Page 39 of The Dating Contract

“Then go with it,” she said. “Go with this. Be the guy you wanted to see when you were a kid, be as excited as you were about being here, waiting to see your favorites as you were back then.”

He nodded, and for once she was taken back to that place, back to that moment in elementary school where she’d seen his excitement up close and personal. The smile, the brightness of his eyes when he talked about letters and comics.

And this.

And as she stood in the corner, just outside the area where he was signing, she heard a voice.

“He’s going places.” Liam? Was that his name? Was that his mentor? “He’s going to get offers and he’s going to blow up. World’s ready for him, and I think he’s ready for the world.”

She turned around to meet the man’s eyes. “He’s good,” she said. “Really good.”

“Glad he’s got good support,” Liam continued. “Family—his brother is great. And I consider myself a friend as well as a mentor. He’s making great contacts, doing his thing.”

Of course the surprise from Carly’s brother-in-law Chris’s excited reaction to seeing Samuel would never get old. Which made sense because Chris’s wife was signing right next to Samuel.

“It’s nice to see him realizing his own power,” she replied, pulling the conversation back to where it needed to be. Because it wasniceto see him realize his power, and Leah was comfortable enough saying that, whether he was her fake boyfriend or simply someone she used to know.

“It’s nice to see that he’s got you too,” Liam replied. “Because the road he’s on isn’t going to be an easy one.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that. But later that night, when she’d gotten back to the safety of her apartment, she opened her bedroom closet, and pulled out a rather large package. It still sat in the wrapping paper she’d used so many years before, and she wondered if she’d ever give Samuel the graduation present she’d bought for him.

She also wondered whether even thinking about it was dangerous to her own psyche. Or her ability to stay emotionally uninvolved in the messy tangled threads that tied her and Samuel together.

Instead, she put the package down, closed the door and started to get ready for bed.

Chapter Thirteen

The very lastthing that Samuel expected on Monday morning was to be driving up to Rivertown with Liam and Oliver on the way to Bryce Emerson’s house.

But Liam had called him early on Monday morning, explaining that Evan had called him, telling him that he had another friend who wanted to work with them.

“Who is it?” Samuel had asked, bleary-eyed, uncaffeinated and curious.

“Bryce Emerson? I’ve heard of him, but I don’t…know him.”

Threads, ties. He’d say this was fate, but he wouldn’t call this anything like that. Just connections falling into place at the perfect time. Which meant he had to say something that felt strange. “Would it sound weird to say I do?” Samuel asked, slowly coming to life.

“It would be exciting,” Liam replied, in a way that made Samuel feel the sentiment was genuine. Liam was like that. “Honestly, I don’t have a clue and neither does Oliver, so it would be a very, very good thing professionally that one of us does, and personally as a mentor I love seeing you flourish.”

After tamping down his enthusiasm at Liam’s praise, Samuel was able to respond. “Good, hold that thought. Let me call you back.”

Of course, Samuel was very lucky Bryce took his call; luckier still the conversation was quick. “Listen,” he’d told Bryce, who wasn’t exhausted, “we talked about doing something, and Evan Lefkowitz told my mentor…”

Bryce immediately said yes. “Evan called me yesterday, so I’m absolutely in to work with the logo team on a mask. Makes it look better for the organization but also for all of the artists, and reminding people why they’re spending the money and who it’s for.”

Which was a relief that Evan had briefed someone in this group of potential collaborators. But instead of pondering this, he got directions and information from Bryce. Before calling Liam back.

“I’d offer to drive,” Samuel said, “but my brother still has my car, and his car is in Briarwood.”

“I’ll take care of that,” Liam said.

Not very long after, Samuel found himself in Oliver’s car, heading up to Rivertown. Some of the houses reminded Samuel of parts of Briarwood, just yanked and dragged south down route nine, past Hollowville into a town with a river view.

“So how exactly did you meet this guy?” Liam asked. “Who is he?”

“He does multimedia,” Oliver said, stepping in. “He knows Isaac…most of his stuff is painting and sculpture, but I think he grabbed Evan’s attention because of the hockey masks he makes.”

Which was probably a more succinct explanation than Samuel could have made. “That’s what he was talking about,” Samuel said. “Some kind of mask. Anyway, he was at the Unicorns practice on Saturday. I guess his wife is one of the founders?”

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