part0005

Molly Whitney shifted her feet with guilt as she gave the bagel in her hand the evil eye . It was a far cry from being dietetic-extra-large and loaded with cream cheese that wasn't even low fat. It was the real deal, and just the way she liked it.

She dropped her carb-and-calorie-loaded snack back onto her plate on the kitchen counter and shifted the phone to her other ear as she answered. "Yeah, Mom. I'm doing great," she lied in a monotone voice, as she visualized her disgustingly slim and trim mother, Elaine Whitney, with a frown. Oh, God. Here it comes. Lecture time!

"You know, you could have caught that nice Dylan Richards yourself if you had just lost some weight. Now you're going to his engagement announcement dinner to another woman instead." Her mother's displeasure rang loud in Molly's ear and she had to hold the phone slightly away from her face. She knew her mom was gearing up for a full-blown oration.

Mom was all about "catching" a man, as if the male sex were a prize fish to be reeled in. Molly didn't want a "catch." What she wanted was a man who loved and respected her. Someone who accepted her, faults and all.

"Look, I really have to go now, Mom. I still need to get ready." She had plenty of time to get ready, but Molly really wasn't in the mood for her mother's daily if-you-would-only-lose-weight-your-life-would-be-wonderful discussion. She was already depressed enough by her inability to lose weight.

She heard her mother sigh loud and long into the phone, obviously disappointed in her only child. Molly knew the sound. She heard it often enough. "Another good man who slipped away from you, Molly."

Molly agreed that Dylan was a good man, but they had never been anything but buddies. "He was never a possibility, Mother. We're just good friends," she answered briskly, hoping the subject would be dropped.

Molly was feeling plenty nervous about the dinner she had to attend that evening…but not because of Dylan.

"Fine, go watch another good man slip away to an attractive woman."

Molly lifted her eyes to the ceiling, silently asking for some sort of divine intervention for patience. Elaine Whitney was obviously on a roll today, making certain Molly knew that she wasn't attractive because she was full- figured.

"I'll talk to you later, Mom." Much later if Molly could avoid her. She didn't wait for a reply before she disconnected the phone call. If she did, her mother would continue her tirade.

Molly dropped the cordless phone back into the cradle and contemplated the bagel on her kitchen counter. She picked it up in a defiant gesture and took a big bite, savoring the toasted crunch and the taste of cream cheese, even though the bagel had grown lukewarm during her brief phone conversation. Screw it. She hadn't eaten all day and she was starving.

Her eyes moist from unshed tears, Molly propped her ample hip against the kitchen counter and finished every bite. As she rinsed the plate and put it in her dishwasher, she let the tears flow down her cheeks, unable to fight the pain caused by her mother's sharp comments and disapproval.

It wasn't as if she didn't try. She had tried every new diet that came on the market. At the age of twenty-seven, she had been on more weight-loss plans than she could count and she exercised more than the average woman.

Her mother had started her early, putting her on strict diets in her adolescence from the moment Molly had shown signs of being even the slightest bit chubby. While her friends had been eating Twinkies and sandwiches, she had sat at the lunch table with her carrot sticks. Elaine Whitney was weight-obsessed and Molly knew it had rubbed off on her. She knew it was beyond pathetic that her mood in the morning would depend on what the bathroom scale measured.

Molly left the kitchen and flung herself onto her living room couch. Her black cat, Cleo, jumped into her lap and rubbed her head against Molly's breast.

She laughed as she murmured jokingly, "Thanks, Cleo. That's the most action I've seen in years." She stroked her pet's body, thankful for the unconditional love that animals seemed to be able to give so easily. She wished it extended to humans…or specifically, her mother.

Trying to shake off the gloom that always accompanied a discussion with her parent, Molly thought about what to wear to Dylan and Lauren's engagement announcement dinner that evening. She was on the first of her three days off from her job as a Pediatric Intensive Care Nurse and the first evening would be spent celebrating the engagement of two of her best friends.

Molly smiled. No one was happier than she that the blind date she had arranged between Dylan and Lauren had ended up being a whirlwind courtship where the two of them fell madly in love. They were perfect for each other and she had known instinctively that they would hit it off, but she certainly had never imagined that after only two short months they would be announcing their engagement.

Both Dylan’s and Lauren's parents were great. She knew them very well and was fond of both sets of parents. It was the thought of seeing Dylan's older brother Devon that made her uneasy.

Molly's body tensed at the thought of seeing Devon again. How would she react? Could she get through the evening without stammering like an idiot and blushing from head to toe? She had only met him once, and it had been an embarrassing experience. They had met six months ago when Dylan had taken her with him to his parents’ yearly anniversary party.

At the age of thirty-three, Devon Richards was six years older than Dylan and so very different. She and Devon had just…clicked. They had spent most of the evening talking, laughing. At first, having his undivided attention had made her uncomfortable. His intense focus on her and his interested conversation had been…unusual. Men just didn't focus on her that way. The few boyfriends she had been with previously had been men who used her until someone or something better came along.

Near the end of the evening she had ended up on the patio alone with Devon. He hadn't wasted the opportunity to give her an earth-shattering kiss that had turned her inside out.

Her panties got moist from just thinking about the passion and intensity that Devon had shown her. One embrace had turned into two…then three…then she had lost count. She had been too consumed with lust to care.

She closed her eyes and groaned as she remembered the feel of his big hands moving over her body, exploring, touching, finding every sensitive area he could possibly touch.

Her eyes shot back open and she shuddered as she recalled Dylan interrupting them, calling out for her from inside the house. She had blushed and jumped away from Devon like a nervous, guilty virgin when Dylan walked onto the patio to find her and Devon together.

Devon had ignored her for the rest of the night. He had been polite, but stilted, bidding her a polite goodbye as he departed.

It was just a few kisses, nothing more than a brief make-out session. He was just amusing himself, you idiot. It's stupid to be so hurt by his rejection.

And she had been hurt. Devon had obviously gotten one feel of her abundant curves, big ass, and extra flesh and been completely turned off.

Molly had never mentioned it to Dylan, humiliation and the fact that Devon was his brother had kept her silent. It had been too painful and degrading to mention to anyone.

She let out a nervous breath, shot up from the couch, and marched into the bedroom of her apartment. The fact that Devon was going to be at this dinner was not going to get to her. She was going to celebrate and she would be damned if she would let Devon's presence make her uncomfortable.

She would sit as far away from his absolutely gorgeous, tall, muscular, raven-haired, blue-eyed appeal as possible. That way, she wouldn't have to smell his sexy male scent or see his easy grin that had made her heart flip from the moment she had met him. It would help if she couldn't hear that husky, bedroom baritone voice either.

Grabbing a towel from her linen closet, she hit the shower, determined not to let her previous, mortifying experience with Devon affect her.