Page 91 of The Dating Contract

Which meant Leah had to start her tale at the beginning. “What you may or may not know is that after the expo, Samuel and I fake-dated. Contract, the whole deal.”

Judith laughed, a deep belly laugh, with sparking eyes Leah hadn’t seen from her sister in years. Which should have annoyed her, but for some reason it made Leah relax a bit more. “Are you kidding? Are you living HeartPix movies now?”

“HeartPix movies have people who didn’t know each other fake-date,” Leah explained, not arguing with her sister about why it felt so important to mention HeartPix movies. “Same with dramas. And in both cases, the couple ends up as fake-dating fails because all these people know is the good side of the person they’re contracted to…or otherwise fake dating. Samuel and I figured we’d stay fake and end with the contract because of our past. Anyway, don’t mean to go into detail, but suffice to say, we dove in, partially because you’ve been on this ‘everybody needs love’ thing, and also the gossip after the expo.”

“So it’s my fault you’re in the middle of a real-life yid-drama?”

Leah laughed despite the situation. “I figured that when Samuel and I broke up for good, you’d be happily married and your attention would be elsewhere, and not on me.”

“There is a lot to unpack there,” Judith said, “but you need to understand that I’m not going to stop worrying about you just because I’m married, or getting married. You’re my baby sister, and you matter. Your life matters to me.”

“Which I appreciate,” Leah said with a grin. “As long as you worry about me less than your wedding or your marriage, I’m fine.”

“Good. Glad to hear you appreciate my concern.” But then Judith sat up in her chair and folded her arms as if she was getting ready to hear some kind of admission or confession. “But now what’s this about the fact you’re now also a fake-dating fail?”

“Yes,” Leah managed. And so once again, she had to find words that would explain the situation she and Samuel had been through, up until the point. “I think that like so many of the couples in the dramas, especially the MCs with busy lives, it’s hard to see that it’s not the quantity of free time but the quality of it, and who they spend that free time with. So basically, I need to explain to Samuel that I’ve always cared about him and that the feelings I’ve caught for him aren’t recent. They’ve always been there.”

“Wait,” Judith managed amidst laughter that came out of nowhere. “Hold on a second. What is this? What are you saying?”

“I don’t want to say that Samuel’s my bashert, but what I will say is that it makes sense that so many cultures talk about relationships and couples through metaphors of tangled webs and strings that connect people. The private showing in here, you know, which is supposed to be private…”

“Yes,” Judith said. “I realize you need your privacy.”

“Thank you,” Leah said. “So are you leaving?”

“I will, but you need to tell me that you’re going to be as clear with Samuel about how you’re feeling as you’re being with me.”

That was easy. “Yes,” she said. “I’m going to be honest and vulnerable and lay my cards on the table, which is why I need the private showing.”

“I’m impressed,” Judith said.

Leah didn’t know exactly what to say, so she went with the basics. “Thank you?”

“You can do this,” Judith continued, making Leah feel…things she wasn’t ready to quantify. “And also, I’m right behind you. Even if you might not believe it.”

“I do,” she said, the words coming easily from a place deep inside of her. “I really do.”

“And after you fix things?”

Leah raised an eyebrow; this conversation had gone way too easily and way too well for that statement. “Yes?”

“You might want to thank your nephew and your brother-in-law. And you might want to get the door before they do.”

And as she left the room, Leah realized she’d never been so angry and yet thrilled at her sister’s meddling.

*

Samuel walked downthe street, made the turn. Her parents weren’t living there now; they were in Florida most of the time, but he’d made this walk often.

Same street, the one with the dead end that curved when you weren’t paying attention. Her parents had kept their house in the single-story ranch style, but her brother had added a second story to his own house. On the same street as his parents.

His mind was going, recycling childhood memories and moments where he’d taken this walk on this street. He needed to focus.

And when he arrived at Nathan’s house, where Leah was, his heart started to slam against his chest, so hard he was afraid it was going to push through. But he stopped on a neighbor’s grass to try and collect himself package in hand.

As he headed up the driveway, he wondered if she’d be happy to see him or whether she’d slam the door in his face. Both were possible options, but he wanted to hope that if her family members were involved—her nephew and her future brother-in-law had both encouraged him—then there wasn’t going to be a slam.

Even if there was, he wouldn’t leave, wouldn’t walk away. She was too important to walk away from. Finally, he was standing in front of the doorframe, wood and glass separating him from Leah.

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