Emily and I sit down across the interviewer, the audience still applauding like crazy. The second episode of Matchmaker: Season Two just finished showing, and we’re live in the studio. I know Emily’s a little nervous, but that’s okay. I saw Meredith as I walked onto set. As long as she’s getting ratings ,she’s not upset, and from what I’ve seen after two episodes, Cody’s gonna do just fine. If anything, the scenes of his workout routine are probably going to be a hit with the ladies.

“Well, guys, it’s so good to see you again,” the host says, giving us a warm smile. “Last time you were here, you certainly surprised me.”

“WE LOVE YOU GUYS!”

The host chuckles as Emily blushes and I grin. “Seems you have some fans.”

We just smile. I mean, honestly, what do you say to that? The interview starts, with the host asking all the same questions about the Matchmaker show, and we recap the same answers we’ve always given. Maybe they’re just doing it for the people who missed the first season—“Out now on streaming services!” the host reminds everyone—but in some ways, it feels like they’re trying to catch us messing up. But our story is simply the truth. We fell in love in the midst of craziness, even with people engaged in heartless manipulation all around us.

“I know that the situation isn’t quite what the show started off as,” Emily says, downplaying that a bit now because the show doesn’t want us to ruin the next season. Honestly, we just want them to stop calling us, so it’s fine. “But I don’t think it has anything to do with the show itself. I bet that Cody is going to have a great chance to find a beautiful young woman who’s going to become to him what Hayden means to me.”

“Speaking of becoming, what have you two been up to individually? Now, Hayden, I know you like to focus on Emily, but what about you? What have you been up to?”

I reach out and take Emily’s hand. “Well, I was invited to Paris Fashion Week. We Skyped every night, but it was fun. Mostly, just me exhausted from the stress of backstage and her yawning from a full day with the kids and class notes.” The audience chuckles. “But really, it’s the best time of my life.”

Emily grins. She knows that I’ve adjusted just fine to being a ‘small town’ sort of guy. “He’s doing New York week too, and it’s this summer, so I’ll get to go with him. It’ll be fun to sit in the audience and watch him. Show them your Zoolander Blue Steel look . . .”

I can’t help it, I laugh and then give a serious look at the camera. It was a total joke, growing from a night playing poker, but I can see some of the ladies give their approval. Even the host melodramatically fans herself. They don’t know the half of it though. That’s just my ‘working’ face. I much prefer the personal photos, the ones we’ve snapped around town when I’m able to visit Emily and live with her, the ones where we go out to dinner or play with the kids as she takes care of them. Relaxing, I lean back, giving Emily’s hand a squeeze. “Yeah, and while I’m in New York, I’ve got a big campaign to shoot for Diesel Jeans and then we’ll see from there.”

The host turns to Emily. “And you? So you’re back to being a nanny?”

Emily shakes her head. “No, not exactly. The couple I work for, Mindy and Oliver, have practically made me part of their family. So I still look after their adorable children when they need me. Fewer hours than before, but it lets me complete my schooling, hopefully ready to teach in a couple of years when the kids are old enough to not really need me anymore. But they’ll always be my heart.”

“How about wedding bells and children of your own? Is that on the horizon at all?” the host asks, but before I can answer, Emily speaks up.

“It’s still a little early for that. I need to finish school first for sure.” Emily laughs, and I know she’s trying to put the host off politely, but she’s on my side. I pulled Meredith aside earlier today. I think it’ll get me off Meredith’s kill list, not that I really care.

I play along. “Yeah, maybe some day, like maybe . . .” I rise off the couch, dropping to one knee and holding out a ring. “Emily, no tricks, no surprises. Just you and me against the world. I love you. Through it all, that’s always been true. I love you and I want to spend forever with you. Will you be my wife?”

The collective gasp from the audience almost sucks the air out of the room, and I know at least a million people are wondering if I’ve lost my damn mind. I mean, after all, the last time Emily was proposed to on live TV, things went . . . strangely.

I don’t have a single doubt, though, as Emily looks in my eyes. “Hayden, um, for real? Yes, yes! Of course I’ll marry you!”

The audience erupts with applause, rising to give us a standing ovation as we hug and kiss. After a moment, the host interrupts. “So does that mean we’ll have a Matchmaker wedding special after all?”

I don’t even look at the host, shaking my head as I look into my fiancé’s eyes. “Absolutely not. This is all you get. Our wedding day is for us, family, and friends—no one else.”

With another kiss overtaking us both, the host calls for a commercial break. Finally.