Taylor finds Beth in Eli's office (...kind of contrived, no? She wouldn't meet him at the restaurant?) and they recognize each other from the engagement party, although I don't recall them actually meeting. After some small talk, Beth admits that she's having dinner with Eli, and Taylor goes fake 'n frosty before hightailing it out of there...

...right into Matt's office. Can't say as I blame her -- that's the first place I'd go to find a drinking buddy around here. She says she desperately needs a margarita, and Matt seriously replies, "And you want me to come with you?" Hee. Once the sincerity of the invitation is established, they head out.

At dinner, Beth is telling Eli how, back in college, she originally started talking to him to soften him up for a friend of hers who liked him, and when the friend found out that Eli and Beth slept together, she never talked to Beth again. They talk about the bad patch Eli's going through, and Beth tells him how much he's helping people. However, Eli mentions the word "date," and Beth goes hyper-awkward, saying that Nate told her he was going to talk to Eli. Ooh, he may be cute, but I've got to deduct points from Doctor Wuss for that move. Anyway, Eli figures out that Nate and Beth are an item in quick enough time for Beth to believe that he knew about them, and you can't blame him for taking an extra-big swig of wine to "celebrate."

Taylor and Matt are half in the bag already, and Taylor's complaining about how she's a total loser. Matt tells her she's great -- smart, hot, funny, hot (his repetition, of course) -- "and an excellent drinker." That may be, but you have drinks for dinner, you have regret for breakfast. (I wrote that myself!) Taylor blurts the news about Eli getting the aneurysm removed, and while she originally thought that Eli broke up with her to protect her, now she sees that the aneurysm was just an excuse. "He just didn't love me enough." It's certainly easy enough to see how she could think this. Matt says that there's got to be something wrong with Eli if he dumped Taylor, and Taylor turns the subject to the revelation about Matt's dad, saying it explains his cockiness and his propensity to date bimbos -- he's scared to be abandoned by someone he actually cares about. Matt hits every note just right -- the dramatic pause, the downcast eyes -- as he says, "Sometimes it's just so hard to be the real man." Taylor leans in and kisses him, and I'm sorry -- you all know that I like Taylor, but this would be an entire log of cheese were it sincere, so knowing that he's faking is making me like him a hundred times more. I love Matt Dowd and I loathe Maggie. Chew on that, show.