Page 60 of Men or Paws

I smirked. “So I could ultimately meet Douglas, obviously.”

He laughed. “Yeah, because you have been dying to know a zoo keeper who talks about poop all day long.”

“Better than a movie star who’s totally full of himself.”

Rocco crossed his arms to match mine. “Get the facts straight. I’m only half-full of myself.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Finally, some honesty around here.”

Rocco glanced over my shoulder. “Unlike you, who has been seriously holding out on me. What do we have here?” He walked around me to the dog treats that I had on the two cooling racks, eyeing them, looking like he was tempted to steal one and eat it. “I love cookies, just so you know.”

Lucky for him I wasn’t that cruel.

“Thanks for sharing, but those are not for you,” I said.

“It doesn’t seem fair that you use my kitchen, but you won’t let me sample the goods.” Rocco said. “What are you afraid of? That I won’t like them?”

I laughed, half-tempted to let him eat one. “I’m pretty sure you won’t.”

Rocco kept trying like a stubborn man. “You know they have professional taste-testers who get paid for their efforts. Lucky for you, I’ll do it for free.”

“Seriously—you won’t like them,” I said, pointing to the table. “Can we go back over there and finish the meal?”

Rocco picked up one of the dog treats. “In some countries, people eat dessert before the main course. Maybe we can start a new trend and eat dessert in the middle of dinner instead.”

I laughed. “You don’t give up.”

He grinned. “When I see something I like, I go for it. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

Was he talking about the dog treats?

Before I could stop him, he popped the entire thing in his mouth.

Oh. My. Goodness.

There was nothing I could do now but watch and try not to laugh.

Rocco’s grin slowly faded, then his chewing slowed, most likely when he realized they tasted nothing like cookies. He kept chewing and chewing and chewing, then finally swallowed.

“Well?” I said, doing my best to hold in the laughter. “What do you think?”

He nodded, picking some remnants of the treat out of his teeth with his tongue, then swallowing again. “Interesting.” More nodding. “I have to say that I have never tasted anything like that in my entire life. Quite unique.”

“Unique? That doesn’t sound like a compliment,” I said, playing it up to see how he would react. “You don’t like them.”

“I never said that,” Rocco said. “Please don’t start crying again.”

I pointed to him. “Your face says it all.”

Rocco huffed. “Fine—I’ll prove it to you.” He snatched another treat from the rack.

I held up my hand. “No! Do not eat—”

Too late.

Rocco stuck the whole thing in his mouth and repeated the process like a masochist, chewing for a lifetime, before forcing it down. “See?” He followed it up with the most insincere smile I had ever seen in my life, like the kid who had to finish all the broccoli on his plate. “Wow. An unforgettable treat.”

“You are the worst actor. How do you even get auditions?” I laughed.