Page 80 of Men or Paws

“What are you talking about?” Holly said. “Beth has seen every movie you have ever made. Some of them twice. Believe me, I was with her. By the way, she makes the best homemade popcorn.”

Beth turned a bright shade of red. “Wow, look at the time. We should get going.”

“She also admitted to me in confidence that your title of sexiest man alive was well-deserved,” Holly added with an enthusiastic smile.

Beth lunged toward the laptop. “Funny thing about that wholein confidencething. Oh no, my battery is dying. I need to—”

The Zoom call ended.

I laughed as I closed my laptop, not believing for a second that her battery was dying.

Beth liked me, but didn’t want me to know.

That was the big difference between the two of us.

I liked Beth a lot and I had no problem telling her.

And just in case I hadn’t made it abundantly clear how much I was into her, I was going to turn up the heat when I got home from New York.

ChapterSixteen

Beth

“What do you think you’re doing?” I walked back to the kitchen and set my laptop on the counter, then turned back around. “Are you crazy?”

Holly laughed and got up from the couch, coming over toward me. “You just pretended you had a battery problem to hang up on Rocco because you couldn’t handle the heat. Who’s the one livingla vida loca?”

“You weren’t supposed to tell him I saw all his movies. He’s going to think I like him! And why do I feel like an eighth grader right now?”

Holly laughed again. “Relax. I was just giving things a gentle nudge in the proper direction.”

“That’s not necessary.”

“I beg to differ,” she said. “The sparks between you and Rocco could set a forest on fire and heaven knows you’ll be playing hard-to-get until you’re a hundred and ten. Trust me, your boobs and your butt will be drooping down to your feet by then, so good luck attracting anyone at that age.”

“There were no sparks,” I lied, preferring to nip our conversation in the bud. “Come on, let’s go next door and get Houdini.”

“You can change the subject, but you can’t change the fact that you and Rocco have a thing for each other.”

“I don’t have a thing for Rocco.”

Holly placed her hands on her hips. “Do you think he’s attractive?”

“Of course, but—”

“You love men with a sense of humor—he’s definitely got one.”

“I know, but—”

“Is he kind and generous?”

“Yes, but—”

“Have you checked out any of his body parts at any point, thinking to yourself damn, that is one fine specimen?”

“Those exact words? Never. I don’t talk like that. You’re the rocket scientist, not me.”

I liked calling her that even though technically she was a geneticist.