Claire stayed after Gloria went inside.
Not because she intended to.
The mont just… stretched.
The patio sat quiet now except for distant traffic sowhere beyond the hills and the soft hum of pool lights reflecting across the water.
Gael gathered the last few glasses from the outdoor table while Claire leaned lightly against the counter nearby holding Luke's hoodie.
Neither spoke imdiately.
Because both of them knew the interruption had arrived at a very specific mont.
And Claire was too perceptive not to understand that fully now.
Finally she exhaled quietly.
"So." A small pause. "This is real."
Not accusation.
Observation.
Gael set one of the glasses down carefully before looking toward her.
Claire's expression stayed calm.
Too calm.
That made the conversation feel even more adult sohow.
"She likes you," Claire said softly.
The sentence carried layers underneath it:
Gloria,
Haley,
the family,
herself.
Complicated layers.
Gael leaned back lightly against the patio counter.
"I know."
Claire nodded once.
Then looked down briefly at the hoodie in her hands before continuing.
"The thing is that Gloria usually gets bored before it becos serious." A faint, humorless smile touched her mouth. "But this?" She glanced back up. "She's trying not to want it."
Claire wasn't pretending ignorance anymore.
And strangely, that honesty made the atmosphere more intimate.
Then Claire surprised herself.
"She's not the only one."
The words escaped quietly.
Almost unconsciously.
The second they did, silence crashed into the space between them.
Claire froze slightly.
Gael watched her carefully now.
Claire gave a small disbelieving laugh under her breath and looked away toward the pool.
"Wow." She shook her head once. "That was a terrible sentence."
But she didn't take it back.
The patio suddenly felt smaller around them.
Closer.
Claire set Luke's hoodie down slowly on the counter beside her before folding her arms lightly.
"I think I spent so long being everybody's responsible person that I forgot what attention feels like." Her eyes stayed on the water. "Real attention."
There it was, emotional hunger.
Gael stayed quiet because this mont wasn't about seduction anymore.
It was about Claire finally saying aloud what she'd been circling emotionally for weeks.
Then she looked toward him again.
Softly now.
Openly.
"You make people feel important." A faint smile touched her mouth. "Do you even realize you do it?"
The vulnerability in her voice pulled the atmosphere tighter again.
No jokes left between them now.
No distractions.
Then Claire stepped back first.
Again.
The responsible part of her still fighting for control.
"This should probably stop before it becos unfair to everyone involved."
Not 'impossible', not 'unwanted', just unfair.
Massive difference.
Gael watched her quietly for a mont.
"Do you want it to stop?"
Claire held his gaze.
Too long.
And that hesitation answered more honestly than words would have.
Then she finally looked away and picked up Luke's hoodie again.
"I really hate how complicated you've made this household."
This softened the mont just enough to breathe again.
But when Claire walked back toward the patio door—
She paused once at the entrance without turning around.
And for one suspended second, it genuinely felt like she was considering walking back instead.
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