Page 38 of The Dating Contract

He nodded. “It’s Sunday so early will mean about ten, and my signing is about two? Three, toward the end.”

“Can I kiss you before you go?”

“Kiss goodnight?” he said.

And she leaned over; he felt her lips on his, her hands, following the path of his stubble. And when she broke the kiss, the balm on his cheeks was cold. “So…”

“See you?”

“See you,” he said as he left the car and headed upstairs, his head still spinning.

There was only one clear thought he could manage: Leah was amazing and if he didn’t convince her he was worth taking another chance on, he didn’t know what to do with himself.

Chapter Twelve

Event Three: Excelsior Comic Con, Manhattan Convention Center, New York

Purpose: Professional exposure for Samuel, exposure for the relationship, crowd control assistance from Leah

Leah wasn’t surprised to see the complete change in the Expo Center from the last time she’d been there; heck, time-lapse footage showed baseball stadiums turning into outdoor hockey rinks, and indoor hockey rinks turning into basketball courts. All the convention center needed was a different set of lights, and the different posters supplied by the vendors and it was an entirely different place.

The mood was different too; people who walked the floor were wearing anything from extravagant costumes they must have spent tons of time on to random jerseys with the name of their favorite comic character on the back.

But the mood she was most focused on wasn’t hers or the random passersby. It was Samuel’s.

There was a bit of confidence in him when she saw him at the wedding expo, with his brother and the long line of people. It wasn’t expected, but yet at the same time, he knew how to handle it.

This?

This was different.

He’d been quiet as they walked the floor, quiet as they found a space in the VIP area, quiet as they settled into breakfast and lunch and popped into panels.

“You want this?” she asked.

“I don’t know what to do with myself,” he replied, looking as if he’d forgotten how to behave in public. “I’ve never signed here.”

She raised an eyebrow. “So you asked me here as a confidence booster, not crowd control?”

He didn’t answer immediately, and she wondered what was going on in his head. “Not particularly. It’s… I don’t know what’s going to happen.”

“I can understand,” she said. “Rookies have their first public appearances and they’re not sure what to do. You can prepare for a moment all of your life, and then have it happen and, not be ready.”

He laughed, but it wasn’t bright. “I don’t even know if this is the moment.”

“You’ve been preparing for this since I’ve known you,” she said before she realized what she was saying.

“Uhhh…”

Which was better than she expected him to say as they sat on folding chairs, eating con-floor hotdogs. Except for some reason, she decided she’d continue. Maybe it was because she wanted to see his confidence again. Maybe it was because she found a confident Samuel somehow more attractive…

No.

She was there for moral support, crowd control and to fulfill an obligation to her fake boyfriend. Not judge how attractive he may or may not be.

“You have been talking about comic con,” she continued, shoving words out of her mouth without really thinking about them, “being a part of it, here, since we were kids. You know what’s happening.”

“Signing here, yes,” he said. “I’m excited.”

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