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Noah: He said he’s proud of you.

Claire: He can’t talk.

Noah: No, but I can tell he is.

Claire: Tell him thank you.

Noah: You’re welcome.

Claire smiled at her phone. She paused. Then she read it again.

Biscuit didn’t say you’re welcome. Noah did.

Noah was the first person she texted.

He was proud of her.

And that made her feel good.

Huh. That couldn’t mean anything.

When Claire arrived home, Noah and Biscuit were in the hall. Biscuit darted from Noah and ran straight to her, rubbing his head on her legs.

“Hi buddy,” she crouched down to greet him. Her hands apparently developed minds of their own and started scratching behind his ears.

It was not a conscious decision.

Oh no. What just happened?

She looked up at Noah. He had a smirk on his face.

“Not. A. Word,” she advised.

“Not a dog person, huh?” he taunted.

“You saw nothing.”

“I saw you say hi to my dog before you said hi to me.”

“He seemed more excited to see me.”

Noah pressed a hand to his chest. “That was unnecessarily cruel.”

“Don’t get your feelings hurt, Noah.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. “Good.”

The problem was she was beginning to look forward to seeing them.

CHAPTER 5

The Little Things

Noah’s POV

Noah Carter was many things. He was the kind of man who noticed when something needed fixing, and he fixed it. A leaky faucet. A light bulb that needed to be changed. A loose hinge on a door or a cabinet. An elderly neighbor struggling to get their groceries in.