“Elsie has no boundaries.”
“She also isn’t wrong.” Mark folded his arms. “Coat. Shoes. Move.”
Noah sighed dramatically but warmth crept into his chest.
Mark and Liam were good, solid friends. Noah’s first attempt at dating after Tyler left had been with Mark, and it had been tentative and short-lived. Both of them had realized withinthree dates that they had zero romantic chemistry but excellent friendship chemistry.
The town, however, had rooted far too hard for a small-town HEA.
“Just us?” Noah asked as he grabbed his coat.
“Yep,” Mark said. “Unless you want Liam’s brother to join us, but I don’t recommend it. He’s still convinced you’re in love with me.”
“Oh my God.”
“Right? More than a year since Liam and I married, and Garth still thinks you’re pining. Honestly, rude.”
Noah laughed and followed him out the door.
Maybe this is exactly what I need.
Liam’s and Mark’s house smelled like heaven, the aroma of rich broth, herbs, butter, and warm bread filling the air.
Liam was at the stove. He beamed at the sight of Noah as though he’d just won a prize.
“Noah! So Mark managed to bully you into coming.” He put his spoon down and held his arms wide. Noah walked into them.
“He didn’t bully me,” he murmured, accepting the hug.
From behind him, Mark scoffed. “He absolutely did.”
Liam released Noah, then stepped back and studied him with a teacher’s stern concern. “Have you eaten today?”
“Yes,” Noah lied.
“He hasn’t,” Mark added.
“I had cocoa. That counts, right?”
Liam clicked his tongue. “Sit. You can mash potatoes or tell us about your day.”
Noah sat at the counter. “Potatoes.Waysafer.” He added butter to the saucepan and proceeded to bash the potatoes into submission.
“That depends,” Mark said. He took the stool facing Noah, his elbows on the counter. “Tell us why you were glowing when we drove by the community center earlier.”
“I wasnotglowing.”
“Oh, you weresoglowing,” Liam confirmed. “Like Frosty the Snow-himbo.”
Noah groaned and dropped his head onto his folded arms. “I hate this town.”
“No you don’t.” Mark nudged him. “Now spill.”
Noah hesitated. He wasn’t ready to dissect today, not fully. It felt too new, too fragile.
But these two care.
There’d been a couple of dates after Mark, not successful ones. Tyler still haunted him. And when those memories threatened to break Noah, to crack his world open, Liam and Mark would show up with casseroles and wine, to make sure he wasn’t alone.
