Page 31 of The Doctor's No-Strings Deal

“Oh, I don’t believe that.” She came close enough to peck his cheek, but Charlie couldn’t return the affection.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I’m just so tired.”

“Your dad really saps you that much, huh?”

He nodded. “Maybe next time we should just go to your place.”

She laughed and mirrored his position, crossing her arms behind her head and staring up at the ceiling. “Oh, that might not be so easy. I actually live with my mom. She’s great, you know, but she’s always there. Really, I’m lucky to live with her, since I probably couldn’t afford my own place even if I wanted it — not in this city, anyway. It doesn’t matter, though. She has chronic fatigue and needs my help. Not that I’m complaining. I need her, too. She’s the best roommate I’ve ever had.”

“Wow. Med school must have been rough on you. It was rough on me, and I didn’t have a parent to take care of. How did you come out of it in one piece?”

“Well…” She shrugged and turned to face him. “I guess it’s just something I really, really wanted.”

“I don’t think I could have done it were I in your place. Yet you came to our residency with as much skill and knowledge as I did.”

“Oh, I don’t think?—”

“Don’t get all humble on me now, Bright. You know what you’re capable of.” He turned toward her, too. “I’m used to you being proud, and I like you that way. You’re passionate about medicine, too, far more passionate than I am. But then you chose it, didn’t you? I just kind of… accepted it.”

She shook her head and took both his hands in hers. “There’s no way you stuck with it as long as you did because you ‘just accepted it.’ That takes a lot of love for the work. You can’t make it through med school without at least a little passion for the job. You probably just don’t see it because it’s always been there, and you just got used to it.”

“Thank you, Bright.” He inched closer to her. “You do realize you’re giving comfort to your enemy, though, don’t you?”

She snuggled close to him and pressed her head against his chest. “Maybe we could dispense with the wholeenemything for a while.”

“Really?” He could hardly believe his ears.

“I mean it’s getting kind of old, isn’t it? We could try another tack by like… helping and supporting each other, couldn’t we?”

Charlie threw his arms around her and pulled her in until she was pressed into the most enthusiastic hug he’d probably ever given anyone. “What a revolutionary idea!” he cried. Then he laughed and kissed her.

For the rest of that night, they lay next to each other and talked, and the number of things they found they had in common was pretty astounding. Charlie could never have guessed that someone outside his family felt the kind of pressure he did, but Megan really did. She felt pressure to succeed so her mother never felt like a burden or that she had somehow ruined herdaughter’s chances just by needing her around. That kind of pressure was something Charlie could appreciate.

And yet, Megan’s attitude never did reflect the pressure she must have felt. She was a bright, sunshiny spot on what Charlie had always seen as a dark, foreboding horizon. When she finally drifted off to sleep in his arms, all he found himself thinking about was how lucky he was to have met her, and how much he had to learn from her. Suddenly, he looked up to someone outside his family, someone who wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth, someone who struggled and won in ways he could only dream of.

Unbelievably, the infamous Charlie Sullivan realized he wanted to learn more from his rival, and that was about as far as he could take this revelation without actually admitting that he loved her, which he was absolutely not about to do.

CHAPTER 15

MEGAN

Megan had just finished treating a patient with a broken leg when Dr. Ralter called her in to meet with the other residents. She followed him to a meeting room where she sat at the same table, in the same seat she had sat in the day she first met all her fellow residents. They were all in the same seats, she noticed, as though they were assigned on day one rather than personal choices.

“Good afternoon,” Dr. Ralter began. “I have good news. Well, it will be good news for one of you. Our Lady of Mercy has a research fellowship opening, and they’re looking to us among other hospitals for applicants. The want the best of the best, so I suggest any of you remotely interested apply. This is going to be a fantastic opportunity for whoever takes it, but you’ll all be in competition with one another. Of course, that will change nothing for two of our residents, who have been in competition since day one, am I right?” He glanced between Megan and Charlie.

The others in the room did not disagree, and that included Megan and Charlie. They had been extraordinarily competitivefrom day one, and it hadn’t escaped anyone’s notice. Whether anyone other than Kayla knew about their other inclinations was still up in the air.

A research fellowship. Megan was more than excited about the prospect, and started fantasizing about applying almost immediately. But she doubted she would ever actually make it. Charlie, on the other hand, would most certainly go for it, and she couldn’t imagine anyone else would be able to stand in his way. The fellowship was practically his already.

He caught up with her on her way out to the break room. “So…” He gave her a meaningful eyebrow waggle. “Are you going to apply?”

She looked away from him. “I mean, probably not.”

“What?” He sounded surprised. “Why not?”

“Lots of reasons,” she answered with a shrug. She was trying to look like it was no big deal, but the truth was much more complicated. “It would take a lot of time. Even if I made it in, I’m not sure I could devote the time to it. My mom?—”

“Your mom would want you to apply.”

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