The smile froze on Mira’s face. “I don’t—I mean, we don’t—”
“You guys must have such good conversations.” Ari smiled genially, as if that had been her meaning all along. Mira’s shoulders visibly relaxed, but her eyebrows remained the tiniest bit knitted. “Are you musical?”
“Not really.” She reached for the fringe on the throw blanket splayed over the couch and fiddled with it. “I played piano for a few years when I was younger, but I wasn’t very good. I’m more of a listener. I’ve been a big fan of Judah’s since his Chanukah album.”
God, that freaking Chanukah album. But more to the point, whatwasit that made Mira so irresistible to Judah that he was introducing her to Akiva? Yes, Mira was the total package of a Perfect Jewish Wife, but so were plenty of other girls Judah had dated in the past. So if they weren’t hooking up—and it sure sounded like they weren’t—then how the hell had he gone to sleep wrapped around Ari and woken up dating Mira?
“How exactly did you guys meet?” Ari asked instead of the question she really wanted to ask. “I mean, I know it was on the Pesach program in Mexico, but I haven’t heard the story.”
“Oh, there’s no real story.” Mira waved her hand dismissively, but the smile on her face suggested she loved reliving the supposed nonevent. “I was with my brothers, who knew him from high school. As usual, they were totally leaving me out of their conversation, but Judah went out of his way to introduce himself and be friendly. He didn’t really have any plans for the Seder, so my family invited him to sit with us, and he sat next to me, and we got to know each other.”
Ari wasn’t remotely prepared for how gutting it was to learn that while she spent the Sedarim imagining Judah at her side, hewasactuallyspending them at Mira’s. The pain was everywhere, gnawing at her stomach and aching in her chest, until she had to excuse herself to lie down.
Letting Mira stay with her had been a mistake.
Keeping the truth from Liana had been a mistake.
But nothing had been a bigger mistake than letting Judah Klein into her heart when she was only supposed to be letting him into her bed.
Chapter Twenty-One
Judah fiddled with his cufflinks as he cocked his head toward the door, listening for the sound of the stairway door opening and closing. He could tell himself all he wanted that the butterflies in his stomach were about Mira meeting Akiva for the first time, but he knew he was at least as, if not more, anxious about seeing Ari again.
A knock sounded at the door, gentle in a way that told Judah it was Mira, not Ari, making the fist. Still, he braced himself, only for Akiva to open the door and reveal Mira standing there alone.
Judah blinked, waiting for Ari to poke her face in, until finally Mira said, “Uh, hi? You must be Akiva. I’m Mira.”
Oh, crap.Judah realized a beat too late that he should’ve been the one making that intro. He swooped over to the door. “Hey,” he said, giving her the warmest smile he could muster. “Glad you made it.”
“Yeah, good to meet you,” said Akiva, “even if you have terrible taste in men. Speaking of which, where’s Ari?”
“She’s not feeling well,” Mira said with a frown. “Said to tell you all she’s sorry to miss dinner.”
Bullshit, Judah thought at the same moment Akiva coughed it into his fist. Judah glared at his brother, who smirked and then pretended to have something to do in the kitchen.
He should’ve felt relieved. Not seeing Ari meant not putting himself to any tests, not having to avoid staring at her lips or anything else all night. And knowing Ari, she would’ve worn something low cut, just because she could.
You’re here with Mira, he reminded himself, jamming his hands into his pockets.Your sweet and lovely and appropriate girlfriend who is here to spend time with your brother.And maybe he did want to see Arielle to prove to himself that he’d moved on, but he could also prove it by just… moving on.
Which he’d already done. Obviously.
“Akiva’s brother!” Danny descended upon them from the bathroom, where he’d clearly been dousing himself in cologne. But Judah was so relieved for the distraction, he didn’t even want to toss him off the balcony the way he usually did. Danny gave him a slap five into a handshake, before turning his attention to Mira. “And you must be the future Mrs. Klein.”
Never mind. A murder was absolutely in order.
Mira’s cheeks flamed red, but the glance she shot Judah’s way was… hopeful? “Mira,” she said with a smile that showed all her teeth.
“So lovely to meet you.” Danny swept into a flirty bow that had Judah rolling his eyes. He could not believe Arielle’d hooked up with this tool. The smallest, pettiest part of him was dying to let Danny know exactly who he’d overheard thoroughly pleasuring her a few weeks earlier.
“It is!” Akiva chimed in, gesturing them all toward the living room and sinking into an armchair. “So, Mira, tell me absolutely everything about you.”
Mira gladly obliged, sharing all the information Judah already knew—her job, her degree, her siblings, her crocheting—but he listened closely anyway, as if some new piece of information would arise that would help Akiva understand why she was more than just “nice.”
“How about TV?” Akiva asked casually. “What are your favorite shows?”
“I don’t watch a lot of TV,” she said, a hint of apology in her voice. “I have a lot of reading for work.”
“Oh, come on. You don’t watchanyof the Real Housewives franchises?”
