“Every time I’m around you, Tessa, I seem to get drenched.”

“That’s the risk you take when you’re my friend,” she lightly replied.

She realized she’d said something significant because of the way he turned to her, his expression thoughtful, his eyes intent on hers.

“Are we that? Friends?” he asked her, his voice radiating a vulnerability that tugged at her heart. “I know I haven’t exactly made your job at the hospital easy.”

“Well, I always did appreciate a challenge,” she quipped.

He looked uncertain, so she touched a hand reassuringly on his arm. “Of course we’re friends, Noah.”

He had, after all, shared his secret with her, the emotional burden that kept him weighted to his guilt and grief. She only wished she had the courage to do the same…