Steve shrugged. “I’m here to sell chicken, not pass judgment.”
“Well. Even if the marriage is new, you two have been together a long time, then.” Paula’s smile was wide as she waggled her eyebrows up and down. “And he sure is handsome. Well done, my girl. How come you never brought him in before?”
“She probably didn’t want you flirting with him,” Steve muttered good-naturedly.
“Oh, stop.” Paula made her way back to the kitchen. “I’m a happily married woman. Just like Mia.”
Noah pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “Are you sure I can’t...?”
Steve shook his head. “No, sir, put that away. Congratulations from us to you.”
“Thank you.”
“We’ll bring it out when it’s ready.”
Noah squeezed her hand and as they headed to the small dining area, a man who looked to be in his fifties walked in.
“Hi, Mia!”
“Hi, Tom,” she said with a smile.
The man kept moving to the counter and Noah leaned down. “Another regular?”
“Sort of. I was behind him in line at Trader Joe’s a few weeks ago,” she said as they found a table. “We bonded over our mutual love of oat milk. He said he’d just moved to town and wanted to know good places to get takeout. I’ve seen him here a few times since.”
They sat across from one another and he met her gaze, his blue eyes even more striking next to the bright window. “You charm everyone you meet, don’t you?”
“Pretty much.”
He grinned. “Humility looks good on you.”
“Oh wait,” she said, holding up a finger. “One person doesn’t like me.”
“Who?”
“David.”
His expression hardened. “I really wish you’d said something to me about that sooner.”
“I don’t need you to protect me, Noah.”
His jaw went taut and he fixed his eyes on something through the window.
A ringtone came from his pocket, and he pulled his phone from his jeans. He looked at the screen and then his gaze flicked to hers, returning to his phone almost immediately. He silenced the call and slid it back into his pocket. He looked...guilty?
“A lady friend?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped.
She settled back in her chair, then frowned as something dawned on her. “You know, I’ve always tried so hard not to get in the way of your love life. I know it’s hard for someone new to come along when a man and a woman are as close as we are. I always wanted to make sure I didn’t hinder you.” She laughed, even though nothing about it was funny. “Then I went and did it, anyway. Put a ring on it and everything.”
Noah just looked at her for a few seconds, a muscle flexing in his cheek. “Actually, I bought the rings.”
Did he regret what they’d done?
“I’m sorry, Noah.”
He leaned forward a little, his voice low. “Don’t. Don’t say you’re sorry, don’t thank me. Stop all of it. I mean it.”