Page 47 of Doctor Daddy Dilemma

“Sir, I love your daughter very much, and someday when I have a daughter and she is dating, I will grill them every bit as hard as the way you’ve come at me just now. I want you to know that my intentions with your daughter are the purest in the world. I love her so much I will rearrange my entire life to be with her. In fact, I want to ask you for your blessing because I would like her hand in marriage. I’ve been wanting that for a long time, but I haven’t had the opportunity to ask, and since we just met, I figured now was the best time.”

The room fell silent except for Bash’s toddler babble, and I blinked out a few tears. I was so overcome with joy I didn’t know what to do. Mom was speechless—eyes wide and eyebrows high. And Dad was thoughtfully silent. I finally turned around and looked at the men in my life who meant the most to me. Dad also turned, to look at me, and his eyes earnestly searched my expression as if his heart ached to protect me from any further harm.

“I give you my word, as a man of my honor, that I will cherish Charlotte with my whole heart, every day, for the rest of my life.” Lex’s words were directed at my dad, but his eyes were looking at me.

“Oh my God,” I whimpered and more tears fell. I couldn’t stop them again, like that night we reunited on the yacht.

“Well, I suppose if you’re that serious, I can’t stand in the way.” Dad bounced Bash and offered a half smile to me, and before he even finished his sentence, Lex was in front of me, edging Mom out, on one knee with a ring in his hand.

“I’m no romantic. You know that. And I couldn’t wait a single second longer. Charlie, I love you. Be my wife.” Even Lex had tears in his eyes as he held the ring out. It was stunning, maybe a half-carat—something so perfect to me. He had put so much thought into this; it wasn’t some ridiculously lavish gaudy creation to get attention. He really chose the perfect ring.

I couldn’t speak. All I could do was sob and shake my head yes and wrap my arms around his broad shoulders.

Life had been such a roller coaster I didn’t know how “normal” would feel. What would it be like to have my partner in bed with me every night? To wake up to his kisses and conversations in real life, not on a video call. How would our life change when we bought a home together and owned a pet? My heart felt so full it could burst and it only got fuller when Bash said, “Mommy, Daddy, Mommy, Daddy.” He only had about twenty words in his vocabulary, but he knew them well and it melted me.

“Well, show me the ring!” Mom gushed and it forced me and Lex apart, but only in physical space.

Our hearts were forever cemented together in a unity that would never again break. I let him slide the ring on my finger and then examined it closely with Mom, who fawned over it. Even when he walked away to shake Dad’s hand and be welcomed to the family, I felt just as close. It was the happiest day of my life, though I knew greater things were yet to come.

How could they not with my “tiny little family” all together forever?

EPILOGUE: LEX

“Babe, come on! The panga won’t wait for us. If we aren’t on the docks in twenty minutes, we miss out on scuba diving!” I called out to Charlie as I sat on the patio reading the latest headlines, finding myself front and center in some of the shots of the grand opening for my new practice south of the city. The commute was a nightmare, but it was far better to drive an hour each way daily than to fly here every weekend. I got to be with my beautiful new wife and growing young boy every night. Life was a dream now.

“Coming, babe. I just have to get this suit tied correctly. It’s a pain.”

I pictured Charlie wrestling herself into that gorgeous one-piece bathing suit that looked more like straps wrapped over her unmentionables than a bathing suit, and I wondered how she planned to go scuba diving in it. She had been nothing but stunning in every outfit she’d worn so far on our honeymoon, but it made me chuckle to think how uncomfortable she’d be with giant tanks strapped on her back in such an immodest suit. Though, I wouldn’t mind looking at all those beautiful thick curves.

“Alright, well if you need any help, let me know,” I called out.

The trip to Fiji had gone according to plan so far. Two weeks at a paradise location in a bungalow on stilts over the blue-green ocean with the woman I love was my idea of perfection. Following the modest ceremony with a justice of the peace, Charlie’s parents’ backyard was transformed into our own oasis of intimacy for our reception. Amy and her husband had flown in, as well as Ella and my partners, who I now considered close friends; and afterward, we left Sebastian with the in-laws to jet off to our two weeks away. Now, three days in, I was ready to really relax and soak up the sun—jet lag was almost resolved.

I heard something thump inside the bungalow and then I heard Charlie grunt in frustration and figured she was struggling to get her suit tied up. I waited for her to call but she hadn’t yet. It was her stubbornly independent streak that I loved so much. So I watched the soft waves lap at the other bungalows on stilts around ours and marveled at the beauty of this entire island.

“Babe,” she finally called, and I heard her frustrated tone and smiled to myself. I didn’t enjoy her being frustrated, but I loved when she called on me to help her. It made me feel full and strong, that I could provide something for even the most independent woman I’d ever met.

“Coming, love,” I told her, tearing myself away from the beauty of the landscape around me to go help my wife. Just the thought of that word was enough to keep a permanent grin on my face which I was certain would remain there for weeks or months, or maybe years.

I walked into that bungalow a thankful man. Five years ago, before I met Charlie, I thought I would end up an old, lonely miser. Relationships seemed to elude me, and I had to work hard to understand other people outside of what their cosmetic surgery needs were. When Charlie and I split, I hit rock bottom and fully believed that was where I’d stay.

Today I was living a dream come true, which seemed to be a normal thing for a lot of people. Those people took it for granted, but to me, it was a priceless treasure, just like Charlie was. Something to be cherished and protected at all cost.

“What does my princess need?” I asked as I stepped into the bedroom, but to my utter shock, she was not in her bathing suit.

Charlie stood butt-naked at the foot of the bed with her hands behind her back. Her perfect, round tits had hard peaks where her nipples belonged—and they looked fuller and more inviting than ever in this light. And the curve of her hip into her thigh drew my eyes right away. She’d had motion sickness from the plane so bad, we hadn’t even had sex yet. It lingered even into yesterday—our second day here—to the point that when we celebrated with a toast last night, she chose water. I felt so bad for her that I rubbed her feet and tucked her in early.

“What are you doing?” I asked, grinning at her and moving closer to her. God, I wanted her so badly, and if she was feeling up for it, I’d take her right here, with the windows open and breeze blowing, for all our neighbors to hear her screaming my name.

“Well, I know you really want to go scuba diving, but I have something I really need to tell you.” She twisted at the hip, gazing at me through her lashes as her cheeks warmed to a bright pink. God that was so sexy.

“Can’t go scuba diving naked, baby girl.” I strutted up to her, confident as a male peacock, and rested my hands on her hips. I’d seen these curves nearly every day for months now, but they never got old to me. She was still a work of art, and I thanked God he made her so stunning.

“Well, we can go scuba diving on Saturday. The weather will be nice and the panga won’t leave so early in the day.” She batted her eyelashes at me, clearly flirting. She wanted me to pin her down and have my way with her as much as I wanted to do it. My dick throbbed with a need for release. But she didn’t put her arms around my shoulders, which was curious because it seemed the natural response to my advances.

She continued to twist her torso, her perky nipples brushing over my bare chest. We were both sun-kissed, having spent the past few days napping on our patio to recover from the long flight. And the bronze tint of her skin glistened lightly with a layer of perspiration. She was so intoxicating I bent down to kiss her lips tenderly.

“What are you trying to say to me, Mrs. Hartman?” God, I loved calling her that. Charlie Hartman was the hottest thing since sliced bread and she was all mine.

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