Page 51 of Save the Date

Emma smiled, relieved that he wasn’t still upset even though he had her pegged all wrong; Emma did not have great taste. In fact, Jackie had gotten all of the design sense in the family and Emma often found herself gravitating toward things her sister would consider tacky. After moving in together, Ryan had put a limit on how many new animal statues Emma was allowed to get in a given year—only three, which seemed criminal. She had tried to get around this by buying functional pieces, like lamps or plates, that were also animal shaped. A great loophole, in her opinion, until the night Ryan broke up with her and she was left wondering if her fox-shaped coffee table had been the final straw.

“I can certainly come, but I don’t know if I’ll be much help.”

“Just making me actually go would be a win.”

“That I can do,” Emma replied, her confidence slowly returning to her body as she noticed Matt sneaking a peek at her chest.

After deciding to order Greek food, Matt turned on his massive flat-screen and asked Emma what she wanted to watch. She racked her brain for a good reply, trying not to get distracted by how close they were on the couch. His thigh muscles were practically bulging out of his designer jeans.

“Have you seen the new Coen brothers’ movie?” she asked. Will had watched it earlier that week and told her she needed to see it soon since he planned to quote it a lot moving forward. Emma had agreed because she hated missing a good reference.

“Nope. I don’t watch a lot of movies,” Matt admitted.

“Are you more of a TV guy?”

“I’d say I’m a sports guy who occasionally gets wrapped up inThe Bachelorwhen it’s on in my living room. Kelly loves that show.”

“It is pretty captivating,” Emma agreed. “I’ve always found it fascinating that middle America is totally fine with polyamory so long as it ends in a monogamous engagement.”

“Huh, I never thought of it that way.”

“Sometimes the presentation of something has more impact on people than the thing itself. That’s why I’ve thought a lot about how to explain Operation: Save My Date in a way that’s appealing and not off-putting.”

“How do you explain it? I mean I’ve seen your videos but it’s different to talk to you in person about it.”

“Totally,” Emma agreed as she collected her complicated thoughts on the subject. “I guess one of the best ways to explain what I am trying to do is to start by explaining what I’mnottrying to do. To me, this isn’t about swapping in one guy for another guy so I can still have a big wedding.” She felt the need to clarify that point, because Will’s accusation still stung. “And it’s not about avoiding my grief by immediately jumping into something new. If I had discovered a way to successfully avoid grief, I’d be a millionaire.”

“More like a billionaire,” Matt added.

“Exactly. I haven’t solved how to get over a broken heart—and I don’t think that’s something we need to solve. But I do think I’m in a unique situation with the opportunity to try something new. Our society has basically fallen into a soulmate trap, where if you aren’t sure someone is The One, you have to keep looking. Except if my job has taught me anything it’s that love and attraction only get you so far.”

“That part I know,” Matt replied with a sad laugh.

“It’s a weird thing to learn though, right? I feel like growing up is realizing that most people don’t stay married because of passion, they stay married because of mutual respect and commitment. So if you change your mindset from looking for yourone true soulmateto looking for a lovely life partner who wants the same things as you, you suddenly have a lot more options. And you don’t have as much doubt that you picked the wrong person because you aren’t on a quest for someoneperfect. You’re just looking for someone you enjoy who will care enough to try.”

Emma had gotten herself so worked up she hadn’t realized how intensely Matt was listening to her. But now that she was done with her impassioned speech, she looked over and saw him vigorously nodding.

“That’s what killed me the most about Kelly cheating. It felt like she was throwing in the towel when I wanted to keep fighting.”

“I thought she tried to get back together?”

Matt rolled his eyes and Emma got the sense she wasn’t the first one to point this out. “Cheating was myonedeal-breaker. From the very beginning. She knew what she was doing when she crossed that line.”

“Maybe. Or maybe there was a lot going on with the stress of you guys trying so hard to get pregnant and she’s just a human who made a mistake.” Emma didn’t know why she was defending her new love interest’s ex-wife so vehemently. Her professional ability to see both sides wasn’t always a blessing for her personal life. “Or maybe you’re right and it was her way of blowing everything up so there was no going back. Subconsciously or consciously.”

Matt reached out and tucked some hair behind her ear. “I don’t want to talk about Kelly anymore. Not when we should be focusing on us.” Emma knew they were about to transition into the physical part of the evening, but she couldn’t ignore a question that had been gnawing at her.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.” Matt’s hand had now moved down to her significantly less muscular thigh.

“Why are you doing this with me? I know you liked being married, but I can’t imagine it would be that hard for you to find another wife in a more traditional way. I’m sure half of Bumble would want to marry you if they could.”

Matt laughed as if Emma was joking or exaggerating. “I think you’re overestimating my success rate with women.”

“When was the last time you were single? Eight years ago? You don’t have any current data. I guarantee you would crush the twenty-eight-to-thirty-five-year-old demographic.”

“But why would I want to when I’ve already met you?” Matt asked sincerely. “I believe all the same things you just said. My parents aren’t a perfect love story—they’re just two people who have worked hard to raise a family and support each other. If my divorce taught me anything, it’s that I need someone who won’t disappear when things get tough. And from everything I’ve learned about you these past couple of weeks, you seem like that kind of person. I feel like I can trust you with my heart. Before we met, I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do that again.”

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