost more than any pair of glasses he owned. “No. I like them a lot. I knew I was going to have to give up the rhinestones sometime. I just hadn’t quite gotten there yet.”

The server came and took their order. Afterwards, Morrie slid a hand across their table for two, palm up in a peace offering. He was pleased when Lydia slid her hand into his.

“It’s been a long time since I was this happy. The rhinestones don’t matter any more, but. . .” Morrie looked at the table, at their hands. It was harder to explain it than he had thought it would be. And not nearly as funny. “The glasses belonged to Evelyn. I got rid of most of her things, but the glasses—I just couldn’t. It was one of the few things I kept of hers. I got into a habit of wearing them, and it made the loss of her a bit less. . . stark. I probably looked silly wearing them.”

Lydia folded her fingers around his, thinking of her own unkind thoughts about the glasses, and squeezed hard enough to make sure Morrie could feel it. She didn’t want to take away his good memories, even though she was jealous of them. It simply wouldn’t be fair to ask him not to have had a good life without her, despite how awful her own had been. Regina’s advice made all the sense in the world to her now that she saw it for herself.

“Well, I’m sure wherever your wife is now that she laughs her ass off every time she sees you wearing her glasses. Who am I to ruin her fun? I don’t need any more ghosts haunting me. Let’s just say you have another pair of glasses for more serious days. Not that you’ll likely ever have all that many, but even so, you’ll be properly accessorized if you ever do. Consider my fashion sense a girlfriend perk,” Lydia joked, forcing a smile to her mouth to be as convincing as possible.

Morrie studied their hands. “It’s not that I still. . .”

“Morrie,” Lydia said softly in warning, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Don’t apologize to me for loving the woman you married. She was a good wife and the mother of your children. Recite some F. Scott Fitzgerald to yourself and move on. Your fondness for her rhinestones is not going to deter me from wanting coitus with you again. I’ll just think of this time with you as
my turn
.”

“Wanting what with me?” Morrie said, laughing over and around his enormous relief. “Did you say coitus? Where did you hear
that
word?”

“Regina and I decided it was the perfect term for me,” Lydia said. “I like the way it sounds. And I want it with you again tonight. I’m sorry I didn’t come back to bed this morning.”

“You have to be kidding me.
Coitus?
You like saying ‘coitus’?” Morrie said in shock, pulling his hand back. He slid his new glasses off the table and tucked them into his other shirt pocket. The irony of having two pairs now from the only two women he ever loved was not lost on him. In their way, they had both helped him see things he never would have without them.

“Why don’t you stand up and repeat that again? I think there are one or two tables who didn’t hear the announcement,” Lydia said sharply.

“Why should I be embarrassed to announce anything about us? My very hot girlfriend drives a red Camaro and likes coitus,” Morrie mused aloud. “That would sound like the perfect woman to any man with half a brain. I have both halves, and they’re still working. Let’s get married, Lydia.”

For an answer, Lydia burst out laughing at his outrageousness. “Married? I haven’t even gotten used to being an actual girlfriend. In fact, I’m not even sure I am one. Why in the world should I marry you?”

“I’ll show you when we get home. Or maybe tomorrow morning. I’m really good at coitus in the mornings. Did I ever tell you that?” Morrie asked, tasting a bite of his crab cakes, which were very good. He held a bite out to her, which she leaned forward to sample off his fork. Why had he never known about this restaurant before?