told herself, rolling her eyes. Just brilliant. Could she sound like a bigger dope?
“Molly, I’m so glad you called back. Would you be willing to go to Fun and Games with me and Josh? We’d love you to.”
The eagerness in his tone soothed her frayed nerves. “Sure, what time?”
“Well, I thought we’d go later this afternoon and then stay for dinner, although they mostly serve pizzas and burgers. With the traffic in New York, I could pick you up at two or two-thirty. If that’s all right with you.” Was it her imagination or did Dan sound nervous? “We could also play more of your games before heading out, if you think that would be all right.”
“No, of course I wouldn’t mind. Two o’clock sounds fine. Would you rather I meet you at the clinic? That way you don’t have to drive all the way out here to the Bronx.”
“Josh and I will pick you up, right, Josh?”
She had to grin when she heard Josh yelling “Yeah!” in the background.
“All right, I’ll see you around two.” She was about to hang up when Dan asked for her address. Feeling a little embarrassed, she rattled off the number of her apartment building. She knew it wasn’t exactly in the best neighborhood, but it was all she could afford on her therapist’s salary.
“See you soon,” Dan murmured huskily.
“All right,” she managed, before hanging up. For a moment she couldn’t move, stunned by what she’d just agreed to. Was she crazy? Didn’t she have any self-preservation left after James had dumped her last year?
Apparently not, since she didn’t make a move to cancel her plans. No matter how stupid, she was looking forward to seeing Dan and Josh again.
She usually cleaned on Saturdays, and as she had a few hours to kill, she stuck to her routine. When she’d finished, she showered and dried her hair, deciding to keep her hair down rather than pulling it back into a ponytail, the way she usually wore it at work.
This wasn’t a date, but she still managed to try on just about every article of casual clothing that she owned, which admittedly wasn’t much. She wore scrubs to work and didn’t have enough money to be a clotheshorse. In the end, she settled on a pair of well-worn jeans and a bright green short-sleeved shirt that brought out the color of her eyes. Perfect attire for Fun and Games, although she wished she had something to wear that would make her look nice for Dan.
Stop it, she lectured herself. She was going along to help Josh with his therapy. Nothing more.
And maybe if she repeated that several more times, she’d find a way to believe it.
When her apartment buzzer went off at five minutes before two, she quickly crossed over to answer it. “I’ll be right down,” she said through the intercom, not wanting Dan to see her sparse furnishings. She’d gotten most of them from a secondhand store, and nothing matched.
She was surprised when only Dan was there, waiting for her in the minuscule lobby. “Where’s Josh?” she asked.
“He’s in the car, I’m double-parked outside,” Dan admitted with a wry grin. “Let’s go before I get a ticket.”
She laughed and shook her head. “They wouldn’t dare give Dr. Daniel Morris, renowned pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon at Angel’s, a ticket.”
He didn’t say anything in response, but when he put his hand in the small of her back, gently urging her forward, she felt his light touch all the way down to her toes.
Get a grip, she told herself sternly.
Thankfully, Josh was excited to see her, diverting her attention from the ridiculous attraction she felt for his father. “Hi, Molly!”
“Hi, Josh. How are you feeling?”
“Good. Are we gonna play some more games today?” he asked. “I have more fun with you.”
She winced at Josh’s blunt statement and glanced over at Dan, noticing his mouth was set in a grim line. She knew he cared deeply about his son, and it couldn’t be easy for him to hear Josh express his feelings.
No wonder Dan had asked her to come along today.
“Sure, we’ll play some more games,” she agreed, covering the awkward silence.
She was relieved that Josh kept up a steady stream of chatter as Dan drove back to their place. When they arrived, she waited patiently for him to pull Josh’s wheelchair out of the trunk of the car, before heading to the elevator. She wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that Dan lived in a luxurious apartment on the top floor, one that no doubt cost twenty times her annual salary. She tried not to feel intimidated as Dan showed her to the playroom.
“Where are you going?” she asked, when he turned to leave. “You have to play with us, right, Josh?”
“Right,” Josh agreed.
She thought Dan’s smile dimmed a bit, although he stayed in the playroom with them. Determined to make the most of the time they had, she ran them through a series of games, which had Josh giggling with enjoyment by the time they were through.
“Enough,” Dan cried, throwing his hands in the air. “I give up!”
“What do you think, Josh?” she asked. “Should we let your dad off the hook?”
“No,” Josh said, shaking his head. “Let’s beat him again!”
She felt bad for ganging up with Josh against his father. “No, that’s not fair. This time I think you and your dad should go against me.”
“Actually, I don’t think we have time,” Dan said gently. “We have to get going, if you want to eat dinner any time soon.”
She glanced guiltily at her watch, realizing they’d played far longer than planned. “All right, then, let’s go.”
Technically, after the time she had just spent with them, there was no need for her to really go to Fun and Games with them. For a moment, it crossed her mind to beg off. She could easily take the subway home.
But she held her tongue as Dan helped Josh put on jeans and a T-shirt. “Look, Molly, we match!” Josh said excitedly, pointing to his green shirt.
“So we do,” she murmured, knowing that she didn’t have the heart to disappoint Josh by backing out of their plans now.
Not even to save herself from more heartache.
“I’m hungry, Daddy,” Josh complained as he drove to Fun and Games.
He glanced at his son, in the rearview mirror. “I know. We’ll be there soon, okay?”
“Okay,” Josh agreed.
“I’m hungry too, Josh,” Molly said, swiveling in her seat so she could face him. “What are you going to have? Pizza? Or a burger?”
“Pizza!” Josh shouted.
Dan smiled,
