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“I don’t think I want to stay here forever either,” Claire admitted, “which is crazy to say. I’ve been dreaming of moving here since I was a teenager. I thought it would be everything I had ever dreamed of.”

“What changed?”

Claire looked over at him and smiled. “I realized I wasn’t looking for a place.”

He smiled back. “What kind of house would you want?”

“Honestly, one like your parents’. I love their house.”

“Me too. I’d love to have a wraparound porch. Lots of land. Can you imagine Biscuit having a yard? He’d love that.”

“A big kitchen,” Claire added, “enough room for everyone at Thanksgiving.”

Noah looked at her. “And a guest room for Ainsley.”

“Obviously.”

Neither of them pointed out that they were planning the same house.

“I spent twenty-seven years planning my escape from the country.” She laughed softly. “Now, one year after finally moving to Manhattan. . .” She looked around the park before looking back at Noah. “. . .I’m talking about moving back.”

Then Noah smiled. “Funny how that works.”

“I think I just needed to get here before I could figure out what I actually wanted.”

Biscuit lunged after a squirrel, nearly pulling Noah off balance. Claire laughed as they followed him down the path, their hands still linked.

Noah had imagined that future for as long as he could remember.

A porch. Too much land to mow. A dog that never wanted to come inside. A kitchen full of people. A home that felt just as full and lively as the one he grew up in.

He’d just never imagined finding someone who would describe the exact same life. Especially in New York City.

For the first time, he wasn’t imagining that future alone.

She hadn’t said yes.

He hadn’t even asked her yet.

But every version of the future she discussed included him in it and that was enough.

He couldn’t stop smiling. For the first time, the future didn’t feel distant.

It didn’t feel like someday.

It felt like a plan. It felt like it had already begun.

He had one more thing to do.

CHAPTER 39

The Proposal

It was an ordinary Tuesday.

Of course it was.

Claire and Noah were in his kitchen making dinner. Spaghetti and garlic bread. Claire was making cookies, because it was her philosophy that cookies needed to be a weekly occurrence.