Marrying Mallory (10 page)

“I want you to come with Josh. I just mentioned to you about
Samantha’s nephews because you asked me how the dinner went. I think it went
okay. I’m sorry I told Josh about the whole Vegas thing. I was a stupid idiot.
Now I’m going to get off here so you can read to him.”

Fifteen minutes later, Josh was asleep but she was wide
awake. And it wasn’t Toby keeping her from sleeping. Dr. Seth Whitman was the
man of the hour. It was kinda nice that another man was giving her insomnia.

Why would she dream about Seth? She was only remotely
attracted to Seth. Okay, maybe a little. She was a young female and staring at
handsome Seth was a pleasant experience. Probably ninety-eight per cent of
women enjoyed seeing his face. And the other two percent had to have poor
eyesight. Or no taste.

Also she loved his blue eyes. He’d given her many kind and
thoughtful looks. He’d made her feel comfortable about wanting surgery. She
liked his outgoing personality and how he hadn’t been distant. Of course, his
friendly and warm manner might be due to being a surgeon to different kinds of
people. With his exceptional reputation, he probably catered to many rich
people wanting to improve their appearances. She’d heard even movie stars went to
him. With the middle-class wanting to look the best they could and desiring a
more youthful appearance, she was sure he didn’t just work mostly on the faces
and bodies of the rich. 

The fact he became interested in plastic surgery because of
his sister’s injuries had a lot to say about his character. He wasn’t in it
just for the money. He definitely wanted to give people a more positive outlook
on life by correcting their flaws. She appreciated how at the same time, he
wasn’t knife happy. Seth had told her how he’d understand if she decided not to
do it. He’d even gone as far to say that she was beautiful like Princess Diana
had been. Of course, she wasn’t.

Dreaming about the surgery wasn’t a surprise since earlier
she’d been talking and showing her pictures to Elizabeth and Heather. But she
hadn’t said or thought about kissing Seth so why did she in her dream? And why
had she appeared to enjoy it a lot?

Her friends seemed to think Seth was interested in her. What
if his real reason for coming to the barbecue was to spend time with her? It’d
seemed innocent enough when Seth asked her to join him for coffee at Starbucks
and said she could ask him additional questions about her surgery. Since she’d
been his last appointment, it’d never occurred to her that Seth wanted to date
her. Had she misinterpreted everything? Elizabeth and Heather could be right
that Seth’s wasn’t just concerned about her as a patient.

She shouldn’t be dreaming about Seth. It’s only been five
months since her divorce. And if Seth was interested in dating her that
couldn’t be a good thing.  

Serving God was what she wanted for her life and for Josh.
She was sure He wanted her to concentrate on giving Josh the best Christian
home possible. She didn’t need to get married to someone to do that.

She hopped out of bed to go to her little study.
I’ll
email Seth to see if he can
schedule my surgery before June. I hate to
wait until Monday to call his office
. While she sat in front of her
computer, waiting for it to boot up, she wondered, if he had replied to her
email she sent after Elizabeth and Heather left. She’d emailed him about the
barbecue plans and thanked him for emailing the photos. She’d printed the
before and after shots and stuck them in a folder. She had to look at the new
Mallory again. After she pulled the pictures out and admired them for a few
moments, her computer was ready. She clicked on the icon for her email program.
Yes, there was an email from Seth.

If you have anymore questions or concerns, you can call
me on my cell.

Should she call him? He’d given his number to her on Friday.
Wrapping a lock of hair around her finger, she glanced at the computer time,
and decided ten-thirty might not be too late. There wasn’t a phone in the study
so went back to the bedroom. After punching his numbers, she leaned back
against her pillow. While waiting for Seth to answer, she felt stupid bothering
him on a weekend about moving up her surgery. Really. She could’ve have waited
until Monday. Calling him at home like this would definitely make it seem she
was interested in him. 

He’s not answering. I’ll quit after one more ring and
text him instead. Or call him after the weekend.

Seth answered, “Hello.”

In a nervous voice, she said, “Hi, Seth. It’s Mallory. I’m
sorry I’m calling you so late.”

“It’s fine. I haven’t gone to bed. I hope the barbecue’s
still on.” He laughed. “You didn’t decide to replace me with another bachelor,
did you?”

The warm words made her feel good. He wanted to spend time
with her and her friends. Nice that he wasn’t rejecting her. Toby knew how
important family night was to her and Josh but he’d canceled to spend time with
Samantha. “I’d never do that. I’m glad you’re coming.”

“So are your friends still trying to fix you up with the
minister?”

Should she mention they switched their focus to him?
Not
a good idea if I want to
avoid giving the impression I’m really after
him
. “Not so much.”

“Are you having second thoughts after seeing the photos?”

“No. And I showed them to Elizabeth and Heather. Elizabeth
said I should go ahead and do the surgery. Heather thinks I should wait. She
said it didn’t look like me.”

“Remember you’ll have some swelling so you won’t instantly
look like that. Swelling might last a few weeks.”

Swelling in June was what she feared if the Vegas trip
happened for her and Josh. She might as well get to the point of her call.
“Swelling’s a concern for me. If I could move up my surgery to May instead,
would it possible for me to wear the splint for only five days instead of a
week? I don’t want to miss too much school.”

“The splint’s worn while the nose is healing, and that’s
usually for one week after surgery. I’ve taken the splint off in five or six
days in certain situations, but I thought you wanted to wait until school’s
out.”

“Toby told me today that he’s going to Las Vegas to do legal
work for a friend in June. He wants Josh to visit him and —”

“That gives you more time to recover with Josh going two
places in June.”

“Not exactly. Toby asked me to fly with Josh.” She didn’t
need to tell Seth that she hadn’t been invited at first.

“If you have the surgery in May instead, what about Josh? I
thought one reason you wanted it in June was because he was staying with his
grandparents.”

How could she have forgotten about Josh? She didn’t want him
to see her with swelling, bruising and the splint. It might frighten him when
she didn’t look like his mom. It hadn’t occurred to her that she’d need to make
other arrangements for Josh if she changed the date. But she wasn’t going to
tell Seth that. “You’re right but maybe he could stay with my mother. If I go
to Vegas, I don’t want to have swelling from the surgery.”

“Even if you do have it in May, you could still have some
swelling in June. Each patient’s different. Usually though most of the
noticeable swelling will fade in about two weeks. And my calendar might be full
for May. How about you wait until after you come back from Vegas?”

“You’re right. I’ll keep the surgery date in June. It’s the
best time. I’m just glad I met this awesome and talented plastic surgeon who’s
going to make me beautiful.”

Seth cleared his throat. “Mallory, if you change your mind
about the surgery, that’s fine. I think you’re beautiful just the way you are.”

For a moment she didn’t say anything and thought how amazing
it was that she’d just met Seth yesterday and already felt this strong
connection to him.

Did God guide her to Seth for a bigger reason? Most people
would find it strange that she was experiencing this kind of bond with her
surgeon. Many wonderful things had happened to her since meeting Seth. He’d
told her that he supported her in whatever decision she made about her surgery.
When she asked him to attend a dinner party where he would be a decoy, he’d
instantly agreed. Having coffee with him at Starbucks had been fun. Talking to
him now seemed so natural and right to her.

Even though she had strong doubts about a second marriage,
she might keep an open mind about Seth Whitman. The Bible verse from Proverbs
came to her mind.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on
your own understanding.

“Seth, I’ll be sure to pray if I should have the surgery.”

Chapter Ten

After his conversation with Mallory, Seth opened the door to
his deck. He decided fresh air might clear his brain. At the sound of the
gurgling water in the hot tub, he thought briefly about getting in. The night
air was chilly and the heat of the water would feel great on his sore muscles
from playing racquetball. But did he want to take the time to change his
clothes and get into the water? At this point, it probably wouldn’t soothe his
raging feelings about Mallory, so he put the cover on the tub before plopping
down on a patio chair.

He’d been happy to hear her voice, but not so pleased when
she mentioned wanting to move her surgery up to May. Her desire to look good
for the Vegas trip bothered him. Was she concerned about the swelling because
of Toby? Or maybe she didn’t want to be around lots of people with a swollen
nose. He couldn’t deny that he had feelings for Mallory, but what did he really
want to do about her? Confusion was a new concept for him. He felt admiration
for her strong morals and belief that she shouldn’t marry again. But he didn’t
agree with her. Even if he convinced her to give him a chance, he knew his
parents might not be thrilled about him seeing her. As Christians they had
instilled strong beliefs in him about marriage and family. They frowned on
divorce.

He knew he was jumping the gun here. He’d only had coffee
with her but she did invite him to her friends’ barbecue. Man, he needed to
bounce off some things to another guy. Was it too late to call Henry? It was
close to eleven. What the heck, he’d give his buddy a call.

After he went back inside, Seth took his phone with him to
the living room. He glanced at his 50-inch plasma screen television,
remembering the day he bought it. His fiancée Leanne had gone with him to buy
the expensive item. He thought they’d get married and live happily ever after,
so he’d bought several big purchases for the house. When she’d told him that it
was over between them, he’d been shocked. There hadn’t been any warning signs
that she was going to break the engagement. 

He’d known Henry since med school. They both had trained in
otolaryngology, but Seth also did in plastic surgery. He’d done both areas in
the beginning of his career and now he missed seeing young patients at
Children’s Hospital. He’d enjoyed helping improve children’s hearing, but once
his plastic surgery business grew, he decided to concentrate on this area of
specialty. He had Henry on speed dial and sat on the sectional couch while
waiting for his friend to answer.

After several rings, Henry said, “Hello, Seth. I was
surprised to see your name on my caller ID. Don’t you have anything better to
do on a Saturday night? Guess you didn’t get up the nerve to call Mallory?”

“Actually Mallory just called me. Sorry to bother you, but I
need some guy advice about her.”

Henry laughed. “Again. We talked after I beat you in
racquetball.”

“Hey, stop rubbing it in. I’ll kick your butt next Saturday.”

“I wish you’d been here a few minutes ago. While I rocked my
son to sleep, I told him how his daddy was awesome in racquetball and won a
steak dinner.”  

He’d like to have what Henry had—a wife and baby. Women his
age were sometimes divorced, looking for prospective second husbands. Well, not
Mallory. She wanted to avoid a match-up with the minister or anyone.

“Glad you enjoyed the steak,” he told Henry. “Just don’t get
used to it.”

“So is the surgery off?”

“No, Mallory called because she wants to move her surgery up
to May which isn’t a good time for her. She’ll miss school and have to make new
arrangements for her son.”

“What’s the rush?” Henry asked.

“Her ex’s going to Las Vegas in June to do legal work so he
wants Josh to visit him. Mallory doesn’t want to go with a swollen nose from
the surgery.”

“Do you think she was even invited to go to Vegas?”

“She said Toby invited her.”

“People get married there,” Henry said. “She might be
worried that her ex is getting married to his girlfriend and decided to go
along with her son and try to stop it.”  

“That would be a lot of drama. I hope that’s not the case.”
He shifted his weight. Why had he let Leanne talk him into buying this
uncomfortable furniture? His legs were too long for it. He shouldn’t have
gotten this sectional couch.

“If Mallory has the surgery earlier, you can ask her out
sooner.”

“Right and get rejected.”

Henry chuckled. “You know I don’t even know this Mallory,
but I already like her.”

“Because she might turn me down. I thought you were my
friend.”

“No, it’s because of racquetball.”

“What does that have to do with Mallory? I’m not planning on
asking her to play, especially if she gets her nose done.” She’d have to avoid
physical sports for several weeks. He wouldn’t want her nose to take a hit.

“I’ll beat you a lot in racquetball because you just met her
and now can’t stop thinking about her. It’s a win-win situation for me.”

Henry was absolutely right. Mallory Harrington had quickly
invaded his thoughts. It was funny how he’d be spending his birthday with her
next Saturday. He hadn’t planned on celebrating his thirty-seventh one. He’d
been dreading it since Leanne broke their engagement.