angry flare of temper, but he hadn’t expected her to look as though she would pass out.
“I’m fine,” she said, wiping a hand over her face. “I don’t…I think I misunderstood you.”
“You heard me exactly right. We should be together, Jodie. It’s…logical.”
Her eyes widened. “How is any of this logical?”
He started to pace back and forth, the way he always did when he was formulating an idea.
“Well, we’ve already been in a committed relationship for over a decade,” he posited, and when she tried to interrupt, he stopped her. “Just listen. Statistically our friendship has lasted longer than sixty-five percent of new marriages, which tend to dissolve within eight years,” he said.
“But we aren’t—”
“True, we aren’t married, but we have spent a lot of time together. We’ve seen each other at our best and worst, and we’ve always communicated extremely well. We’re there for each other, no matter what. On top of that, we’ve been successful business partners. That’s even more impressive than beating the divorce statistics. Did you know that two out of three business partnerships fail within five years?”
She shook her head. “No I didn’t but—”
“Additionally, you can’t argue that our sexual compatibility is off the charts. Do you know the odds against the number of orgasms that you had—”
Jodie put up a hand. “No, I don’t, and I don’t think I want to. Listen, Dan, people can’t become lovers based on statistics.”
“Why not?”
She looked at him long and hard, as if trying to figure out whether he was serious.
“Well, because…they just don’t.”
“And maybe that’s why they fail. You and I have history, we have background, we have friendship…now we have more. It’s logical that our friendship would have developed into more over time. It’s probably why neither of us has been permanently attracted to anyone else.”
“That’s a stretch.”
“Maybe. But I hypothesize that we could be extremely happy and successful in a romantic relationship. We owe it to ourselves to try.”
“You’re forgetting a pretty big consideration, Dan.”
“What?”
“I don’t want a romantic relationship. I’ve lived my life without it, and no matter how many statistics you quote, I don’t want this,” she said quietly. “And you know me better than anyone. You know that’s true.”
Dan felt the words as a punch to the gut, but he straightened, figuring that if she wouldn’t be convinced in one way, maybe he could convince her in another.
“You haven’t wanted it before, with anyone else, and I understand why. I know how you were hurt, Jodie, and I know—”
“You don’t know everything, even if you think you do.”
“I know enough. I also know you’re cutting love out of your life, and if you do that, it’s letting him win. Did you ever consider that? That living your life without love means he changed you forever? That you let him keep you from being happy in your life?”
She was so still Dan didn’t know what to think. They stood like that for several long minutes, no one saying anything. Had he gone too far?
“I guess that’s true,” she said, surprising him, but still not looking at him. “I never thought about it like that.”
“And?”
“I don’t know. I am who I am, you know? I don’t believe in love.”
“Maybe I can help you change that. People change their beliefs all the time. It’s the foundation of scientific thought, really, when you think about it.”
“Who am I to thwart the very foundations of scientific reason?” she said, and Dan had to smile. He knew he was wearing her down.
“Exactly.”
“I guess if I was ever going to risk any kind of permanent relationship, you would be the right choice? The logical choice?” She laughed, pushing a hand through her hair. “I can’t believe I’m actually buying into this.”
“It will work, Jodie. You’ll see.”
“Listen, Dan, I know you mean well, but—”
“No buts. Let’s try this, Jodie. What do you have to lose? The sex between us is great, and we’re friends. Why not give it a shot?” he asked. “We can see if it works, and if it doesn’t, we’ll leave it behind, and just go back to being friends?”
Dan was building an escape hatch, and he was okay with that, since he had no intention of letting her use it. He knew they could never go back to being simply friends. Ever.
So this experiment had to work.
She stared at him intently, shaking her head, and he felt his heart take a dive, sure he had lost his chance to convince her.
“Okay then,” she said, dusting her hands