Charlie's Last Stand (2 page)

“Well, that little hussy doctor is sure to stop by at some
point this morning. Yesterday he had me write down an appointment for her
around lunchtime. You better make your move before she does.” Diane walked to
the office door and was about to open it when she stopped. “I'm keeping the
sweater. You don't need it.”

“He asked me if I was going to a funeral because I'm in
black.”

Diane tsked. “Have you thought what you'll do if this
doesn't work? You know, there's nothing wrong with the direct approach. Forget
about the dress and the plan to woo him, ask the man out or better yet, just
plant your lips on his.”

Her already unsettled stomach churned. The thought of
approaching Chris with her feelings without knowing his was just too risky. And
what if he didn't return them? She'd be stuck unemployed. Heaven knew there was
no chance of continuing to work for him. She’d drown in unrequited love,
brother-less, because Will was more likely to disown her than stop inviting his
best friend over for football on Sundays.

Nope, this had to work. She had the cleavage and a little
secret weapon she'd been holding on to for just this type of occasion. She'd
get her man, by hook or by crook.

“I have a plan B and it might be fool proof.”

“A plan B? Does that involve taking off the dress and
walking around the office naked?”

“No nudity required. Just some cheesecake...”

Di tapped her fingers on her chin. “So you're going to go
through the stomach. Not a bad maneuver.” She gave Charlie one last look over
before turning the doorknob. “And you still have the direct approach to fall
back on. You can always surprise him in his office after hours and ask for a
private exam.”

“Very funny.” She grabbed a stress ball off her desk and
tossed it at Diane.

She dodged it and opened the door. “Good luck.” She walked
through and shut it with a soft click.

Charlie looked down on her neckline. She couldn't go out
there in front of patients with that much skin showing. It wasn't professional.
She called out for Di but it was too late.

She followed after her, intent on getting the sweater and a
little decency back. She opened the office door and almost walked right into
the man himself. His eyes drifted to the bare skin of her neckline before he
walked around her and into her office.

She followed him in and stood in the open doorway. “Is there
something wrong?”

He reached back and shut the door behind her. His arm didn't
move from its place beside her head. “Yes.”

He was going to kiss her. Finally, she'd feel his soft lips
against hers. He leaned in but stopped a mere breath away from her. “What are you
wearing?” His crystal blue eyes looked deeply into hers.

“A dress.”

“You don't wear dresses.” He gazed down on her as if she’d
come to work in a polka dot covered cow suit.

She resisted the instinct to cross her arms and cover up,
even though there was more exasperation than lust in his perusal. Didn't the
man even know she was a girl? She was afraid to move, aware that his body was
only inches from hers. They seemed to breathe in sync. Every breath she took
brought her that much closer to him. “I am today.”

“Today?” He stepped back abruptly, taking all of the air in
the room with him.

She lifted her hands to cool her heated cheeks.

His eyes narrowed in on the gesture. “Are you getting sick?
Maybe you should cancel your date for tonight?”

“My date for tonight?”

“Your brother mentioned it.” He took her measure before
reaching for the doorknob. “I hate to give you fashion advice, Charlie, but
that dress might be a little too revealing for work.”

“Now that we've decided that you don't like my dress, can we
move on with our day?”

What kind of ass am I?
He had five minutes between
patients to apologize for the funeral comment and he'd ended up insulting her
even further on the dress. The sight of her chest and those perfect breasts had
turned his mind to mush.

“It's not that I don't like your dress.”
It's just that
he wanted it off her.
Preferably on his bedroom floor. He let his gaze roam
over her tight little body again. He couldn't work like this, examining his
patients and wondering what Charlie looked like under her clothes. “I only
meant that it wasn't exactly suited for the office or for the weather. You did
look cold when you walked in today.”

“How dare you? One day out of the year I wear a dress to
work and you have the nerve to tell me that you think it's unprofessional.”

“Umm.” He took a few steps back as she stalked towards him. “It's
a nice dress. A very nice dress.”

“Then why are you getting on me about it?”

He sighed. He couldn't tell her that he was ticked off that
she already had a date for the night. That she was ready to dip her toe back
into the dating pool and he wasn't the one joining her. He'd had enough time,
sitting on the sidelines. No way was he going to do it again. “I don't know.
It's just not you.”

She looked down and smoothed her hands over the dress. “It's
not me?”

Her eyes met his and he felt like he'd been punched in the
stomach. His effervescent Charlie looked beaten down. He had to fix this. “You
usually go for the cute, comfortable look, not...”
the sexy, driving Chris
to distraction look.

She tilted her head. “You think I'm cute.”

“Sure.”

“Cute as a kitten?” Her voice went higher as she settled her
hands on her hips.

Warning bells were going off in his head. Clearly he'd said
something wrong but he failed to find the right words to make things okay with
her. “In a good way.”

“Is there a good way to that?” She crossed her arms below
her chest, only plumping those beauties up more for his eyes. “I can be sexy. I
can be very sexy.”

He could fix this. This was Charlie. His best friend's
sister. The one that used to bring him coffee and ice cream during his late
nights studying through med school. For the last year and a half, she'd helped
him open his own practice and run it. They spent more time together than most married
couples. “You're completely right. You can do sexy. You are sexy.”

Her eyes locked on his. “You're pacifying me. Did my brother
put you up to this?” She tapped a finger on her arm, her head shaking back and
forth before she seemed to settle on a decision. “Well, someone thinks I'm
sexy. I am going on a date tonight, right? He must think I have something to
offer”

“No one said you didn't have something to offer, Charlie.
How did we even end up talking about this?”

“Oh, you insulted my dress, asked me if I was going to a
funeral and then told me I was unprofessional. To round it out, you called me
cute.” She bit off the last word.

“I did not call you unprofessional and what's wrong with
cute?”

Cute meant cuddling. Cute meant enjoying the little things, like
how Charlie snorted when she laughed or had to eat her M&Ms in rainbow
order.

“Cute is not sexy. It's comfortable. It's that awful sweatshirt
you wear on Saturdays for college football. It's your best friend's little
sister, not the...”

He held his breath and waited for her to finish. This was
it. He could tell her that he hadn't thought of her as Will's little sister in
a long time. That he'd been so busy getting through med school and then his
residency after, he'd thought he'd have all the time in the world to start
something romantic with her. That he'd gotten numbingly drunk twice in his
life, the night she announced her engagement and the night of her wedding.

He imagined planting a kiss on her pink lips, running his
hands over her and demanding she ditch whoever she planned to go out with that
night. She had to give him the chance he'd been waiting on because he knew that
it was all he needed to convince her that they were perfect for each other. “Charlie...”

“See, that's it. Charlie is cute. Charlie is comfortable,
but I'm Charlotte too.”

He couldn't wrap his head around her logic. Of course, she
was Charlotte but Charlie was his friend. Charlie was...Charlie.

A sharp knock against the door took any chance of disclosure
away. Diane called through the door. “Doc, you've got patients waiting for you
in one, three, and four. Get to it.”

He turned away from Charlie and walked out into the hallway.
Diane narrowed her eyes at him before she spoke. “We're double booking you.”
The phone rang down the hall and she blew out a breath. “Looks like you're
going to be one busy doctor today. We've had a few walk-ins this morning but
the phone has been off the hook with people complaining of stomach cramps. I've
called Dr. Harris to cancel your lunch but she hasn't picked up so I left a
message.”

He cringed. He'd totally forgotten about Celeste. “Thanks.”

Awesome. The stomach virus was making its way through his
patients while he was going through a personal crisis and he still hadn't found
a way to apologize to Charlie for his comments about her dress.

****

What happened to all of her grand plans? She hadn't really
thought beyond getting his attention with her dress and then going from there.
Listening to his fashion commentating had her realizing that he still wasn't
seeing her as a woman but the little sister of one of his oldest friends.

She had no doubt that the only one seeing her lacy underwear
tonight would be herself if she didn't resort to Plan B. She pulled out the
take out menu from Silviano's and placed it on her desk. She planned on
ordering Chris's favorite dishes for lunch, setting up as romantic of a spot as
possible in a busy doctor's office, and bringing him around to her way of
thinking.

She took one deep breath and dug in to her normal morning
routine. She prided herself on running a smooth office for Chris. Nothing would
get in the way of that, even personal problems.

Chris had believed in her, had given her the motivation to
move on when her divorce was still a fresh wound. When the real estate market
crashed, her job as a real estate agent had tanked along with it. It was just
another reason to sulk and stay on her brother's couch for days eating one
carton of Haagen Daaz after another.

Chris pulled her out of it by giving her a mission. He told
her he needed someone at the helm of his private practice that he could trust.
He paid for her classes in medical billing and had her out searching for office
space and then ordering carpets and paint colors, waiting room chairs and
medical equipment.

He'd awakened every one of the feelings she’d pushed away.
Years ago she’d given up on him and tried to move on. It hadn’t worked out so
well. She wouldn't think about how hard it would be to let him go again and
move on if today was a failure.

By tonight, she'd have her man. She couldn't think about any
other outcome.

She stepped to the front to speak to Diane when she was
finally hit by how busy the office was. The waiting room was filled with
people, every exam room occupied. Each door had a file in the pocket indicating
that Chris still hadn't seen the patient inside. The phone was ringing non-stop
and she entered the reception area to see that Di and their office assistant
were both on the other lines.

She answered the phone but put the patient on hold when they
asked for a sick appointment. The nurse’s line was busy, as was every other
line in the office. Di spun around to look at her when she hung up the phone.

“What is going on here?”

“Charlie, we're booked. I've filled every slot for the
entire day and some. Dr. Chris is a little too popular for his own good. It
seems like all of Bristol is sick and he's the only doctor.”

“Is it all the same complaints? Stomach stuff?”

Diane nodded and picked up the phone. She offered the caller
a six-thirty appointment. Charlie startled at the time. Chris was supposed to
be out of the office by three for the holiday.

Di got off the phone and shook her head. “They've opted for
the walk-in clinic. I have a feeling they're going to wish they waited to come
in here this evening. The wait there is going to be miserable.”

“Did Chris agree to stay late tonight?”

“He did. What a way to end the year. Not many people are
going to be watching the ball drop tonight.” She turned all the way around so
waiting patients couldn't see her. “They look like death. You might want to
grab a can of disinfectant to clear your path.”

Charlie looked into the waiting room and saw that Di was
right. Their patients were pale, sweaty and miserable. Hopefully this bug would
pass her by. The way the day was going, she wouldn't put it past her luck
though. It would just round out her plans if she ended up sick as a dog by
midnight.

She returned to her office but slapped her hand against the
door frame. If today was about winning Chris, every opportunity to be near him
had to be seized. She headed for the small alcove he used to jot notes and type
up prescriptions. She hopped up on his stool and waited.

He walked in a few minutes later, dropped a file on the
counter, and started rifling through drawers. He leaned down and opened the
bottom cabinet, giving her a view of his ass. She had to restrain herself from
reaching out for what was so tantalizingly close to her.

She swallowed. There were sick people all around them. This
was no time for her libido to be acting up. “What are you looking for?”

“Mint, gum, anything that I can put in my mouth.”

She sucked in a breath. The innuendo too obvious to ignore. “I
might have something for you to put in your mouth.”

He hit his head on the cabinet before straightening and
staring at her. His eyes narrowed in on her cleavage and she froze as if his
gaze was a physical touch. “What did you just say?”

“I...” she stumbled over the rest of her words.

He reached out to put the back of his hand on her forehead. “You
really are getting sick. You look flushed.”

His cool hand only set her heart racing. She couldn't answer
him so she shook her head.

He flipped his hand over and cupped her cheek, tipping her
head up to look him straight on. “Are you sure?”

She cleared her throat. “Healthy as a horse.”

“Good.” He dropped his hand and turned back to the file on
the counter. “I wouldn't want you to miss your date tonight.”

At the mention of her date, she tensed. If he was thinking
of her as more than just a friend, more than just a co-worker, wouldn't he want
anything and everything to get in the way of her date?

****

He didn’t want Charlie sick but at this point, anything that
would cancel her date was welcome. The patient file in front of him failed to
garner his attention. He had at least five other people waiting on him at that
very moment. There was no time to imagine how Charlie's skin felt under his
hand or how badly he wanted her. Hell, he was even starting to hear things. He
had almost convinced himself that Charlie had offered him something to put in
his mouth and not in the breath mint or gum kind of way. At least he’d won
against the urge to follow her back to her office and demand that she cancel
her date.

He took care of a few prescriptions, wrote some notes in his
last patient's file, and dropped it on his nurse's work station. He moved
through five more patient exams, four with the same stomach complaints he'd
been fielding all morning and one woman that thought she could wrangle a date
in between having him examine her for panic attacks. He referred and deferred
the last one. He hated when they were that obvious. The low cut shirt, the
lingering fingers rubbing the spot above her heart, dipping lower until she was
almost indecently rubbing herself. And all the while he was wondering about
Charlie and her neckline and where that little black sweater had disappeared
to.

“Doc.” Diane caught him as he was about to enter into one of
the exam rooms.

He called out one second to the patient inside and closed
the door softly behind him. “What's up?”

“We haven't received a response from Dr Harris yet. We
called her office but she’s not open today. Maybe you can reach her on her
cell?” Diane gave him that look that spoke volumes without saying a word. She
was too busy to be dealing with his lunch plans.

“It's fine. If she shows up, I'll just cancel in person.
She's a doctor, she'll understand.”

“Right. Well, I've sent Julie to lunch. Charlie's pitching
in to help with the phones.” She opened her mouth as if she was going to say
something more. He could see her make the decision to hold back and she huffed
before turning around.

“Di, hold up.”

She came back to him. He backed up until they were in the
corner of the hall. “Is everything okay with Charlie?”

“Why do you ask?”

“She hasn’t been herself for weeks and then today...I don't
know. She just seems unhappy.”

Diane rolled her eyes at him. “Have you asked her?”

“No, not exactly.” He'd been too busy offending her in every
possible way.

“I think you need to ask her directly, Doc. If something's bothering
her, you know she's not the type to come out with it. Maybe ask her out to
dinner tonight?”

He nodded and she gave him a small smile before going back
to the reception area.

He couldn't stand the idea that Charlie might not be happy
working for him any longer. His practice's success rested solely on her
shoulders. At the time, the idea of branching out on his own had only been a
small glimmer. But Charlie had been floundering and when her brother mentioned
that he was going to have to sandblast his sister from the couch if he was ever
going to catch another Patriots game, the idea exploded.