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He leaned closer and spoke in a soft voice. “Olive, what if some little girl is in bed right now, crying because her dog ran away?”

I laughed. “As if. Come on, Lewis, what kind of cliché is that? When I found her, she had tangles and mats in her fur, no name tag… I doubt she has a place to call home.”

He held his hands up. “I know, it seems like she’s all alone, but we might be wrong about that. Unfortunately, some people don’t treat their dogs that well.”

“If that’s the case, wouldn’t you want her to have a better home?”

He raised an eyebrow, and I sighed in defeat. “Fine. You can scan and see if she has a microchip.”

I looked at Rhubarb, who had abandoned her toy and was dozing off on the carpet. I’d hate to give her up, but Lewis was right. If she had an owner, I couldn’t keep her.

“With all this dog talk, I almost forgot why I came here tonight,” Lewis said.

“To apologize for standing me up?” I said with a wink.

He smiled. “That too, but we’ve got some other stuff to discuss as well, don’t you think?”

Oh man, he was talking about the kiss. Did I even want to go there now? I was afraid he’d burst our bubble by telling me it had all been a big mistake. My heart picked up speed, and my hands grew sweaty.

“Yeah, we should talk,” I said, but only because it was the sensible thing to say, not because I wanted to hear him turn me down.

Lewis sucked in a breath of air, then released it again slowly. He looked as nervous as I was feeling.

“That kiss we shared,” he started, unable to keep himself from smiling at the memory, “it was magical.”

“But?” I asked.

He ran his hand through his hair. “But we’re working together. Dating a coworker is a no-go.”

“Aren’t you the boss?”

“I am.”

“Then, you make the rules, right?”

He shook his head. “It’s not that simple. If we started dating, it would be weird for everyone. The patients would notice for sure, and I don’t want things to become awkward. I mean, I just arrived here and reopened the clinic.”

I shrugged. “We could keep our distance when we’re at work.”

“As if you’d be able to keep your hands to yourself,” he said with a grin.

I laughed. “Speak for yourself, Doctor Grant. Besides, who says I even want to date you?”

He locked eyes with me. “You don’t?”

“Why does it even matter? You already said we can’t date.”

“I like you, Olive.”

“Then what’s the problem? Lots of people date their boss or their employee.”

Why was he making such a big deal out of this? We were both adults, and despite what Lewis wished to believe, I was able to restrain myself. I’d never do something that would make his patients or other employees uncomfortable. Perhaps that Sue woman had hurt him more than I’d realized. Then again, we had only shared one kiss. Well, more than one, but they were all in one session. It wasn’t like we were about to get married next week.

“Maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves,” I said. “We haven’t even been on a proper date yet.”

“You’re right, we’re making something out of nothing.” He cleared his throat. “Not that I regret anything. That kiss was…”

“Good,” I whispered. “Heavenly.”