Page 41 of The Neighbor Wager

“But what about true love? Soulmates? The Sting and the Police song. ‘Every Little Thing She Does is Magic.’”

“That isn’t love,” I say. “That’s infatuation.”

He raises a brow.

“There’s no such thing as magic. Or soulmates.” Seriously, get real. I know he’s an artist, but how could anyone look at the data and think, of all the billions of people in the world, only one can complete me?

“What if I convince you otherwise?” he says.

Why would he do that? I take a sip, to try to find some thread of logic. But there’s nothing. It’s nowhere.

“Will you back off then?” he asks.

“If you convince me of themagicof love, I step out of the way of your, what,destinyto be with Lexi?”

“Call it that if you want. But yes.”

“And what do I get if I win? If you don’t convince me love is, what, more magic than science?” I ask.

“Or equal parts magic and science,” he says. “However you want to see it.” He takes a long sip, debating what to offer me. “You want her with this app guy, right?” he asks.

“It’s what’s best for her.”And the company, but I don’t add that.

“If I can’t convince you, I’ll help you keep them together,” he says.

Wait…what? “You will?”

“Absolutely.

Score.“And what do you get if you win?” I ask.

“You back off. Give me a chance to be with Lexi,” he says.

“So if I win, you leave Lexi alone. If you win, I leave the two of you to destiny?”

“Exactly,” he says.

“But how are you going to prove love is real or not real? That’s so ambiguous.”

“Fair. Let’s set a definition now, then,” he says. “If you don’t agree in, say, three weeks, I’ll concede.”

“You trust me that much?”

He nods.

This is a good deal. A great deal. And it will keep him busy. I nod. “So… What’s our definition of love?”

“An attachment to someone that gives you warm, fuzzy feelings and butterflies.”

“Too vague. By that definition every puppy I see on Instagram is my soulmate.”

He nods, thinking for a moment, trying to come up with a more scientific response. “How about this? When you love someone enough, you act against your own self-interest. You put them first. Would you agree to that?”

“It’s not specific to romantic love.”

“But it exists in romantic love.”

“If you love someone, set them free?” I ask.

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