Page 23 of Doctor I Do

“Don’t. They’re great qualities. More men should be that way,” I add with a soft smile.

“Sounds like you’re ready to marry me, T,” he replies with a dark stare.

“I wouldn’t say that…” I trail off.

My hands are on my lap, gripped together, as I eagerly wait on my wine. I need it to take the edge off.

“You’re clearly shitting yourself about this engagement.” He smirks, as if it’s funny. There’s not a trace of nerves coming off him. I didn’t need to worry about him charming my parents. He has charm in spades. It’s me who might give us away.

“What are the details of this deal?” I ask, opening my bag and hoping I can find a pen.

“Don’t tell me you’re going to write it down?”

I pause my search and close the bag, dropping it back down beside me. “Fine. Let’s talk.”

He smiles smugly. “Rule one. Have fun.”

I roll my eyes and shake my head. “Of course, you’d say that.”

“No, I mean it. Everything we do, it’s got to be fun. The venue, the cake, suits and dress shopping, bachelor/bachelorette party. It all has to be fun.”

I rub my finger over my lip, thinking. It sounds less stressful and like something I could get on board with. He’d make it easy, I know that. “Yeah. I like that rule.”

He leans back, asking casually, “What’s one of your rules?”

Dropping my finger away from my lip, an easy thought comes to me. “No lying or hurting the other person.”

“Respecting each other.”

I nod. “Exactly.”

“Can we tell people about what we’re doing?” I ask, knowing I’ll need to confess to my best friends. There’s no way I could hold something like this to myself. Blake, Maddison, and Alice are practically my family.

He shrugs. “Just not the parents. Friends, sure. Why not? Oh, I’ll probably tell Mike, but not my sister. She can’t keep a secret to save herself. And the fewer people who know, the less chance someone will slip.”

I smile at the tidbit of information about his sister. “Yeah, I’d tell Alice, so it would be good if they both knew.”

I know they’d all be supportive of us. Everyone would think this was crazy, but they’d understand and help in any way they could. “I’ll only tell them on an as-needed basis. I’m not hosting a party to tell them or anything,” I admit, huffing a laugh.

“How did you want to break up?” he asks.

“Just say we weren’t the right fit. And apply for a divorce,” I reply.

He dips his head. “We’d need to wait for you to get complete control of your stake first.”

“Yeah, good idea.”

We gaze at each other in silence. I consider other rules but he’s distracting. I shrug it off. I’m sure more will pop up at another stage.

“I have one more,” he adds, looking me seriously in the eyes. “No falling in love with me, Tahlia. I don’t catch feelings, so it’s better this is out in the open, and there are no expectations that I’m some Prince Charming.”

I scoff, which turns to a giggle, thinking he’s joking. When I recover, I lean in so the whole restaurant doesn’t hear. “You wish. You know it’s not like that.” I wave my finger between us. “This is a business deal, and that’s it. By the way, these rules aren’t helping. I’m currently still freaking out about it,” I whisper through my teeth.

His eyes light up at my confession. “Don’t be nervous. We need to know more about each other, though, so give me some basic information about you before I get to your parents.”

“Good idea.” I shuffle through the basics. “I’m twenty-four and my birth date is December 8. My favorite color is blue, and I’m an only child.”

“Favorite food and drink?”

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