Page 45 of The Doctor's No-Strings Deal

Dr. Sullivan leaned back in his chair and drummed his fingers on the table. “I believe you match him in more ways than one, Ms. Bright. He has nothing but praise for you whenever we speak. I’m just here to make sure you understand something about Charlie that he will have hidden from you. He is very good at hiding his vulnerabilities. Few people know he even has them. By now you do, I’m sure, but you likely don’t realize how deep they run. I just need to know you aren’t going to take advantage of him.”

Megan laughed at that. The idea that anyone could take advantage of Charlie seemed ludicrous. But his father wasn’t even smiling, so she stopped laughing. “Sorry,” she muttered.“It’s just that I don’t know how anyonecouldtake advantage of him. He’s a rock, if you know what I mean.”

“He’d like you to think that,” Dr. Sullivan said. “But it is an act, like much of his persona. Charlie is the younger brother, which means he had Justin to look up to, and Justin doesn’t let anything get to him. Growing up, Charlie was the softer boy deep down, but he didn’t want to let anyone else know it. So, he built up this tough exterior and pretended he didn’t need anyone. He developed a haughty attitude, as I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

There was no denying the truth of that, so Megan nodded, and Charlie’s father smiled in understanding.

“It’s all an act,” Jon said. “He’ll pretend to be fiercely independent, and he’ll do a good job of it, too. He did the same thing right after losing his mother. But he needs a partner by his side. He needs someone to confide in, someone to drive him forward and give him hope.” He leaned in and gave Megan the same serious scowl she had come to expect from Charlie. His father really did look a lot like him. “What he doesn’t need right now is a broken heart. So if you’re only using him, I’d like you to come clean about it.”

Megan didn’t hesitate. “I’m not using him, Dr. Sullivan. I would never do that to him. Even if I wanted to, I’m a terrible liar, you know. He’d see right through me. So would you.”

“I believe you,” Charlie’s father said with a smile. “Just remember that as things become even more serious between you. If he shows you the slightest hint of vulnerability, that’s his whole heart laid on the table before you. Know that, going forward, and I believe you will suit him just fine.”

A nervous laugh escaped her, but she cleared her throat to cover it up. “I wonder what Charlie and my mother are talking about.”

Dr. Sullivan didn’t hesitate. “Something very similar, I assume, considering.”

Considering what?Megan decided not to ask, and instead stood with her plate. “Where did you get that champagne? I think I’d like a glass, too.”

He pointed her in the direction of the bar, and she left to get a drink. On the way there, she felt the familiar sensation of a hand squeezing her arm. Though she didn’t need to turn back to see who it was, she did so anyway and was not at all surprised to find Charlie behind her with fire in his eyes. “Bad timing,” she said. “I’m on my way to get some champagne.”

He leaned in closer and murmured, “Get your glass and meet me in the coat closet. I need you right now.”

There was no point in refusing him. She couldn’t deny that the conversation with his father had flustered her, and she knew she could use a little relaxation herself. It was for old time’s sake, she reasoned. So, she got her champagne and made her way to the coat closet as he requested. How he had gotten access to such a place, she had no idea, especially considering what he would be planning to use it for. He must have paid someone off.

The coat closet was dark and small. A sliver of light came through around the gaps in the door. Megan leaned back against a wall and casually sipped her champagne while she waited for Charlie to arrive. He took so long getting to her, she had to wonder whether he really needed her as much as he claimed.

Finally, after five minutes that felt like an eternity, Charlie found Megan in the coat closet. In the sliver of light coming from thecrack in the door, she could see the expression on his face. If someone had asked her to describe it, she would have called it pure mischief.

“Should I gulp this down?” she asked, lifting her champagne glass. “Or do you want to try to balance it without spilling a drop? Could be an interesting challenge.” She laughed, trying to match his mischievous mood.

“You don’t have to gulp it down, and I don’t think you’ll have any trouble balancing it. This won’t take too long.”

“Well that’s not very optimistic, is it?” she quipped.

“I think it’s extremely optimistic,” he said, and Megan started to get a very real suspicion that he had not, in fact, come here for the reason she had originally thought. Her suspicion was as good as confirmed when he pulled a small, square box from his pocket and slowly began to drop to one knee.

“Charlie,” she said, her voice low and a touch accusatory. “What are you doing?”

Charlie didn’t answer, instead he opened the box and revealed the glint of a gold ring. “Bright,” he began, and then he corrected himself. “Megan, will you give me the honor of being your husband? And will you give me the pleasure of having the most beautiful, intelligent, and ambitious young woman as my bride?”

There was no way this was real. Megan had to swallow a sob before she burst into happy tears. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. She finally found her tongue and asked him the question he hadn’t answered at their last dinner, “Does this mean I win?”

He stood and took her hand in his. “Only if you see me as a prize.”

“I do,” Megan answered, laughing. “I mean I will. I mean yes!” She didn’t wait for him to put the ring on her finger. She leaped into his arms and held him more tightly than she’d ever held anyone. He lifted her off her feet, and she never wanted to let him go. He was going to be her husband, and she was going to be his wife.

Charlie took a moment to set her back on her feet before he leaned close to her ear and whispered. “But just so you know. I think you’re the prize here. And that makes me the winner.”

“Promise me we’ll never stop competing with each other,” Megan said.

“I swear it.”

“And we’ll never stop supporting each other.”

“Of course.” He began kissing her neck, and her insides started to warm at the sensation.

“And we’ll take on the whole world while we’re at it.”

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