seems to be back to normal today.”
“That’s good. I’m sure that it was hard on you not being there for him.”
“Yes. But it was hard leaving you, too.”
There was an awkward pause and his gut clenched with fear. Was she going to try and cancel on him?
When she didn’t answer, he spoke in a rush. “Josh’s tutor Mitch has agreed to stay here tonight, so I hope the dinner plans I made are okay with you.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m glad Josh will be spending time with Mitch. Dinner sounds good and I’ll be ready by seven-thirty.”
His shoulders sagged with relief. She hadn’t cancelled their plans. “Great! I’m really looking forward to seeing you again.”
“Me, too,” she admitted in a voice so soft he had to strain to hear her. “I have to go, but I’ll see you later, okay?”
“Sure thing.” He hung up the phone, knowing there was a goofy smile plastered on his face but unable to find the energy to care.
He believed Molly cared about him, and not because he was a surgeon. Like him, she’d been hurt in the past, and he found he was desperate to see her again. To share a nice, romantic dinner together. Only this time, with a little luck, they wouldn’t be interrupted by any sort of crisis.
He could hardly wait.
Molly had spent the morning lecturing herself on getting involved with Dan more than she already was, and had fully intended to back out of their tentative dinner plans. But once she had been on the phone with him, she hadn’t been able to do it. For one thing, he’d already arranged for a babysitter, and she was glad that Josh would have fun with Mitch.
But the real reason she didn’t back out was because once she heard his deep voice resonating in her ear she realized how much she wanted to see him again. She’d been thinking about Dan when she’d fallen asleep, and he’d been the first thing on her mind when she’d woken up.
Doomed, she thought with a wry shake of her head. She was doomed and too far gone to turn back now.
Sally had called to apologize for embarrassing her at the fund-raiser. Of course Molly accepted her apology and they’d ended the call on better terms. But deep down she knew she and Sally would never be as close as blood sisters.
Or even sisters of the heart.
Dan would say that was Sally’s loss and she wanted to believe he was right. But she was the one who’d always wanted a family. Sally had no idea how lucky she was to have parents who doted on her and a fiancé who loved and adored her.
Enough with the pity party! She spent the rest of the morning cleaning her tiny apartment, which obviously didn’t take long, and then took the subway to do some window shopping.
She couldn’t really afford to buy another dress for her dinner tonight with Dan, but that didn’t stop her from looking. She found lots of cute dresses, but in the end she decided to wear her old standby black skirt with a nice teal-colored sweater.
She was ready to leave well before seven, and tried to read, but ended up nervously pacing the tiny length of her apartment instead.
When her buzzer rang at exactly seven-thirty, she grabbed her coat and purse before crossing over to the intercom. “I’ll be right down.”
She took the elevator and caught her breath when she saw that Dan was dressed in a pair of charcoal-grey slacks and a black crew-neck sweater. Although she liked the way he filled out a tux, she was finding that she liked the way he looked no matter what he wore. “Hi,” she greeted him shyly.
“Hi, Molly.” He gave her a hug, surrounding her with his musky scent mingled with a hint of aftershave. “You look fantastic.”
“Thank you.” She didn’t bother telling him how he’d now seen the full extent of her dressy wardrobe.
He opened the car door for her, and after sliding in she had to smile when she noticed that once again he’d cranked up the heat for her. Taking pity on him, she turned the knob down a few notches.
“I want you to know that Josh’s leg muscles are getting stronger,” he said, as he swung into the traffic. “We played kick the ball and he did amazingly well.”
“That’s great news,” she said with a smile. “See, I told you the games were worth it,” she teased.
“Yes, you did.” She was surprised when Dan reached out to take her hand. “And you were right, I should have trusted in your judgment all along. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“No payment necessary,” she murmured. “There’s nothing more rewarding than watching a patient’s progress toward his or her goals. It’s one of the reasons I love my job.”
“And you’re damn good at it, too,” he said, still holding her hand.
She smiled. “I told you so,” she teased as he put his hand back on the steering wheel. But she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret at knowing that her time with Josh and Dan would eventually come to an end.
All too soon they wouldn’t need her anymore.
“Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, as if sensing her disquiet.
“Nothing.” She pushed the melancholy away. “In fact, my sister called me today and apologized for her behavior at the Ritz.”
Dan’s lips thinned. “She should apologize,” he muttered ungraciously. “She had no right to hurt you like that.”
She was touched by his concern on her behalf. “She doesn’t mean to hurt me, it’s really my problem. I’ve never felt as if I was part of the family.”
He glanced at her. “I’m sure they adopted you for a reason, Molly.”
“Yes, but shortly after they brought me home they found out they were pregnant with Sally, and from then on things changed.” She lifted a shoulder in a careless shrug. “She became the center of their world, and I was more of an afterthought. Still, I know I should be grateful for what I have. I could have easily been sent from one foster home to another.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “I’m sorry that you had that experience, Molly. But living with a blood relative, a mother who gave birth to you, doesn’t automatically bring unconditional love,” he said. “Unfortunately, some people just aren’t capable of feeling that deeply about anyone else.”
His words stopped her cold, and she had the distinct impression he was talking from personal experience. About his own mother? Or just his ex who had married him and given birth to Josh yet hadn’t loved either one of them enough to stay?
“I feel sorry for those people, Dan. They’ll never know what they’ve missed.” She reached over and took his hand, vowing to prove to him that his ex had been stupid and wrong.
He and Josh were both special and very much deserved to be loved and cared for.
CHAPTER TEN
