‘That was very sweet of you but you didn’t have to do that. I could have made the dash out to you,’ she told him as she secured her seat belt and he did the same.
‘I am not going to have you freeze on my watch,’ he replied with a kiss before he slipped the car into gear. ‘So where exactly do you live?’
‘Like I said, I live in a not great part of town but, since you insist, you should take a left at the King William Street lights and I’ll guide you from there.’
Ryan winked and Molly couldn’t help but notice on the dashboard clock that it turned midnight as they pulled away from the hotel. And she felt more like Cinderella than she’d thought possible although the idea of Ryan seeing her home still played heavily on her mind.
* * *
As they pulled up to her house she noticed Ryan’s expression didn’t alter. Not at all. Not even a flinch. She’d imagined a look of horror might monopolise his expression as they drove into her suburb and then her street but there was nothing that altered from the time they left the hotel to that moment. No visible change at all. Perhaps again, she thought, she had been the one guilty of judgement. Judging herself and her circumstances more harshly than anyone else. And in the process, judging Ryan.
‘This is it, home sweet home,’ she said without looking in the direction of the house.
‘Molly,’ Ryan said. ‘Is it normal to have every light on in your house?’
Molly turned to see Ryan was right. The house looked as if a party had started; almost every light had been turned on.
‘Oh, dear Lord, Tommy must be up and perhaps looking for me. His anxiety will escalate if he can’t find me at this time.’
‘Of course,’ Ryan said, reaching for his door handle. ‘Let me walk you to the door.’
‘It’s better you don’t—it might make it worse. Introductions after midnight won’t be good and might make Tommy quite anxious,’ she told him, and then leant in and kissed him goodnight. ‘Thank you, Ryan, for a wonderful evening.’
‘No, thank you, Molly. Truly, one of the best nights in a very long time.’
With that Molly wrapped her thin shawl around her shoulders and alighted the car, not giving Ryan time to open the door for her. She raced to open the rickety gate, then rushed down the path to her front door. She waved to Ryan as she stepped inside. As she closed the door, she heard his car drive off into the night.
She knew he was taking a little piece of her heart with him.
A piece she was very willing to give.
CHAPTER TEN
‘ARE YOU ALL RIGHT, Molly? I was very worried. It’s late and the television was off and everything and you weren’t here.’
‘I’m sorry, Tommy. I was sitting in the car outside talking to my boss. He drove me home after the dinner.’
‘All right, Molly. But don’t worry me again,’ Tommy told her, then left and went back to his room and closed the door.
Molly felt guilty about worrying Tommy but had no regrets about the rest of the evening. Ryan was everything she had been looking for in a man but had never dreamed even existed outside a movie or romance novel. He was kind and considerate...and the most amazing lover, she added to her mental tally of his praise as she turned off all the lights, except the night light in the hallway, and made her way to her room.
Carefully she slipped out of her dress and hung it on the hanger behind her door. The care she took with the gown was at odds with the way Ryan had discarded it in his eagerness to have her only hours before. She smiled as she hurriedly threw pyjamas and woollen socks on, brushed her teeth and climbed into her bed. She would deal with her make-up in the morning. The brushed flannelette sheets were nothing close to the Egyptian cotton that she had shared with Ryan but they would quickly warm up and that was all that was important. That and reminiscing about the best night of her life as she drifted off easily into the deepest sleep she had enjoyed in more than a year.
* * *
Ryan drove into the night thinking about Molly. She was nothing close to the office manager he’d had in mind when he’d called the temp agency and he couldn’t have been happier about that. When he’d asked her to attend the dinner with him, he had certainly not dreamed they would end up making love in a hotel suite. He’d thought he would have a lovely evening with an intelligent woman. Maybe even learn a little more about her. Which he had, but it was so much more than he’d ever expected.
Images of her body filled his mind as he pulled into his driveway wishing he were not alone. Wishing she would be in his bed all night. What had happened between them happened quickly. His feelings had escalated and apparently so had hers. While he certainly had not planned the way the evening had ended, he wouldn’t have changed anything about it.
He knew his reputation sat as somewhere between recluse and playboy and he had never bothered to prove anyone wrong. And he realised in many ways perhaps they were right. He was either at home with Lizzy, working or occasionally spending an evening with a woman who wanted nothing more than that one night. No strings attached.
He accepted, although did not agree with, the general consensus that a man who didn’t have a permanent partner in his life by close to forty was either somewhat withdrawn or playing the field. Ryan was neither, but he was a father first and foremost and, for good reason, a man who didn’t and couldn’t trust women, so he didn’t feel the need to have someone on his arm. If the opportunity to sleep with an available woman with no expectations of more arose he would accept it, but he didn’t go in search of women to fill that void. He had been hurt in the worst possible way and until that night had never met a woman with whom he suddenly felt that there might actually be a reason to open up, to risk being hurt and to want to share his life. He knew it was crazy to feel that way so soon but Molly was so different from anyone he had ever met. She was feisty, yet caring, emotionally intelligent, not to mention beautiful. And the most giving lover.
He wanted her in his life...with strings attached.
He felt himself trusting a woman for the first time in more years than he cared to remember. Against everything he had believed for the longest time, he suddenly realised that he might just have a future with someone. Molly Murphy was an amazing woman and one who could seduce him with the smile in her eyes.
Dr Ryan McFetridge had not noticed the ramshackle houses in the dubious suburb, nor the unsightly graffiti on the run-down buildings near the vacant rail yard, because he had been focussed on the beautiful woman who had captured his heart.
He opened the front door of his home wishing more than anything that he could carry Molly upstairs and hold her in his arms all night long.
Suddenly it hit him. He might just be falling in love.
* * *
‘Good morning, Molly. I hope Tommy was not too upset that I got you home late.’
‘Tommy was a little worried and told me not to be so late again,’ Molly said into her phone.
‘That was my fault and I take full responsibility.’
‘I take equal responsibility. I could have asked to leave the hotel at any time.’
‘Well, I hope that you slept well.’
‘I slept wonderfully well, in fact I slept in until about twenty minutes ago and didn’t even hear the silly side gate that has been banging for the last two nights. When the wind picks up it’s like it’s possessed.’
‘I can come by and fix it if you like.’
‘Thank you but there’s no need. I called the landlord to do it. He can do something for the rent I give him.’
‘Is he on his way over to do it now?’
‘God, I hope not. I’m still in my pyjamas.’
‘I wish I didn’t know that.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I can imagine how desirable you look...and I want to hold you in my arms again.’
Molly suddenly felt warm al
l over. The idea was completely impractical but delicious nonetheless. Waking in Ryan’s arms would have been the only way to make the night any more perfect than it had been. Ryan was definitely not holding back and playing games. He said it as he felt it, and she loved that level of openness and honesty. He was very different from the closed, guarded man she had first thought him to be.
‘I hate to disappoint you but I think the look is more cosy than sexy, to be honest.’ Molly brought her thoughts back to reality and confessed as she looked down at her odd socks with lint from the dryer, mismatched pyjamas and oversized dressing gown and screwed up her face. There was nothing sexy about any of it but she didn’t have to let on just how bad she looked and spoil his early morning fantasy.
‘I’m sure if I was there I would disagree,’ he told her, then continued. ‘I know it’s early to be calling and I do apologise but I wondered if you and Tommy would like to go on a picnic. It’s cold today but not going to rain so I thought we could rug up and head up to Waterfall Gully. I could swing by and pick you up at about noon. I thought if I give you plenty of warning then it’s more likely to be a yes.’
Molly chuckled at his line of thinking. It was considerate, and also not hiding his intentions. As Ryan had already seen her home and still wanted to venture back into the suburb, she was not about to decline but she had to consider Tommy’s view of the invitation as she had already left him alone the night before and wanted him to be happy about the outing. ‘That sounds wonderful but I will have to check with Tommy and get back to you,’ Molly told her early morning caller. ‘Is Lizzy up to coming?’
‘No, she’s still not good. It’s usually two days before she’s feeling up to doing much but Ann’s here with her for the day. I told her what I had in mind and Lizzy’s actually encouraging me to go out with you. She really likes you, Molly. To be honest, if it wasn’t for me knowing that she really was unwell last night, I’d think she set the whole thing up. Looks like she’s dabbling in a bit of matchmaking.’
‘I’m not sure about that but I think Lizzy’s a very special young lady.’
‘I’d have to agree with you,’ he replied before returning to his original question. ‘Please ask Tommy if he’s up to it. And take as long as you need. I’ve packed the picnic lunch already with enough for the three of us so just let me know by, say...eleven-thirty.’
‘I will have an answer for you before then, and thank you, Ryan, for the invitation, and thank you for including Tommy.’
‘You’re very welcome and of course I would include Tommy. I’m looking forward to meeting him and, since Lizzy doesn’t have a brother, it might be nice for them to hang out in the future too. There’s not a big age difference so they might become famous friends.’
‘That would be great. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know.’
Molly hung up with her heart as light as air. She didn’t think anything could wipe the smile from her face. Thinking way too far ahead, Molly wishfully thought they had the potential to be like the Brady Bunch with Tommy and Lizzy and Ryan and herself. Could it be possible that she and Ryan could be more than just a fling? She had never thought she would learn to trust a man again, let alone contemplate falling in love, but that was exactly what was happening to her and she wanted to rest back and enjoy the feeling.
Could Ryan be her happily ever after and a stable male figure for Tommy? He had an understanding of the special needs of a young man like Tommy as he was successfully raising Lizzy and, to the best of her knowledge, coping with those challenges. She was daydreaming and in bliss as she walked past Tommy’s door that was still shut. He too must be sleeping in, she thought, and she gathered her things to have a shower.
The warm water felt wonderful running all over her body but not as good as Ryan’s hands the night before. The heat in the steam-filled room was heavenly on a cold morning but Ryan’s fingers had been ecstasy. Life had certainly turned the corner for her and Tommy. Perhaps, she mused for a moment as she lathered her hands with the cake of soap, both Murphys might be lucky in love after all.
* * *
‘Tommy, are you on the telephone?’
‘I was but I’m not now. My girlfriend had to go,’ Tommy called from behind his closed door. His voice told Molly he was grumpy.
‘Well, it’s lovely that you can call her and talk,’ she replied, hoping to lift his spirits. ‘She must be very special because I know you like her very much.’
‘I love her.’
Molly quickly took stock of her words and her attitude. She kept forgetting that Tommy was a twenty-five-year-old man in love.
‘Of course, you do. Do you have plans today or would you like to come on a picnic?’
‘No. I want to stay at home.’
‘May I come in, Tommy? It’s difficult to have a conversation with your door closed.’
‘Yes. You can open the door.’
Molly slowly opened the door to find her brother sitting on his bed. His head was hanging down and he looked very forlorn. ‘I thought you might like to go out and have a picnic,’ Molly said, still hoping to cheer him up with the idea of an outing. ‘Ryan asked us both out for the day.’
‘He’s your boss.’
‘That’s right.’
‘He took you out to dinner.’
‘Yes, he did and we had a lovely time.’
‘You came home late and made me worry.’
Molly chewed the inside of her cheek for a moment. She was slap bang in the middle of a grilling from her baby brother. ‘I know I did.’
‘Do you like him?’
‘He’s very nice.’
‘Is he your boyfriend?’
Molly was taken aback by the line of questioning. It was unlike Tommy. She could see he wasn’t happy and she wasn’t sure about the answer to his last question. Was Ryan her boyfriend? She didn’t know herself. The fact he had called so early and planned a date for the three of them could lead her to assume they were dating but she wasn’t sure and she wasn’t ready to tell Tommy anything until she was sure.
‘Tommy, Ryan is a friend and a very nice man and I think you would like him.’
‘I was going to see my girlfriend today but I can’t. She’s staying home. I wanted to go to the mall and get a ring and then ask her to marry me.’
Molly almost dropped her coffee cup and some colourful language with the shock. She knew that Tommy had spoken of a girlfriend but had assumed it was a fleeting crush. He had a big heart and it had been filled with romantic thoughts about pretty girls before but after a few weeks he usually found the girls to be silly and he stopped talking about them. She had suspected this wouldn’t be any different but it clearly was very different. Molly doubted Tommy had ever kissed or been kissed. His crushes had been platonic and innocent up to that point.
Molly’s head had been in the clouds with her own romantic thoughts and she had forgotten to enquire further about Tommy’s girlfriend, but talk of marriage was the last thing she’d expected to hear from her little brother.
‘She’s so pretty and we’ve worked together for over a year. I was her boss for a few weeks but now she’s a boss like me. I have four people who work for me folding the mail and she has three. She started there on May the second last year. I remember because it was her birthday the next day,’ he continued happily, completely unaware of the panic washing over his sister.
‘And you want to get married?’
‘Yes, and I want to buy a ring. A pretty one that she will like so she says yes to me.’
Molly steadied her breathing so her brother didn’t notice her reaction. Everyone deserved to find someone to love and she didn’t want her brother to think he deserved anything less but she couldn’t help but be surprised and apprehensive. It was all happening so very fast. The week before she hadn’t known Tommy had a girl in his life and now he wanted to get married. It was a lot t
o absorb. And she needed to know he was sure about his feelings before he got too involved.
Suddenly she pulled herself up. Her relationship with Ryan had moved even more quickly. She had met, fallen in love and slept with a man she had known for only a week. It was against everything she had thought she would have done. In fact, she’d never thought she would get that close to a man again, let alone in seven days.
‘Do you want to come and sit on the sofa with me? I can put on the heater and we can chat. I want you to tell me everything about her,’ Molly said as she headed in the direction of the living room. She needed to give her complete attention to her brother as this was a life-changing decision he was about to make. She turned on the gas heater and closed the door to keep the heat in the room, then dropped to the floor and sat cross-legged with her coffee cup in her hand. She could hear the side gate banging again against the wrought-iron fence in the strong wind. Molly had tied it up so many times but it always came free. She made a mental note to put one of the broken red house bricks on either side once the rain stopped. The thought of going outside and getting wet through once again that week was worse than the incessant and annoying noise. They were snug and warm inside and there were so many questions Molly had for Tommy, but she wanted to take it slowly.
‘Honey is like the prettiest flower in the garden, only better,’ he said, holding his arms out wide with a smile to match. ‘She’s the prettiest girl in the world and if she says yes then we’ll get married.’
‘Do you think she knows you’re going to ask her?’
‘No, but we love each other. I told her that I love her and she told me that she loves me.’
‘I know you’ve worked together for over a year but how long have you been together as boyfriend and girlfriend?’
‘Six weeks.’
‘I see, and how old is she?’
‘She’s young. She doesn’t have wrinkles like the lady that drives the bus.’
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