Hot Single Docs Collection. Lynne Marshall
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for hours on end.
Suzy hadn’t been able to stand it, so he’d walked the floor with Josh, trying to soothe the colicky baby at night, while building his pediatric cardiothoracic practice during the day. He existed on little to no sleep, and it was by sheer luck he’d discovered that putting Josh in the baby swing and running the vacuum cleaner, of all things, had soothed his son more than anything else. Finally, they’d had at least a couple hours of peace and quiet.
Josh had grown out of his colicky phase by the time he was six months old, turning into a smiling, happy baby. But Suzy had still left just after Josh’s first birthday. And he’d tried to manage on his own.
With his growing surgical practice he’d ended up spending less and less time at home, leaving Josh to the care of his nanny. Except for his days off, of course, when he’d had to haul Josh from one sporting event to another. Something he’d started to resent until that fateful crash, where he’d almost lost the one thing most precious to him.
Which brought him full circle, to the day he’d met Molly. The petite firecracker who’d dared to yell at him, had ordered him to get a wheelchair and who’d shown him the importance of having fun.
And what had she wanted in return? Nothing but for him to love his son.
No, wait. That wasn’t exactly true. Over these past few weeks he’d learned a lot about Molly. He knew that deep down she wanted love and a family.
The knowledge hit him in the head like a brick. Of course Molly wanted love. She deserved love.
He was an idiot for not telling her how much he loved her!
He stood, and actually started for the door to follow Molly, before he remembered Josh was sleeping in his bed.
Spinning round, he went to find his phone. Okay, so he’d arrange for a babysitter. Josh might sleep the rest of the night anyway, and he wanted to talk to Molly. Now. Before it was too late.
Too late for what, he wasn’t sure, but the sense of urgency wouldn’t be denied.
He dialed Mitch’s number, hoping and praying the college kid had another exam coming up. Or at the very least, wasn’t already out partying on a Saturday night.
And if Mitch wasn’t home, he’d call every babysitter he knew until he found someone who would come over. Because he desperately needed to see Molly again.
She deserved to know the truth.
He loved her!
Molly was reading in bed, finding it difficult to focus on the murder mystery while trying not to think about Dan. When her apartment buzzer sounded, she started badly. With a frown she pulled on her robe over her pajamas and went over to the intercom. “Who is it?”
“It’s Dan—will you please let me come up?”
Dan? What on earth was he doing here? She glanced helplessly over her shoulder at her messy apartment, but pushed the intercom button again. “Uh, sure. Come on up.” She pushed the middle button, which unlocked the door, and then ran her fingers through her tousled hair.
She probably looked awful in her ratty robe and no makeup, but there wasn’t time to make herself look presentable. Besides, why should she care what she looked like? She’d spent the last two hours trying to forget about Dan and Josh, convinced she’d done the right thing by walking away. Giving them the time they needed. That they deserved.
So why was he here?
He rapped on her apartment door, startling her from her thoughts. Full of apprehension, she opened the door. “Hi, is Josh okay?”
“He was still sleeping when I left.” Dan stepped inside, forcing her back a few steps, and then closed the door behind him. “Thanks for letting me come up. I really need to talk to you.”
She glanced at him uncertainly. “Dan, I’m not sure there’s anything more to say—” she began.
“I love you,” he interrupted.
She blinked, opened her mouth and then closed it again. Was she dreaming? She must be because she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Somehow she managed to find her voice. “Excuse me?”
“I love you.” He took a step toward her, and she instinctively took a step back. “I love you, Molly Shriver. I know you think I need to concentrate on my relationship with my son, and I will. But I don’t want to lose you, either.”
Her knees went weak and she tried to wrap her mind around what he was saying. She desperately wanted to believe him, but what if she was wrong? “I don’t understand.”
“Then I can’t be saying it right,” he muttered, and before she realized what he was about to do he pulled her into his arms and slanted his mouth over hers in a hot, deep kiss.
She melted against him, wanting to be in his arms more than she wanted to breathe. When he lifted his head a few moments later, she swallowed a protest.
“I love you, Molly,” he said again, for the fourth time. And, heaven help her, she was actually starting to believe him. No one, not even James, had ever looked so serious and sincere when saying those three little words. Dan’s love beamed from his heart up to his eyes. “You’ve brought sunshine and joy back into my life. I know I don’t deserve you, but I can’t bear the thought of losing you.”
The conviction in his voice and the expression of hope on his face shook her to the core. Here was this dear man who’d never had anyone love him offering his heart to her. She felt awed and humbled to be on the receiving end of such a gift. “Oh, Dan—you haven’t lost me. I was only going to give you and Josh some time to be together, that’s all.” She realized that by walking out on him she’d done the same thing as his ex-wife. She couldn’t prevent her eyes from filling with happy tears. “I love you, too, Dan. So much that it scares me.”
“You do?” He looked almost afraid to believe her. “My career is time-consuming, but I want you to know that I plan to put my family first. You and Josh will always come first.”
“I know your patients need you, Dan. Josh and I will always support you, no matter what, because we love you.”
“Molly …” His voice broke and he swept her into his arms again, burying his face in her hair. “I love you so much.”
Before she could say anything more he picked her up, strode into her bedroom and kicked the door shut behind them.
The next week passed in a blur as the work that had stacked up while Dan had been away now teetered over him like a potential avalanche. He didn’t get nearly enough time to sneak over to share lunch with Molly or to get home in time to share dinner with Josh.
Thankfully, he wasn’t on call the following weekend and was determined to make up for lost time with Molly and Josh by inviting her over for dinner on Friday night.
He was grateful to Gemma, who’d made a beautiful pan of lasagna, which meant all he had to do was to toss a salad together and open a bottle of wine.
He was nervous because he’d purchased an engagement ring and was planning to ask Molly to marry him. Tonight. Which was probably rushing it.
He should wait. But he didn’t want to. He wanted the whole world to know she belonged to him.
When the door buzzer went, his heart leaped into his throat. “I’ll get it,” Josh shouted, as he hurled his wheelchair toward the door.
“Hi, Josh. Hi, Dan,” Molly said, as she stepped into the living room.
Conscious of Josh’s keen gaze, Dan gave her a quick kiss, despite how badly he wanted to linger. “Hi, Molly.”
“Something smells delicious.” Her warm gaze, full of love, settled his nerves. “What can I do to help?” she asked.
“Nothing. I have everything ready to go.”
As they wandered into the kitchen,