Page 9 of 7 Days and 7 Nights

As Atlanta’s reigning 'Bachelor of the Year' and host of the ultra-machoGuy Talk, he was a highly visible example. Olivia continued to feign surprise whenever his name came up, and though she refrained from anything that could be called male-bashing herself, she did feel vindicated by her callers' comments.

To close out the segment, she offered some additional insight into the syndrome and invited anyone with serious concerns to go to her website to see Kiley’s original questionnaire.

To be fair, she doubted Matt, with the level of success he’d achieved, would fit Kiley’s profile, but she didn’t feel compelled to share that opinion with her listeners.

As promised, during the last few minutes of the show, Diane got JoBeth back on the line. Olivia imagined both Dawg and his hero would take exception to the advice she offered.

“JoBeth, not knowing the reasons behind your boyfriend’s unwillingness to commit, I can only make suggestions based on his behavior. If you love Dawg and want to marry him, then you need to make him understand that his refusal to marry you could cause him to lose you. It’s not a threat or an ultimatum, though I imagine he’ll call it that. It’s knowing your worth and standing up for yourself. If you want a committed relationship and he doesn’t, then you owe it to yourself to get back out there where you can meet someone who does. If he refuses to set a date, move out.”

“Move out?”

“Yes, and for God’s sake stop having sex with him."

“No sex?”

“I know that you’ll miss the sex as much as he does, but sadly the old adage still holds true: Most men won’t buy the cow if they can get the milk for free.”

Olivia caught the startled expression on Diane’s face and winked. “We’re talking no more free milk, JoBeth. Not a drop.”

Olivia glanced up at the clock, amazed at how quickly the morning had gone. She felt incredibly good, as if a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Thanks to everyone who shared their Peter Pan stories. It’s time to stand up for yourselves and ask for what you want. Finding happiness doesn’t have to be a fairy tale. JoBeth, let me know what happens with Dawg. I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you.”

The theme music sounded especially sweet in her ears today. As it built and flared, she smiled once again and bid her audience farewell.

“And to all of you, thanks for being with me today. I’m Dr. Olivia Moore, reminding you to live your life...liv

Chapter Four

Matt signed on Tuesday night determined to avoid advice-giving at all costs. He planned to do what he did best—rouse the guys, shock a little bit, encourage spirited discussion. He’d already wasted more time than he’d meant to thinking about Olivia Moore. He wasn’t going to let her infringe on his show, too. At least that’s what he believed until he took his first call.

“Hello, Peter.” The caller was male, his voice unfamiliar.

“I’m sorry?”

“Is this the unable-to-commit-or-grow-up Peter Pan? The one currently residing in Never Land?”

Shit. Maybe his listeners did need counseling. “This is Matt. And you’re onGuy Talk. What’s all this about Peter Pan?”

“You’re going to have to start listening to morning radio. You were a big hit onLiv Livethis morning.”

“Me? OnLiv Live?”

“You betcha.”

Matt peered through the glass at Ben, who shrugged. His producer typed him a message: “I’ll pull an aircheck in a minute and email it to you."

The next few calls went much the same, but no one really offered answers until Dawg called in. “Hi, Matt. Rough day, huh?”

“Not until recently. What’s going on, Dawg? I seem to be the last to know."

“Well, they had a field day with you onLiv Livethis morning. Dr. O talked about something called the Peter Pan Syndrome, and then she asked people to describe

Peter Pans they knew. A whole bunch of women described you—I think some of them were old girlfriends who weren’t as comfortable with your up-front warning as you thought.” Apparently, even Dawg couldn’t resist getting in a dig tonight.

“JoBeth described me. She used my name and everything—I heard part of it on my run to Montgomery—and then she left a message on my cell phone saying that if I wanted any more milk, I was going to have to buy the cow. Danged if I know what she meant by that.”

“Women can be downright mysterious, all right.”

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