Page 4 of Reluctantly Married

Megan flipped her hair off her shoulder. She was perfect for the show. Cute. Young. A petite blonde-haired and blue-eyed beauty. But it was her spunk that pushed the show up. Their little fights blew up on the Internet. Her comebacks were witty and funny. Leon had made it clear: keep needling Megan on-air, or your job is in the toilet.

Upsetting her had been kind of fun in the beginning. She could spar with the best of them. But lately he felt bad parroting Leon and causing her distress. He didn’t like the way she looked at him after each show. Distrust filled her eyes.

Yesterday had been good. He’d fixed her car, and she warmed up to him. They’d spent some time together. It was nice. They’d actually gotten along for once.

He studied her features. The way her nose turned up at the end was cute. And she was smiling at him.

Too bad she wouldn’t be in a minute.

He swallowed the guilt. Leon knew what he was doing. The show would go somewhere. A gut instinct told him so. And in order to give the show the push it needed, he had to get Megan to react to him on-air.

“And we’re live in five…four…three…” Dale made hand signals for the rest of the countdown and then the red ‘on-air’ light lit.

Adam flashed his smile. “Welcome back.” He turned to Megan. “I’m excited to speak to our guest today. What do you say, Megan? Think she can help you out a little? Give you some dating advice?”

Megan’s smile stiffened. “I’ll be sure to let you know if I need it, Adam.” Her lips pinched together, and with a twist of her head, she dismissed him. “Dr. Lemon, a clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist, has been working in the field for fifteen years. Her clinical work in relationship studies has national acclaim. I’m happy to introduce Dr. Shelby Lemon.”

A woman stepped onto the set dressed in a beige business suit, her dark hair pulled back into a bun at the base of her skull, and thick glasses perched on her nose. She shook hands with each of them, then sat in the third chair. Adam focused on her. “I hear you’ve just returned from England. Tell us about your work there.”

Dr. Lemon pushed her glasses up with one finger. Sitting next to her gave Adam a closer view, and he realized she looked a little young to have her credentials. Maybe she was one of those child prodigies. Graduated from college early or something.

“We’ve been studying physical response to visual stimuli as it pertains to non-romantic relationships.”

She spoke in a nasal tone, and it made him want to hand her a tissue. He tried to ignore it. “What does that mean in layman’s terms?”

“There are theories that men and women cannot have totally platonic friendships. Our studies have been quite interesting.”

Megan leaned forward. “Really? What have you found?”

“Well, our work suggests that quite often, single men and women who work closely together hide feelings of attraction for each other.” She smoothed her skirt and pushed up her glasses again. “Burying those feelings in some circumstances will actually make them grow stronger. That attraction can quickly become something more substantial.”

There it was. His opening. Swallowing the guilt, he poked Megan in the side. He didn’t mean to do it so hard, nor did he mean for her to squeal and jump. Her cheeks reddened, and her eyes shot daggers at him.

Oh, crud. He’d get it after the show. He grinned for the camera. “You want me. Admit it.”

A small, tight smile formed on her face. “The only feelings I have for you are the ones that would land me in jail—after they found your body, of course.”

Dale slapped a hand over his mouth and ducked his head, his shoulders shaking. Adam broke persona and laughed. He couldn’t help it. She was something else. He plastered on his camera smile and raised one eyebrow. “Come on. Don’t sugarcoat it. Tell me how you really feel.”

Dr. Lemon cleared her throat. “I think that’s an excellent idea.”

Adam turned to her. He’d almost forgotten she was sitting there. “Pardon?”

“I happen to have some of my equipment here. The theory is that we can tell the level of attraction by the physical responses. We can hook Megan up and—”

“No!” Megan’s face drained of color. “I mean…we probably don’t have enough time.” She plastered on a weak grin.

Dr. Lemon shook her head. “It would only take a second. But Adam might be the better test subject. I’ve noticed he reacts to you in non-verbal ways. I’d like to analyze the data from my machine.”

Megan nodded. “Good idea. Let’s analyze Adam.”

What was up with her? Was she afraid the audience would figure out she hated him? That was no secret.

“Well, then, it’s settled. Hook me up and we’ll see how I really feel about Megan.” He gave the camera a sexy smile. “We already know she’s got a thing for me.”

Someone brought in a small hand-held device that looked like an old battery tester with a needle that swung from side to side. Several cords hung off the end, which she taped to his arm, palm, stomach, and neck. “Megan will need to leave.”

He didn’t know what he expected, but when Dr. Lemon turned it on, nothing happened except a slight jump in the needle.

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