Page 66 of Save the Date

“What about you? Are you back on the apps?”

Will gave her a look, trying to figure out if she was setting a trap.

“It’s okay. If we can talk about my engagement, we can definitely talk about your dating life.”

“You sure?”

“Absolutely,” Emma lied. She’d always wanted to be the kind of girl that didn’t get jealous. Unfortunately, she was the kind of girl who briefly cried after learning through Facebook that her middle school boyfriend had gotten married before her.

“I’ve been on the apps a bit. Nothing really to report there. But Anika has been trying to set me up with one of her friends.”

“Why haven’t you let her?”

“I don’t know. Seems like it might be messy if things don’t work out.”

“Messier than this?” Emma asked as she gestured between the two of them.

“Fair. I guess I’ll ask for her friend’s number. Got to do something to keep me occupied while you look for a house with your soon-to-be husband.”

“Hobbies are important,” Emma agreed even though the thought of Will with someone else made her nauseous.

“I guess we should get back to work,” Will announced as he stood up and went to restart the recording. He sat down at the dining room table and leaned into a mic that was still attached to his computer. He transformed into his producer role as he asked, “So Emma, does moving out of your old apartment feel significant or symbolic in any way?”

“Yeah, it kind of feels like physical evidence that I’m moving on.” She started to pack up the contents of her coffee table. “It’s weird but seeing my body take action has been helpful. It reinforces that I’m starting a new life.”

“And how do you explain an adult below the age of eighty-five owning so many animal statues?” Will asked with mock seriousness, all evidence of their charged moment already gone, and their friendly banter reinstated.

Instead of answering, she threw a small wooden goat at his head. The mic caught it crashing into the wall behind him.

Twenty-Five

“HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?” EMMA ASKED TWO OF HERfavorite clients. Maria and Claire were a married couple who were struggling to juggle their careers, two children and Claire’s ailing mother, who had recently moved in with them. Thankfully, they had managed to get themselves into therapy before things got too bad, which was always a blessing—especially for the therapist.

“It was good,” Claire said as she shared a suspicious look with Maria. Sometimes Emma’s clients seemed to forget that Emma could not only hear them but see them.

“Good in what way?” Emma asked, assuming the look indicated a return of their much-missed sex life.

“Did you get engaged?” Maria blurted out.

“Oh,” Emma replied, startled, before remembering she had a brand-new ring on her finger. “I did. Good eye.”

“I told you it was real,” Claire said to Maria. “You owe me ten bucks and a bubble bath.”

“I’m a little lost…”

“Your engagement video came up on my TikTok,” Mariaexplained. “A big account I follow reposted it, but I thought maybe it was a prank or something.”

Emma nodded, trying to keep her cool. She knew some of her clients had probably seen the post—especially after people started pulling it from YouTube and sharing it on social media. Within twenty-four hours of releasing the video on her channel it was already her most-viewed piece of content by a long shot and it had only grown from there. Her Instagram DMs were filled with messages from pretty much everyone she had ever met. Most people seemed happy for her. The rest were furious that she was “making a mockery of marriage for attention.” It was one thing for random people to have opinions about her love life. It was another for her clients to know so much about her. But that was the cost of being mildly famous online.

“Why did you think it was a prank?”

“I don’t know,” Maria replied, clearly uncomfortable. “You just don’t seem like the type to do something like that. You’ve always seemed…”

“It’s okay, you can say it.”

“Reasonable? I guess it’s just hard to imagine you marrying someone you barely know at a wedding you planned with someone else. Seems like a no-no for a couples therapist.”

“I think it’s awesome,” Claire chimed in. “You both seemed super happy, and your fiancé is gorgeous.”

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