"Six months ago, I wouldn't have hesitated. I would have asked Jackie where do I sign. And how fast do I move?"
"Move?" She took a drink from her cup, trying to appear nonchalant while fear gripped her insides.
"Oh, yeah. They want me to relocate to Houston." His sad little smile almost stopped her heart. She wanted to get up and walk away before he told her he was breaking up with her so he could take the job. Instead, she listened as Noah told her the rest. How if he turned it down, they'd ship him back to England, back to his little box.
"What are you gonna do?" she whispered, blinking back tears she refused to let fall.
He flinched. His gaze drilled into her. "Claire, I care about you. I-I thought you felt the same about me." He carefully wiped his hands on his napkin and rested them on the table. "As much as I want to take this job, I won't if it means I have to give you up."
"Oh, my gosh!" she gushed, relief sending her heart into overdrive. Her limbs loosened. "I thought you were breaking up with me because this job sounds like everything you've been wanting, and I couldn't imagine you giving that up for someone you've only known for…" She trailed off as he reached across the table and placed both hands on either side of her face.
"Perhaps I haven't been clear about my feelings." His thumb rubbed against her cheek. "I don't do serious relationships. Ever. Whenever I've been involved with a woman before, I've always kept it casual. I never stayed over at her house, and I certainly never took her around my family. We were together purely for companionship." He dropped his hands and scooted around to her side of the table, eyes still locked onto hers. Once seated on her bench, he cupped her face again, his thumbs gently caressing her cheeks. "Claire, you've blown me away. I want something permanent with you. I'm totally in love with you. Any job that means I can't be with you is unacceptable. Do you understand?"
She nodded, lightheaded from the whiplash of emotions from the last few minutes. The tears she'd held back spilled over to run down her face. Claire sniffed, embarrassed for crying in relief.
"Oh, honey, don't cry." He wiped the tears off her cheeks, then softly kissed each one.
"I love you too," she whispered. "It came to me this morning when I saw you standing in the hallway waiting for me. I almost stumbled and fell."
Noah threw back his head and laughed. "I wondered what the stutter step was about. You had such a strange look on your face, but I didn't want to ask in case it was something embarrassing, like indigestion or something."
She laughed with him. "So, what now?" The idea of him giving up something he'd been working toward before he even knew her was a bit humbling. And a little dizzying. She needed to unpack that later, but right now, she was overwhelmed with relief and joy.
"I don't know. But I am glad we didn't tell Simon or Jackie about us. I'm not sure they would have made the offer, since there would be an immediate conflict of interest." He scowled. "Man, I am really starting to hate that phrase." Noah pulled his plate over and picked up his burger. "Eat up. We'll figure something out. Let me tell you a story about Jeff Davis and his wife."
She listened to Noah recap their company leader's romance story unable to stop the smile spreading across her face. He wasn't leaving her. He wanted to make it work between them. And he was confident that he could work out a solution to his job dilemma. Warmth spread throughout her body and she snuggled closer to Noah while they ate.
Chapter 34
Doubts
Almost a week later, Claire tumbled onto her bed and pulled her laptop over. She'd spent last weekend deep cleaning her apartment, restocking groceries, and planning this week's meals. And between late night work sessions helping Rick finish his outstanding tasks before his paternity leave and Noah's own work obligations, she'd rarely seen him. They still hadn't publicly announced their relationship, and Noah was still keeping the job offer to himself. Frankly, it was starting to bother her.
Claire was in a weird state of grumpy and weepy at the same time. She'd hoped a shower before movie night with Lucinda would lift her mood, but she was still out of sorts. Pushing aside her negativity, she opened the video chat and smiled at Lucinda's new hairdo when she answered. The blue streaks had been replaced.
"Neon green. I like it," she said as a greeting.
"What can I say? Your Brinnie inspires me." Luce swung her head from side to side so Claire could see the back as well.
"I love it. It suits you."
Lucinda's eyes narrowed. "Okay, what's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"BZZT! Wrong answer." Lucinda stuffed a bite of spaghetti into her mouth.
"Did you make that? Or is it takeout?" Claire asked, mostly out of curiosity, but also as a stalling tactic. She watched her screen as Lucinda held up a finger and finished chewing.
"Leftovers from last night. Dinner with the crew. Now, stop trying to change the subject and spill. What's going on?"
Claire sighed. She brought Lucinda up to speed on this past week's events, including Noah's job offer and the sticky situation they found themselves in.
"Hold up. Did you just casually skip over the part where he said he loved you? Girl, you buried that headline so deep it's halfway to China. He said he loved you!
"Yeah," she smiled and relaxed. "That part was pretty great." She got warm all over thinking about it.
"Let me get this straight. He told you he wasn't taking a job if it meant he couldn't be with you, but you're sad about it?"
