In Good Hands With My Dad's Best Friend (BBW Contemporary Medical Taboo Romance) Read Online Free Page A

then.”
    Jan sat on the couch and Keith draped an arm around the top, fingertips trailing over her shoulder. She was sure he hadn’t gone any further than the “friend place” but it was nice to relax against the back of the couch and pretend for just a moment that she wasn’t alone.
    “What is it you’re looking for, Jan?” he asked.
    “What do you mean?”
    “In your life, what are you looking for. This job is great, but you seem to be stuck in a bit of a rut right now. These guys don’t seem to see what a treasure they have in you, and that is a damn shame. You deserve so much more, Jan, and I’m afraid you’re going to get stuck in this place and not move on to bigger and better things.”
    “I don’t know what to say to that.” It was true; he was right, she did have a lot of options, or might have, but now, with this situation, she might have hosed her career, or…this could be the stepping-stone she needed to get out.
    If she didn’t get screwed.
    “Say you have aspirations beyond that school. Say you want to do other things. Say you want to be known as more than a teacher. Say you want to nurture yourself as a woman, instead of just as you relate to those kids.”
    “Yes.”
    He was right, and seemed to know he’d hit pay dirt there. “I like the kids but at some point…”
    “Yeah?”
    “The job became my life.” She’d been in the running for a supervisory position, and she hadn’t been shocked that it hadn’t come through for her, but it had hurt. She went well over and beyond for the kids, buying everything from juice boxes and the latest educational toys, to physically sitting with sad—and injured—children. When the time to give commendations and raises came around, she was never chosen, and that hurt. That hurt a lot.
    “You need to find a passion beside work and go for it.”
    “Yeah. Like?”
    “Dinner with a friend, or friends. Long walks on the beach. Maybe even a boyfriend.”
    She snorted. It was a great idea but the actual execution wouldn’t happen. “Where should I find one of those? Online?”
    He shuddered. “No, those are meat markets, you have no idea.”
    Interesting, he seemed to know something about online dating. “What site?”
    “Huh?” He looked kind of adorable when he was confused.
    “What site did you use? I tried eHarmony, and the pairings were awful. One guy’s name was Dudley and he looked and acted just as you’d expect a Dudley to be. It was…disturbing.”
    “Hey, not everyone can be named a great name like Keith.”
    “True.” She gave him a wink and a smile. “How about you?”
    “Match. And her name was Brenda and she hoarded Beanie Babies. They all had names. She wanted me to come back and meet her friends. I declined.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Then there were the ones who thought that because I’m a doctor that I can help them heal themselves. Always mental problems, always…”
    “Yeah.” She could imagine it; he didn’t need to say anything more.
    “It is really hard, dating in this environment. It’s not conducive to…”
    “It’s a fake reality. Everyone sells themselves, rather than letting themselves be known as they truly are.”
    “That’s it. You’re one smart lady.”
    “Thanks.” She gave him a little smile, very pleased by his comment. “One smart single lady. Old maid, as my grandmother would have called me.”
    “Better that no-good scoundrel, which was what she called me.”
    “You? Why?”
    “There may have been a little too much laundry soap in our principal’s car one prank day.”
    Jan giggled and shook her head. “And because Daddy was the light of her life, there was no way she’d even broker any chance in the world that he was the ringleader.”
    “You said it,” he said with a laugh. “You know how proud your parents are of you, don’t you?”
    “Yeah, I have an inkling,” she told him, her mouth curving up into a smile. “They’re the best, Keith.