“Point taken,” Gwen agreed. For a moment, she let herself imagine being in a small classroom with Maddy and Megan all day. Of course, they’d more than likely be the ones doing the cursing.

Straightening her spine in what Gwen knew was her war pose, Wendy cracked her knuckles before saying, “All right, let’s figure out what to do about this guy who you’re in love with. You say that everything was great until the last week. Can you think of anything that was a turning point? And if your answer pertains to anything between the sheets, I don’t need to know details—well, unless they’re really good ones. . . .”

“I heard that,” Peter yelled from the other room. Both Gwen and Wendy covered their mouths as they giggled.

Gwen didn’t need to think about it. She knew when things had changed with Dominic. “Well, it started off when we watched Monster-in-Law.”

“Oh, I love that movie,” Wendy sighed. “You mean, he actually watched it? That’s a love story, so why would that have put him off?”

“I don’t know. Even though he grumbled a little at first, he seemed to really get into it. He was yelling at Jane Fonda’s character and shouting warnings to Jennifer Lopez. It was so unbelievably cute that I could barely concentrate. Then after it was over, it was like he was embarrassed or something. He couldn’t leave fast enough, which is unusual because he normally wants us to spend the night together, at either his place or mine. I think that was the first time that he clearly wanted to go—alone.”

Shaking her head, Wendy said, “I don’t think that’s really a big thing. Everyone has an off night occasionally and just wants to be alone. Did you make a big deal out of it?”

“No. I was surprised, but I don’t think it showed. But, before he left, he made a point of asking me when I was going to take a pregnancy test and recommended that I go ahead and buy one of those early ones. Oh, and there was the conversation I overheard between him and his friend Gage. He was telling Dominic that he needed to find out if I was pregnant so he could get back together with his ex-girlfriend while she was available. Dominic agreed, saying she was the woman of his dreams. I couldn’t believe he would say something like that after how great things have been between us.”

“Maybe they were joking, Gwen. You know how men can be sometimes. I wouldn’t put too much stock in a conversation you probably only caught pieces of.”

“Well, considering he hadn’t mentioned a single word about taking a test up until that point, it just seemed to fit with what he’d said to Gage.”

“And he hasn’t called or texted at all while he’s been out of town, except for the one that caused you to destroy your phone?”

“No, that’s it.” Feeling utterly confused, Gwen confessed, “I just don’t understand it. When I tried to keep some distance, he just kept pushing through. He took my seniors water class with me for God’s sake, more than once! Can you imagine another man doing that? Why would he go to that much trouble—not to mention embarrassment—if he was just biding his time until he could make a clean getaway? Before this week, he texted me during the day several times just to see how I was and he always called when he left work. In my past relationships, even if I didn’t want to admit it, something made me not fully trust them. It’s almost as if I went into the relationship knowing that it would end badly. With Dominic, the fear was there from experience, but the overall feeling was different. I tried to guard my heart, but there was just something from the first moment I saw him that was unique for me. I was dating his friend, Mac, who I liked a lot, but I couldn’t take my eyes off Dominic when I saw him around the apartment complex.”

Lowering her voice, Wendy whispered, “He looks that good, huh?”

“And then some,” Gwen sighed. “But, that’s not even it. He has a great personality and presence, bigger than life. He’s the type of person that people just gravitate toward. You feel like you’re the only one in the world when you have his attention. I swear, a bomb could drop nearby and he wouldn’t break eye contact. He certainly wasn’t checking out other women, either. My friend, Shannon, the single mother, is just gorgeous, but other than being polite, I never saw him give her a second look.”

“Well, he sounds wonderful,” Wendy admitted. “I hate to say it—maybe he’s just that good at convincing others that he is. Hey, are you still on speaking terms with Mac?”

“Um—I guess. It’s not like we had a big fight or anything. Why?”

“Well, maybe you could talk to him about Dominic. They are friends, right?”

Wrinkling her nose, Gwen said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea. I can only imagine how awkward that would be. Mac’s a really nice guy, but he and Dominic go way back. He probably wouldn’t want to be put in the middle of whatever is going on with us.”

“Just a thought. I know this sounds like no advice at all, but I think you should just play it by ear and see what happens next. Normally, I would tell you to walk away and not look back, but if you love him, then maybe you shouldn’t write him off yet. On the other hand, don’t take any crap from him. You deserve a man who makes you his priority. Please don’t settle for less than that. I swear, he better not be like Chris or I’ll take you both out.”

Grinning, Gwen thought back to one of her weirder breakups. She’d dated Chris for six months before he broke up with her. “Oh, come on, he had an original excuse at least.”