Doctor For Keeps by Kristi Gold

Author:Kristi Gold
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Silhouette
Published: 2011-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Six

The woman had built-in radar.

Rick sat at his desk the next morning contemplating Mary Jo’s inopportune interruption. Miranda had raced away from the verandah, leaving him alone with his nosy office manager, a raging need and a coffer full of regrets. Luckily, Mary Jo hadn’t stayed long. She’d made off like a thief with the cops on her trail, muttering a litany of apologies that made little sense.

Left alone on the balcony, he’d waited for his body to calm down before returning to the party just long enough to scan the crowd. But he hadn’t seen Miranda or Mary Jo, so he’d left. He’d considered calling Miranda once he’d arrived home. Instead, he’d sat for hours in his empty house thinking, searching for answers to hard questions. He had no answers then, or now.

Rick massaged double knots of tension in his neck. He hadn’t slept more than a couple of hours, haunted by his lack of control and concern that the whole medical community might be privy to his relationship with Miranda. He fully expected to find a headline on the society page detailing their tryst. Fortunately, he hadn’t. That kind of publicity would devastate her and quite possibly destroy his privacy and everything he’d worked for.

But knowing Mary Jo, she’d probably told at least a half dozen partygoers that she’d seen Dr. Jansen in a lip-lock with his nurse. Two more seconds and she’d have probably witnessed a lot more than that. Two more seconds and he would have taken Miranda right there, up against the wall on the twenty-second floor of a high-rise, pants around his ankles, without regard to the consequences.

What was it about Miranda that had him tossing away everything he’d worked so hard to maintain and his privacy? Why couldn’t he keep his distance when she obviously didn’t want to pursue a relationship? He could chalk up his irrational behavior to macho pride, but with Miranda it was much more. He had some archaic need to protect her, keep her close, keep her untainted by the world, as if he had the power to do that.

Feelings as foreign to him as taking the day off in the middle of the week threatened his control every time she came around. He had no claim on her, as she’d reminded him. But she definitely had his well-guarded emotions in turmoil.

He would have to get Miranda alone today, try to set things straight, but first he intended to deal with Mary Jo. Assess the damage and nip her gossip in the bud, if he wasn’t already too late.

Punching the intercom button, he summoned the receptionist. “Patty, find Mary Jo and tell her I need to see her right away.”

“Yes, Dr. Jansen,” the receptionist responded meekly.

In less than thirty seconds, Mary Jo came through his door kneading her hands. “You wanted to see me, Dr. Jansen?”

“Shut the door.”

Once she had done as he requested, Rick gestured to the chair in front of his desk. Mary Jo sat and perched on the edge, her nervous gaze darting around the room.

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