“Thank God,” he muttered, and lowered his head once again to her breast.
And then all ability to think vanished as he proceeded to make good on his promise to kiss her all over.
Molly closed her eyes and hugged Dan close as their ragged breathing gradually slowed. The intensity of his lovemaking was unlike anything she’d experienced in her entire life.
After a few minutes Dan groaned and rolled over onto his side, taking her with him, apparently unwilling to let her go. She tucked her head into the hollow of his shoulder, and inhaled deeply, filling her nose with his scent.
She must have dozed even though she hadn’t intended to. But she woke up when she felt Dan ease away from her and roll off the bed.
“Where are you going?” she asked, before she could bite her tongue.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wake you.”
She clutched the sheet to her chest and squinted toward the blue illuminated numbers on her alarm clock. “It’s barely five o’clock in the morning.”
“I know, but I need to get home before Josh wakes up.” He sounded apologetic but drew on his clothes. “I was trying to decide if I should wake you up or just let you sleep.”
He’d obviously chosen the latter, although he couldn’t know she was an extremely light sleeper. She tried not to feel bad that he was leaving. Logically, she knew he needed to get home to his son. For some foolish reason she’d envisioned them sharing a quiet breakfast together.
“Go back to sleep, Molly,” he murmured, leaning over to kiss her. “I’ll call you later on today, all right?”
“Sure.” She forced herself to get up and grab her robe, so that she could lock the apartment door behind him. She clutched the lapel tight and tried to smile. “Good night, Dan.”
“Good night, Molly.” He kissed her again before he left. And she locked the door behind him and went back to bed.
But she didn’t sleep. Being all alone in the aftermath of the intense pleasure they’d shared brought all her earlier doubts back. Had he been anxious to leave? Had he planned all along to leave before she’d woken up? Was he regretting staying with her even as long as he had? Had he realized she was nothing more than a plain Jane with nothing special to offer?
Had she just made the biggest mistake of her life?
It was entirely possible, because right now she felt worse than the day James had told her that he loved someone else.
Molly got up and made herself a bowl of cereal and a pot of coffee. She read through the Sunday paper, determined to keep up with the news. After she’d completed a few loads of laundry, she decided to go over to see Dan and Josh. She didn’t call ahead, simply deciding to take the subway.
She got off at the stop that was near Angel’s and paused for a moment to gaze up at the impressive hospital overlooking Central Park. The history of the hospital’s origin was humbling. Back in the dark days after the Depression, after his little boy had died of polio, Federico Mendez had established New York’s first children’s hospital, known for giving charity care to those children in need. In the years since then Angel’s had become well known all across the country. Rich or poor, every child in New York was welcome to be cared for at Angel’s. Even on Sunday it was busy, and she watched a medical helicopter land on the roof, no doubt bringing another small patient to Angel’s house of hope.
She started walking toward Dan’s condo, but stopped abruptly when she caught sight of two people in wheelchairs heading down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. She recognized Dan and Josh, arms pumping hard as they propelled their wheelchairs down toward the park.
She stepped back so they wouldn’t see her, and watched as Josh laughed when he pulled ahead of his father. They were obviously enjoying some father-and-son time, which was good.
After watching Dan and Josh head into the park, she turned and retraced her steps to the subway. She shouldn’t feel disappointed that they hadn’t included her. Wasn’t this what she’d wanted all along? For Josh and Dan to become close?
When she’d been with James, he’d always included her in all family outings. She could look back now and realize he’d used her more or less as a surrogate mother for his sons. They really hadn’t had very much alone time as a couple. Which hadn’t exactly helped their personal relationship. Was it any wonder they’d grown apart? Was it any wonder he’d fallen in love with someone else?
She should be glad that Dan wasn’t doing the same thing. Obviously, he’d made love to her last night because he’d wanted to. He’d arranged for a babysitter so he could take her to a lovely dinner. So why did she still feel left out?
Determined to stop wallowing in self-pity, she headed over to see her parents. They always had a standing Sunday brunch invitation and today she’d surprise everyone by stopping by.
Twenty-five minutes later she arrived at her parents’ place and wasn’t entirely surprised to find Sally and Mike there, as well.
“Molly, it’s so good to see you,” her mother said, giving her a big hug. She clung to her mother for a long minute, before letting go to hug her father.
“It’s good to see you, too,” she said, hoping they didn’t notice the dampness around her eyes. “Hi, Sally, Mike. How are your wedding plans coming along?”
“Wonderful!” Sally said, as they gathered in the kitchen. “We have our church and the hall picked out.”
“Really? And when’s the big day?” Molly helped herself to a glass of orange juice.
“August twenty-first. We were lucky that the hall had a cancelation.”
“Wow, that’s only a few months away,” she murmured. Obviously the wedding plans had been going on for quite a while.
“Food’s ready,” her mother called.
Even though the conversation centered around Sally and Mike’s upcoming wedding, Molly was glad to be here, surrounded by her family. For a brief time she didn’t feel so much like an outsider.
Although she couldn’t help thinking about Dan and Josh. Wondering how they were spending their day. Had they gone to another movie after their trip to the park? Or had they gone back to Fun and Games?
It was ridiculous to keep thinking about them when she’d see them both the following morning.
She stayed at her parents’ house as long as she could, before heading back home.
There was no message from Dan waiting for her, and she wondered if he’d regretted spending the night with her.
Had he said those nice things to her at dinner just to get her into bed? Had she been hopelessly naive to believe him? Her stomach clenched as she couldn’t help thinking the worst, especially as it was clear that he hadn’t followed through with his promise to call.
It was her fault for getting emotionally involved with Dan in the first place. And it would be up to her to get over him, the same way she’d managed to get over James.
One painful day at a time.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DAN CALLED MOLLY a half-dozen times, but when she didn’t answer he hung up before her machine kicked in. He didn’t want to leave a message. After the way he’d been forced to leave earlier that morning, she deserved better than to hear him say “I’m thinking of you” on a machine.
Leaving her warm bed had been one of the hardest things he’d ever done. If not for Josh being home with Mitch, he would have stayed longer. The rest of the weekend, if