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It was not normal.

At least, it was not normal to Claire.

He smiled at the coworker and then turned to her and said, “Hey, sorry it took so long. I got you punch.”

Silence. She barely managed to take the cup from him. Her brain stalled.

Breathing suddenly felt far more complicated than it should have.

The coworker blinked. “Oh, hi. I didn’t realize you—”

Noah slid his hand lightly to the small of her back.

Claire’s breath caught.

It was barely a touch. He wasn’t pulling her closer. He wasn’t doing anything she could reasonably accuse him of.

That somehow made it worse.

His palm just rested there, steady and impossible to ignore.

What was he doing? Was this necessary touching? She didn’t think so.

But much to her own dismay, she was not hating it.

She turned toward him, eyes wide. He didn’t look at her. He just smiled at the coworker like this was casual everyday behavior. Then finally, just for a split second, he glanced at her. Soft. Almost questioning.

Claire, for reasons she would later spend days analyzing, didn’t remind him that unnecessary touching was against the rules.

She couldn’t think clearly to decide whether it was necessary or unnecessary.

She simply said, “Thanks, honey.”

She panicked. It just slipped out. She broke her own stupid rule.

What the heck even was that?

Claire did not use pet names. And yet she just called Noah honey.

Noah’s hand didn’t move. His smile didn’t change. But something in his eyes did. He looked entirely too amused.

The coworker muttered something about finding another drink and walked away. Noah’s hand remained at her back.

Claire stared straight ahead. “You can move now.”

“Can I?”

She hated that she needed a second to answer.

By the time they returned to the apartment building, Claire had replayed the moment with Noah’s hand at her waist and then her back at least twenty times.

Even now, standing several inches apart, Claire could still remember exactly where his hand had rested against her back.

The elevator ride up was too quiet. Claire stood with her arms crossed, staring at the changing floor numbers like they were personally responsible for her current situation.

Noah stood beside her. Relaxed. Hands in pockets. Like the night hadn’t knocked something slightly off balance.

She finally broke. “So much for not breaking the rules.”