Page 7 of The Doctor's Irreplaceable Love

“Make yourself comfortable,” Trip said.“I’ll be back.”

He set his glass down on the coffee table in front of the sofa.

Shelley made a face.Did that mean he intended to sit on the sofa?And if so, should she take one of the armchairs?She didn’t know, and it shouldn’t really matter.Even if they both sat on the sofa, that didn’tmeananything.

She smiled to herself.If she chose to sit in one of the armchairs,thatprobably would mean something.Or it would look that way.She settled at one end of the sofa, curious to see whether he would take the other.

She was being silly.They’d just established that they were friends and that they weren’t going to entertain anything beyond that.But she was still pleased when he came back in and sat down on the other end of the sofa.

He picked up the remote and turned to her with a smile.“What kind of movies do you like?”

She shrugged.“I’m not generally a big TV watcher.What do you like?”

The way he smiled made her laugh.

“What’s so funny?”he asked.

“Nothing, sorry.Just… your guilty little smile made me think you’re about to admit that you like watching soap operas or something.”

Her tummy flipped over when he threw back his head and laughed.There was just somethingsosexy about the way he did that.

“You’re safe there,” he said.“I’m not going to ask you to watch soap operas with me.Iamabout to make a confession, though.”

“Oh yeah?What kind of confession?”

“I like watching romantic comedies.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded solemnly.“Seriously.There’s just something relaxing about them.Don’t laugh at me.”

“I wasn’t about to laugh.To tell you the truth, I’m kind of relieved.I thought we’d be sitting here watching an old western or some shoot-’em-up action movie.”

He shook his head.“No.I’ll watch those sometimes, but on a Friday night like this—when it’s time to relax—I’d rather watch something feel-good and funny.You know?”

“I do know.I’m the same.”

He narrowed his eyes at her.“You’re just humoring me now, aren’t you?”

She laughed.“No.I know you probably don’t have me down as a romantic comedy kind of girl, but I’m the same as you.I’m not above a bit of light and fluffy, feel-good comedy.So, what are your favorites?What do you want to watch?”

He chuckled as he clicked the remote at the TV, and she had to laugh with him when the screen came on and he navigated to a list of favorites.

“Take your pick,” he said with a smile.“I like them all.”

~ ~ ~

Trip put his feet up on the coffee table and leaned his head back against the sofa.The sound of Shelley’s laughter made him smile.

Being honest with her—sharing what felt like his guilty little secret about liking romantic comedies—had kind of been a way of testing her.

She didn’t strike him as the kind of woman who would enjoy them.Part of him had expected her to judge him for his confession.He was relieved and pleasantly surprised to find that he was wrong.

He took another sip of his wine, emptying the glass.Glancing over at Shelley, he noticed that hers was empty too.He got to his feet.

“I’m going to have some more wine.Do you want any?”

She grinned.“I don’t see why not.I may as well justify staying over since I’m here.”