by Karen Booth
“Dad. Lela. Are you guys seeing what I’m seeing?” Echo was in a bit of a tizzy, pacing back and forth.
“Echo. Put away your phone, love. We need to go.” Lucius marched past them, ferrying bags to Austin’s car. Donovan’s brother was dropping off the happy couple at Logan Airport in Boston so they could get on their honeymoon flight to Turks & Caicos. The New York airports were closer, but Echo had always hated them. Plus, she wanted a little bit of time with her uncle.
“Social media is freaking blowing up with Lela B. All of the big beauty influencers are talking about it,” Echo called after him, as if he actually cared. “It’s everywhere. All because of Lela’s gray hair.”
“Don’t get too carried away, honey. This doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” Donovan just had to be the voice of sobriety and caution.
Lela wasn’t really in the mood for it. She’d never been so popular, ever. Also, she was exhausted after being unable to sleep at all last night after the reception. There had been entirely too much physical contact with Donovan yesterday. Between the Vespa ride and slow dancing, her body was still buzzing. And then he had to go and tell her about the many times over the years he’d wished he could talk to her, but hadn’t reached out? She was tired of being turned on and disappointed. “I can’t believe this. I have thousands of new followers. Everywhere. On every platform. What’s with this hashtag? #GrayHairDontCare? How does that even happen?”
“Hey, Echo. Lucius is right. You guys need to get on the road,” Donovan said, still totally blasé. It was like nothing was going on. “Have you said goodbye to your mom and grandmother?”
“I said goodbye to Grams before she went to do her meditation. Mom left an hour ago, remember?”
“Right. I forgot,” Donovan said.
Lela was still scrolling, trying to ignore Donovan’s cool and detached behavior. Why was he being such a wet blanket? This was exciting. She swiped at her screen and two eye-popping notifications appeared. She squealed. “Serena Williams and Reese Witherspoon are following me? What the what?”
“Lemme see,” Echo blurted, grabbing Lela’s arm and gawking at her phone. “That is so cool.”
Lucius stomped back into the foyer. “Echo. We have to go or we’re going to miss our flight.”
Echo grimaced and dropped her head back. “Aargh! Why does everything have to take off right when I’m also about to take off?”
Donovan slung his arm around Echo’s shoulders. “Come on, darling. Lucius is right.” He took a step toward the door, but she didn’t move.
“Dad. I can’t leave. There’s too much to do,” she pled. “Somebody needs to talk to sales and marketing. We should probably be booking new ads. We need to get the publicity department up to speed.”
“And that’s what I’m for,” Donovan’s voice was as calm and even as Lela had ever heard it. “You have just been through several extremely trying days, on top of what has already been a non-stop three years getting Echo Echo off the ground. You and Lucius are starting your life together. It’s important that you set everything aside for this. I mean everything.”
Now Lela saw what Donovan was up to. He knew his daughter incredibly well, and she was not the type of person to hop on a plane and unplug for ten days when something big was going on, especially if it had to do with her business. “Your dad’s right. Whatever this is, he and I can figure it out.”
Echo pursed her lips and frantically nodded her head, but she was also visibly wincing. “I know. I know. It’s just really hard. I’ve worked my ass off. So have you guys. I want to be there if things are about to blow up.”
“It’s ten days. I promise to keep you posted on everything that’s going on. I’m sure there will be more than enough excitement to return to,” Donovan said.
“Okay.” Echo hugged Lela. “Goodbye. I’ll miss you. You have to promise you’ll text me every new celebrity follow.”
Lela laughed and returned the embrace. Everything felt so surreal right now, but saying goodbye to Echo helped to bring Lela back down to Earth. “I’ll miss you, too. And I promise to tell you everything.”
“All right, you two,” Donovan said. “Let’s break it up.”
Lela kissed Echo’s cheek, lightly enough so she didn’t leave any lipstick behind. “Congratulations. Have an amazing trip. Don’t forget sunscreen.”
Echo’s musical laugh filled the foyer. “Spoken like a skin care expert.”
Echo, Lucius, and Donovan walked to the car while Lela hung back, standing in the doorway. Mere seconds later, Austin appeared.
“I guess this is it,” Austin said.
Lela felt bad about shooting him down, but there were a million reasons why it wouldn’t work. First off, she felt nothing for him other than some fondness. Second, he was Donovan’s brother, which seemed unfair to Donovan. Third, Austin lived in another city. As if Lela needed to juggle more in her life. More than anything, romance and dating weren’t on her radar right now, especially if Lela B was about to take off like a rocket ship. “Goodbye, Austin. It was really nice to meet you and get to know you.”
“It was great to meet you.” He pursed his lips together and looked down at the floor for a second. “Can I tell you something?”
Lela wasn’t sure she wanted to hear what came next, but she didn’t want to be rude. “Sure.”
“I think my brother is in love with you. But he doesn’t know how to say it. Or do anything about it. Which I totally get, because I can be a little inept when it comes to emotions, too.”
“Why is that? Is it because of your mom?”
Austin shrugged. “I guess? Probably. When you don’t know what you’re going to get, love or indifference, it’s hard to get comfortable. Your first impulse is to run away.”
Lela sighed. That had certainly been the case with Donovan. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to do with this information, Austin.”
“Nothing. You can’t figure this out for him. I just wanted you to know what I see from where I’m sitting.”
“Thanks.” It was a statement, but it could have just as easily come out as a question. Nothing he was saying would help her in any way.
He reached out and touched her forearm, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. “This is for my brother’s benefit. I’m pretty sure he’s watching right now. Maybe it’ll help him wake up.”
Lela peeked outside to the driveway, where Donovan, Echo, and Lucius were crowded around Austin’s car. Did she even want Donovan to get in touch with his emotions? Part of her did, if only for his own sake, but part of her did not. Life was good right now. Things were going well. Love and feelings were only going to make things more complicated. “Have a safe trip back home.”
“You, too.”
Lela watched as Austin strolled outside and everyone said their final goodbyes in the driveway. Donovan shut the car door after Echo climbed in, then started back to the house while Austin pulled away. As soon as the car was out of sight, Donovan broke out into a jog.
“Lela. Holy shit,” he blurted. “Do you realize what’s happening with Lela B?”
“Excuse me, Mr. Oh I Think The Campaign Might Be Working But Maybe Not?”
“I was dying the whole time you and Echo were looking at your phones.” He stepped inside the foyer and closed the door behind him. “But I didn’t want Echo to bail on her honeymoon. I want her and Lucius off to the best possible start. Plus, I have a feeling things are still going to be insane by the time she gets back.”
Lela was past her annoyance and was now simply feeding on his excitement. She also found it endearing that he was so focused on putting Echo first. “Do you really think all of this stuff is good? I have no clue. I’ve never had anything like this happen to me.”
“This, Lela Bennett, is better than good. I can feel it.” He slung his arm around Lela’s shoulders. More physical contact, except this time in the context of happy, exciting things. Her heart couldn’t take much more of it, especially after the things Austin had
just said. “Case in point, a text from the president of JTI.” Donovan showed her his phone.
Lela B is taking off. Moving sales resources to your team. Ramping up production. I know you’re at Echo’s wedding, but call me when you have a chance.
Lela had to read the message twice. Even then, it didn’t feel real. Electricity zipped up and down her spine. Her brain started to kick into overdrive. Would all of the hard work actually pay off? It seemed like it might. “Wow. I’m just. Wow.”
Donovan stepped in front of her and gripped both of her shoulders, with a look that was unlike any she’d ever seen on his face. Donovan James wasn’t merely happy or pleased. It was like he might explode. “Take it from me, stuff like this doesn’t happen very often. I don’t know how long the tail will be. It could be a week. It could be months. But whatever it is, you and I need to get back to the city ASAP and figure out how to make the most of this.”
“Okay. Got it. I need to go pack up the last of my stuff, but I can be downstairs in ten.”
“Yes. Great. I’ve already brought my bag down. I just want to say goodbye to my mom.”
Lela raced upstairs and crammed her remaining clothes and toiletries into her suitcase, but of course, when her phone rang and she saw Tammera’s name on the Caller ID, she had to answer it.
“Tams. How are you?”
Tammera squealed on the other end of the line. “What the hell, bus lady? Your whole career blows up and I don’t even get a text?”
“I didn’t even know. My phone was off all weekend.”
“Well, I’m telling you, there’s a definite buzz.”
“I still don’t understand how any of this started.”
“As near as I can tell, a whole bunch of women got super pissed off about the fact that people were taking issue with your gray hair. It was a bullshit response. These women clapped back. Hard.”
Lela zipped up her suitcase. She was the least controversial person she could think of, but she did appreciate the idea of women standing in solidarity with other women. Any bias against gray hair was definitely bullshit. “That is so awesome.”
“It’s especially awesome because it happened to you.”
“Donovan and I need to get on the road. Can we catch up this week?”
“I have a crazy shooting schedule, but call me. We’ll figure something out.”
“Great. Love you,” Lela said.
“Love you, too.”
Lela tucked her phone into her purse and was back in the foyer in record time. She found Donovan outside waiting for her, standing next to his car. He grabbed her bag and tossed it into the cargo area of his SUV, then rounded to the driver’s side door. Lela climbed inside and they were soon on their way.
“How was it saying goodbye to your mom?” Lela asked.
“Surprisingly, a little sad. Usually I’m desperate to get out of here, but this was a really good visit. Maybe it was just because of the wedding. I think that put some much-needed perspective on everything. I realized that she got put through the ringer by Genevieve, and she was trying her best.”
“It was really nice to have been invited.”
Donovan settled back in his seat, leaving one hand at the very top of the steering wheel and resting his elbow on the center console. “My family loves you.”
“That’s sweet. I think they’re lovely. Even your mom, who is not nearly as bad as you tried to make her seem.”
He blew out a breath. “I know. And I feel bad about that. It’s funny, but you see your family differently when there are other people around.”
“I’m not saying they’re perfectly normal. But I like that they’re unique.” Lela’s phone rang with a number she didn’t recognize. “I’m not even sure I should be taking these calls. I have no clue who this is.”
“If I were you, I’d be answering everything right now.”
“Okay.” She pressed the green button to accept the call. “Hello? This is Lela Bennett.”
“Oh, great, Ms. Bennett. I’ve been trying to hunt you down. This is Monica Figueroa. I’m a booker for Good Day USA. Are you familiar with our show?”
Lela nearly laughed. “Yes. Hi, Monica. I know Good Day USA. My mom watches every morning.” It was the longest running network morning show in the country, seen by several million people every day.
Donovan cleared his throat and leaned forward to make eye contact with Lela. He silently pled for more information.
“Fantastic,” Monica said. “We’re hearing a lot about the ad campaign for your cosmetics line. We’re wondering if you’d like to come on the show this week? Share your story with our viewers?”
“Really?”
“Yes. Really.”
“Uh, sure. Yes. Of course. What day?”
“Wednesday? We’d have you on in the second hour of the show.”
Lela wanted to play it cool, but deep down, she was screaming at the top of her lungs. “That sounds great.”
“Perfect. We’ll be in touch tomorrow about where you’ll need to be and at what time. I’ll talk to you then.”
“Sounds great. Thank you for calling.” Lela pressed the red button on her phone and shrieked. “Oh my God. My mother is going to flip out.”
“Good Day USA? Seriously? What day? When? Tell me what she said.”
Lela loved hearing the jubilation in Donovan’s voice. She quickly recounted her conversation with Monica. “Can I just tell you something?”
“Of course.”
“This is the weirdest thing that has ever happened. Stuff like this doesn’t happen to me.”
“It does now.”
Her mind was running at a million miles a minute, overcome with the same nervousness she’d felt about doing the photo shoot. This was going to be even more intense. More cameras, more people on set. And of course, millions of people watching. “You have to come with me on Wednesday.”
“Are you sure? You don’t want one of the publicists to go with you? They’re probably better equipped to deal with this.”
“No. Donovan. You’re the only one who can keep me calm. You’ve known me longer than anyone.” Funny, but the thought of him being at the photo shoot had been horrific, and she’d been so relieved when he hadn’t shown up. But now, the thought of being on television and him not being there? Even scarier.
“If you want me there, I’m there.”
She felt like she could exhale. “Perfect. Thank you.”
They spent the rest of the drive talking over strategy and next steps. Much of it was Donovan talking and Lela listening and jotting down notes. He was the expert when it came to making the most of the situation they found themselves in, not her.
When they got into Manhattan, Lela’s nerves kicked back into hyperdrive. There was so much uncertainty ahead of her. She liked it when she knew what was going to happen, and right now, she knew nothing. Nada. Zilch, other than the fact that she and Donovan were about to be on the front lines together, battling the unknown together. Donovan pulled on to her street, and that was when she saw a commotion. A small cluster of women were standing at the bottom of the stairs leading up to her brownstone. As they got closer, Lela noticed that a few had gray hair.
“What’s going on?” she asked Donovan as he pulled up to the curb.
Her question was quickly answered when one woman turned, spotted Lela, and promptly said to the rest of the group, “She’s here!”
As the crowd approached the car, Lela reflexively leaned back against the car’s center console. “Are they talking about me?”
“I think so.”
“How did they figure out where I live?”
“The Internet?”
“So I should fix that?”
“Probably.”
“But what do I do right now?”
Donovan leaned closer to her, his chin nearly on her shoulder as he waved hello to the strangers on the street. “Smile. Wave. These are your fans,” he said through grinned teeth.
“My fans?”
“Yes.”
Lela was at a complete loss, so she copied Donovan and channeled Lady Diana. Wave and smile. Wave and smile. “This is so weird,” she said.
“Welcome to your new life.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
It took no time for Lela’s life to turn bonkers. The morning after she and Donovan returned from Echo’s wedding, there was a different crop of women outside her house. Everyone was respectful—lovely, really—but it didn’t feel any less strange to Lela. When she arrived at the JTI offices that morning, there were yet more waiting for her. They wanted her autograph, selfies, and a minute of her time. Every woman within spitting distance of fifty had questions. Did she think growing out their gray would look good on them, too? How long did it take? And here was the kicker: had her love life changed because of it?
“No,” was the answer to that last question, even though Echo’s wedding had left her feeling a little too ambiguous about Donovan. Their attraction was still there. The tug she felt in the center of her chest every time she was around him was present, too. But beyond all of that were the doubts about what he really wanted, whether she would ever be that person, and did she even want to be that person? Things weren’t going perfectly for her right now, but they were headed in the right direction. Did she want to mess with that?
“Do whatever will make you happiest,” Lela replied to the question about whether the gray would look good on other women. “If you don’t want to color your hair anymore, don’t. Gray can be beautiful.”
Lela had to quickly learn the art of eloquently answering questions off the cuff, as she became accustomed to navigating New York as an identifiable human being. She tried to ride the subway on Tuesday, and stupidly thought sunglasses and a hat would help her remain anonymous. It became a fail when a panhandler announced, “Hey, it’s the gray-haired lady!”, which caused a group of women waiting on the platform to descend upon her, asking for photos and wanting to know how she got her hair so shiny.
“Cold water rinse.” She grinned for the camera phones and made a point of being kind and cordial to everyone. She knew how lucky she was to be in this peculiar situation.
