How to Love Your Neighbour(79)

Noah’s brows scrunched together and he tested out the word, making her smile wider. “Sort of feels like middle school. Girlfriend. Boyfriend.”

She batted her eyelashes. “How about my fella?”

His lips quirked. “Oh look, it’s 1950.”

Grace tapped a finger to her lips. “My man. My big, strong—”

He groaned dramatically. “ ‘Boyfriend’ works fine. Girlfriend.”

She leaned against him, hiding her smile. Middle-schoolish or not, she liked the labels.

He pressed the buzzer for the apartment again, but he also took her hand and linked their fingers together. It didn’t matter what they called each other. She appreciated his willingness to be vulnerable more than any label he could have given to their relationship.

The apartment was on the fifth floor, overlooking the rest of the residential neighborhood.

“You’ve already unpacked everything?” Grace asked, looking around the living room after handing Rosie the brownies.

“I didn’t have a ton of stuff and we got rid of things we had doubles of,” Rosie said, passing Grace a glass of wine.

“Nice place, man,” Noah said to Josh.

“Thanks. Is this weird for you? Us hanging out? Or is it everything you were hoping it’d be?”

Noah gave him a look that Grace knew the story behind. She smothered her laugh with her hand, which had Noah side-eyeing her.

Rosie glanced between them. “What am I missing?”

“Have you told her the story?” Grace asked Josh.

His surprise was clear. He clapped Noah on the shoulder. “You told her? You’re a confident man. Not everyone would share that story with someone they were into.”

“Tell me,” Rosie said, pulling her toward the couch.

“Pretty please?” Grace folded her hands together and looked at Noah through lowered lashes.

“Dude. She does it or I do.” Josh sat down on the chair that sat kitty-corner to the couch.

Noah flopped onto the chair opposite it. “Whatever. Clearly, I’m just here for entertainment.”

Grace told the story, stopping when Rosie nearly spit wine out of her mouth.

“Aww, things could have worked out so differently for us,” Rosie said, leaning her head on Grace’s shoulder.

“That’s fine. Laugh it up. Like none of you have put both feet in your mouth?”

“How about I grab us some snacks,” Josh said.

Grace wanted to reach out to Noah or go curl up on his lap. She’d never craved physical closeness with anyone before. Growing up with her mom, she’d gotten used to drying her own tears, reveling alone in her small successes, and lifting herself up when she fell down, physically or emotionally.

“I think it’s supercute,” Grace said.

Noah rolled his eyes. “Just what I was going for.” He winked at her, then looked at Rosie. “How’s school going? You’re on the same timeline as Grace, right?”

“Yes. Less than six weeks. It seems hard to believe. Speaking of, we can finalize the slide show after dinner,” Rosie said.

Josh joined them with stuffed mushroom caps and scooped tortilla chips filled with salsa and topped with melted cheese.

“You are a man of many talents,” Noah said, leaning forward to pass out the napkins Josh set down on the coffee table.

“It’s just snacks.” He sat back down after pressing a kiss to the top of Rosie’s head.

“He’s modest but he is good at everything he does,” Rosie said.

Grace heard the happiness in her friend’s voice. Maybe it was too soon, but Rosie had a point: Why wait if you’ve found what makes you happy? Too often, people waited for the perfect moment only to have it pass them by.

“What’s the slide show about?”

Grace picked up a tortilla bowl, holding it over her napkin. “How to make a house a home. We had to talk about essential design elements that change a place from being walls and floors to being a home. We’ve been introduced to so many techniques, styles, and influences, it’s basically a wrap-up with our preferences.”

“That’s a good description,” Rosie said, after she finished a chip. “Grace has a fondness for marrying modern with rustic.”

Noah choked on his chip, pulling all of their attention to him. He pressed a hand to his chest, coughing, but lifted his other hand as his eyes watered.

“You okay?” Grace watched him carefully.

He nodded. “Yeah. Sorry. Wrong tube and all that.”

She continued to stare.

“I’m fine, baby.”

The term of endearment threw her for a loop. It was like her heart took a leap in her chest.

“It might have been the word ‘marry,’ ” Josh said, snickering.

“Bite me,” Noah said, his voice rough.

“No matter how many times you ask, the answer is going to stay ‘No.’ ”

Noah cleared his throat. “Sorry. What are you fond of, design-wise, Rosie?”

She sighed into her answer. “I love vintage. Unique patterns, heavy furniture, old parlor rooms.”

“Now,” Grace said, pleased he was so clearly interested in their assignment, “we just have to show how each of these things, the elements we choose, can transform a room into something more. I guess it’s establishing a connection between the technical and the emotional. Because really a design only comes to life once you start putting the features, textures, and materials into place.”