Page 56 of The Boyfriend Swap

“How do you think they’ll react when you tell them you’re back with Perry?”

And here it was—the opening I’d been waiting for. The time had come to tell Will my attraction to him had grown stronger after spending so much time together and regardless of what happened between us, I was going to end things with Perry. Even though it was dark in the room, I closed my eyes, hoping I’d feel less vulnerable if I couldn’t see him. “The thing is—”

In a quiet voice, Will said, “He’s not right for you, you know.”

I opened my eyes as my heart slammed against my chest. “How do you mean?” Was he going to throw himself in the ring for my affections?

The bed shook beneath me as Will rearranged his position so he was leaning on his elbow facing me. I remained on my back. “He’s not good enough for you.”

Unless there was abuse involved, I didn’t measure couples in terms of one person being better than the other. Two people were either the right fit or not, and while Perry might not be The One for me, I didn’t think I was superior to him in any way. “I don’t think you’re being fair—”

“Did you ever consider your attraction to only flaky creative types is a crutch because you’re not ready to settle down?”

I sat up and looked at Will. “What are you saying?” My pulse raced as if preparing for an attack.

Will mirrored my position on the bed and frowned. “Take Perry for instance. You’ve already mentioned you guys don’t really talk about the future, and it’s probably because Perry can’t afford to plan beyond tomorrow. Since he’s so unstable, it makes him safe for you to date because you don’t have to worry about it going anywhere.”

All my blood seemed to travel up my body and land on my face as my anger grew. “Thank you very much, Sigmund Freud. I knew a Juris Doctorate permitted you to give legal advice, but I had no idea it also qualified you to psychoanalyze me.”

Will pushed the covers off his legs. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

Staring down at my wobbling knees under the comforter, I replied, “No, you shouldn’t have.”

He patted my shoulder. “It was just a thought.”

Flinching from his touch, I said, “For one, it’s none of your business. And considering you’ve been married…let me count…zero times and have been dating Sidney for less than six months, I resent your insinuations.” My body was shaking like I’d come in from the rain. How silly of me to think Will’s aversion to Perry was based on his own desire to be with me. He was merely concerned by the extent of my emotional availability and had likely been formulating his theory the entire duration we’d been together.

“I didn’t mean…”

I turned my back on his side of the bed as a signal the conversation was over. I willed myself to fall asleep, but I couldn’t turn off the thoughts in my head. I also couldn’t stop wondering what Will was thinking. Had I overreacted?

“Robyn?”

I lay still as a corpse, holding back the guttural sobs perched precariously at the edge of my throat.

“I know you’re awake.”

My brain itched to respond, but my heart was having no part of it.

“Please don’t be mad. I’m sorry.”

When his phone rang, he vaulted off the bed, muttering, “Dammit.”

I heard him say, “Hey, Sid,” before leaving my bedroom and closing the door behind him, presumably to have a private conversation in the hallway or bathroom.

Chapter 14

Sidney

“Merry Christmas,” I belted out in forced cheer. I heard the click of a door closing. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No. We were just…” For a moment, the only sound was Will’s breathing, but then he said, “Merry Christmas back at you. Did you have fun?”

I flashed back to my time with Perry in the pantry as the knots in my stomach twisted and turned. “Typical Bellows holiday. Nothing more, nothing less.” I swallowed hard at my lie. “Glad it’s over. How about you?” I hoped my guilty conscience wouldn’t seep into my voice. I wanted to wait until we were face to face to tell him what happened.

“Same here, I guess.”

“I’m sorry I talked you into it, Will.” At least that much was true. I’d been so afraid my parents would unknowingly sabotage my relationship with Will. I’d managed to do that just fine without their help.

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