Read Skin Deep for Free Online

your help. This isn’t your problem. I need to figure this out for myself.”
    “Oh yeah? How’s that working out for you?”
    She knew he was angry, frustrated that she wouldn’t accept his help, but she had to look herself in the mirror, and she couldn’t do that if she allowed him to bail her out of this mess. “I’m doing what I have to do. I know you may not understand, but that’s not my problem.”
    “Okay, look, I don’t want to argue about this. If you don’t want to accept my help, I’m okay with that.” He turned her into his arms. “Tell me about your family. Explain to me why this is so important to you.”
    Could she really open up and tell him everything? It was either talk to him or wind up in the fetal position on some psychiatrist’s couch because, as difficult as admitting this was, she knew she was approaching her breaking point. “You want the worst case scenario? Okay, my parents will have to file personal bankruptcy, the business will go under, all those people will lose their jobs, my brother will have to drop out of medical school, call off his wedding…” Just verbalizing her fears sent tremors moving through her body.
    “It’s okay, honey,” he whispered, stroking her hair. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
    She didn’t need a white knight riding in to save her from doom and destruction. What she needed was paying customers to buy her more time to turn things around. She had a viable plan in place for making the business profitable again. It required hard work, time, and a little luck, but it could work. It had to work.
    “Do you think your father will ever be well enough to run the business again?” Ryan asked.
    “No. As it was, my mother was pressuring him to retire. He’s almost seventy. She wanted to travel before they were too old to enjoy it.” She sighed. “I don’t know if that’s in the cards for them now.” She felt like a whiny brat complaining about her father’s condition when Ryan had lost his own father not long ago. But as a daddy’s girl, seeing her larger than life father as half the man he used to be was a bitter pill to swallow. “I’m sorry; I don’t mean to burden you with my problems. I’m sure you have enough of your own.”
    “Uh, my problems are a little different than yours, sweetheart.”
    She tipped her head back to look at him. “How so?”
    “I’m struggling to keep up with the demand while maintaining the quality that’s earned me the reputation I have in this business.” 
    She knew cosmetic surgeons were often booked months in advance, especially in this part of the state. She settled her head on his chest. “You must have quite a waiting list, huh?”
    “Right now, most of my patients are looking at eight months, and that’s simply not acceptable, but I can’t do it all. I’m recruiting a few doctors for my other clinics, but finding people who perform at the level I do and have managed to maintain their ethics isn’t easy.”
    She realized she would be quite content lying in his arms all day and night, just getting to know him better. She almost wished he would say or do something to make him seem less appealing so she could walk away without a backward glance after today. But so far, he seemed like the perfect man for her. Right man, wrong time; just her luck. “What do you mean?”
    “A lot of people in my field are happy to perform any surgery the patient requests or play on their insecurities to upsell. There’s a lot of money to be made, and unfortunately a lot of piranhas are willing to prey on the weak just to make a fast buck.”
    Closing her eyes, she wished for the strength to mitigate this growing infatuation. She was falling for him, deeper and deeper, and at any other time, that would make her ecstatic, but he couldn’t have picked a worse time to come into her life. “So, tell me about your business plan.” If she focused on business, perhaps she could keep a clear head. At least, that