The Best Medicine Read Online Free Page B

thought he’d never seen anything so blue. But as they locked with his, he found that he momentarily did.
    “Oh good, there you are. This is my daughter, Lauren. Lauren, this is Dr. Scott Jacobs.”
    Lauren approached him calmly, looking completely comfortable in her skin. Her confidence threw him. Scott was used to having a certain influence over women. He was handsome, athletically built, and a doctor. Women usually fawned all over him, batting their eyelashes and pushing their breasts out. But Lauren did none of those things, and it turned him on more than he could’ve imagined.
    *   *   *
    “Hi, Dr. Jacobs. Nice to meet you.” Lauren extended her hand to him, keeping her eyes on his. She noticed what an interesting shade of green they were, almost emerald. He was gorgeous. And she realized as soon as she saw his cocky stance and condescending smirk that he was well aware of that fact. Lauren loved interacting with guys like Dr. Jacobs. All arrogant and superficial. She had learned early that guys like him were easily thrown by girls likeher. Girls who weren’t impressed with shiny cars and perfect smiles. And as she watched his eyes appraise her, not registering her outstretched hand, she knew that she was going to really enjoy working at his office.
    “You want me to Purell first?” she asked him.
    “Uh,” he said, narrowing his eyes at her, “what?”
    “Before you shake my hand. Do you want me to sanitize or something?”
    Scott shook his head, seemingly embarrassed. “No, sorry.” He steeled his face and shook her hand firmly in his before releasing it abruptly. “And it’s Scott.”
    “Excuse me?”
    “My name. I go by Dr. Scott. Not Dr. Jacobs.”
    “How pedestrian. I go by Lauren.”
    Scott seemed taken slightly aback by her response. Like he was surprised she’d poke fun at him. She’d said it playfully, but she began to wonder if he was capable of taking a joke.
    “If you don’t mind me asking, Lauren, how old are you? I should’ve asked before I agreed to let you work here. I can’t have teenagers running around the place. You understand.”
    Lauren felt her lips quirk—an involuntary response to his obvious insult. She hadn’t meant to be rude when she’d commented on his name, but he seemed to be on the offensive now.
Shit.
When would she learn to stop putting her foot in her mouth?
    “I’m twenty-six. So no worries about me—uh, how’d you put it?—oh yes, running around.”
    “Hmm, twenty-six and still in college? Ah, well, academics aren’t everyone’s strong suit.”
    Lauren didn’t even bother correcting him by sayingthat she was finishing her graduate degree. She wanted to let him build his own house of assumptions so she could watch them crumble around him over the next few months. “Yes, and sometimes they’re the only thing a person is strong in,” Lauren replied in an overly sweet tone that told him she knew he was intentionally baiting her, and that she was game. Lauren never backed down from a verbal chess match. That was something she prided herself on. “How old are
you
?”
    “Lauren!” Pam scolded her, but Lauren never faltered.
    “What? He asked me first.” Her eyes had yet to leave his.
    Her prolonged eye contact seemed to make him tense, which made Lauren want to hold his gaze even longer. “Twenty-nine,” he replied.
    “And you already have your own practice. Very Doogie Howser of you.” Lauren could barely contain her grin, knowing that such a phony pop culture comparison would zing Scott’s ego.
    “Well, I didn’t exactly start the practice. My father started it and left it to me when he died.” Scott stopped suddenly and averted his eyes toward the ground. Clearly, Lauren had hit a nerve she hadn’t meant to touch. And she empathized immediately. After a few moments, he seemed to collect his thoughts enough to change the subject.
    But she noticed the change in his posture. He looked . . . uneasy. “Well, I arranged for you to