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The sweetest things he did never seemed extraordinary to him.

“Yeah, you were smiling at them.” He said it so casually.

“You really didn’t have to.”

Noah shrugged. “I wanted to.”

“What’s the occasion?”

“Saturday.”

Saturday.

Of course.

Because that was reason enough.

They went to the pastry cart and got a chocolate croissant to share and then sat down at a bench nearby, Biscuit lying at their feet.

They sat there eating their croissant and talking about both everything and nothing, Claire absentmindedly admiring and smelling her flowers.

Soon after, they decided to head back to his apartment. Noah carried all the bags as well as Biscuit’s leash.

Claire only held her flowers.

“I can carry some of those,” Claire offered.

He refused. “You already have something to carry.”

As soon as they walked into Noah’s apartment, Claire started looking for a vase.

“Top cabinet, left side,” Noah told her.

She found one, filled it with water, put the flowers in it, and set it on the kitchen counter. While Noah was giving Biscuit one of the new treats, she found the little pumpkin and placed it by the coffee pot.

She stepped back to admire her work. “We need to get some more fall decor in here.”

Noah looked around. “It’s starting to look like I have a girl around here.”

“Good.”

“I think so too. I like it.”

“Can we make cookies now?” Claire asked, practically bouncing with excitement.

Noah couldn’t help but give her a quick kiss. “You’re so cute. Yes, let’s make cookies.”

“You’re cute,” she muttered under her breath.

He heard her. He didn’t acknowledge it, just smiled.

She unpacked the cookie ingredients they got at the market and gathered the remainder from the refrigerator and the pantry.

Noah observed the ingredients. “We bought expensive chocolate chips for cookies.”

“That’s because we’re sophisticated now.”

“How do you explain the tiny pumpkin?”