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Molly had almost reached her car when she heard someone calling her name. She turned to find Dr. David Stern walking briskly toward her.
“Hi,” he greeted her breathlessly. “I was beginning to think I wasn’t going to catch you.”
“Hello again.” She was mildly surprised that he’d been looking for her. They’d danced a few times at Kati and Matt’s wedding, and had eaten together on the lush green lawn, but she hadn’t talked to him after Jordan had been so rude.
“I was hoping I could convince you to go out to dinner with me tonight,” David said. He was tall and burly. A few of the staff members referred to him asDr. Bear, not because of his temperament, but because of his size.
“Tonight,” she repeated.
“I realize it’s short notice, but I’m on call the rest of the week. We could make it another evening if that’s more convenient, but it never fails—if I’ve got a date, someone decides this is the night they’re going to hurl themselves off a cliff.” His grin was wide and boyish.
Molly had liked him from the moment she’d watched him comforting an elderly patient. She liked his compassion, his gentleness, his sense of humor.
“I’d enjoy dinner with you very much,” she told him. “But not tonight.”
“You’ve got other plans?”
“In a way. My divorce was final this afternoon and, well, I was thinking I should do something…extravagant. I don’t know what. Something reckless.”
“Hey, some would say having dinner with me is pretty daring.”
Molly was tempted to accept his invitation, but she wasn’t ready to date again, not so soon. In addition, there was the baby. Not every man would be thrilled to date a pregnant woman. “I don’t think I’d be very good company.”
“I understand,” he said, and although he sounded disappointed he offered her a warm smile. “If you need to talk to someone, give me a call.” He pulled a prescription pad from his pocket, wrote out his home phone number, peeled off the sheet and handed it to her.
“Promise me one thing,” he said, “don’t sit around alone and mope. I’ll be in all evening if you want totalk. If nothing else, I’ve got this great joke book and I can read it to you over the phone.”
Impulsively Molly hugged him. She could use a friend just now.
A few minutes later, she walked into her apartment and closed the door. The sun had broken through the afternoon clouds and the sky was a shimmering blue. Funny how bright everything was outside while she was living through a fierce emotional storm. The least it could do was drizzle. A downpour would have been more appropriate.
The phone rang, and Molly swerved around to look at it. Perhaps it was fanciful thinking on her part, but she half hoped it was Jordan calling to tell her how the final divorce proceedings had gone. That wasn’t likely, however, and call display confirmed it.
“Hello, Dad.”
“How are you?”
“Fine.”
“You didn’t call me,” he said. “How did your talk with Jordan go yesterday?”
“It went. He wasn’t too pleased, as you might imagine.”
“Did he change his mind about the divorce?”
“No.” Some small part of her had hoped he would, although she’d never have said as much to her father. In fact, she’d only now admitted it to herself.
Ian’s talk had ignited a spark of hope, however futile, that her marriage could be saved. But Jordan was engaged to Lesley now. Naturally he wanted to sever his ties with her.
“You told him about the baby, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“And he still went through with the divorce?” Ian’s voice revealed his shock. “I thought…” He hesitated, recovered quickly and when he spoke again he sounded calm. “How are you taking all this?”
“I’m fine.” If it wasn’t for the baby, Molly would make a point of getting good and drunk, which would take, at most, one margarita. But despite everything, she was mildly surprised to discover it was true—she was going to be all right.
“What are you doing?”
