Page 40 of The Dating Contract

“Oh that’s great,” Liam said, sounding impressed. “That’s right, you told me you were going. So it was good in a bunch of ways then. Did you get some ideas?”

Samuel nodded. “I did,” he said. “I’m excited to get to work on some of the concepts I have.”

“Where was this practice?” Oliver asked. “How did you get in?”

“JCC in Briarwood. My girlfriend—” because that’s what she was for all intents and purposes “—her niece was participating in a tryout session.”

“Oh that’s right. The practice was Leah’s doing?” Liam said.

Samuel nodded, wondering what had happened on Sunday at the con, wondering what they’d said to each other. They seemed to have gotten along, but he wasn’t sure.

“It was,” Samuel finally said. “She had more than professional knowledge of the program.”

“You still didn’t say what the program was like,” Liam said. “Tell us.”

Samuel explained what he’d seen, the excited girls and the way the program incorporated very specific tools to make the fundamentals of the sport interesting to little girls with particular interests without compromising either the interests or the sport itself.

Seeing the excitement and the ideas fly across Liam’s face made Samuel smile, not to mention the lack of judgment.

“We definitely should incorporate some of the kids and the moves into the logo,” Oliver said.

Which was something Samuel himself had been playing with, so it felt good to have Oliver on board. “That’s what I was thinking, at least,” he admitted as they continued to drive through Rivertown, past the high school and signs that pointed to the downtown area. “But before we dive deeper, is there anything in particular that Evan Lefkowitz wants with the logo? Anything he doesn’t want?”

Liam shook his head. “No,” he said as they pulled into a long driveway. “Nothing in particular. Although we do have to decide whether it’s going to be a logo general to the organization or specific to the gala. If we incorporate too many of the elements tied to the honoree, it won’t be so much of a perpetual logo but something specific.”

The conversation continued as they parked in the driveway and headed up to the front door. “Let’s table this,” Liam suggested.

Samuel nodded. “Bryce is going to want in to the discussion. He seemed excited to chat with us.”

“That’s good to know,” Liam said as they headed up to the front door. They didn’t even start to knock when Bryce opened the door.

“Welcome,” Bryce said, his eyes sparkling. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

“Thank you for hosting us,” Samuel said, trying to take in the moment and enjoy himself. “I’m excited.”

“It’s no problem,” Bryce replied, his smile wide. “You came out here to see me. So it’s me who should be thankful.”

“You have to be good to make us drive out to Yennevelt,” Oliver said with a laugh. “Back of beyond…”

Samuel raised an eyebrow, slowly getting more comfortable. “You’re from Crystal Harbor,” he said. “Rivertown isn’t Yennevelt and Briarwood is three towns over.”

Liam clapped Oliver on the shoulder, a sign that Samuel had managed a successful jab. “My point exactly, though I wasn’t the one who made it in the first place.”

Thankfully, Bryce laughed and didn’t shove the three of them outside. “Well I’m glad you’re all here,” he said. “Come on in. Let’s go upstairs and figure this out.”

“Upstairs?” Oliver asked.

Bryce nodded. “My wife’s hockey space is downstairs. Better to block out the puck noises with the setup we’ve got. Safer too, that way. Also, there’s better light in the attic.”

“Great poetry,” Samuel as he followed the group upstairs, trying not to trip on the stairs or someone’s feet or anything like that. “Better living space?”

“The best.”

And of course it was: light through the windows, drafting tables and equipment that went beyond the capacity of anything Samuel had ever imagined before. It was…beautiful.

Eventually, they settled down around a table at the center of the workspace. “So,” Bryce asked. “What’s the plan?”

“Well,” Samuel said with a smile. “That’s what we were hoping you’d help us figure out.”

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