Page 15 of Perfect on Paper

He looked smug for some reason. Like he’d somehow bested me. I flared up. “So?”

“So, if you had to put your money on anything, you’d put it on this being a guy, with the information we have. Right?”

“But I don’t have to put money on anything.” My voice was thin.

“Now you’re just being stubborn,” he said. “You don’t have to take it personally. I’m only talking facts.”

“So am I. The fact is, I have nothing to gain by putting bets on a gender, so statistics don’t matter. I don’t know their gender, so I’m not going to guess it. There’s no reason to. We have words for not knowing a person’s gender. Isn’t it more stubborn to use pronouns we don’t know, when our language caters to neutrality?”

I stared him down. He held my gaze. Then, to my amazement, he shrugged a single shoulder. “That makes perfect sense. You’re right.”

This sudden surrender made me suspicious. “But?”

“But nothing. You made a good point.”

I kept waiting for the dig, but it didn’t come. After a beat, I had no choice but to accept it wasn’tgoingto come. But I still felt snippy for being challenged over something so stupid, so I couldn’t resist pressing a little more. “Aren’t you best friends with Finn? What does he say about stuff like that?”

“Stuff like what?”

Okay, now he was being willfully obtuse. “You know it’s rude to assume pronouns, and you know I’m part of the Q and Q Club, and you picked a fight over it anyway. Why? To irritate me?”

Brougham had the nerve to look shocked. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I was just interested in your thought process.”

“Well, now you have your answer.”

“Yes, now I have my answer.” He didn’t quite smile, but for a moment, I swore I saw amusement in his eyes. “You do realize I’m agreeing with you here?”

“I guess I’ve never had agreement feel so much like an argument,” I shot back.

“Maybe you shouldn’t classify a respectful dialogue as an argument, and you’ll feel better. And to answer your question, Finn doesn’t have any issue explaining why he feels something is right or wrong.”

“Oh, I bet helovesexplaining to you why his sexuality is right or wrong,” I said dryly.

“I never said anything about his sexuality. And I guess he must be fine with explaining things to me, because he keeps hanging out with me.” Brougham raised his eyebrows. “Andhedoes it for free.”

“You aren’t paying me to hang out with you. You’re paying me to help you.”

“You’re right. Maybe we should get back to business, then.”

He passed me another grape. I snatched it from him with a huff, a little more harshly than I meant to, and crushed it between my teeth. “Gladly. So, let’s start with the most important thing. Who broke up with who?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Brougham asked. “I’m the one trying to get her back.”

“You’d be surprised.”

He looked unconvinced, but played along. “She broke up with me.”

“What happened?”

Brougham squinted his eyes like he was recalling a far-gone memory. “Something about me being too handsome and talented.”

“Gee, that’s so believable, tell me more.”

“Why does it matter, anyway?”

“Why does the reason for the breakup matter?” I asked in disbelief. “Did you really just ask me that?”

“I mean, not every letter includeseverything,every little detail, right? You still manage to get a lot correct, though, yeah?”

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