He nodded his head, like I was silly. “I’m in love with you, Juliet. How could I not be? You’re everything I never knew I always wanted. Sweet, brave, loyal, willing to fight for what you want, brilliant, hilarious, and, like you said, a million other things that make you the most amazing woman I’ve ever known. I’ve been into you since the first night we met and I fell in love with you a long time ago.”

“You love me?” Why was I repeating everything he was saying?

“Even more than I love Magnus.”

Wow. That was more than I’d expected.

But how could he love me? How could I ever be enough for him? My mom hadn’t been enough for my dad, and while I’d never thought I’d actually be in a relationship, now that I was, how could I expect someone like him to be faithful? Because while I didn’t have much experience, I was pretty sure cheating would be something I couldn’t get over.

“What is that look for?” he asked.

“What if you get bored of me?”

He laughed. “How could I ever get bored of you?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because you’re constantly around the most beautiful, fascinating, and talented people in the world?”

Noah put his hands on the sides of my face. “There’s something Paul Newman said once when asked if he was tempted to cheat on his wife. To paraphrase, he said, ‘Why would I go out for hamburger when I have steak at home?’”

My heart lifted at his words. “But hamburgers are really good, too.”

“Not as good as steak,” he said definitively, as if there were no further discussion to be had. “I’d never cheat on you.”

Then he kissed me, and I didn’t even have that fear echo. His kiss was so intimate and perfect; it was just love and excited giddiness and promises of so much more to come.

“Wait,” I said, pulling back. “I want you to meet my mom.”

He smiled wryly. “I already met your mom.”

“No, as my boyfriend. If it’s okay to call you that.”

“Yes.” He grinned. “And I’d love to meet her again.”

“How about tomorrow?”

“It’s a date.”

We were interrupted by a nurse, who came in and said, “You can’t be in here.” Her expression shifted and she said, “Oh. You’re Noah Douglas.”

“I’m sorry for being in here. We just needed a minute,” he said in that confident way that smoothed over everything.

“No, it’s okay. Take as long as you need.”

“My girlfriend and I were on our way out.”

Girlfriend. Why was that the best word in the whole world?