“It’s, uh, about Josh’s birthday.” She was staring down at her coffee as if afraid to look him in the eye. “I was wondering if you’d made any plans?”
He tightened his jaw, and spent a few minutes flipping the bread slices before answering. “No, I haven’t planned anything yet,” he said slowly. “But I’m guessing you think I should have some sort of party?”
“I don’t want to tell you what to do,” she said hesitantly. “But if you were going to have a party, I’d offer to help.”
“You would?” He glanced up and caught her gaze. She looked so hopeful he found he couldn’t deny her anything. “What sort of party are you imagining?” he asked with a mock frown.
“Here’s what I’ve been thinking,” she said, leaning forward eagerly. “We could get a whole bunch of wheelchairs from the clinic and invite Josh’s friends to a game of wheelchair football. That way he could play with them, and I think his friends would get a kick out of it, too. We could serve either hot dogs and hamburgers or pizza for dinner. What do you think?”
He had to admit she’d nailed the best idea he’d ever heard. “I think it’s a perfect idea. If the weather co-operates.”
“I know. March is dicey,” she murmured. “But as long as it’s not snowing, they can bundle up and we don’t have to play for hours. If it’s cold, we can start at the park and then come here afterward.” She glanced around at his immaculate apartment and frowned. “If you don’t mind the fact that the kids will likely make a mess,” she added doubtfully.
Normally, he wasn’t ashamed at the fact that he liked his life neat and orderly, but the way she looked at his things made him feel slightly embarrassed. Since when was having a clean home more important than his son’s happiness?
“I don’t mind at all,” he quickly interjected. “All that matters is that Josh and his friends have fun.”
She relaxed, a bright smile blooming on her face. His gut tightened with awareness. He’d never been more attracted to a woman than he was to Molly. She was a beacon of light in his otherwise drab existence. “Great. There’s no time to lose. We have to invite his friends as soon as possible.”
“I’ll call his teacher, I’m sure she’ll give me the names of the kids in his classroom.”
“You should invite all of them, girls, too,” Molly informed him.
“Girls?” He didn’t try to hide his surprise. “Really? Isn’t first grade a little young for having girls over?”
“It’s just the polite thing to do,” she said. “Besides, we’re planning this at the last minute, so I’m worried a lot of the kids might not be able to come.”
He scowled as he scooped the slices of French toast off the griddle and stacked them on a plate. He hoped the kids in Josh’s class would come, and hoped that giving them all wheelchairs to use would keep the teasing down to a minimum.
“Breakfast is ready,” he said, carrying the plate over to the breakfast nook. He pulled the bacon out of the pan, too, blotting the grease and then stacking them on another plate. Lastly he pulled out the maple syrup, before sliding into the seat beside her, so close their elbows bumped.
He watched with amusement as she doused her French toast with enough maple syrup to float a boat. She took a big bite and then closed her eyes, as if savoring the flavor. “Mmm, absolutely delicious,” she announced.
“Thanks.” He took a bite of his food, admitting that it was pretty darned good. But he knew the main reason he was enjoying his meal so much was because of Molly. Somehow she had the ability to brighten his day with nothing more than a smile.
Selfishly, because he didn’t have much to offer her in return, he found himself wishing that she would be around to share breakfast with him every morning.
Molly told herself at least ten times to leave Dan’s to return home, but somehow she ended up spending the entire morning with him. And Josh.
She was thrilled that he’d agreed to her idea for Josh’s birthday party. And if she was a little annoyed that he hadn’t come up with something for himself, she put those feelings aside.
She was beginning to realize that Dan needed help, not just in learning how to play games but in learning how to be a father. What his ex had done, leaving him alone with a small son to raise on his own, was appalling. And while she understood he had a very demanding career, operating on young infants and children, surely they weren’t more important to him than his son?
She couldn’t help wondering about him, especially his past, even as she insisted on helping to clean up the breakfast dishes. To her surprise, Dan refused to let her do the work alone. Working side by side with him in such a mundane task as washing dishes brought a strange sort of intimacy to their relationship.
“I’d like to massage Josh’s legs one more time before I go,” she said as she finished drying the last pan. “Too bad I don’t have the ultrasound machine here for him. He could really benefit from that therapy, too.”
Dan scowled as he took the damp dishtowel from her. “I could buy one, if you think that would help.”
“Buy one?” she echoed, aghast. “Do you have any idea how expensive they are?”
“Doesn’t matter,” he said with a shrug. “I’ll buy one today, if you think it would help.”
She could hardly believe he was really offering to purchase an expensive piece of equipment for Josh to use for such a short time.
But then again, wasn’t she surrounded by luxury? Dan Morris obviously could afford an ultrasound machine. Or anything else he or Josh desired.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she muttered. “We can stop by the clinic and use the ultrasound there just as easily.”
“Great. And then maybe we can take in a movie this afternoon, too.”
“Yeah!” Josh said with barely repressed enthusiasm. “Come on, Molly. Please? Please come see a movie with us?”
She wanted to say no. Needed desperately to put distance between them. Maybe Dan cooked breakfast like a normal person, but he was a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, for heaven’s sake. Wasn’t this fancy condo proof of how he moved in much higher circles than she could even fathom? She’d heard rumors that his salary was seven figures. Talk about a mind-boggling amount. She didn’t make a tenth of what he did.
This … friendship, or camaraderie or whatever they had couldn’t go anywhere. Why was she setting herself up for more heartache? She was destined to remain an outsider, and nothing was going to change that. Dan only thought he needed her now, but as soon as he’d repaired his relationship with his son, he’d move on.
“Please, Molly?” Josh said again. And looking down at Josh’s big brown eyes, mirror images of his father’s, she couldn’t bring herself to say no.
“Yes, Josh, I’d love to see a movie with you.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
GOING INTO THE physical therapy clinic on Sunday, when no one was around, felt strange. Molly didn’t think she would get into trouble or anything but, still, she knew she’d be glad when she’d finished the ultrasound treatments to Josh’s legs.
While she worked on Josh, she did her best to ignore Dan’s intense gaze, but it wasn’t easy. At this point she didn’t think he was watching her because he didn’t believe in her technique.
No, this time she had the distinct impression he was watching her out of some sort of personal interest. Not a romantic interest, she told herself quickly, but more as if she were some sort of alien creature that he couldn’t quite figure out.
Maybe because she was so different