Page 28 of Gray Hair Don't Care
He turned back to Tammera and Delia. “Lela was the most amazing person I had ever met. Smart and funny and incredibly generous of spirit. So pretty, a little weird because she liked to sneak into weddings, and of course, she had the second best taste in music. I, of course, have the best.”
Lela smacked his arm with the back of her hand, but realizing how odd it felt to hear him rattle off a list of her good qualities, without explaining the mystery of why exactly they could never be more than friends. “Donovan got that flipped around. He likes REO Speedwagon, so he will always have the second best taste.”
Tammera knocked back the rest of her glass of wine. “I’m with Donovan. I love them.”
“I’m Team Lela,” Delia said. “No Speedwagon for me, thank you very much.” Her head dropped forward and she jerked it back, more than a little drunk.
Tammera slung her arm around Delia’s shoulder and kissed her cheek. “I think I need to get somebody home and into bed.”
Delia squinted as she raised her hand and pinched her thumb and forefinger together. “I might have had a teeny tiny bit too much wine.”
The four of them gathered at the front door for their goodbyes. It was the first time Lela had really noticed what a funny quartet they were—three impeccably dressed women and one bearded dude in a T-shirt that itself could be considered middle aged. “Thanks for coming,” she said to Tammera and Delia, giving them both a big hug. “I’m so excited for you both. Congratulations.”
“Yes. Congratulations,” Donovan said, having been filled in on the happy news during dinner.
Tammera pointed at him. “You, sir, are officially invited to our wedding. Date to be determined, but we’re thinking July.”
“July? That’s in a few weeks,” Lela said. “Also a horrible time in New York.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” Tammera quipped. “We not only have to work around the production schedule for my show, one of the partners in Delia’s practice is retiring. It’s really the only time we can squeeze it in if we want to actually go on a honeymoon. It’ll be something small and quick. No drama. Then we’ll have a huge party later.” She turned to Donovan. “So look for an invite. I’ll get your info from Lela.”
He smiled from ear to ear. “I look forward to it.”
Donovan and Lela stood in her doorway as Tammera helped Delia down the stairs, taking things very slowly. Luckily, a cab drove by and Tams was able to hail it in time. Lela closed the door when they were safely on their way. “Oh, shit. I forgot about your shirt. Let me go check on it.”
Donovan stopped her with his hand on her forearm. “Don’t worry about it. You can bring it to the office. Or toss it if it’s ruined. It’s not the end of the world.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll buy you a new shirt. I feel responsible. It’s all because you volunteered to pick up the take-out.”
He still hadn’t let go of her arm, and now the heat from his hand had permeated the thin fabric of her dress. Tingles rippled along her spine.
“You don’t need to apologize. I had the best night,” he said.
“I’m happy to hear you say that. I think Tammera and Delia had fun, too.”
“I don’t know how anyone couldn’t. Amazing conversation, we laughed our asses off, incredible wine, and good food. That’s the perfect combo in my book.”
“It really was nice, wasn’t it?” she asked, doing her best to not sound so damn wistful.
“It was. Thanks for inviting me. Thank you for letting me be a part of your life.”
A soft smile crossed his kissable lips and Lela fought her tendencies to get swept up in the moment. Her heart was pounding fiercely and with great determination. The air in the house seemed to stand still. She felt strong and weak at the same time. The longing for him had never left her body, it had simply gone to sleep, and he was slowly nudging it awake. But she had to be smarter than desire. She and Donovan had finally returned to a good place. It was a bad idea to mess with that. Friendship was too precious. Yes, she wanted him, but what they had right now was enough.
She popped up on to her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. “Thank you for letting me be a part of yours.” She reached for the doorknob, but she did it slowly, just to give him a chance to stop her. He didn’t. “Probably time for us both to hit the hay.”
“Yep.” He leaned down and kissed her on top of her head. “I guess the next big thing to look forward to is Echo’s wedding.”
“Only a few days away.”
“We can talk about departure times at work.”
And there it was—the new normal. “Sounds like a plan.”
Donovan jogged down the steps, but he stopped and turned at the bottom one. “Thanks for giving me back my T-shirt.”
“Thanks for letting me borrow it for thirty years.”
Chapter Fifteen
