Bidding Wars (Love Strikes) (17 page)

She stood in her doorway and watched as he drove away. She had to keep faith that if it was meant to be, he’d wait for her.

Chapter Twenty

A few weeks had passed and Molly was days away from getting the keys to the Maple Street house. She’d been so busy training the new nurse and packing that she really hadn’t had time to think about the move. But when she did, her mind clouded with Luke. How was he? How were things going with Sammy? God, she missed them both like crazy.

She’d texted him once, over a week ago, to say she missed him—and he said the same. She missed her dinners with him, their lunches, everything. But she made a promise to herself that she was going to get through the move and into the house before she attempted a relationship. She also had to come to terms that if she and Luke did marry, they could never have kids. She’d had a therapy session earlier in the week to discuss that very issue. She talked the entire time and, by the end of it, it was like a light had switched on. She wasn’t a failure as a woman or any less of one. Even if she was a stepmom to Sammy, that was fine. She could adopt a child and be happy with that as well. You didn’t have to carry a child to be its mother. And yes, finally, this was
her
thinking. Not someone telling her how to think. It was finally sinking in.

Even though she felt like a brand new woman, she still resisted running to Luke. She might have a whole lot of begging and making up to do with him when the time came, but in the end, this time would be worth it—she hoped.

Her cell phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. “Hey, Sandy.”

“Get your shoes on. Theresa and I are picking you up in ten minutes.”

“What?”

“You heard me. You’ve either been at work or locked away in your house surrounded by boxes. You need a night of fun. We’re grabbing dinner at a local hibachi place. Ten minutes, girl. Be outside or else we’re breaking down the door.”

Molly laughed. “OK, see you in a bit.”

She hung up and went to change out of her scrubs. Once she was dressed, she quickly checked an auction on eBay before she found shoes, fed the cat, and went outside to wait. Just as she shut the door and locked it, they pulled up in Sandy’s car. Molly quickly put her shoes on and jogged to the car. Climbing into the backseat, she smiled at them both.

“We’ve missed you. Between training and packing, it feels like we’ve had no Molly time.” Theresa poked her bottom lip out.

Molly rolled her eyes. “Like I’m all that exciting.”

“When you were bringing that hot man around, you were our favorite person.”

Sandy smacked Theresa and gave her a look. Theresa looked back at Molly. “Sorry, I forgot, that topic is off limits tonight.”

“It’s fine. And I agree, seeing him did make life a little more fun.” Molly gazed out the window.

“Fun is what you need,” Theresa said.

“That’s what we’re about to have,” Sandy chimed in.

The restaurant wasn’t far. One of the perks of her current place was its close proximity to the center of town. She’d have a little more of a drive from the new address. She was fine with that though.

Inside, the hostess sat them down at one of the tables with another couple. At the table next to them, a cooking show was going on, and the fire was high. Molly loved hibachi and having the food cooked in front of her.

“Do we want wine?” Sandy looked at the other ladies.

“We could share a bottle.” Theresa shrugged.

“I don’t know. With all the excitement lately, I’ve been feeling queasy. I’m worried the food and wine won’t mix well. I think I’m going to have a water.”

Sandy pouted. “You’re no fun. Hope you’re feeling better once you move in. We’re having a party.”

“By then, the stress I’ve been feeling will have melted away. I’m positive I’ll be good for a party.” Molly couldn’t wait to have a housewarming party. The thought of all her close friends coming by for dinner and oohing and aahing over her place made this whole thing worth it.

The waiter came by to get their orders. Molly noticed another couple had joined the group table. She smiled at them right before the waiter returned with drinks and a tray of soup. He placed a steaming bowl in front of each of them.

“The soup is my favorite part.” Sandy picked up her spoon.

“You could eat soup for every meal,” Theresa said.

“I like it. It’s filling.”

“Maybe for someone as skinny as you. I need some substance.”

Molly giggled. She’d missed the two of them. “Soup and a sandwich can fill me up usually.”

“You’re itty bitty too.” Theresa looked Molly up and down.

Theresa wasn’t fat; she was just a curvy woman. Personally, Molly would love to have the shape Theresa did. It was sexy.

“Excuse me, Molly.” A female voice spoke from behind her.

Molly spun around in her chair and was surprised to see Leslie standing there with a man she assumed to be her boyfriend.

“Leslie, hi.”

Molly heard Sandy gasp, and she prayed her friends had enough class not to start anything.

“I thought that was you. Jack and I were just finishing up over there and heading out. I thought I’d say hi.”

“Thanks for stopping by.” This was awkward.

“For what it’s worth, Sammy loves you. I hope you become a stable person in his life.”

She wasn’t sure what to say. She had no idea what was going on with the custody battle between Luke and Leslie. Though she had to admit her curiosity was piqued because it was a weekday and Leslie wasn’t at home with Sammy. “Thank you.”

“I miss my little guy, but I know this is for the best.”

She was confused. Had they been to court? It had only been a few weeks since she’d had a conversation with Luke. But if something as big as him getting custody of his son had happened, wouldn’t he have texted or called her? After all, she only asked for time about them, not to be shut out of everything. “I’m sure he misses you too.”

Leslie tugged on her boyfriend. “Well, we’ve got to get going. Jack and I are attending our first AA meeting.”

“Oh, well, have fun.” Wait…was that something someone had fun at?

“We’ll try. Hug Sammy for me, and when you see Luke, put in a good word for me. He insists I can’t have any alone time with our son until he sees some improvement.” Leslie glanced down at the floor.

“I will.” Molly took a deep breath. “And I’m happy to see things are looking up for you.”

Leslie took her boyfriend’s hand and they left. Molly turned back to her friends, not really sure what to say. They each looked as though they were ready to pounce, but the cook came up right then and began greasing up the cooking area. She welcomed the distraction. It would give her time to wrap her head around everything that had just happened and the fact that a lot had happened in Luke’s life recently that he hadn’t shared. Had letting him go and asking for time been her biggest mistake?

* * *

“Who else is bidding?” Luke stared at his eBay account. He usually tried to stay away from the site, but he’d come across an antique clock he had to have. Several days were left in the auction, and before now he was sure it was his. But now a mystery bidder had popped into the picture.

He scrolled the mouse over the link that would show him how many others were bidding. One user name from the list of bidders stood out:
N***M
. He laughed because the letters N and M made him think of Nurse Molly. There was no way it was her though—the odds of that happening were ridiculous.

Either way, whoever it was, this bidder wasn’t getting
his
clock. He changed his maximum bid to an outrageous amount. Once it was confirmed, he shut down his computer, satisfied he’d win.

Luke glanced at his calendar and saw that today was Molly’s big day.

He sat at his desk, gathering papers for a criminal hearing, but he wished he could be there with Molly. How was she feeling? Nervous, excited, scared? Probably a mixture of all of those emotions and more. Today she was moving into her dream house. And, if he knew her, she’d be sleeping there tonight. She’d be close to him—just down the street. He wanted to see her or maybe send flowers, but he’d left the ball in her court, just as he said he would. Even though she texted him once in the past two weeks, it was still up to her when a move was made.

He’d told her that he was falling in love with her and she hadn’t said it back. Not that she had to, but being shot down like that had hurt, even if he did understand why she had done it. To be honest, he really hadn’t thought Molly would keep him at arm’s length as long as she had.

Sammy and he had settled into a routine. He now attended school in the district Luke lived in. The bus brought him to the station each day after school. Sammy loved it because he got to play with Annie’s daughter each afternoon. Life was going well, minus not having Molly in it.

From what he knew, Leslie was getting help and starting to straighten her life out. Currently one day a week, the three of them were meeting for dinner so she could see Sammy and vice versa. It had been a hard talk to have with his son when it came to why he was now living with him and not his mother, but Sammy took it well. As much as Sammy hid it, Luke was sure he missed his mother more than he was letting on. He was proud of his son for being so strong.

Luke loved having Sammy in his life daily. It was an adjustment though, because for over a year he only had him every other week. He cooked every night, watched cartoons, and often found himself in bed early. He certainly was no longer living the bachelor lifestyle. Not that he ever really was.

“You about ready, sheriff?” Officer Smith stood in the doorway.

“Yeah, give me a few moments. I need to take care of something first.”

“You got it. I’ll meet you out front.”

He returned his attention to the computer and logged onto one of the flower websites. He browsed the selection and found a bright bunch of flowers that spoke
welcome home
to him. Yes, he was supposed to be waiting on her move, but was it so wrong to give her a little nudge? He didn’t think so. And he honestly didn’t know how much longer he could stay away before he came up with some sort of scheme to see her.

* * *

“Congratulations!” Diane handed Molly the keys to the house.

Holding the shiny keys in her hand, she gazed at them. Holy cow, the day had finally come. Everything was signed and finalized. Now, all she had to do was go to her new home.

“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe it. This is so exciting! I hope my nerves can finally settle down.”

“They will. This process keeps you on pins and needles.”

Diane had no idea. Just this morning she’d thrown up after breakfast when she realized she’d forgotten to fill out a change of address form at the post office. She’d been so worried something was going to go wrong at the last moment.

“Any plans to celebrate tonight?”

“None. Except spending the night in my new home. Power and everything is scheduled to be on today. My friends are going to help me get my bed there. Then tomorrow the movers load up my other house and bring it to my new place.”

“Then be glad you’re doing nothing tonight. You’re going to need your rest for tomorrow.”

Molly grinned. She couldn’t wait. Diane walked her out to her car, hugged her, and said to call if she needed anything. After Molly climbed into her vehicle, she couldn’t believe she was about to drive to her new home. She squealed out loud and bounced up and down in her seat. After a few moments of excitement, she finally calmed herself down enough to make the drive to her new home.

She parked her car in
her
driveway. She was home. It was a great feeling. As she climbed up, she gazed at the two-story house. The familiar warmth spread over her as she made her way up the front porch steps. She took a moment to stand on the porch and look out over the front yard.

“I’m home.”

After a few moments of pure bliss, she unlocked the door and pushed it wide open. She walked inside and left the door open. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floorboards as she slowly walked through the house, looking at everything, trying to take it all in. She stopped in each room and envisioned what furniture would go where. Of course, she needed to go shopping. She didn’t have nearly enough to fill even half the house.

She went out the back door and onto the deck. Holding onto the railings, she overlooked the overgrown back yard. The two trees in the back caught her attention. She thought of Sammy and the treehouse Luke was going to build his son. As the sadness of not seeing or talking to Luke began to creep in, she had to push it away and remind herself that before long, things would be right again and they could work on a future…if he still wanted one.

Once back in the house, she decided to explore the upstairs. After Theresa and Sandy got off work, they’d all meet at her old place to collect her bed. Then they all planned to spend the night together in her new place. It was going to be great.

As she entered her foyer, where the stairs were, she heard a truck coming down her driveway. She paused and looked to see who it was. It was a flower truck. The delivery guy climbed out, opened the back door, and pulled out a vase of the most gorgeous and colorful flowers she’d ever seen. He greeted her as he climbed her steps.

“Are you Molly Harper?”

“I am.”

“These are for you.” He handed the vase to her.

Molly thanked him. She closed her front door and carried the flowers to the kitchen and set them down on her counter. Her guess was that Diane sent them. Pulling the card off, she opened it and read.

Congratulations on your new home. Enjoy your first night.

-Luke

She reread the card several times before pressing it against her heart. She had hoped to get the place unpacked and set up before calling Luke and begging him to give her another chance. It was going to be hard to stick to her plan. Especially knowing he wasn’t living too far from her now. He had to drive by her house each day on his way home.