Resisting Molly Read Online Free Page B

surprise he came around and opened the car door for me.
     
When I stepped out he cupped my elbow with his fingers and guided me inside. I don’t think he even realized he was doing it, but my entire arm tingled from the feathery touch of his hand on my skin and I wasn’t sure whether I should melt in ecstasy or have a panic attack. He already had a table waiting for us though, so as he pulled out a chair for me I figured I’d be polite and save the panic attack for later.
     
“You’re going to spoil me for other men,” I teased as I scooted up to the table.
     
His lips twitched. “You ought to have higher standards. Much higher standards.”
     
“As if.”
     
“We’ll just have to agree to disagree about that.”
     
I buried my gaze in the menu, unable to bear the focus of those intense eyes on me any longer. “Brynn seems to be doing well,” I said, trying to change the subject to something safer so I could get my composure back.
     
We chatted about her while the waiter brought us drinks and appetizers.
     
“She really does like College Station,” Jonathan noted. “I’m surprised you aren’t following after her.”
     
“Oh, no. That’s not for me.”
     
“No? I thought everyone was dying to get out of here as soon as they graduated and head off for the big city and better things.”
     
I shook my head. “Not me. I’m happy here. I’ve been to cities and I hate the noise and the crowds and the bustle. This is where I fit.”
     
He blinked at me in bemusement. “Really?”
     
“Brynn was always the one with big dreams, too big for this place to hold her. You know how she was. Well, when she was pretending to be an astronaut or rock star I was playing at keeping house and taking care of babies, and after a while I realized that my dream was to be a teacher and a mom.” I gave a deprecating laugh. “I’m afraid I’m not very exciting.”
     
“Where would we be without teachers? Or mothers?” He ran a finger along the moisture condensed along the side of his glass before looking back at me with frank curiosity. “Do you ever worry that you’ll feel like you missed out later? Regret not going out to experience the world and have adventures before you settle down?”
     
I shrugged. “I never felt like anything was missing from here. I’ll get my degree and then teach kids at the same school where I went when I was little. Somewhere along the way I’ll probably get married and have a home and kids of my own.” I did have one other dream, one that I had never even told Brynn. Something made me want to tell him, though. “Someday,” I murmured, “I’d like to try writing a children’s book, just to see if I can.” I regretted saying it instantly. He was a doctor and his daughter was going to be a vet, and suddenly my ambition sounded incredibly trivial. He probably thought I was a total loser. I sighed and looked down at my glass. “I guess all that seems pretty silly, huh?”
     
“It doesn’t seem silly at all, Molly. I think it’s a dream that suits you.”
     
His hand rested on mine for an instant, his palm burning against my skin, and I didn’t dare look up at him. “It’s all silly. I’ll probably end up an old-maid schoolmarm who dresses her cats up in ridiculous costumes and goes her whole life without ever doing a single thing that anyone would consider remotely interesting.”
     
His deep burst of laughter startled me into glancing up at him. “That will be the day.”
     
“What?”
     
“You an old maid? No way. Some guy is going to come along before you know it and…” He laughed again, more gently. “Women as beautiful as you don’t end up as old maids, Molly.”
     
I blinked. Beautiful? He thought I was beautiful? And that’s when I saw that look again, the one I had been slowly dying inside to see—a whole life’s worth of wanting compressed into one single instant. He did want me, wanted me every bit as badly as I wanted him, and was