Page 19 of Doctor Charmer

“Exactly.” I pull out a deck of playing cards from the bag. “Which is why you are the lucky one. Because guys do the same when they are in front of a girl they want to impress. But you don’t have that issue. You have an opportunity to get to know the real Griffin.” I rip the plastic wrapper off and open the cardboard box of cards. “Guys love to play games. They hate to have serious one-on-one, meaningful conversations. But if you get them involved in a game, their true personality seeps out.”

I shuffle the deck on the bed next to her, and her eyes go wild, as if I’m a kangaroo driving stick shift. “Don’t look at me like that. I had a life before becoming your coach.” I paint on a plastic smile, my words hitting harder than expected. I had an amazing life once.

“When I was in college, me and my friends would play this game called Aces Up.” I place the deck face down on the bed between her and pluck the top card, flipping it over. “Three of hearts. Hearts are things you love. If you get this card, you have to name, in this case, three things you love. Try it.”

Chelsea stares at the card for a moment, her brow pinching. “Volleyball, my friends, and these fries. Can I say that?” She laughs and looks at me for approval.

“Do you love fries?”

She twirls one between her fingers and nods.

“Then absolutely. Your turn.”

She flips the top card. “Four of clubs.”

“Ooh, this is good. Clubs are things you have done or want to do in a group.” I tap the black symbol of the club, hoping it connects for her. “Dancing, volleyball, duh.” We both giggle. I glance out the picturesque window. “Skiing.” I think of me and Reggie outside earlier. “And snowball fighting.” A cheerful smile pulls on my face. “Your turn.”

I flip the next card and turn a second card when I spot the heart. “Two of spades.” I laugh.

“What? What does spade mean?”

“Something you hate.”

She doesn’t hesitate. “Math and missing out on the tournament.”

“I hear you with that last one. I’m so sorry about that.”

She shakes her head. “Not like you were driving the truck. He was probably a fan of the Eastport team sent to take us out.” She adjusts on the bed. “So if I play this game with Griffin, you think he’d stop being so concerned with being cute and flirty, and I’ll get to see the real him?”

“What me and my friends found is that you’ll get to know what he likes, hates, and values. From there, it’ll be up to you to determine if that’s someone you want to get to know better and build a relationship with.”

“He seems like a nice guy. He sends his little sister a funny meme every morning so she starts her day off with a smile.”

“A diamond,” I say.

“Diamond?”

I tap the deck of cards. “The fourth suit in the deck. Diamond. It’s a treasured memory.”

“Valuable… like a diamond.” Chelsea makes the connection.

I let her words marinade as we sit in silence. The distant sound of footsteps in the hall momentarily drowns out the beeps from the machines in the room.

“Am I a shallow person if I say I might be interested in him? You know… like that.”

I sense it took a lot for her to pull this question out into the light of day. “No. It makes you human. We are built to be attracted to the handsome. The confident. The skilled dude that also has a protector streak.” I picture Reggie rushing down the hospital hallway, his lab coat billowing behind him like a superhero cap. “It’s up to us to look past the shiny exterior and get to know the man beneath and see how much of it is real and how much is a mask they slip on to hide their imperfections.”

She nods.

“Remember.” I hear the shift in my voice, the words coming out like a warning. “He’ll be doing the same. Let him get to know the real you. The true you. The beautiful you. Only once both are you fully exposed, seen by one another, will you know if it’s a match.”

She nods just as the doors swing open, and Griffin strides in with a nurse in tow. She directs him to the bed, and he takes in the snacks and the cards on Chelsea’s bed. “Hey, you two plotting to take over the world or something?”

“Or something,” I scoff and point to the bag on the tray next to his bed. “I came bearing treats.”

The nurse pushes the tray closer to his bed, her hand resting on his shoulder with a gentle stroke. I turn and catch the raised brow from Chelsea, her lips practically screamingtold you so.

I jut my chin at her and then toward Griffin, my message not nearly as subtle.Get him. Now.

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