Page 61 of The Dreidl Disaster

“What do you think she isn’t ready for? Why do you have to wait?”

And that was the question, wasn’t it? Something he had to answer honestly soon, or deal with the consequences. Because as he turned around, there she was.

“Hey, I thought I’d find you here.”

And if he wasn’t ready now, he never would be. “Hey,” he said. “Do you want to debrief?”

She blinked. “Okay?”

“Come on,” he said offering his hand. And as he took it, he went toward the one place where he thought they’d have some degree of privacy without leaving the backyard.

The sukkah.

Chapter Nineteen

Liv followed Arturtoward the structure, belatedly realizing that it was a sukkah.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“Wanted to talk to you away from the eyes of most people in the crowd,” he said. “Eyes and ears and all.”

He wanted privacy. He wanted to get her alone. But she needed to be clear. “And your words are for my ears only?”

He nodded.

“Doubt that would happen with this crowd,” she said with a smile, knowing how closely his friends watched him, not to mention how Naomi was. “But it’s a nice thought.”

He shrugged, but he didn’t seem overly concerned. “I figure if we go in here, we have an illusion that we’re the only people in there, or at least unless someone reeeally wants to busybody their way into our conversation.”

She nodded. That made sense no matter what he wanted to tell her.

Or not tell her, for that matter.

But the kicker was that he’d been keeping some kind of distance from her.

Why?

They hadn’t said words or had the conversation they’d planned to have, so maybe he’d drawn boundaries until they said words?

But he wanted privacy. He’d asked her here, out of sight and earshot from the rest of the crowd, protected by a barrier of…a hut with an open roof, vegetables and fruit hanging within reach.

Was this…?

She didn’t know.

But she’d followed him anyway.

“How are you doing?” he asked as they stepped inside the walls of the sukkah. “Is there anything you need? Anything you’ve been doing?”

“You want a debrief?” she asked, not being able to help the grin. “I mean this is partially a chance for me to network.”

He nodded. “A businessy place to do business for a mayor from two towns over.”

“Maybe. Or the new legislator for a few legislative districts over, depending on which title you want to use.” She wondered if clarifying was the right move; at that point, she was on shaky ground.

Which meant things that grounded her were what she needed; not the uncertain and unfamiliar title that felt like she was reaching beyond her grasp.

But it didn’t seem to faze him.

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