They’d saidI love youto each other before, but only in the context ofI’ve known you forever and you’re one of my closest friends, not theI’m about to go out of my mind because I’m so crazy in love with youkind of way.
When it came to her, he’d felt both.
But he’d only ever shown her one. It was important it stayed that way.
And for the hundredth time in twenty-four hours, he wondered just what he’d gotten himself into.
On Sunday, they had lunch with his parents and told them the news.
His mom cried for a half hour.
His dad was pretty quiet about it, especially when they also mentioned Mia planned to quit her job at the firm to go back to school. Unease had spread down Noah’s spine, so he pulled his dad aside while his mom fussed over Mia.
“I know the timing is weird, but this is real, Dad. We’ve been talking about it for a while, and it made the most sense to get it done before she got caught up in school again.”
When his dad didn’t immediately reply, Noah quietly added, “I’ve always loved her.”
His dad looked at him silently for a few more seconds, then gave him a nod. “Then I’m happy for you.”
On Monday morning, they rode together to work. When she met him at the front of his car, she stopped and opened her palm.
“Should we...?”
“Yeah.” He took her hand and enjoyed the feel of her fingers curved around his entirely too much. He shouldn’t get used to this. Couldn’t.
When they reached her desk, she looked up at him with a small frown. “Coming to work together will make it difficult for me to mess with your office.”
“Guess you’ll have to get more creative, then.”
She arched an eyebrow, and he knew she’d definitely accept that challenge.
He disappeared into his office for a few hours, completely lost in a new shopping center design when a knock at his door startled him.
“Sorry,” came Julia’s amused voice.
He waved her in. “Don’t be.”
“You always lost all sense of time and place when designing.” She closed the door and walked forward. “Even in school.”
“I haven’t changed much.”
“I don’t know if I’d say that.”
She sat in the same chair as Mia had less than two weeks ago while they discussed the possibility of getting married. She stretched to eye his computer screen. “Whatcha working on?”
He didn’t like people looking at his work before he finished, something he was pretty sure she remembered from the many hours they’d spent working on projects together in architecture school. But he kept his expression neutral. “The extension for Spring Creek Shoppes.”
Thankfully, she didn’t keep her eyes on the screen for long and dropped her gaze to her lap.
He scooted his chair back a few inches. “Did you need something?”
“Is the rumor true?”
“What rumor?”
“You and Mia got married?”
He knew Julia pretty well. Had even gone on a few dates with her when they were in school, though she was more into it than he was, and he wasn’t one for stringing women along. She’d always been easygoing and they remained friends after, and when his dad hired them both after graduation they’d become colleagues. They worked well together and complemented each other’s professional strengths.