Page 11 of The Dating Contract

“You sure the thing withthe hot soferwas crowd control only?”

Upset. Ire.

Of course. “Oh my God,” she said, trying not to yell. “You’re as bad as Judith, not to mention it’s out of nowhere.”

“It’s not out of nowhere,” Naomi quipped back, as if her cousin was trying to find some justification. “We’re here, after all, for Judith’s wedding.”

“Do you realize the headache Judith’s wedding has been already?” The words flew out of her mouth and none of it was Naomi’s fault, but her cousin got the brunt of it. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Naomi said, “but…um…”

“What?”

Leah followed her cousin’s outstretched finger, only to realize the entire room was staring at her.

And of course the nasty feeling in the pit of her stomach had been right on target, as her gaze settled on Samuel Levine.

Good thing he was nice to look at, and once again his eyes pulled her in like tractor beams.

But this time?

This time she had a plan. Instead of letting herself fall into the black hole, she was going to be proactive. “I didn’t realize my boyfriend would be here.”

And without looking back at her cousin, she crossed the room, took Samuel by the arm, led him to the first door she saw and dragged him in behind her.

*

Normally, Samuel wouldhave been thrilled to be dragged into a private room by Leah Nachman, but this. This was… “What?”

“Turnabout is fair play,” she said, still gorgeous, still unapproachable.

“I don’t… I mean…”

“Do you realize what my life has been like in the time since you announced to the wedding expo that I was your girlfriend?”

He shook his head; he’d been exhausted after setup and then ran here, so he hadn’t heard anything about anything. “I don’t. Can you enlighten me?”

He tried to be as earnest as possible; it was entirely possible she wouldn’t believe him, but after a beat she nodded.

“Fine. My entire family wants to know what’s up with us, my sister is giddy and apparently the wedding planning industry wants to know the identity of thehot sofer’sgirlfriend.”

He could read the agitation in her movements, and it didn’t bode well for anything. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m a sports agent,” she continued, lost in her own words. “I’m a professional. This…whatever it is can’t continue.”

“Well,” he said, trying not to sound like he was adding to her difficulties or making this situation sound like it would be worse for him. “You just informed a bunch of New York’s art circle, as well as my mentor, who works at BP comics, that I’m your boyfriend.”

“And this isn’t a problem for you?”

His first instinct was to say no, that maybe this whole thing was bashert, confirming they were tied together by threads, strings, or whatever plans drew people together. Why else would they run into each other now?

But he had to give her an answer. The silence between them had extended for too long. “It’s a problem because it’s caused you trouble.”

“Diplomatic as always,” she said.

What alternative did he have? “What do you want from me?”

“To fix this mess,” she said. “I have an important meeting with the agency head on Tuesday and I don’t need any more distractions.”

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