“I don’t know why I decided to go into law, maybe it was all the time I’d spent in court and working with lawyers, but I had an aptitude for it. I got the second highest LSAT score in the state of Utah. I focused all my energy on my career. I worked hard, not just to succeed, but because there was nothing else in my life. Deep inside what I was really trying to do was prove that I wasn’t worthless.

“But no amount of success in my career could fill that hole inside me. It was always there. I never felt free to find joy until I met Olivia. That’s when I decided I would find someone to spend my life with. I dated some, I didn’t have any trouble getting women, but I suppose I felt like you did. I didn’t think they could comprehend or love the real me.

“When I saw you in that elevator I was speechless. I knew you didn’t recognize me, but I recognized you. I felt like, in some way, we were kindred spirits. After that I couldn’t get you off my mind. I wanted to know you better.”

“That’s why you came up with the contract,” I said.

He nodded. “It seemed like a safe way to get close without hurting anyone. But then I fell in love.” He looked into my eyes. “It wasn’t hard. You’re very loveable.”

I looked at him gratefully but didn’t speak.

“I wanted to protect you,” he said. “From the world and from your past. But I’m part of that past, so that meant protecting you from me as well. I know I should have told you, but the timing never seemed right. And the stronger my feelings grew, the more afraid I was of losing you. And I had my own secret I didn’t know how to share. In a way, I was fighting the same demon you were—deep inside I wondered whether you would reject me too if you knew the real me.”

“I’m sorry I left you,” I said. “You’ve had enough abandonment from those you loved.” My voice fell with shame. “You didn’t need it from me.” I looked down for a moment as the emotion of the moment filled me. Then I looked back up into his eyes. “Could you still love me?”

It seemed an eternity that we gazed into each other’s eyes, and then Nicholas came over to me and we embraced. Then we kissed. Passionately. Honestly. Completely. For the first time we kissed without masks. When our lips finally parted, I whispered, “I want to renew the contract.”

He didn’t speak for a moment. Then he said, “It’s got to be a different contract.”

“Different?”

He leaned back to look into my eyes. “We need to change the expiration date.”

“To what?” I asked.