Page 8 of The Dating Contract

“Sammy,” his mentor said with a grin before turning toward the guy in control of the line. “Liam Hernandez, on the list. He’s with me. Glad you came.”

Samuel focused on Liam’s face instead of the slowly growing crowd. “Me too,” he said.

“How did your thing go?”

Liam’s question was genuine and thinking of it made Samuel realize how tired he actually was. “Good, I think,” he said. “Met people, signed things, and got some commissions.”

“Still enjoying yourself?”

That was the real question, and despite how tired he was, the answer was easy. “That side, doing that kind of work is challenging and I’m enjoying it. But I also want to keep doing posters, and things like that.”

Liam nodded. “You want to stretch your horizons, widen your comfort zone, and grow as an artist, hm?”

That was it in a nutshell. Liam always got it; he knew how to speak Samuel. “Yep,” he told his mentor. “That’s it exactly. I don’t want to stay the same, don’t want to do the same thing.”

“Well then,” Liam replied, a smile as large as the Cheshire cat’s. “We’ve got people to meet and art to see.”

Bolstered by his mentor’s approval, he followed Liam deeper into the crowd and the show. Things were happening and he was looking forward to whatever opportunities came his way.

*

“So,” Naomi saidas Leah began to get ready, “what the hell is up with your sister?”

Which was not the question Leah had expected to hear, but grateful for small miracles she replied, “Kool-Aid. My uber-focused, rational, professional sister has been in a relationship. Which means she has decided that everybody else needs to be in one.” She paused and stared at the black blazer she was going to wear. “Or were you asking about something else?”

Her cousin laughed. “Right. Luckily I don’t have that problem.”

“Just wait,” Leah said as she walked into the living room. “Liv will fall hard and it will all be over for you.”

Leah couldn’t help but snicker as her cousin turned incredulous. “Nope. My sister is in love with being in office. Love isn’t happening toheranytime soon. But…”

Leah raised an eyebrow. “Yes?”

“What’s the deal with you and Samuel Levine?”

The inevitable had arrived; the escape she thought she’d had was no longer. “Do you want the short version or the long one?”

Leah waited as shock colored her cousin’s features.

“You mean there’s a story?”

Naomi loved her stories of course, but then Leah remembered she was being dragged to an opening. “What time is this thing?”

“You’re admitting to a story.”

Leah grabbed her purse in frustration. “I’m admitting to a need for context. You’re asking me about Samuel out of the blue, which means there’s a reason. Most likely, it’s because Judith said something…because that’s the first thing you asked me.”

Deduction was easy and her cousin was flummoxed.

“You’re scary.”

“You remember what I do for a living,” Leah replied as she headed toward the door. “It’s my job to get these details. So what did she say and what do you want to know?”

“She said something about high school,” Naomi said, delivering the goods just like Leah thought, “but also I’ve heard you’re his girlfriend?”

Which means Judith gave a mess of details and Naomi needed everything.

Which sucked.

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