Page 80 of Save the Date

Emma feigned a smile. “Yeah, I’ll try that.”

Matt smiled back, pleased to have solved the problem. Emma didn’t need to tell him he’d only made it worse.

Twenty-Nine

“I THOUGHT WE COULD START OFF BY READING A LISTENER’Semail,” Will said in his podcasting voice, which was basically his regular voice with better enunciation.

“That sounds fun,” Emma replied even though she would rather be anywhere else. It was their second studio recording session since their almost-kiss and it took a surprising amount of mental energy to keep things strictly professional. It helped that Anika was watching their every move—even if she had no idea she’d been awarded the role of unofficial chaperone.

Will consulted his show notes and began reading. “Confused in Connecticut writes, ‘Hi, Emma and Will. Big fan of the show. Love your chemistry.’” He cleared his throat, as if the compliment had almost gotten stuck on its way out. “‘I’m writing in because I’m forty-two and recently started dating someone new. Everything is going great, and my boyfriend and I have even started discussing marriage. My only concern is that he still talks to his ex. Not just once in a blue moon but almost every day. Should I be concerned that he hasn’t moved on, or should I believe him when he says they’re just good friends?’” Will looked up. “Emma, you want to take this one?”

“Sure,” Emma said, even though the question hit a little too close to home.

She almost wished Matt still talked to Kelly instead of just talking about her all the time. Her recent visit hadn’t put a stop to Matt’s mentioning her. If anything, she seemed to come up even more now.

“Look, there are plenty of people who can stay friends with an ex in a healthy way. And there are also plenty of people who use friendship as an excuse to hold on to their romantic connection.”

“How is Confused in Connecticut supposed to tell the difference?”

“I was getting to that part.”

“Sorry,” Will said with his hands up. All the lingering sexual tension between them had quickly morphed into frustration and annoyance since their almost-kiss. Now that they couldn’t touch each other’s mouth, it seemed they were at each other’s throats.

“I think the best way to tell is to try to figure out his priorities. As his partner, you should come first—”

Will scoffed, breaking Emma’s momentum.

“What?”

“They just started dating. Why should she take precedence over the rest of his life?”

“Are you being serious, or are you just trying to disagree with me for fun?”

Will held back a smile. Emma was beginning to suspect Will took some sort of sick pleasure in their new, near constant arguing. There was a theory in her profession that couples who fought all the time had a better chance than couples who sat in silence.

Not that we’re a couple, Emma reminded herself.

“I just don’t see why having a new girlfriend means he has to give up a major friendship,” Will retorted, as if he’d checkmated her. “People are more than their romantic relationships.”

“If you had let me finish, you would know that wasn’t where I was heading.”

“My mistake,” Will said with an unbearably frustrating grin. Frustrating in that he clearly wasn’t sorry. And unbearable in how attractive it made him look.

“I was going to say that it might be worth having a conversation with your boyfriend about how this friendship makes you feel and take note of how he responds. If he gets super defensive and says he’s not willing to discuss establishinganyboundaries with his ex, that’s a signal that your feelings aren’t his priority. And that’s a red flag.”

“So it’s a test?”

“It’s a knowledge-building exercise.”

Will laughed. “You’d make a good politician.”

“I’d say thank you, but I know you don’t mean that as a compliment.”

“I just think that if you don’t feel secure in your relationship, that’s somethingyouneed to work on independently.”

“Even if you have a good reason to feel insecure?”

“Like what?”

---