“Yeah, well, that is the point. To determine if it’s possible to follow guidelines in order to meet and marry a driver, or if it is simply left to the vagaries of human beings. Are there truly dos and don’ts in relationships? Or can anyone fall in love and marry for any reason at any time, essentially breaking the rules?” Imogen wheezed and tried to slow down her walking pace. That had been too many words to manage while her body was under severe strain.

“Well, I think there are definitely nos to dating. I mean, you can’t pick your nose when you meet a man and expect that he’ll fall head over heels for you.”

“True.”

“But as for a more rigid set of rules, I don’t know. I’m going to have to read this book—which needs a nickname, by the way. I can’t keep calling it How to Marry a Race Car Driver in Six Easy Steps. I think we should just call it the Man Manual. Or Six Steps.” Suzanne wiped her dewy forehead. “Let me borrow it so I can help you with your thesis. I know a ton of drivers. I can introduce you.”

Imogen sighed. “I can’t let you borrow it. Ty borrowed it from me last night.”

“What?” Suzanne squawked. “Why the hell would he borrow a manual on snagging a man?”

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “I think he was doing it to be funny, but I’m not really sure. This was after, uh, he decided we shouldn’t have sex, and I think he was trying to lighten the mood.”

Imogen had lain in bed for two hours staring at her ceiling trying to figure out exactly why Ty had come on so strong, then changed his mind. Had he really been telling the truth that he didn’t want her to feel awkward, or had he lost interest in the face of her prying questions and blanket statements about sex? Either way, it was just mortifying, and despite her best efforts to feel otherwise, she felt rejected. Intellectually, she knew it didn’t matter, that it had been for the best, frankly, because she had been something of a wreck just anticipating how she might disappoint him. She could only imagine how disastrous it would have been if they had actually gotten to the point of removing clothing, but she still couldn’t help but feel, well, rejected.

“Come again?” Suzanne asked, gripping the sides of her treadmill as she stared at Imogen. “What do you mean Ty decided you shouldn’t have sex? What the hell happened? I didn’t even know you were with him last night.”