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So she sat in the lobby with her coffee contemplating.

She looked up just as Noah was coming inside with his family. A little girl, presumably Ainsley, was on his shoulders. “Claire!” His face lit up when he saw her. Biscuit ran to her.

“Biscuit! Hi!” She hated that she talked to him in a baby voice. But she did.

She had accepted they were friends now.

Noah approached her, along with his family. “This is my mom, Maggie; my sister, Emily; and my niece, Ainsley.” He put Ainsley down.

“Hi, I’m Claire,” she told the group.

“So, you’re the Claire we’ve been hearing about.” His mom grinned mischievously. Claire swallowed.

“Mom.” Noah gave her a warning look.

“What?” She feigned innocence. “Biscuit talks about you constantly,” she told Claire.

“The dog can’t talk,” she replied.

“No.” Emily laughed. “But Noah can.”

“Yeah,” Ainsley chimed in. “Uncle Noah talks about you a lot.”

Claire had no idea why that made her chest feel suddenly too tight. She had expected Noah to look amused. Instead, he looked genuinely embarrassed, which somehow made the admission feel even more real.

“Emily, Ainsley, stop.” He looked at them pointedly.

Ainsley jumped into his arms, batting her eyelashes. “You love me.”

“Yes, I do,” he told her.

“Claire!” Ainsley exclaimed. “You’ll hang out with us today, right?”

Claire hesitated. She really didn’t want to intrude on their family day. Noah glanced at her, as if he knew what she was thinking. “Yeah, Claire,” he repeated, “you’ll hang out with us today, right?”

Biscuit jumped into her lap, expressing his agreement.

Ainsley had asked first, but Noah was the one watching her answer. “Well how could I tell Ainsley and Biscuit no?” she said.

“Yay! I like her already,” Ainsley declared to nobody in particular. “Are you Uncle Noah’s girlfriend?”

Noah cleared his throat. “No, we’re just friends.”

Claire nodded. “Just friends,” she confirmed.

“I think you’re wrong,” she announced before marching off.

Emily and Mrs. Carter could not hold their laughter in. Neither could Claire. She had a feeling that this family was going to adopt her. She didn’t think she would be able to stop it.

She didn’t think she wanted to stop it.

That was the scary thing. Becoming attached to Noah was one thing, but becoming attached to his family was another.

That was too much. Claire Bennett didn’t do attachments.

By lunch, Ainsley had decided Claire was responsible for helping choose dessert. Emily had told three embarrassing stories about Noah. Mrs. Carter had asked Claire about her job with such genuine interest that Claire nearly forgot to guard her answers.

Noah moved easily between all of them, carrying Ainsley when she got tired, opening doors, remembering everyone’s order, making sure Claire was never left at the edge of the conversation.