Marrying Mallory (17 page)

“I like your house,” Mallory said, glancing around his
living room. Standing in front of his bookshelves, she pulled a book off the
nearest shelf and read the title out loud. “
A Purpose Driven Life
by
Rick Warren. I did read this but should read it again.”

“It’s an excellent book,” he said, eyeing her bare legs.

She put the book back. “I love your built in shelves on both
sides of the fireplace. I’m amazed how many books you have.”

“When I bought the house, I never thought I’d have enough
books to fill all the shelves but I’m getting there.”

“I love to read, too, but you probably realized that since
I’m an English teacher.”

“Your mom told me how you started reading at age three. Be
the way, I enjoyed meeting your mother. Thanks for including me in your
family’s celebration.” He better think of a reason to get her to stay. Offering
her food was out of the question. They had eaten a lot at dinner including
dessert. Maybe they could watch a movie. He’d just bought a few Blue-ray Discs
at Target. “How about we watch a movie?” 

She glanced at her watch. “I should get home. Tomorrow’s
going to be a big day. I need to help Josh pack his bag yet. He’s leaving after
the wedding to go with Toby’s parents to the lake house. I don’t want Josh to
stay up too late, but we can talk for a little bit.”

Her leg brushed his as she sat beside him. Intense desire
swept through his body at her touch. Did she feel the same thing? Apparently he
didn’t have the same effect on her. She looked as cool as his ice pack felt.
“Are you taking your vitamins?”

She grinned. “Yes, doctor. By the way, my family doctor told
me at my physical that I’m in good shape. He also approves of me having
surgery.”

“That’s good.”

“Did you get my physical form? When I had my physical, they
mentioned faxing it to your office.”

He nodded. “I got it on Friday. The big day will be here
soon.”

“Do you have surgeries scheduled on Monday and Tuesday?”

“Yes, but not too many on Monday.”

“I just have a teacher’s work day, and then I’m finished on
Tuesday for the summer.” Her green eyes widened as she stared at him. “Seth,
I’m scared.”

Oh, great. She’s worried I won’t be able to do her
rhinoplasty.
“The pain was bad when it happened, but it’s already feeling
better. I promise I won’t have any trouble doing your surgery.” He was glad she
was on his left side, so he could grasp her hand. “My hands are fine.”

“I’m not worried about you having any difficulty.” She
winked at him. “I think you’re faking it anyhow to get my attention.”

“I can see why you’d think that since I haven’t hidden my
feelings for you.” He didn’t give her a chance to say how she felt about him
but instead asked, “What are you anxious about?”

She exhaled a deep breath. “I’m just nervous now. I’ve never
had any kind of surgery.”

“That’s normal for you to feel this way. You shouldn’t treat
cosmetic surgery lightly, but you’re young and healthy. I wouldn’t operate if
there was any risk of something going wrong. And we’re close to a major
hospital if something rare should happen.”

“I’m nervous about something else too.” She paused for a
moment. “I’m worried my swelling might last too long. I want to go to Vegas with
Josh, but don’t want my nose to look bigger than it does now.”

He wanted to give her hopeful information but at the same
time, he needed to be blunt. “You’ll have bruising and swelling. It frequently
involves the tissues around the eyes. You might look like you have a black-eyed
appearance for around seven to ten days. The eyelids are easily bruised and
swollen with very little trauma. It’s hard to know how long your swelling will
last, but you’ll see an improvement right away in your nose. Gradually the
swelling will go away. I just can’t give you a timeline because each patient is
different.”

“I’ll be glad when it’s over.”

“Do you have someone to drive you home after the surgery?”

“Heather’s going to take off work.”

“That’s good. I’m sure she knows to stay with you.”

She smiled. “I feel special. I’m on the first name basis
with the best plastic surgeon in the area. And I have my own registered nurse
to take care of me.”

More than anything, he wanted to kiss her.
It’s time to
take action
. With his good arm, he pulled her next to him. “I want to give
you something to think about instead of the surgery.” His lips moved over hers,
tender and sensual.

When she kissed him back, he realized she wasn’t cool at
all. Her lips were warm. His entire body became drugged with need. He wanted to
make love to her.

Mallory gasped. “I can’t think, Seth. Your kisses are
driving me crazy.”

“You have the same effect on me. I can’t get enough of you.”
He nuzzled her neck, noticing her scoop-neck dress. He pulled her closer,
feeling her swollen breasts against his chest. She moaned at his contact.

At the sound of her phone, she sat up straighter and gave
him an apologetic glance. “I better get that. It might be Mom about the
wedding.”

While she left to answer her cell phone, he realized
something.

He’d never operated on someone he loved.

Chapter Seventeen

“Mommy, you sound funny,” Josh said.

“My nose is a little stuffed up.” Mallory glanced at Heather
to see if was listening. She’d driven her home after the surgery. When Heather
grinned at her, she realized her friend had heard. But it wasn’t a lie. Her
nose was congested because of swelling plus Seth had put a small bit of gauze
held in place with tape under her nose to absorb drainage.

“Daddy called. Grandma’s mad at him.”

“She probably wishes your dad wasn’t in Las Vegas, so he
could spend time with you, Grandma and Grandpa at the lake.” She loved Toby’s
parents. Fran, Toby’s mom had taken her side when they’d gotten divorced. She’d
told her son to go to counseling because his marriage was worth saving. Toby
had laughed and said his mom should get Mallory and Josh in the divorce
settlement. Neither woman thought he’d been a bit funny.

“No, she’s mad about Samantha. I heard her tell Daddy that
Samantha’s a gold digger. When I go visit Daddy in Vegas, I want to dig for
gold.”

“Grandma didn’t mean that Samantha was actually digging for
gold. She meant something else. Did Daddy tell you that Samantha is in Vegas?”

“Yes, she’s with him. I told Daddy that he missed Nana’s
wedding.”

Josh had been disappointed when he learned his dad wasn’t
attending the wedding. They hadn’t sent him an invitation after they learned he
would be in Vegas anyhow.

“Josh, I’m sorry you didn’t get to see him before you left
on your trip.”

“Daddy asked about the wedding. I said how Nana looked
pretty and happy.”

“She made a beautiful bride.” Mallory had never seen her
mother happier.  

“I asked Daddy if he was happy when he married you.”

Her throat thickened. Their wedding day had been perfect.
Toby’s eyes had been filled with love for her. What happened? “Josh, we were
very much in love.”

Josh lowered his voice as he said, “Daddy said that it was a
happy day. And when I was born was another wonderful day.”

It was time to change the topic. In exactly a week, Seth
would remove her splint from her nose and ironically it would be on the
anniversary of her wedding day. They were married after their college
graduation. Their honeymoon had been at Myrtle Beach. Strange how things
happened.

“And today’s going to be a good day for you. I heard you’re
going fishing with Grandpa. Your daddy used to fish with Grandpa.” 

After chatting for a few more minutes, they said good-bye.
She put the cordless phone next to the table lamp. “It’s going to be a long ten
days. I already miss Josh.”

Heather nodded. “It’s a shame your mom left, too, but how
romantic to find love at her age. You did a great job on the wedding. It was
perfect. Elizabeth and I both thought it was elegant.”

“I was pleased with how well it went. Fortunately, it was a
small wedding.”

Heather stood. “I better get the ice ready for your cold
compress. I forgot about it when Josh called.”

After Heather left the living room, she thought about
Samantha being in Las Vegas with Toby. Not her favorite thing to have on her
mind after plastic surgery, but maybe Samantha was the one woman Toby could be
happy with.

“Thanks,” she said when Heather returned from the kitchen.
She rested her head against the chair while Heather handed her a cold compress.
She hadn’t talked to Heather yet about meeting Jeremy’s mother. They’d left
after Elizabeth’s picnic to visit with Jeremy’s mom, and Heather had been
nervous about meeting her. “You haven’t mentioned Jeremy. Did you have a nice
time at his mom’s house?” 

Heather shrugged. “It could’ve gone better. I had trouble
talking to her. She asked about you. Then said how much she respected you.”

“I bet it went better than you think. I only met her a
couple of times, so I’m not sure why she thinks so favorably of me. She was
probably just making small talk.”

“She wasn’t impressed by me,” Heather said. “That’s for
sure. She said a minister’s wife has to be comfortable in lots of different
situations.”

“Jeremy must like you a lot for her to talk about what is
expected of a minister’s wife. I hope he told her how you can handle any
problem. What did Jeremy say?”

“He was on the phone while we were chatting.” Heather
frowned. “I think she’d rather Jeremy dated you than me.”

“No, she doesn’t. You and Jeremy belong together. She’ll see
that. It’s going to be fine. If you and Jeremy continue seeing each other,
she’ll realize you’ll make a wonderful minister’s wife.”
Yikes, I’m talking
too much
. Seth had given her orders to talk little. It was hard though with
Heather having a low self-esteem after meeting Jeremy’s mother.

“I’m crazy about him.” At the sound of her cell phone,
Heather glanced at the screen before answering it. “It’s my sister. I better
get it.”

She removed her compress and went to look at herself in the
bathroom mirror. Staring back at her was a frightening face.
I look so bad.
I can’t believe it’s me. Josh would be so upset if he saw me now with a puffy
face, a nose splint and bruises around my eyes.

Heather came to the doorway. “Are you okay?”

“I knew I’d look hideous with the splint, but I never
imagined anything like this. No wonder the nurse took me out the back door
instead of through the waiting room.”

“From the recovery room, the back door is closer to the
parking lot.”

“They told me to go in the back door when Seth removes the
splint, so I’ll still be scary looking. That’d be bad for business for
prospective patients to see what they’ll look like after surgery before
healing.”

“I have a problem. Kari’s having contractions. I think it
could be false labor because she isn’t due for three weeks, but I should go.
Wouldn’t you know this would happen when you just had surgery and Tony’s out of
town? I hate to leave you but if she’s really in labor, I want to drive her to
the hospital. I’ll call Elizabeth. She was going to stop in after work, but
maybe she can leave work early.”

“Go now. It’ll take you twenty minutes to get to her house.”

Heather’s face had a worried look. “Are you sure?”

She gave her a slight shove. “You better leave now. I’ll be
fine.”

“I’ll help you walk to your bedroom and get you settled
before I go.”

“I’d rather sit in the chair again and watch TV.”

“Can I get you anything before I leave?”

“No, but thank you.” She wanted Heather to get Kari to the
hospital. What if it wasn’t false labor? “Heather, will you please go? I’ll
call Elizabeth, you take care of Kari. If she’s in labor, it should be shorter
this time with it being her second pregnancy.”

  After Heather left, she grabbed the phone to call
Elizabeth.
Rather silly to do this,
she thought.
I obviously can take
of myself
. She sighed
. I told Heather I’d call so I better.
The
phone rang before she hit speed dial for Elizabeth. She saw it was Fran so
quickly answered.

“I waited until the guys left, so I could talk to you. I
think you should know something that I just found out about Samantha. She met
Toby before she ever worked at the fitness club. And she’s quit her job now to
work for him.”

Was Fran trying to tell her that Samantha was another reason
her marriage had failed? “Did he know Samantha during our marriage?”

“Yes, he did. He insists that they didn’t get serious until
the divorce was final—”

“But that was only five months ago. He told me that their
relationship wasn’t serious yet.” 

“It’s serious. I think she quit her job at the gym to go
with him to Las Vegas. He said he needed her to help with Jeff’s legal
problems. But I think she’s trying to trap him. Toby’s a successful lawyer.
She’s interested in his money.”

“I don’t know, Fran. The money might not have anything to do
with her interest in Toby. Your son’s a good-looking and charming guy.”

“Honey, I’m sorry I told you all this. I wasn’t going to but
I heard what Josh told you about Samantha. I love Toby but he blew it when he
divorced you. I’m afraid Toby might marry Samantha. I wanted to let you so
you’ll be prepared. Mallory, you’ll always be a daughter to me.”

The older woman’s words touched her deeply. Her eyes became
moist. “Oh, Fran, I feel so blessed to have you as a friend and I love you too.
But I wanted the divorce too. I tried but I couldn’t forgive him for his affair
with Lacey.”

“I understand. He didn’t treat you well. I wish he would’ve
been a better husband.” She paused before continuing, “I better go. I promised
Josh I’d bake cookies while they were catching dinner. Take care of yourself.
You sound like you have a bad cold.”