Page 95 of Men or Paws

I laughed at that, considering we were almost shoulder to shoulder in the car.

“It is just delightful to see you two lovebirds not taking everything so seriously,” Douglas said. “Life is short! Gotta have fun!”

Lovebirds?

I glanced at Rocco to see his reaction, but he wasn’t touching that one either.

“By the way, I invited Beth to bowl with us,” Douglas added.

Rocco arched an eyebrow. “Really? Well, she doesn’t know what she’s getting herself into.”

“Yes, I do, actually,” I said. “If you recall, Gwen warned me about you.”

Douglas nodded. “That’s no exaggeration, Beth. He’s really that good. One time, he bowled against me with his opposite hand and still won. Do yourself a favor and don’t make any wagers with him when we bowl or you can kiss that money goodbye.”

I smiled, amused that he was the second person to warn me about Rocco. “I’m not scared of him.” I could think of a few wagers I wouldn’t mind losing to Rocco.

“Why am I not surprised?” Rocco said. “So, you’re going to put your money where your mouth is?”

I would rather put my mouth where your mouth is.

Of course, I wasn’t going to say that in front of Douglas.

Or in front of Rocco, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t fantasize about it.

“Betting money is so cliché,” I said.

Rocco laughed. “Whatever.”

“I would want to bet something much more . . . interesting.”

That got his attention.

Rocco shifted in his seat and glanced at my lips for the briefest moment before making eye contact again. “Oh, yeah? What did you have in mind?”

I smiled. “I’ll think of something, but right now the only thing on my mind is what I want in my mouth. Food.”

Douglas tapped the hood of the car, making Rocco wince. “I’ll let you both go then. See you again soon. Take care, and watch out for those rabbits.”

“Will do.” I smiled and watched Douglas get in his car and drive away before I turned to Rocco. “Okay, shall we go?”

Rocco shrugged. “We could, unless we should continue the conversation we were having before Douglas showed up.”

“I’m not sure I remember,” I lied.

“Sure, you do.” He grinned and then glanced at my lips again, not making a move.

A knot of frustration tightened in my stomach.

This was getting ridiculous.

Why wasn’t he kissing me? It made no sense. He clearly wanted to, but was restraining himself for some dumb reason. My breath was minty fresh, so that wasn’t it. I was also wearing the perfume I caught him inhaling more than a few times. I had pulled out all the stops, just hoping he wouldn’t be able to resist.

I would have kissed him already myself if it weren’t for his stupid contract, but why in the world wouldn’t he kiss me when he was so clearly attracted to me?

Wait a minute . . .

Now it was starting to make complete sense.