Noah had seen that episode. He quickly brought his glass to his lips.
“What does that even mean? ‘Set up their backups’?” Graham asked.
“You know. Like, if they aren’t married by a certain age they’ll all marry each other.”
Mia, who sat next to Noah, jerked her head in his direction. Her eyes went wide and held slight accusation.
He shot her a look that saidI didn’t say anything, and she relaxed marginally.
“Why do we have to get married at all?” Mia asked. She never had been fond of the idea and, far as he knew, she’d never dated the same guy for more than a few weeks. It was one reason Noah wasn’t completely offended that she hadn’t accepted him yet.
“I don’t know.” Claire shrugged. “It just sounds nice. Guaranteed companionship. Someone to have dinner with.”
“A penis at your fingertips,” Graham added, and Noah choked on his water.
Claire looked at Graham. “That’s not the prize you think it is.”
Graham grinned and raked a hand through his dark wavy hair. “Oh, but it is.”
Claire pointed at Noah. “This is why I want Noah to be my backup.”
“Me?” he said, at the same time Mia said, “Noah?”
“Sure,” Claire said. “Why not?”
Before he knew what was happening, Mia had leaned forward and put her palm flat on the table, as if she were placing a bet at a craps table. “If anyone gets Noah, it should be me.”
It was Noah’s turn to give Mia a surprised look. God knows what would have shown on his face if he’d been two beers deep like Graham—as it was, it took effort to keep the warm surge of pleasure out of his expression.
“But you just knocked the whole idea of getting married,” Claire pointed out mildly. She didn’t sound surprised.
Mia frowned. “That was before you tried to take my best friend and marry him out from under me.”
Noah kept his mouth shut, wanting to see how this panned out.
“He’s my friend, too,” Claire said.
“It’s not the same.” No one argued with Mia because everyone knew it was true.
Graham put his arm around Claire. “Guess that leaves you and me, Claire Bear.”
She ducked out of his embrace. “Don’t call me that.”
“Fine. What nickname do you want when you’re my wife?”
Claire sighed heavily. “I should have picked Mia.”
Noah chuckled, but she was right. Mia was the best choice out of the four of them.
Graham held out his hands. “If not me, who? Noah’s off the table. Am I so bad?”
Claire regarded him like she was inspecting a melon at the farmer’s market. “You’re hot and all, but... I don’t know. I just always hoped for someone more...romantic. I want a man who looks at me the way Mia looks at chicken wings.”
Noah wanted Mia to look at him the way Mia looked at chicken wings.
“If you’re at the point where you’re calling in backup, I think it’s safe to say that’s never gonna happen,” Graham said.
Claire gave him an adoring look. “You say the sweetest things.”