The ride ho felt different afterward.
Not awkward.
That was the problem.
If anything, the mistaken-couple comnt had made the atmosphere looser sohow.
Claire rolled the windows slightly down while evening air drifted through the car, one hand resting against the steering wheel as city lights blurred past outside.
"You know what annoys ?" she said eventually.
Gael glanced sideways.
"That you rembered lemons?"
"That woman at the store looked so confident."
He laughed quietly.
"She really committed to it."
"She looked at us for two seconds and decided we were buying groceries together as a couple."
"To be fair," he replied carefully, "you did throw my coffee into the cart automatically."
Claire pointed at him imdiately.
"That was household conditioning."
"That sounds reasonable."
"It is reasonable."
Gael smiled faintly while she shook her head to herself.
Still—
he noticed she'd brought the story back up first.
Not him.
Claire adjusted the radio absently before speaking again.
"You also have a weirdly calm grocery-shopping presence."
"That sentence should concern both of us."
"It's true. Most n beco emotionally unstable when shopping."
"That feels targeted."
"It's experience."
The traffic slowed near an intersection, red brake lights stretching endlessly ahead.
For a mont, neither of them spoke.
Then Claire sighed lightly.
"You know Haley's going to weaponize this story against forever."
"That's fair."
"She's going to tell Gloria."
"That's significantly worse."
"And then Gloria will flirt with about it for six months."
Gael laughed again while Claire groaned dramatically.
Honestly, seeing her like this outside the house still caught him off guard sotis.
Less "mom managing chaos."
More just… Claire.
Relaxed.
Funny.
Easy to talk to.
Dangerous observation.
He looked back out the windshield before that thought could settle too deeply.
Claire noticed anyway.
"You did the quiet thing again."
"That accusation has beco too common."
"You disappear into your own head mid-conversation."
"That sounds fake."
"It's not fake."
The answer ca softer this ti.
Gael glanced toward her briefly.
Claire kept her eyes on the road, fingers tapping lightly against the steering wheel in rhythm with the music.
Then she smiled faintly to herself.
"You know what Phil would've done if soone mistook us for a couple?"
"I'm already afraid."
"He would've started explaining our imaginary relationship tiline."
"That sounds horrifyingly accurate."
"He once told a waiter we t at a salsa class because he thought it sounded romantic."
Gael laughed under his breath.
"Did you?"
"No. We t because he crashed a shopping cart into my car."
"That sohow feels more believable."
Claire grinned despite herself.
The light finally turned green.
As the car started moving again, her phone buzzed through the cupholder.
Haley:
Did you buy the good chips or are you both failures?
Claire rolled her eyes imdiately.
"She's spoiled."
"You created that problem."
"She was cute."
"That's how emotional terrorism starts."
Claire laughed softly again before tossing the phone back into the cupholder.
Then, quieter:
"She really loves you."
The sentence landed gently between them.
Gael looked toward her for a second.
Claire kept her attention on the road, expression calr now.
"I know," he answered quietly.
Another small silence settled after that.
Comfortable enough that neither of them rushed to fill it.
Then Claire suddenly glanced sideways again.
"But if Haley ever repeats that grocery-store story at dinner, I'm denying everything."
"That sounds guilty already."
"That's because this family is insane."
"Also fair."
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