Page 28 of The Dating Contract

“You slayed a dragon,” she said as they stopped in front of a subway station. “Is this fine?” She gestured to the sign in front of the entrance showing which trains the station serviced. And in which directions.

He nodded. “This is the one I need to get back to Queens. Speaking of Queens, I was in awe of you tonight.”

“You,” she said, bringing the subject back to what was important, “were wonderful. And now I know why you’re asking for information about the Unicorns.”

He nodded. “Yep. I was…talking to Evan Lefkowitz tonight.”

“Of course you were,” she said with a laugh. “You know he doesn’t talk to many people.”

“He and my mentor are old friends,” he replied. “So I had an in.”

“Which was impressive.” She paused, wondering what was happening. “Are you going to the gala?”

The sound of his laugh made her relax. “Yeah. I am. I think Evan wants me there, which is such a weird thing to say.”

“You spend way too much time living in self-deprecation,” she said. “Do you realize how talented you are?”

Unlike so many people she’d encountered, he shook his head. “I don’t,” he said. “And I think that’s the best thing for me. I never want to stop growing, never want to take my work or the opportunities I’m given for granted.”

If nothing else, that made her feel the thread that tied them together and actually admit, even to herself, that it existed. “So,” she said, trying to pull herself back to reality. “That’s why you have a crowd control problem.” Thinking about what going to a comic convention when he was signing was going to be like almost terrified her. “You’re so…genuine.”

“I try,” he said. “I… It’s weird. Finding my place, taking advantage of my opportunities without overdoing it, and remembering why I’m there in the first place.”

“Speaking of opportunities, I guess we’re going to the gala?”

He nodded, faster than she would have liked but in a way that made her breathe, as if she’d been nervous about his answer.

Which made no sense. Then again, nothing made sense about her interactions with him.

Zero.

“I’d like that,” he said. “I’m glad we can go together.”

And that was it.

That was what made her want to kiss him. She could blame it on the night sky, but it was all her and her stupid…whatever that drew her closer to him, her hand reaching up to trace the path of his cheekbone.

“Would you like to kiss me?” he asked, his voice enveloping her like a cloud.

“Yes,” she said, pulling him or the thread closer, reveling in the feel of his breath on her face in the middle of a Manhattan evening, his hands on her shoulders as she leaned into the kiss. She wanted to dive into him, wanted to lose herself in him.

And when she pulled back there was reality. There was the light of the subway entrance, the fact that morning was going to come quickly and she had to be ready for whatever was going to happen. “So…I’ll see you Saturday?”

“Yeah. You’ll text me the details?”

She nodded as they headed down the escalator, and through the gate where they slid their cards through. They stood on the train platform together; the local, not the express, going downtown, so he could switch to the train he needed after one stop, and she could take hers the rest of the way home.

As she watched him get off the train, she found that she didn’t want him to leave, and was terrified to discover that the real problem was that she wanted to be with him, despite all of the complications of a fake relationship and their real history.

She was, in short, in trouble.

Chapter Nine

Friday morning, Samuelhad too many thoughts running around his head to consider staying and working in his apartment, so he headed to the subway, following the directions to Liam’s new apartment.

He and Leah had kissed under the stars.

He’d call it something, but it was exciting, surprising and so much more than he’d ever expected.

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