Page 24 of Just The Way You Aren’t (Last Billionaire Standing #1)

She smiles widely at me. “I’m actually glad for the company. And Mrs. Baumgartner misses you terribly.”

I laugh. “Oh, does she? I’m sure Irving doesn’t.”

“You’re growing on him.” She takes my hand. Warmth spreads all the way up my arm and into my chest. I try not to examine the feeling too closely.

“I should probably put my suit jacket in the van if I’m going to be helpful.”

Willow grins. “Not a chance. Mrs. Baumgartner wants to see you in your full CEO regalia one of these days. ”

“Regalia?” I wrinkle my nose. “It’s just a suit.”

She gives me an appreciative once-over. “Tell that to any woman looking at you in it.”

I chuckle, but damn if that saucy look on Willow’s face doesn’t shoot straight to my cock. “All right, no need to flatter me. If she wants to see me in the damn suit, she can see me in the damn suit.”

“Great!” Willow tugs me up the front stairs of Doris’s house.

Doris answers the door in a floral dress from another era and full make-up. Thankfully, she still has her oxygen under her nose. “Damien!” she says, holding out her hands.

“Hello, Doris.” I reluctantly let go of Willow’s hand in order to take the one Mrs. Baumgartner thrusts at me, palm down. I take the cue and drop a chaste kiss to her wrinkled skin. “You look especially beautiful today.”

She giggles like a schoolgirl as Willow goes to get her meals. “Thanks, handsome. Not too shabby yourself.”

I wink at her. “Now, don’t let Irving get the wrong idea about us. I know he’s calling soon.”

Her smile falters a bit. “Oh, not today. Irving’s in the hospital. It’s his asthma, poor dear. His granddaughter brought a cat into the house and, well…”

“Ah. I’m sure he’ll be fine,” I reassure her as I escort her back into her house and to the sofa where there is far less strain on her oxygen tubing.

Willow comes in soon afterward and sees me sitting with Doris while she sniffles and dabs her eyes with a wadded-up Kleenex. “What’s wrong?” she asks.

“Irving’s in the hospital. Asthma attack,” I explain.

“Oh no!” Willow comes to sit by us, pulling a clean tissue out of her pocket. “Here, Mrs. Baumgartner. It looks like that one’s used up.”

Doris smiles sadly and takes the tissue. “Thank you, Willow. You’re such a dear. You’re both such dears. You remind me of me and my beloved Charlie.”

Charlie? I wonder to myself.

“Her husband. He died many years ago,” Willow says quietly.

Doris nods. “He was a good man. Not as funny as Irving, but solid. Gruff, but kind. He seemed like a big old grizzly bear, but inside he was really just a teddy bear.” She pats the back of my hand. “Like you.”

My brows rise. “Do I seem like a big old grizzly bear?” I ask, looking at Willow.

The two women join in shared laughter.

“Oh, Damien. You are delightful.” Doris gets a wistful expression on her face.

“My Charlie was the only one at the USO dance who none of the girls would dance with. He was all frowns, big and burly, and he had his arms crossed from the minute he arrived. He just glared at all of the dancers. I think he was only there because of his buddies. But they were all dancing. I saw him sitting alone there, and, being the bold, modern woman I was in those days, I walked right up to him and I said, ‘Sir, I’d like to dance with you.’”

I chuckle at the image that conjures in my mind. “Really? No one dared you to do it?”

Doris shakes her head. “No. My friends wanted me to round out a different group of dancers, but I saw Charlie and I just couldn’t let it go. I mean, a serviceman who’d served our country having no one to dance with? That wouldn’t do.”

Willow leans forward, listening with an adorable, dreamy look on her face. “What did Charlie say when you asked him? ”

Doris smiles softly. “He said, ‘Miss, you don’t want to dance with me. I’ve got three left feet.

’ And I said, ‘Three left feet! Where’d you get three left feet?

’ I tell you, without missing a beat, Charlie said, ‘God gave me an extra one just for kicks.’ I laughed so hard I snorted.

And that made him smile. And that smile…

Willow, that smile hooked my heart and reeled it right in. ”

Willow nods, her smile beaming.

“Did he dance with you?” I ask, needing to know how Doris and Charlie’s story went from there.

“Not that night. But we sat together and talked until they closed the hall down.” Doris dabs her eyes again.

“No, Charlie surprised me at our wedding. He secretly took dance lessons for all six months that we were courting. Then, at our wedding, he asked me to dance for the first time ever. I was shocked! He said to me, ‘Will you dance with the guy with three left feet, Doris?’ And I told him I didn’t care if he had four of them.

He took me dancing every weekend after that, right up until the end. ” Her breath catches.

“Oh, Doris, that’s lovely,” Willow says.

Tears roll down the elderly woman’s cheeks.

“You know what he said on our wedding day, when I asked him why he put in so much effort when he didn’t like to dance?

He told me that first night we met, he knew he was going to marry me, and since he was going to marry a girl who loved to dance, he figured he’d better catch up. ”

Willow takes out another tissue for her own eyes. “That’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.”

Doris sighs through her sniffles. “That was my Charlie. Scared the hell out of the guys down at the docks where he worked, but a big marshmallow with me.” She wipes her face and smiles at us.

“That’s why I love Irving. He doesn’t mind me talking about my Charlie and I don’t mind him talking about his Rose. ”

There must be something caught in my throat. Something scratchy, that’s causing some kind of lump there, making it difficult for me to swallow. “When did he, uh… how long ago did you lose Charlie?”

“Nineteen-seventy-six. Dock accident,” Doris answers sadly.

I quickly do the math in my head. That means Doris has spent more of her life without Charlie than with him. “I’m sorry for your loss, Doris. Truly.”

“Oh, don’t be, honey. We had many lovely years together.” Doris squeezes my hand again. “But don’t waste time, either. That goes for both of you. Life is short, and you just never know what’s going to happen down the road. But it sure is nice not traveling that road alone.”

I can’t help but glance at Willow, who is looking right back at me.