Page 81 of The Boyfriend Swap

Perry jerked his head back.

“What?”

“My ears must have deceived me, because I could swear you expressed gratitude. I was positive you’d rip into me for embarrassing you.” In a high-pitched voice, he said, “My name’s not Cherry Bomb.”

I wiggled a finger at him. “I know how much it pains you to be wrong, but let me be the first to say you misjudged me this time.” I smiled. My joy at seeing him was disconcerting, but I would take my time and ease into the emotion. “How did you get them to agree to the announcement in the first place? Cherry Bomb is so obviously a fake name.”

“The person at security was a woman,” Perry said plainly.

“I see.” No further clarification was necessary.

He studied me curiously for a moment. “What’s going on with you?” He banged his shoulder against mine lightly.

“The usual. Working hard. I actually took a couple of weeks off and went to Barbados.”

Waggling his eyebrows at me, Perry said, “And how did that go?”

“It was a learning experience. Enlightening.” When Perry regarded me another curious look, I said, “And what about you? I heard you signed with Marshall. Congratulations. I’m genuinely pleased for you.” At least one participant in the boyfriend swap accomplished his goal that week.

“I couldn’t have done it without the support of your parents. I sent them a thank-you note.”

My mouth dropped open. “You did?”

He nodded, looking shy if that were even possible. “I also apologized for embarrassing their daughter at Christmas dinner. I really am sorry, you know.”

“I know,” I said in a soft voice. “I can’t believe you sent them a thank-you note.”

“I wanted to send one to you too but wasn’t sure how you’d take it, considering how I messed things up with you and Will.”

I waved him away. “It wasn’t all your fault. There were two of us in that pantry.”

He pressed his lips together. “Whatever happened with Will?”

“He broke up with me after I confessed what happened.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. We weren’t right together.”

“Neither were me and Robyn.” His eyes locked on mine.

An awkward silence ensued until I said, “Anyway, I look forward to saying, ‘I knew you when.’ Just remember the Bellows when you accept your Academy Award.”

Perry nodded. “I will.” He bowed his head down for a second before meeting my eyes again. “It will probably be a while before that happens. Can I buy you a drink now to thank you in the meantime?” He shrugged. “You can say no if you want. I’ll understand if you’ve had enough Perry Smith to last a lifetime. I am a handful.” He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

“That’s for sure.” I took him in from head to toe and inhaled sharply. “But I’ll still take you up on the drink offer.” I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

Perry’s gorgeous eyes opened wide. “Really? Great!”

I clasped his elbow and allowed him to lead me to the exit.

“Where should we go?”

“Let me see.” With the hand of my free arm, I reached into my bag for my phone. I hadn’t reviewed the results from the Yelp search I’d conducted earlier. As I went to pull up the screen, I remembered the advice of my good friends, Doug and Bobby from Barbados, and returned the device to my purse. “How about you choose?” I said.

Perry stopped walking. “Is this a trick?”

I chuckled. “Definitely not. I’ll go wherever you want, and I promise not to hate your suggestion.”

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