NYC Angels: Unmasking Dr. Serious Page 16

  “I know you loved your son the moment you saw him,” she murmured.

  “Yes, I did. I do. I’ve been wrestling with guilt over the accident that put Josh in the wheelchair, even though I know the other driver was primarily at fault. Still, I’ve been trying hard to move forward.”

  “Dan, surely you realize that the accident might have happened even if you hadn’t been distracted. The guy ran a red light, right?”

  “Yes, you’re right. And I’m getting better there, but I’m afraid that without you I’ll fall back into my old patterns.”

  “You won’t, Dan. I believe in you. And to be honest, I feel like having me around will only get in the way.” Saying the words, remembering how Josh and Dan had looked as they’d wheeled themselves down to Central Park that day, made her realize why she needed to leave.

  Now. Before she lost any more of her heart.

  “What are you saying?” he asked hoarsely.

  She steeled her resolve. “I’m saying you need to take the time to concentrate on your relationship with your son.” She ignored the cracks rippling through her heart, breaking it into zillions of pieces. “Without allowing anything else getting in the way.”

  “Is that really what you think?” he asked, his face pale.

  She forced herself to nod. “Yes, that is exactly what I think.” She rose to her feet and forced herself to take a step toward the door. “I care about you and Josh. And I only want you to be happy.”

  “Don’t go,” he said, and the tortured expression on his face nearly brought her to her knees.

  “I have to.” She lifted one shoulder in a helpless shrug. “I’m sorry, Dan, but I think you need to come to grips with your past and your present before you can even begin to contemplate a future.”

  He froze, as if pierced by her words. And in that moment she knew her gut instincts were right.

  He wasn’t ready for a true give-and-take relationship. Wasn’t ready to be vulnerable enough to fall in love. For a moment her resolve wavered, because she could see just how clearly he needed someone to love him.

  The way she loved him.

  Yet didn’t she deserve that same love in return? She’d given herself to James and his sons, and for what? No, she couldn’t bear to have her heart broken again.

  So she turned and left his apartment, intent on taking the subway home. And she wasn’t sure which hurt more. Leaving him when she so badly wanted to stay or the grim knowledge that he hadn’t tried to stop her.

  * * *

  The moment Molly left, Dan stared at the closed door, feeling more alone than ever before in his entire life. Worse than when Suzy had left him with their one-year-old son.

  But the truth in her words resonated deep within him. Maybe she was right. Maybe he did need to resolve his past and his present relationship with Josh, before he could contemplate a future.

  She’d told him he was a good father, but he wasn’t sure if that was really true. His relationship with Josh had come a long way, and he wasn’t about to lose the ground they’d gained, but instinctively he knew that having Molly around wouldn’t distract him. He fought a rising sense of despair. He needed Molly to help show him the way.

  He needed Molly to love him.

  The way his mother and Suzy hadn’t.

  He’d grown beyond his mother’s bitterness, had managed to come out with a great career in spite of her, but for some reason Suzy’s betrayal seemed worse. Because he’d stupidly believed she’d loved him, even though she hadn’t.

  He still resented her. For leaving him. For the way she’d spent his money and then tossed him aside as if he wasn’t good enough.

  For distracting him the day of the crash. A crash that had almost killed Josh and had left him in a wheelchair.

  He sank onto the edge of the sofa, cradling his head in his hands as bitter anger sloshed in his gut like bad whiskey. Maybe Molly was right. Maybe he needed to let go of his anger and resentment before he could move forward.

  The image of baby Erica’s parents holding each other, drawing strength from each other, as they’d sat next to the tiny isolette flashed into his mind. He remembered doubting the ability of their love to survive the stress of having a sick infant.

  But maybe he had it backward. Maybe the reason his and Suzy’s marriage had fallen apart after Josh’s birth had been because they hadn’t loved each other the way they should have in the first place.

  Maybe true love held couples together during times of stress, rather than pulling them apart.

  He’d known that things between him and Suzy hadn’t been great even before Josh had been born. She’d made no secret of the fact that she’d hated everything about being pregnant. He’d hoped things would change once the baby was born, but instead they had gone from bad to worse.

  He’d loved Josh the moment he’d first seen him, but he hadn’t been an easy baby. Josh had suffered from colic and for those first few months he’d cried 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, she asked his son about his day, listening intently as Josh described how he’d managed to pull a B on his latest math test. As Dan poured the wine and then started the salad, he found he enjoyed listening to them.

  “Mitch helped me a lot,” Josh said. “Some of the mistakes I made were stupid.”

  “Well, don’t beat yourself up over them,” she chided. “Just remember next time to go slowly and double-check your work.”

  As they sat down for dinner, Dan was struck by how much they already seemed like a family. His love for Molly overwhelmed him.

  When they’d finished the meal, he took the dirty dishes into the kitchen, leaving Molly and Josh alone. When he returned a few minutes later he stopped in the doorway when he heard Molly talking to his son. “Josh, I have something very important to ask you.”

  “You do?” Josh’s eyes widened, as if sensing the seriousness in her tone. Dan stood stock-still, just out of sight, wondering what she was about to say.

  “Yes.” Molly actually looked nervous as she took Josh’s hand in hers. “Josh, I love you. And I love your dad. I want to ask you if you’ll let me marry your dad and become your new mother.”

  “For real?” Josh whispered, his brown eyes growing even larger. “You’re going to marry my dad and be my new mother?”

  She nodded slowly. “If you’ll let me.”

  “Yes! Of course we’ll marry you!” Josh cried, and he launched himself at Molly, who caught him in a huge hug.

  Dan watched them, his heart swelling with love, respect and pride. He stepped forward, capturing her gaze with his. “I think I’m the one who’s supposed to pop the question,” he murmured with a smile. He pulled out the small velvet box holding the engagement ring, opened it and slid it over to her on the table. “I was hoping to ask you later tonight.”

  “Really?” she gasped, and her eyes welled up with tears. “I’m sorry.”

  “Don’t be.” He reached over to pull the two most important people in his life close to his chest. “Just say yes.”

  “Yes,” she whispered, burrowing close. “A thousand times, yes.”

  He smiled with satisfaction as he held his future.

  His family.

  EPILOGUE

  Six months later...

  DAN STOOD AT THE ALTAR of the small church that Molly’s parents still attended regularly, waiting patiently for his bride to appear. Molly had chosen to
have a smaller service, after her sister Sally’s more lavish affair.

  And he was fine with that. Molly knew, just as he did, that the ceremony was only the beginning. He caught a glimpse of white and held his breath. When the music swelled and everyone in the church rose to their feet, he stepped forward eagerly.

  The two attendants came first, and he recognized Molly’s sister, Sally, and her best friend, Kara. But he didn’t spare them more than a second glance as he waited for Josh.

  When he saw his son, standing right in front of Molly, on his own two feet, no wheelchair in sight, his chest tightened with a mixture of love and fear. Maybe they’d rushed this? What if Josh’s legs weren’t strong enough to hold him? What if he tripped and fell when walking up the aisle with the braces on his legs?

  As Josh stepped forward, though, he realized he needn’t have worried, because his son was smiling widely as he made his way down the center of the aisle, his gait clumsy with the braces but each deliberate step like music to his ears just the same. When Josh reached the front, he came over to stand right next to his dad.

  “Good job, son,” Dan murmured, putting his arm around Josh’s shoulders. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Dad.” Josh flashed him a broad smile but then focused his attention on watching his soon-to-be new mother, Molly, as she walked down the aisle toward them.

  “She’s so beautiful,” Josh whispered.

  “Yes, she is.” And all his, he thought humbly as he moved forward to take Molly’s arm, so they could approach the altar together. With Molly at his side, he could face anything the universe had in store for them. This was the beginning of a new life together.

  As husband and wife. As a family with Josh.

  And he knew, deep down, that their love would only grow stronger with each passing day.

  * * * * *