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“Didn’t realize that was a requirement.”

Claire nudged him with her shoulder.

In the next room, Ainsley laughed at something Will had said. Maggie called for Noah to find more batteries. Emily stole another cookie from its container. Claire dried the plate in her hands and placed it beside the others.

New Year’s came and went followed by Valentine’s Day. Noah brought her flowers even after insisting the holiday was a marketing scheme, and Claire bought him chocolate he claimed he didn’t need before eating half of it.

Mrs. Evelyn made a suspicious comment about deadlines. “You still have time,” she told Noah cryptically on February fourteenth.

He furrowed his brows. “For what?”

“Nothing.”

Harold laughed from inside their apartment.

Claire looked between them. “Should I be concerned?”

“Probably,” Noah said.

She didn’t remember until several days later that Mrs. Evelyn had bet Noah would propose before Valentine’s. She didn’t think he remembered either.

Before Claire realized it, spring was beginning to creep back into the city.

She and Noah hadn’t changed.

It was grocery shopping.

Walking Biscuit.

Noah fixing things before Claire noticed they were broken.

Claire stealing his hoodies without asking.

Shared silences that felt more intimate than conversation.

Small touches that happened without thinking.

Excessive amounts of coffee.

Bookstore dates.

Gilmore Girls marathons.

Pancakes on Saturday mornings.

It was ordinary.

Wonderfully ordinary.

Neither of them minded. They’d both waited a long time for ordinary.

One evening, Claire was working late again. Months ago, she would have stayed at the office until the work was finished. Now, if she absolutely had to keep working, she at least brought it home.

Being with Noah had helped Claire realize that life didn’t have to revolve around work. For the first time in a long time, she had something worth leaving the office for.

Noah sat beside her, setting down two mugs on the coffee table. “You’re still working.”

“I am.”