“Another
brilliantly written winner. Do yourself a favor and pick this one up,
you will not regret it.” —Kate Stewart, USA Today bestselling author
Perfectly Adequate, an all-new must-read romantic comedy from Jewel E. Ann, is available now!
Dr. Elijah Hawkins needs … something.
After his wife jumps headfirst into a midlife crisis, he’s left with his young son, Roman, and a lot of unanswered questions.
That something turns out to be a someone—Dorothy Mayhem, nursing student, patient transporter, reckless driver, and emu owner.
Dorothy studies humans, the neurotypical kind, through books and
television. Then she emulates their behavioral patterns to fit in with
her peers.
But nothing can prepare her for Dr. Elijah Hawkins.
Single dad.
Brilliant pediatric oncologist.
And the sexiest doctor at the hospital.
When his failed attempts at asking her out turn into a string of
playdates with his son, Dorothy finds herself unexpectedly enamored with
the boy and his father.
And that’s a problem, a huge one, because Elijah’s ex-wife is a famous plastic surgeon—and Dorothy’s idol.
Perfectly Adequate is a beautiful, hilarious, and heart-felt journey along the “human” spectrum.
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Excerpt
“You can call me Eli.”
She swallows hard. “I don’t actually think I can.”
“Why not?” I force my gaze away from her mouth.
The second our eyes meet, she averts her attention to her feet. “Because you’re half of the Hathaway-Hawkins duo.”
This is a new one to me. “I’m divorced.”
“I know. I …” She makes an attempt to look at me, but her attention
shifts to my temple then maybe my ear. “I mean you’re a brilliant
doctor, and Dr. Hathaway is too—so brilliant. God, she’s just
phenomenal. Like there are no words. But still … you change the lives of
young children. You save them. You’re what every young person entering
the medical field can only dream of becoming. You’ve earned the title. I
can’t call you by your name. It’s too personal. I don’t know … almost
intimate.”
She has Julie on a really high pedestal. Me? Down a few
pegs. Sounds about right for my life at the moment. It’s not that Julie
doesn’t deserve to be on the pedestal. No matter how much I hate her, I
still love her. And her skills as a pediatric plastic surgeon are
unmatched. She deserves Dorothy’s admiration.
But I don’t want to
talk about medicine, accolades, and saving lives. I know … I know … how
terrible of me. Sorry, but I need something for myself. Something
personal and maybe a little selfish.
Definitely intimate.
“I don’t need a babysitter for Roman.”
She jerks her head back, giving me her full attention, eyes squinted, gaze locked to mine. “What?”
I trap my top lip between my teeth, drowning in coconuts as my heart
races, sending ample blood to all regions of my body. God … I just
want—need—to kiss her.
“Oh jeez …” She shakes her head, closing her
eyes for a breath. “You invited me to dinner to … flirt.” Her eyes open
to their widest point.
A tiny laugh escapes me. I can’t help it.
Everything about this woman feels like a rebirth. “I invited you to
dinner because Roman really likes you. And I just can’t thank you enough
for all that you’ve done for him. You’re so generous.”
Gah! I suck at this!
What is my problem? Yes. The answer is yes! Yes, Dorothy, I invited you over to flirt, maybe even kiss. And other things …
“Oh.” She takes a step backward, stumbling a bit as the front door
catches her, and more embarrassment tints her cheeks. “Well, now I feel
stupid. Yes, of course you invited me here because Roman likes me. Duh.
Now I just look like an idiot for assuming you wanted to flirt with me.
And really, no need to thank me. My generosity is selfish. It makes me
feel good to do nice things. That’s all. And really, you’ve bought me
coffee and made me dinner again. It’s like I should be thanking you
again. But that’s probably weird. So … I’ll just go now.”
Really,
really weird shit goes through my mind as she fidgets. Dr. Hawkins is
nowhere to be found. Neither is Roman’s dad. Raging-puberty-hormones Eli
Hawkins invades my head—both of them really. And I just want to kiss
Dorothy. That’s the PG version of my thoughts. Most of them are R-rated.
Worse than the R-rating. All I can think about are the ways Dorothy and
I can be generous with each other, leading to never-ending thank-you’s
that don't involve stationary, replacement scrubs, superhero capes,
pasta dinners, lunch boxes … or clothing.
“Should we call it even? No more thank-you’s,” I suggest.
“Okay.” She lifts her gaze, eyes going a little cross-eyed like her focus is centered on the bridge of my nose.
“Okay.” I release a slow breath, but it does very little to relax all
of my body. “Can I ask your age?” I’m not sure why I’ve been so chicken
about asking her age. I think it worries me that she’s too young, and
I’ll feel like a dirty old man having really inappropriate thoughts
about her.
“I’m thirty. Why?”
“You just look young.”
“I wear massive amounts of sunscreen.”
I nod slowly.
Just kiss her, you big chicken!
What if she doesn’t want to be kissed by me? Or flirt with me? I
internally laugh at the memory of her comment and at myself for being
just as awkward. Why does something so simple have to be so complicated?
“I have a forty-five-minute drive home.”
And school the next day. Where is my head?
Oh, that’s right …
“Of course. I’m sorry. I lost track of time.”
“Okay.” She smiles.
I love her okay’s. They feel like more than the average okay.
“I’ll walk you out.”
“Have you not closed all of your rings?” She holds up her wrist, signaling to her watch.
I chuckle. “All rings were closed hours ago.”
“We could track each other. Share our rings. Did you know that?”
Rings. Kisses. Trips to the on-call room for sex.
For the love of God … get your shit together, Elijah!
“Never mind. That’s weird.” She shakes her head, rolling her eyes at
herself just before opening the door and scurrying ten steps ahead of
me. Her pace gains momentum with the hill of my driveway.
My long
strides catch up to her at the bottom of it. She looks both ways and
bolts across the street to her car, clicks the locks, and opens her
door.
“Goodnight!”
“Dorothy Mayhem … you’re killing me.”
She turns just before ducking into the driver’s seat.
“What do you mean?”
Resting my hands on my hips, I drop my chin in defeat and stare at my
untied gray canvas shoes. “What if I did ask you to dinner tonight to …
flirt?” I glance up, digging my teeth into my bottom lip on a slight
cringe.
Her body remains stoic as her eyes shift from side to side,
like she’s been caught on a hidden camera. “Well … then I wore the wrong
outfit.” She refuses to look me in the eye.
“I think you look amazing.”
“Yes. But this is a playdate outfit. Maybe even one I’d wear to apply
for a babysitter position. It’s fun, but wholesome. Practical and safe.”
I just want to spend one day in her head. Everything about her
fascinates the hell out of me. The curiosity gives me such a high.
“Tell me about your flirting outfit.”
“Well …” She clears her throat, keeping her focus on the big hill
leading out of my development. And of course … her cheeks are perfectly
flushed as she talks to the wind. “Since Romeo was involved, I would
have chosen my red dress with white stripes. It hits just below my
knees, but it’s strapless. And I would have worn my blue cardigan with
it and matching blue wedge sandals with straps that tie around my
ankles. Flirty … but appropriate for young eyes.”
“And if Roman
wouldn’t have been here tonight?” I stare at the side of her head,
wondering if she’ll look at me again before driving home.
She narrows her eyes. “I would have taken off the cardigan after you invited me into your house.”
The picture she paints in my head does all kinds of wicked things to
me. Why imagining her in a striped strapless dress has such a physical
effect on me is a mystery. It’s not like she suggested showing up
wearing nothing but high heels and a trench coat. Dorothy Mayhem
possesses her own brand of seduction, and I’m completely entangled in
every part of it.
“And in this scenario, would you have kissed me after I walked you to your car?”
She turns completely red. I feel certain even her toes hidden in those blue shoes have to be red. “You’re making fun of me.”
Her comment knocks me back a good ten steps, even if my body remains right next to her. Why would she say that?
About Jewel
Jewel is a free-spirited romance junkie with a quirky sense of humor.
With 10 years of flossing lectures under her belt, she took early
retirement from her dental hygiene career to stay home with her three
awesome boys and manage the family business.
After her best
friend of nearly 30 years suggested a few books from the Contemporary
Romance genre, Jewel was hooked. Devouring two and three books a week
but still craving more, she decided to practice sustainable reading, AKA
writing.
When she’s not donning her cape and saving the planet
one tree at a time, she enjoys yoga with friends, good food with family,
rock climbing with her kids, watching How I Met Your Mother reruns, and
of course…heart-wrenching, tear-jerking, panty-scorching novels.
Connect with Jewel
Facebook:
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http://www.jeweleann.com
New author for me and romantic comedy where I laughed and enjoyed.
Eli, a now divorced physician who has been with the same person since high school meets quirky, younger Dorothy.
From the “talk doctor” to the socially awkward conversations to the hero (Boss Bitch) makes this a rom com to read.
★★★ BRAND NEW RELEASE ★★★ 
Reed Taylor doesn’t pay much attention to the holidays—until he
receives a surprise present. Four-year-old Piper is the daughter he
never knew about, and with the death of her mother, is also now the
roommate he never expected. He’s determined to make their first
Christmas together one she’ll never forget.
