Page 89 of Men or Paws

I still couldn’t get that out of my mind.

It was as if she’d flipped a switch and was now amenable to exploring our crazy connection, open to the possibility of something actually happening between us.

That was fine by me, because I was all in.

Even before our sexually-charged Cirque du Soleil act in the pool where I almost drowned her, I had to admit I was totally into Beth. She had me even before that sexy black bikini entered the picture.

I loved that she was feisty, opinionated, stubborn, gorgeous, smart, and funny. Beth knew what she wanted and wasn’t going to settle. I admired that, even if she did put me in my place more than a few times when I acted like an idiot. That just meant she wasn’t a doormat, another positive quality in my book, and just another reason why I needed to spend more time with her and get to know her even more.

I shut my laptop and walked out of my office toward the kitchen where Marcello was adding sugar to his cup of coffee.

“How’d it go?” He stirred the coffee and took a sip before sticking the spoon in the sink.

I shook my head. “Something came up with Spielberg, so we have to reschedule.”

“So, back to the stack of scripts on your desk?” Marcello asked.

I nodded. “Definitely. I need to get serious with that since I lost a few days while I was in New York. I’ll dive into it soon, but I need to take off.”

“Where are you off to? I don’t show anything else on your agenda for today.”

“I’m going to head out with Beth for a little bit. Text me if you need me.”

Marcello gave me an amused look, then laughed. “So much for getting serious about work.”

“Well, technically, I was supposed to arrive later, so the next few hours are at my disposal, plus Oliver is going to start going through some of the scripts and weeding out the bad ones now that he’s back from Hawaii. The only thing on my mind at the moment is spending more time with Beth.” I couldn’t help grinning.

“It looks like you two are getting quite chummy, based on what I saw in the pool.”

“That’s an understatement,” I said, trying to contain my enthusiasm. “We have some serious chemistry going on, and now that the walls have come down, I can’t stop thinking about her.”

Marcello raised an eyebrow. “And what happened to your contract? And her addendum, for that matter? You’re still legally bound by those, you know.”

I sighed. “I know, I know. I’m still trying to figure that part out, but hey, she’s in the same boat, so I’m sure it’s on her mind. We’ll sort it out. Seriously, I can totally see myself with her, as a couple, I mean. Which is odd since we haven’t even been on a date.”

“Not a surprise,” Marcello said. “You’re spending more time together since she’s working for you. Coworkers fall for each other all the time.”

“And my feelings are getting stronger,” I said, thinking about it. “And the more time I spend with her, the more time I want to spend with her. She’s something special, I’m telling you.”

“You don’t have to convince me of that.” Marcello nodded, looking like he approved. “She’s definitely a catch, but be careful.”

I cocked my head to the side. “Why do you say that?”

“Because, I know you. First, there’s the contract and the addendum you both agreed to. Imagine the legal nightmare if you didn’t adhere to it. Second, I agree that Beth appears to be something special, so in the words of Elton John, don’t go breaking her heart.”

Marcello was talking about my defense mechanism, the one that protected me, the one that kept me from getting too close to a woman and breaking up with her before it got too serious. I was confident it wasn’t going to be a problem with Beth.

“Hey—it’s not like I go into every relationship with a predetermined expiration date marked on my calendar,” I said.

“I know that,” Marcello said.

I had seen a psychologist briefly to try to resolve my issues, until she’d started coming on to me. According to her, I suffer from an identity problem and fear of abandonment, which is linked to my childhood when my parents abandoned me and forced me to live in the foster care system.

To make matters worse, I had a heart condition when I was born. I would need more than a few surgeries to repair it over the years, but potential parents didn’t want to take a chance on me because of it. Fortunately, all of the surgeries were minimally invasive.

The only scars I had were emotional.

I had issues making longterm friends as well, because, why bother? I was just going to get moved again anyway.