Daniel's Desire by Sherryl Woods Page B

That doesn’t make him a bad person. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t love him. It just means you have to weigh who he is against what you can live with.”
    Molly’s eyes filled with tears. “I wanted our baby so much. And I wanted Daniel to be happy about it.”
    “Well, of course you did,” Alice said, coming around the desk to hug her. “And down deep, I suspect Daniel did too. If there had been more time, he might have come around, but you lost the baby, and that robbed him of any chance to see things more clearly.”
    “Do you really think he might have?”
    “Yes,” Alice said with surprising confidence. “If he’s anything at all like Patrick—and I have every reason to believe he is, since they’re identical in every other way—then he would have come around. What the Devaneys did to all of their sons is downright criminal. They left some of them thinking they weren’t deserving of love, and they betrayed Daniel’s and Patrick’s trust by keeping a huge part of the past a secret from them. Imagine being eighteen before you found out you had three older siblings.”
    “Not exactly forgivable sins,” Molly commented.
    “No, but I’m convinced that if they’d all get together in one room and get everything out on the table once and for all, maybe things would be better.”
    “And everyone would live happily ever after?” Molly asked sarcastically.
    “Hopefully, yes,” Alice said defensively. “What’s wrong with wanting that?”
    “There’s nothing wrong with wanting it, but maybe there are some situations in which that is a totally unrealistic expectation,” Molly said.
    “I refuse to accept that.”
    “Are you still pestering Patrick about a reconciliation with his folks?”
    “Every chance I get,” Alice admitted.
    “And?”
    “He’s stopped telling me to mind my own damn business,” Alice said cheerfully. “I consider that progress.” She touched a hand to her stomach. “I intend to pull this off before our baby is born.”
    Molly’s mouth gaped. “You’re pregnant?”
    Alice’s cheeks turned bright pink. “I am.” She studied Molly worriedly. “Are you okay with that?”
    “Why on earth wouldn’t I be?” Molly asked. “I adore Patrick, and you’re going to be the best mother ever.”
    “But you—”
    Molly knew where she was going and cut her off. “Losing my baby doesn’t mean I can’t be happy for you.” She hesitated, then said honestly, “Okay, so I am a little jealous. I’ll get over it.”
    “You and Daniel could reconcile and—”
    “Don’t even go there,” Molly said sharply. The idea of another chance was too tempting to consider, not even for a moment. “Besides, the only child I can think about right now is Kendra. And I’d better get home and start pulling out every persuasive trick in the book to get her to agree to see Daniel tonight.”
    “Good luck with that,” Alice said. “And, sweetie, don’t be too quick to dismiss the possibility of getting back together with Daniel. I’m here to tell you that the Devaney twins might be a lot of trouble, but they are definitely worth it.”
    Molly grinned. “I believe that about Patrick. The jury’s still out on Daniel.”
    “I don’t know. One look in your eyes, and anyone with any perceptiveness at all can see that the verdict’s already in.”
    Molly sighed. “Then isn’t it a good thing that Daniel is not the most perceptive man in the universe?”
    “You sure about that? He had the good sense to see through that hard shell of yours and fall for you once, didn’t he?” Alice taunted.
    “Maybe so,” Molly admitted. “But I don’t believe in lightning striking the same place twice.”
    “If you stick around a minute,” Alice said gesturing toward her bookshelf, “I’m pretty sure I can find the statistics to prove you wrong.”
    She probably could, too, which was why Molly had no intention of sticking around. Her opinion was keeping her safe for the moment. She