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“You absolutely are.”

He tried and failed to hide his amusement. “Would it help if I created more distance?”

Claire blinked. “You’d do that?”

“Of course. I know she doesn’t mean anything by it, but your comfort matters to me. I can create a little more space,” he said. “That’s not a difficult thing to do.”

“I’m not asking you to stop being friends with her.”

“I know.”

“And I know this is partly mine to work through.”

“You can work through it and still tell me when something bothers you,” he assured her.

The next morning, they had breakfast in Claire’s apartment with Maya before she left.

Maya glanced at her watch. “I probably should get going.”

Noah gave her a quick hug. “It was good to see you.”

“You too.” She turned to Claire. “And Claire, it was great meeting you.”

“You too! Come see us again!”

“I will. Take care of him,” she told Claire.

Claire smiled. “I plan on it.”

Maya looked at Noah, then back at Claire. “I know you will.”

She waved one last time before disappearing down the hallway. The apartment felt quiet.

Claire leaned against Noah’s shoulder. “You told her stories about me, didn’t you?”

He smiled. “Most of them.”

She laughed. “What did you tell her?”

“That you can’t have a meal without cookies.”

“It’s basically illegal.”

“That you drink more coffee in a day than any human should.”

“I don’t drink that much coffee.”

“You do.”

“You own a scary amount of romance books.”

“Debatable.” She nudged his arm. “What else?”

He looked at her for a second. “I told her I’m happy.”

Claire’s teasing smile softened. “You could’ve just said that.”

“I did.”