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“You might think this an asinine question, but would you be willing to wait for me to divorce Molly?” he asked. “It shouldn’t be more than a few months. Nothing has to change for us unless you want it to.” He’d been as honest with her as he could be, and he hoped she’d take that into consideration.
“I ought to throw you out that door, just like you suggested.”
“But you won’t,” he said, confident that she would have by now, if that had been her intention.
“I …don’t know what I should do. Then again, it should be crystal clear,” she said with a laugh that sounded more like a sob. “I need time to think this through.”
“All right. How long?” They were supposed to attend a cocktail party with a group of investors over the weekend. Important investors. Even if they didn’t arrive together, avoiding each other would be impossible.
“I can’t give you an answer yet,” Lesley said. “But I promise to call you once I make up my mind.”
* * *
Molly stood in line at the hospital cafeteria, deciding between the egg-salad sandwich and the chicken salad, when David Stern cut in front of her.
“Hello again,” he said, grinning as he slipped his orange plastic tray next to hers. “I’ve been waiting to hear from you.”
Molly felt mildly guilty for not seeking him out, knowing that was what he’d expected. She liked David, but she didn’t want to mislead him into believing they could become involved.
“Care to join me for lunch?” he asked.
“I’d care a whole lot,” she joked.
He paid the cashier for her sandwich and milk, plus his own much larger lunch, then wove his way between crowded tables to the patio outside.
Molly followed him, grateful he’d chosen to eat outdoors. She set her tray down on the round glass table, under the sheltering shade of the blue-and-yellow umbrella.
“What decadence did you fall into the other night?” David asked.
“A sausage and extra-cheese pizza,” she said, opening the milk carton and pouring it into a glass.
“That sounds pretty tame to me. Surely a divorce rated a double Scotch on the rocks.”
“I can’t drink now,” she returned automatically. Her hands froze on the milk carton as she raised her eyes to David’s. She might as well tell him. Her pregnancy wasn’t a secret. “I’m pregnant.”
David took the information in stride. “Does your ex know?”
“Yes. It was a shock for us both, but he paid me back in spades.”
“How’s that?” David asked as he dumped half the pepper shaker on his tuna salad.
“He had his attorney withdraw the divorce petition. I drowned my sorrows in pizza, only to discover we’re still married.”
“He wants to reconcile?”
It wasn’t polite to laugh, but Molly couldn’t help it. “Nothing that drastic. He felt, for whatever reason, that we should wait until after the baby’s born. I don’t know how his fiancée is going to take this, but that’s his problem.”
“He’s engaged?”
Her life sounded like a soap opera. “From what I understand, she’s perfect for Jordan.” Molly raised her sandwich to her mouth. “As you can see, I’m not exactly a prime candidate for a relationship. I’d suggest counseling for any man who wanted to become involved with me.”
David laughed. “You sound like you might need a friend.”
That was the word Jordan had used, too. Why was it that every man in her life suddenly wanted to be her friend? She might as well get used to it. There was only one thing about which Molly was completely certain. She never intended to marry again.
“You’re right,” she admitted, “I could use a friend.”
“So could I,” David said, centering his attention onhis lunch. “My wife died in the first part of January. We’d been married for fifteen years.”
