NYC Angels: Unmasking Dr. Serious

by Laura Iding

  “I’m still not over the shock,” Alex muttered, tossing back the rest of his champagne as if it were straight whiskey.

  “You’ll be fine,” Dan said, clapping Alex on the shoulder. “Excuse us, we’re just leaving.”

  They finally made it out of the ballroom without being stopped by any more of Dan’s colleagues, and when they stepped outside, she shivered. “It’s cold out here!”

  Dan cuddled her close as he waited for his car to be brought out by the valet parking attendant. “Where’s your coat, woman?” he asked, rubbing his hands up and down her arms in an effort to keep her warm.

  “I wasn’t going to buy a long coat for one evening,” she said, half under her breath. Her waist-length jacket would have looked out of place with the emerald-green dress.

  “Take mine,” he said, shrugging out of his jacket and draping it around her shoulders.

  Dan’s sleek black BMW arrived less than five minutes later, and she slid into the passenger seat gratefully. Dan tipped the parking attendant and then climbed in beside her. He immediately cranked up the heat.

  Now that they were alone in his car, nerves set in. What if he didn’t want to come up to her apartment? What if he thought she lived in a dump? What if she’d misunderstood how he felt toward her? What if he wasn’t as attracted to her as she was to him?

  She’d initiated the kiss. Granted, he didn’t pull away. In fact, he’d kissed her like he wasn’t planning on stopping any time soon.

  The memory was enough to make her heart race. She tried to take a deep breath to calm herself, but Dan must have noticed as he reached over to take her hand.

  “Relax,” he murmured. “Did I mention that Josh’s nanny was spending the night at my place?”

  For a moment she gaped at him. He tells her to relax and then he springs that on her? “She is, huh?”

  “Yes, she is.” A smile played around the corners of his mouth and that hint of humor was enough to make her relax.

  Because she hadn’t imagined his response to their kiss. “Sounds like it’s your lucky night,” she teased.

  He tightened his fingers around hers. “You have no idea,” he said in a husky tone.

  “Oh, I think I do.”

  Thankfully, the drive to her apartment didn’t take long. Finding parking, though, was another thing altogether. She was appalled at the fee he was forced to pay but, short of taking his car back to his place and taking the subway back, they didn’t have a choice.

  She unlocked the door and led the way inside. They didn’t get very far when Dan caught her hand and pulled her close.

  “Kiss me,” he murmured.

  She was happy to oblige. This time she slipped her hands beneath the jacket of his tux, causing him to groan low in his throat.

  “Molly,” he said between kisses. “Which way is your bedroom?”

  “This way,” she said breathlessly. Tearing herself away from him wasn’t easy. As soon as they crossed the threshold of her bedroom, while she was thanking her lucky stars that she’d had the foresight to make her bed and clean up, his cell phone rang.

  Dan froze, and looked down at her. “I’m sorry, Molly, but I need to make sure it’s not about Josh,” he said as he reached into his pocket for the phone.

  “I understand.” She made sure her disappointment wasn’t reflected in her expression.

  He glanced at the screen, sighed and pushed the button to answer the phone. “Gemma? Is everything all right?”

  Molly could hear Gemma’s reply. “Josh is having a nightmare. He keeps calling for you.”

  “I’ll be home in fifteen minutes.” Dan snapped his phone shut and let out a heavy sigh. “Molly, I’m sorry, but Josh is calling for me and I really need to be there for him. I know the timing is terrible but for once he’s not calling out for his mother.”

  “Don’t be sorry. I totally understand.” And she did understand—if Josh had been her son she’d leave in a heartbeat. “I’m okay, really.”

  Dan muttered what sounded like a curse as he ran his hand over his close-cropped hair. “Will you let me make it up to you? Say, with dinner tomorrow night?”

  “That’s not necessary—” she started to say, but he stopped her with a kiss.

  “Yes, it is necessary,” he said in a low, strained voice. “Very necessary. Please?”

  How could she say no? “All right, call me tomorrow.”

  “Count on it.” He kissed her again, and then turned to leave. She followed him to the door, making sure she locked it after he left.

  She leaned against the door, wondering if she’d truly lost her mind. She couldn’t sleep with Dan. He was a big-shot open-heart surgeon at Angel’s!

  Not to mention the father of her patient. But that argument didn’t hold much weight as she wouldn’t be Josh’s therapist forever.

  Still, what did she have to offer someone like Dan? Nothing that he couldn’t get with any other woman and, heaven knew, New York was full of single women, any of whom would be thrilled to be with someone like Dan.

  She couldn’t bear it if he abandoned her the same way James had.

  If she was smart, she’d find an excuse to avoid seeing him again.

  If she was smart, she’d stop the madness before she got hurt.

  * * *

  Dan was grateful Josh’s nightmare had pretty much faded by the time he’d gotten home from Molly’s, but he stayed up for a while longer, making sure his son was resting quietly before he crawled into his own bed.

  Falling asleep wasn’t easy, though, as he still ached for Molly. He almost considered heading back over there, but knew that wasn’t fair. She’d be asleep by now, and even if she wasn’t, Josh might wake up again. No, he couldn’t take the risk. Besides, she’d already agreed to go to dinner with him on Saturday night. Tonight, as it was already past midnight.

  He wasted a good hour staring up at his ceiling, thinking about where to take her. He wanted her to feel comfortable, yet he also wanted the evening to be special. He thought of the perfect place and finally fell asleep.

  Thankfully, Gemma let him sleep in, taking care of Josh until he crawled out of bed. After he finished in the bathroom, Josh came to greet him. “Hi, Daddy.”

  “Hi, Josh.” He was thrilled to realize his relationship with his son had gotten so much better and was deeply touched that Josh had called out for him in the night and not his mother. He swept the boy into his arms for a hug.

  “Gemma’s in the kitchen,” Josh said importantly.

  “Have you already eaten breakfast?” he asked.

  Josh nodded. “Yep.”

  “I hope you left me some, ’cos I’m hungry,” he confided, heading toward the kitchen. As he approached, he heard Gemma on the phone with her daughter. “Sure, honey, I’ll be happy to babysit tonight.”

  No! Wait! He needed Gemma tonight! He rushed forward but too late. When she hung up the phone, he knew he was out of luck.

  “Good morning, Dr. Morris. Now that you’re up, I’m going to leave. I have a lot of things to do today.”

  It took everything he had to smile. “No problem. I take it you’re babysitting tonight for your granddaughter?”

  “Yes, I love spending time with Emily. My daughter and her husband want to go out for dinner,” she admitted, sealing his fate.

  Dammit, he wanted to go out for dinner, too!

  “Well, have fun, then.” He watched her leave and then scrubbed his hand over his bristly jaw. H
e didn’t want to cancel his plans with Molly, but what choice did he have? Unless he could find another babysitter?

  He didn’t want to leave Josh with a stranger, so he went back to his list of former nannies and found the number for Betsy, the one Josh liked best.

  Unfortunately, Betsy was busy. So he went down the list. After calling several former nannies without success, he was about to give up when Josh’s tutor called to follow up on Josh’s progress.

  “Mitch, I know you’re a tutor and not a babysitter, but would you be willing to stay here tonight with Josh?”

  “I have a biochemistry exam on Monday, so my only plans were to study, so why not? I can always study after Josh falls asleep.”

  Dan closed his eyes and thanked his lucky stars that Mitch had a biochem exam rather than a date that night. “Thanks, I’ll pay you your tutoring fee for the entire night.”

  “Heck, Dr. Morris, that’s not necessary. The standard babysitting fee is fine.”

  “I insist.” Dan could barely contain his excitement. Not only was he going to see Molly again tonight but Josh would be in good hands with Mitch.

  A win-win situation all the way around.

  He ate a quick breakfast and then called to make reservations at Valencia’s, a very small yet expensive restaurant that he’d stumbled upon by accident several years ago. Once he’d finalized his arrangements, he dialed Molly’s number, feeling more nervous than he had in a long time. She didn’t answer, so he left a message.

  “Hi, Molly, I’ve made reservations tonight for eight o’clock. I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty if that’s okay. Please give me a call back to confirm.”

  Having finished up what he needed to do, he went over to help himself to more coffee. He glanced up as Josh rolled his wheelchair into the room.

  “Can we play Molly’s games, Daddy? Can we?”

  He nodded, squelching a flash of guilt at knowing he’d leave Josh with Mitch tonight. So he decided to make sure Josh had a lot of fun today. “Sure thing. And afterward we can go to another movie if you’d like.”

  “Really?” Josh’s face lit up like a neon sign. “Awesome.”

  He sipped his coffee and waited, figuring Josh was going to ask again about inviting Molly along, but when Josh didn’t, he decided to count that as another win.

  It was humbling to realize his son didn’t mind spending time with him alone now.

  And he vowed to make sure that even once he went back to work, he’d still set aside plenty of family time with Josh. Maybe he hadn’t known much about love and family when he and Suzy had first got married, but he was determined to rectify that mistake.

  Josh would always know what it was like to be loved. And wanted. Not like an inconvenience, the way his mother had treated him.

  His own mother had blamed him for ruining her life after his father, an officer in the army, had died in Vietnam. Granted, his mother had gotten pregnant on purpose so that her officer would marry her, but being pregnant and widowed at the age of nineteen had been far more than she’d bargained for.

  And throughout the years she’d made sure Dan had known that her misery was all his fault. Thankfully, he’d been able to lose himself in books and later in his studies, earning him the title of valedictorian of his high school graduating class.

  He’d been lucky, he realized now, that he’d earned a full ride at New York’s top university. He’d worked hard to get where he was today, but somehow, with all he’d accomplished, he still felt empty. As if there was something inside him that made him unlovable.

  Sure, Josh loved him. But Suzy hadn’t. And his mother certainly hadn’t.

  Playing with Josh eased his thoughts about his upbringing, and as they played Molly’s kick-the-ball game, he was amazed that Josh was able to move his legs from side to side with far more strength than he had previously. For the first time in a long while he began to believe that Josh really might walk again.

  His phone rang, and he jumped up off the floor, nearly tripping over his own two feet in his haste to answer it. When he saw the caller was Molly, he ducked into the kitchen for some privacy.

  “Hi, Molly, how are you?”

  “I’m good, thanks. How’s Josh?”

  “He’s fine. Slept well after his nightmare and seems to be back to normal today.”

  “That’s good. I’m sure that it was hard on you not being there for him.”

  “Yes. But it was hard leaving you, too.”

  There was an awkward pause and his gut clenched with fear. Was she going to try and cancel on him?

  When she didn’t answer, he spoke in a rush. “Josh’s tutor Mitch has agreed to stay here tonight, so I hope the dinner plans I made are okay with you.”

  “Oh, that’s wonderful. I’m glad Josh will be spending time with Mitch. Dinner sounds good and I’ll be ready by seven-thirty.”

  His shoulders sagged with relief. She hadn’t cancelled their plans. “Great! I’m really looking forward to seeing you again.”

  “Me, too,” she admitted in a voice so soft he had to strain to hear her. “I have to go, but I’ll see you later, okay?”

  “Sure thing.” He hung up the phone, knowing there was a goofy smile plastered on his face but unable to find the energy to care.

  He believed Molly cared about him, and not because he was a surgeon. Like him, she’d been hurt in the past, and he found he was desperate to see her again. To share a nice, romantic dinner together. Only this time, with a little luck, they wouldn’t be interrupted by any sort of crisis.

  He could hardly wait.

  * * *

  Molly had spent the morning lecturing herself on getting involved with Dan more than she already was, and had fully intended to back out of their tentative dinner plans. But once she had been on the phone with him, she hadn’t been able to do it. For one thing, he’d already arranged for a babysitter, and she was glad that Josh would have fun with Mitch.

  But the real reason she didn’t back out was because once she heard his deep voice resonating in her ear she realized how much she wanted to see him again. She’d been thinking about Dan when she’d fallen asleep, and he’d been the first thing on her mind when she’d woken up.

  Doomed, she thought with a wry shake of her head. She was doomed and too far gone to turn back now.

  Sally had called to apologize for embarrassing her at the fund-raiser. Of course Molly accepted her apology and they’d ended the call on better terms. But deep down she knew she and Sally would never be as close as blood sisters.

  Or even sisters of the heart.

  Dan would say that was Sally’s loss and she wanted to believe he was right. But she was the one who’d always wanted a family. Sally had no idea how lucky she was to have parents who doted on her and a fiancé who loved and adored her.

  Enough with the pity party! She spent the rest of the morning cleaning her tiny apartment, which obviously didn’t take long, and then took the subway to do some window shopping.

  She couldn’t really afford to buy another dress for her dinner tonight with Dan, but that didn’t stop her from looking. She found lots of cute dresses, but in the end she decided to wear her old standby black skirt with a nice teal-colored sweater.

  She was ready to leave well before seven, and tried to read, but ended up nervously pacing the tiny length of her apartment instead.

  When her buzzer rang at exactly seven-thirty, she grabbed her coat and purse before crossing over to the intercom. “
I’ll be right down.”

  She took the elevator and caught her breath when she saw that Dan was dressed in a pair of charcoal-grey slacks and a black crew-neck sweater. Although she liked the way he filled out a tux, she was finding that she liked the way he looked no matter what he wore. “Hi,” she greeted him shyly.

  “Hi, Molly.” He gave her a hug, surrounding her with his musky scent mingled with a hint of aftershave. “You look fantastic.”

  “Thank you.” She didn’t bother telling him how he’d now seen the full extent of her dressy wardrobe.

  He opened the car door for her, and after sliding in she had to smile when she noticed that once again he’d cranked up the heat for her. Taking pity on him, she turned the knob down a few notches.

  “I want you to know that Josh’s leg muscles are getting stronger,” he said, as he swung into the traffic. “We played kick the ball and he did amazingly well.”

  “That’s great news,” she said with a smile. “See, I told you the games were worth it,” she teased.

  “Yes, you did.” She was surprised when Dan reached out to take her hand. “And you were right, I should have trusted in your judgment all along. I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you.”

  “No payment necessary,” she murmured. “There’s nothing more rewarding than watching a patient’s progress toward his or her goals. It’s one of the reasons I love my job.”

  “And you’re damn good at it, too,” he said, still holding her hand.

  She smiled. “I told you so,” she teased as he put his hand back on the steering wheel. But she couldn’t help feeling a twinge of regret at knowing that her time with Josh and Dan would eventually come to an end.

  All too soon they wouldn’t need her anymore.

  “Hey, what’s wrong?” he asked, as if sensing her disquiet.

  “Nothing.” She pushed the melancholy away. “In fact, my sister called me today and apologized for her behavior at the Ritz.”

  Dan’s lips thinned. “She should apologize,” he muttered ungraciously. “She had no right to hurt you like that.”