"So, when did you know that it was more than just an office friendship?"
He was silent.
She squinted at him. "You know. Don't try to get out of it, either. You knew exactly what you were getting into when you decided to date a therapist. I like to understand things, so spill."
"OK, if you insist." He thought about it. "I thought you were attractive right away, and I loved our...back and forth - "
"Back and forth? Do you mean our flirting, Dominic?"
"I guess you could call it that. Anyway, I enjoyed our flirting, of course - still do, but after a while I really started to respect you as a person."
"Respect me as a person? Ewwwwwww. That ruins everything."
"That's what I thought, too."
"Go on..."
"Anyway, do you remember the client I referred to you, the gambler?"
"Of course. With the menacing friends."
"When I heard that you had been threatened, I was surprised at how concerned I was."
"Wasn't your job to worry about Hawks' employees?"
"Yes, but this was different. I was...worried. All of a sudden you seemed so vulnerable, like something could happen to you at any time. It was a new feeling for me."
"I remember that conversation, too. I saw you had really surprised yourself with how emphatic you had been, and I was really touched because it was so genuine and heartfelt."
She was quiet for a while.
"So was that the beginning of my status as a damsel in distress?"
"That's how you thought I saw it. In reality, though, I realized that even if you took care of other people, you needed someone to take care of you sometimes."
She looked at him tenderly. "I realized the exact same thing that day."
He looked at her quizzically, surprised that she would admit to that vulnerability so quickly.
Then he understood. "Oh."