Note: The poem quoted in this chapter is from Pablo Neruda's 100 Love Sonnets (1959), translated by Stephen Tapscott.

Noah and MC continued to see each other, mostly just spending time at each other's flats. They wanted to give their relationship a chance to grow without public scrutiny, and neither of them was ready for Hope or Bobby to find out that they were dating.

MC had shared the news with Chelsea, which may have been a bad idea given her gossip sneezer tendencies, but she was MC's best friend, and she couldn't keep something that big from her.

"O. M. GEE. MC I CAN'T EVEN!" Chelsea had squealed. "Like part of me is like WOAH that is some news, but another part of me is like, um of COURSE this makes so much sense now! I can totally see it!" Chelsea swore her secrecy, sealed with their secret handshake, and so far, it seemed that she had kept her promise.

One morning, several weeks after that first night together, Noah woke to find that MC wasn't in the bed with him. He found her sitting in the living room, under a blanket, reading a book. She looked up at him as he entered the room and gave him a silent smile. She knew he needed a little quiet when he first woke up, so she always gave him some space first thing in the morning. He walked over to her and placed a kiss on her forehead in greeting. Her skin smelled light and fresh, like lemongrass. "Fancy a cuppa?"

"Yes, please!" she chirped.

He went to the kitchen and smiled when he noticed that she had washed their wine glasses from the night before. Things had been going better than he could have possibly imagined. They lived a little over an hour apart, but had managed to see each other a few days of every week.

"You're what my father would call a 'geographic undesirable,'" she teased him once. But neither of them truly minded driving back and forth, and it gave them an excuse to sleepover more often.

MC began to feel like the world was easing up on her at last. She had time to herself, her career was blossoming, and she had Noah to hold in her thoughts whenever she couldn't be with him. The bit of her heart that would always be claimed by Bobby seemed to be scabbing over at last. Noah understood that she was still grieving that loss, and did not seem threatened by it, or impatient for her to move on. She would even talk to him about it sometimes. And somehow, it didn't impede the growth of their own romance. It was as though the two were unrelated, different beasts. Two flowers in different gardens.

Noah's phone rang as he set her tea down in front of her. She mouthed a thank you as he left the room to take the call. He had a worried look on his face when he returned.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, that was my coworker. She's sick and won't be able to come in today." He frowned. "Which would be fine, except I was supposed to read to my children's book club. I guess I'll have to cancel it."

"I could do it!" she suggested.

He thought for a moment, "Hm, really? You'd want to do that?"

"Hell yeah! I'm great at reading. I even read books without pictures in them and everything," she jokingly bragged. "Plus, I've been dying to see where you work."

"Okay, " he smiled at her, a little spark of excitement filling his chest. "Thanks so much! I hate to cancel on those little guys at the last minute."

They got dressed and were about to head out the door when MC stopped him. "Oh, do you have a post-it note or something that I could use to mark my place?" she gestured to the book she had been reading.

"Yeah, there are some in my right desk drawer. I'm parked kind of far away, so I'm going to go grab the car. Meet me out front in a minute?"

"I'll have to head home straight from the library, actually. So I'll drive separately. But I'll see you there soon." She placed her hand on his neck and pulled him in for a brief, but tender kiss.

MC was practically bouncing as they walked into the library. "I cannot tell you how excited I am!"

As Noah had suspected, she was magnificent with the kids. He busied himself at the front desk of the library, but he could overhear the lilting prosody of her voice while she read, and the children's laughter. She was unselfconsciously silly with them. She even stopped every few pages to ask them what they thought would happen next. The children were rapt, shouting over each other to answer. Noah didn't know he could be more attracted to her than he already was, but there he stood, distracted from his work, dizzy with admiration.

This is the best thing there is. This is all I ever want, he felt the thought float into his consciousness, building from his chest, instead of his head. Intellectually, it seemed illogical to feel so strongly, so soon, but there was no denying it, and not a trace of him felt the urge to suppress it.

After most of the reading group had dispersed, she approached him at the front desk, her cheeks pink with joy. "That was the best! Thank you for letting me sit in for you!"

"Thank you!" he said as he walked around the desk to wrap her in his arms. "Sounded like it was a good time all around." He caught one of the parents smiling at his public display of affection, and he realized he probably needed to rein it back for the sake of professionalism. As he stepped away from her, the parent called out to him, "This one was great!" pointing to MC and winking. "You should keep her around."

She laughed, "I already have a following!" She glowed with pleasure that Noah had initiated the hug with her. She wanted so badly to be in his arms once more before she left, but was worried it would be inappropriate for the workplace. "Well, unfortunately, I need to go now."

"Booo," he pouted, as he grabbed her hand and ran his thumb over her palm, their bodies obscuring the act from any of the visitors' view.

"I'm free Tuesday night, if you want to do something."

"Definitely. We'll talk tonight. But before you go, can you come over here for a second?" he pulled her into an empty aisle between two bookshelves.

"Sure" she said with suspicion written all over her face.

He pulled her close with one hand, and used the other to sweep her hair away from her face and over her shoulder. He trailed his fingers down her back as he kissed her deeply, tilting her back ever so slightly. She was breathless when they finally broke apart.

They said another set of brief goodbyes once she had recovered, but when she stepped away, he didn't release her hand, instead pulling her back to him.

"Hey," he said quietly, his eyes serious. "I love you."

You know those high-speed videos of a flower blooming, unraveling, petals spilling forth and reaching out to the world? That is what MC's heart felt like in that moment. She thought Noah must be able to see the bliss pouring out of her. "I love you too."

They kissed again, and she clutched him tightly to her. "Okay, I should really go. But I love you. And I'll talk to you tonight! Oh, and one other thing, I love you."

He laughed, "Ah yes, I was going to say! I love you!"

"Definitely won't be able to stop saying that now," she said, smiling ear to ear, as she turned to leave.

After a happy and peaceful shift at the library, Noah returned home. He noticed that the book MC had been reading was still on the table. It was 100 Love Sonnets by Pablo Neruda. He opened the book to the place she had marked, curious to see what she had been reading. There was a green post-it note placed on the top of the page, and written on it were the words, "Dear Noah". He read the poem:

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,

or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.

I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,

in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms

but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;

thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,

risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.

I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;

so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,

so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,

so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.