Page 32 of Save the Date

“I like you a lot too,” Will replied immediately.

And then, for the first time since they had met, they stopped talking.

Fourteen

EMMA SAT ON THE TOILET WILLING HER BODY TO PEE. SHEknew she needed to to avoid one of her biggest fears—a UTI—but her brain and heart were still in overdrive, leaving very little energy for her pelvic floor. She just had sex with Will! And it had beengoodsex. The kind she was normally only able to achieve after a commitment of monogamy and at least one hit of weed (anxiety wasn’t the sort of thing that simply went away when she took her clothes off). But now the approximately fifteen-minute reprieve from her normal self was over and she was back to panicking.

The moment they had finished Emma had sprung from the bed, thrown on her knee brace and declared she “had to take care of lady business.” Will had laughed, apparently already knowing her well enough to not be offended by her abrupt departure. Her body had wanted to stay and cuddle with him, but her personality wouldn’t allow it. She had to figure out how to explain Operation: Save My Date to him before it was too late and he felt overly manipulated. Her mind turned as she tried to relax her bladder.

A few embarrassingly long minutes later, Emma emergedfrom the bathroom completely naked except for her right knee, which was safely secured in neoprene. She did her best to sexily saunter into Will’s bedroom despite her limp. He immediately looked up and smiled.

“Success?”

“Eventually. The female body plays by its own rules.”

Will chuckled and pulled back the covers so Emma could crawl in and snuggle up next to him. He put his arm around her and sneaked a kiss on the side of her head.

“That was really nice,” he murmured, causing her insides to stir. In another version of her life, Emma would be climbing on top of him to initiate a second round, but in this version, she took a deep breath and braced herself for everything to be ruined.

“I have to tell you something.”

“How bad? On a scale of one to ten?”

“That’s going to completely depend on your reaction.” Emma shifted herself into a seated position and Will, sensing this was actually important, did the same. They both leaned against his blue suede headboard. “I’m about to unload a lot of information on you. Is that okay? Or would you rather get dressed first and sit at the kitchen table?” Emma knew she was stalling but now that the moment of truth was finally here, she would rather be anywhere else.

“I actually prefer to have tough conversations in the nude,” Will joked, although it was clear he was getting worried.

“Let me preface this by saying that none of this is inherently bad. You might actually find it unique and exciting.”

“Are you about to sell me a time-share?”

“No. Although my parents do have quite a few.” Emma breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth. “The reason I didn’t want to tell you my last name is because about eight weeks ago my fiancé walked out on me.”

“Oh, Emma. I’m so sorry—”

“Thank you but if you start to be nice, I will cry and then I won’t be able to tell you all the things I need to tell you.”

Will nodded and pretended to seal his lips but his eyes conveyed too much empathy for her to keep looking at him. She turned her head in the direction of his closed closet door. Even in her emotional state Emma found herself wondering if he hung up his clothes or kept them in piles. She guessed a mix of both.

“When Ryan—my ex-fiancé—left, I thought my entire life was over. And not just in the typicalI can’t live without himkind of way. It made me question my entire career and identity. I’m a couples therapist and I had no idea my own partner didn’t love me anymore? How pathetic is that?”

“I don’t think it’s pathetic.”

“I won’t fight you on the logic of it, but it’s how I felt. Like a huge freaking failure who was going to die alone after getting her book deal canceled.”

“You have a book deal?” Will asked, equally shocked and impressed.

“I told you, it’s going to be a lot of information all at once.”

Emma took a risk and looked at him. Will’s blue eyes were locked on her face and his (naked) body language exuded a calm she certainly didn’t feel. Why was he not freaking out? Or faking an emergency before throwing her out of the apartment, never to be heard from again?

Instead of doing either of those highly understandable things, Will reached out and wiped away a tear that had escaped down her cheek. “It’s okay. You don’t have to tell me all of it if you’re not ready.”

“No. I have to tell you all of it now before I—” Emma realized she was about to saybefore I fall in love with you. She quickly cleared her throat and changed her approach. “Before things keep progressing between us.”

“Can I say one thing first?”

“Okay, but it will probably make me cry more. I’m a big crier. You should know that.”

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