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he couldn't think why he'd done it, it was as if some malignant force had whispered in his ear. No, it was
Cal
's fault, that's what it was, and it was a disaster because if Min ever found out he'd made that bet...
    "Do you know her?" Cynthie said.
    "She's my ex-girlfriend."
    "Oh." Cynthie put her drink down. "Well, I hope
Cal
's sorry he picked her up. I hope he realizes what he's lost once he gets her back to his place."
    "They're not going back to his place," David said. "She won't." Cynthie waited, and he added, "She doesn't like sex."
    Cynthie smiled.
    David shrugged. "At least, she wouldn't try it in the two months we were together. So I ended it."
    Cynthie shook her head, still smiling. "You didn't give the relationship enough time. What does she do for a living?"
    David stiffened at the criticism. "She's an actuary. And it strikes me that
two months
—"
    "David," Cynthie said, "if you wanted sex in the first five minutes, you should have dated a stripper. If she's an actuary, she's a cautious person, her career is figuring out how to minimize risk, and in your case, she was right."
    David began to dislike Cynthie. "How was she right?"
    You left her over sex." Cynthie leaned forward, and David pretended not to watch her breasts under the jersey. "David, this is
my
specialty. If you loved her, you wouldn't have given her an ultimatum over sex."
    "What is it you do?" David said, coldly.
    "I'm a psychologist." Cynthie picked up her drink, and David remembered some of the gossip he'd heard.
    "You're the dating guru," he said, warming to her again. She was practically a celebrity. "You've been on TV."
    "I do guest spots," Cynthie said. "My research on relationships has been very popular. And all of it tells me you do not give an ultimatum over sex."
    "You gave
Cal
one."
    "Not over sex," Cynthie said. "I'd never deny him sex. And it wasn't an ultimatum, it was strategy. We'd been together nine months, we were past infatuation and into attachment, and I knew that all he needed was a physiological cue to make him aware of his true feelings."
    "That makes no sense at all," David said.
    Cynthie smiled at him without warmth. "My studies have shown that the process of falling into mature love happens in four steps." She held up one finger. "When you meet a woman, you subconsciously look for cues that she's the kind of person you should be with. That's assumption." She held up a second finger. "If she passes the assumption test, you begin to get to know her to find out if she's appropriate for you. If she is, you're attracted." She held up a third finger. "If, as you get to know her, the attraction is reinforced with joy or pain or both, you'll fall into infatuation. And .. ." She held up her fourth finger. "If you manage to make a connection and attach to each other during infatuation, you'll move into mature, unconditional love."
    "That seems a little clinical," David said, faking interest. After all, she was almost a celebrity.
    "That doesn't mean it's wrong," Cynthie said. "Take assumption. Your subconscious mind scans women and picks out those that meet your assumptions about the kind of woman you're attracted to."
    "I like to think I'm not close-minded," David said.
    "Which is why I'm surprised
Cal
picked up your Min." Cynthie sipped her drink. "One of his assumptions is that his women will be beautiful."
    "I always thought
Cal
was shallow," David said, and thought,
He picked her up for the bet, the bastard
.
    "He's not shallow at all," Cynthie said. "Since they've passed assumption, they'll now subconsciously gauge attraction. For example, if they fell into step when they left the bar, that could be a strong psychological hint that they're compatible." She frowned. "I wish we could watch them at dinner."
    "And see what?" David said, picking up his drink again. "Them eating in unison?"
    "No," Cynthie said. "If they mirror each other in action, both crossing their legs the same way, for example. If she accepts his touch