Page 111 of Men or Paws

I truly believed he had just gotten this news in real life, not from some sitcom script.

He was amazing.

I took another step closer, as the script instructed. “It’s the most prestigious hospital on the West Coast. It’s been my goal to work there, from the very beginning of my residency. I would be crazy to pass up the opportunity.”

“But . . . what about me?” Rocco said, looking defeated. “What about us?” His shoulders sagged, his eyes pleading for a response from Daphne that would give him hope.

I clenched his arm. “I’ve told you before that we can never be. Doctors can’t have relationships with their patients, except maybe in third-world countries. It’s in my contract.”

Blinking a couple of times, I read that last line again to myself. What a coincidence that Rocco and I were involved in almost the exact same scenario with the contract.

I could feel the pain from both characters.

But where was the comedy? This felt more like a drama to me.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this,” Rocco said, still in character.

“I told you—I can’t pass it up,” I said.

“You’re scared, I get that, but I know you have feelings for me,” he said. “Admit it.”

“I’m simply following standard doctor-patient protocol.” I turned to the next page of the script. “My feelings don’t matter here.”

“They matter to me,” Rocco said. “And you’re running away from your feelings, to avoid having to deal with them. You’re taking the easy way out.”

“It’s not that simple,” I said, blowing out a frustrated breath even though the script didn’t call for it. Was I becoming the character?

“It doesn’t get any simpler than this.” Rocco took me into his arms and pulled me against his body so tight I could barely breath. “Take your mind off the damn job, Daphne.”

“That’s not so difficult since you’re cutting off circulation to my brain,” I said. “Can you let up a little on the squeezing?”

Luke, I mean, Rocco, ignored me. “Pretend it’s just you and me and nothing else in the world.”

“How would we survive without food?” I asked.

“Don’t listen to your head. Listen to your heart.”

Rocco was such an amazing actor that it almost felt like he was talking about us and not what the characters were going through.

It felt so wonderful in his arms I didn’t want him to let go.

“What is your heart telling you at this very moment?” Rocco caressed the side of my face. “Just say it. The first thing that comes to your mind.”

“I’m falling in love with you,” I blurted out.

Oh, dear.

That wasn’t in the script.

I was falling in love with Rocco Romano and I had just told him.

Rocco squished his eyebrows together, then flipped through the pages, most likely looking where I got that line from.

It came from my heart, Rocco.

He nodded, thinking about it, then tossed the script aside. “I don’t believe you.”

Now it was my turn to look for the line he just read.