Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78108 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Monroe cuts in. “Actually I’m not quite ready to sign off. There’s something we never really closed the loop on. Talking about this whole full circle thing and all.”
“And what’s that?”
It can’t be our dating experiment. We wound up talking about that on the podcast. I’m glad we waited until after we finished the practice dates to decide to share them on air. It made the experiment itself much more authentic. So I’m curious what he has in mind.
“About a year ago we made a bet on your date with the artist. Your first ExtraDate, as you called it.”
“I do remember that. Now all my ExtraDates are with you.” After a year, I haven’t stopped being a little giddy about our love.
But we’ve already talked about the bet on air too. We discussed it a few weeks after we returned from Darling Springs. I’d even admitted to all our listeners that Monroe was right, and the date with the cheese guy hadn’t lasted more than an hour. That meant Monroe could ask me anything on air, which he did. He asked if I’d go out with him that weekend. That makes me giddy, too, remembering all the moments we shared with listeners about our love story.
“But we did go full circle about that,” I point out, glancing at Sadie as if her face will give me a clue about why Monroe’s ticking past our regular hour.
She’s just heads-down on her laptop though.
“Fine. Then let’s go full circle again,” Monroe says.
Unafraid, I wiggle my fingers. “Bring it on.”
He looks me straight in the eyes, his expression immediately solemn and hopeful. “Will you marry me?”
I freeze. I wasn’t expecting that. He stands, walks around the table, and drops onto one knee. “You’re the one who got away, and I’m so thrilled I got you back. I never want to let you get away again, Juliet Dumont. You’re the best part of my life, and I keep wanting to be the best for you every single day. Even when I fail, you’re there for me, and I want to keep being there for you the rest of our lives.”
He reaches into his pocket, takes out a velvet box, and opens it. The diamond solitaire is bright and beautiful, and I’m already crying with no tissues in sight, but I don’t care.
“Yes! A million yeses.”
Then I kiss him on air. I don’t plan to let him get away again either.
EPILOGUE: THINGS I KNOW
Monroe
“Of course we don’t agree on when this whole thing started,” I say one fine afternoon in Darling Springs.
“The podcast bet,” my wife calls out cheerfully.
“More than nine years ago,” I add, then clear my throat, turning more serious as I look at the crowd gathered today in the backyard, wildflowers surrounding us, lavender scenting the breeze. “But if I’m going to tell the story of our accidental dating experiment, someone should pick a starting point.”
I’ve told this story a few times already. I’ll keep telling it for a long time. Today, I’m sharing it with a half-dozen new couples here at the house in Darling Springs, as my wife and I debate the start of our dating experiment. Whether it was the day I wore that suit, or the podcast bet, or if it was when we walked into the house we were given, or maybe way before that.
We never agree, but we always enjoy sharing the story with the couples that come here to The Horny House, as we call it privately. Publicly, we call it The Heartbreakers and Matchmakers Home.
We didn’t sell it after all. We couldn’t part with the place that brought us back together with its sheer sex appeal. We turned it into a place for couples’ retreats, and we host them together. Those retreats have gone so well that the proceeds funded the podcast expansion. Now, we can use our dating experiment to help bring others closer together.
This house has an excellent track record. Well, it’s no surprise, really. Once you’ve slept in a mirrored bunk bed, you just can’t go back.
“But really,” I say, continuing my story. “What I learned most of all is that keeping the one you love is all about the work, and the heart and the soul you put into it. Let’s get started.”