Dating A Silver Fox (Never Too Late) by Donna McDonald Page A

keep from wasting it all. He grabbed a guest parking pass off the granite kitchen counter where he’d stacked them and headed to answer. He opened the door wide to find Lydia McCarthy staring at him nervously.
    His heart melted at the sight of her standing apprehensively on his doorstep, so obviously confused about being there. Morrie realized then that he should have called her, should have told Jane to tell Lydia why he wouldn’t be there. But he hadn’t been one hundred percent sure Lydia would even care that he had disappeared without a word.
    Until now.
    “Morrison,” Lydia said, her throat tight as her gaze raked over him. He looked tired, she thought. “How are you? I’m sorry—I’m sorry to hear about your loss.”
    Morrie waved her inside, too shocked at her condolence to reply.
    Lydia sighed and stepped into the spacious foyer, looking up at the tiny chandelier and around at the polished wood surfaces everywhere.
    “Nice condo,” she said, trying for casual conversation. His silence was unnerving her. Morrison was usually a chatterbox, and it was weird for him to be so quiet.
    “I still live in my house, but it’s really too big for one person. This is a very nice space,” Lydia said quietly.
    Morrie nodded. “Thanks,” he said quietly back. “Jane tell you what happened?”
    “Yes,” Lydia said, lifting her chin. “It’s not like your daughter was sharing all your family secrets or anything. Jane just came by to see the decorating and it came up in our conversation.”
    “Really? Just casual conversation, eh? Didn’t you miss me enough to ask where I was?” Morrie demanded, goading her for reasons he wasn’t clear about.
    “My, you do think highly of yourself, don’t you?” Lydia said, tone heavy with sarcasm.
    From a distant room, a woman’s voice called out his name, asking him who was at the door. Lydia stiffened, her face flushing with embarrassment. Morrison didn’t answer the summons, just continued to stare at her.
    “I see I’ve come at a bad time. My best to your family, Morrison. Don’t worry about the project. I’ve got everything under control.”
    “Lydia, none of us has it all under control—trust me,” Morrie said.
    Turning towards the door to leave, Lydia was shocked to feel his hands gripping her arms, more shocked to feel him turning her back around forcibly to face him. Another time she might have fought his actions, but disbelief about it being real had her bending to his will before having time to think.
    Then she was being held and hugged tightly—so tightly in fact that she almost couldn’t take in air.
    “Morrison! Not so tight, I can’t breathe,” she choked.
    Gently, Morrie pulled away, looking down into the face of a woman who seemed willing to go pretty far outside her comfort zone for him. That said a lot about her character. It said even more about how much he meant to her whether she was willing to admit it yet or not.
    He heard his name called again but ignored it, lifting Lydia’s chin with a knuckle. “Worried you interrupted something here?”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. Why would I be?” Lydia exclaimed, huffing out a breath again after he had hugged her so hard without warning.
    “I like the idea of you being jealous, but there’s no reason for you to be. The woman is my sister,” Morrie whispered fiercely, lips closing over Lydia’s shocked ones.
    She stood frozen in his arms, not moving, not responding. When Morrie pulled away from her unresponsive mouth, he searched for signs of disinterest but only saw signs of distress.
    “What?” he asked gently. “Talk to me. What’s wrong?”
    “I—I haven’t kissed a man in more than twenty years,” she admitted in a whisper. “I think I forgot how. And I was never really all that good at it anyway.”
    “It’s okay. I’m a professional,” Morrie promised huskily, caressing her cheek and dipping his head back down to prove his point. He couldn’t believe his muscles were so