Page 58

She hugged Emily next, and then Ainsley. “Come see me soon, okay?” she told Ainsley. Ainsley nodded with a huge smile on her face. “Okay, Aunt Claire. I will.”

Even Will gave Claire a hug. Noah said his goodbyes after.

And then they were in his car heading back to Manhattan, music on the radio, and Biscuit sticking his head out the window.

They had been on the road for twenty minutes. Neither of them had said much.

Claire looked out the window. The rolling hills slowly became highways.

Eventually Noah glanced over. “You’re quiet.”

She smiled. “Just thinking.”

He waited.

She eventually said, “Your family is. . . really special.”

Noah smiled without taking his eyes off the road. “Yeah, they are. I’d never realized how lucky I am until people point it out.”

“They made me feel like I’d known them forever.” Claire stared out the window. “They just adopted me into the family. Nobody has ever made me feel like I belonged that quickly.” She laughed quietly. A humorless laugh. “Not even my own family.”

Noah’s grip tightened slightly around the steering wheel. “I’m sorry they made you feel that way.”

Claire looked down at her hands.

Noah looked over for just a second. “My family loves you. I promise you, you do belong with them.”

She laughed softly. “Ainsley promoted me pretty quickly.”

“Yeah. . .” He grinned. “Congratulations on becoming Aunt Claire.”

Claire started getting sleepy. It was a four-hour drive. Warm car. She started fighting it. Her head kept bobbing.

Noah noticed. Without saying anything, he turned the music down and adjusted the AC. She finally fell asleep.

When she woke up, they were almost back in Manhattan.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to fall asleep,” she apologized.

He shrugged. “You looked like you needed it.”

As the skyline came back into view, Claire quietly said, “I already miss them.”

Noah answered almost immediately, “They already miss you.”

She looked at him. He smiled. “My mom texted me an hour ago.”

Claire laughed. “Already?”

He handed her his phone at a red light.

Maggie’s text: Claire better come back for Christmas.

Claire smiled.

The city got louder. Traffic built. The apartment building came into view.

Claire suddenly felt a little sad. She didn’t want to leave that feeling of belonging behind.