Gonzalez stepped inside, his tone casual. "Finish brushing your teeth, then come eat breakfast."

Norah noticed he was wearing dark athletic gear. She mumbled around her toothbrush, "Went for a run?"

"Yeah." The man walked toward the dining area, asking effortlessly, "Want to join me tomorrow? You can just walk."

Norah instantly shot the idea down. "No way. I need that time to sleep."

She had moved closer to the office specifically so she could sleep in. Asking her to wake up early to run was basically asking for her life!

"Lazybones." Gonzalez let out a low chuckle.

Hearing the faint, indulging fondness in his voice made Norah's heart skip a beat. She pretended nothing happened, turning her head to tease Circe before escaping into the bathroom.

Standing in front of the sink, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, feeling like something was slightly off.

Once she finished washing up, she ducked back into her bedroom to change. When she re-emerged, Gonzalez was in the dining area, setting out plates and food for her. His movements were natural and relaxed, as if he were in his own home.

Norah sat down and saw her favorite sandwiches and pan-fried dumplings waiting for her. Her mood instantly brightened.

Circe hopped onto the table, and she pulled a piece of ham from her sandwich to feed him.

Gonzalez sat across from her, watching the sweet smile on Norah's face as she fed the cat. A sudden thought struck him: if they had a baby in the future, on a beautiful sunny morning just like this, he would bring home breakfast, and she would patiently and gently feed their child exactly like that.

Noticing Gonzalez staring at her, Norah asked in confusion, "What is it? Am I not allowed to feed him?"

Gonzalez snapped out of his daze, his voice steady. "It's fine. You can feed him." Norah only gave the cat a little bit more before she stopped, not wanting to push it. She took a sip of her porridge and spoke up.

"There's something else. We used to do our lessons at the bookstore every Saturday, but now that we're neighbors, we don't have to make it so complicated. If we both get off work early, we can just do the sessions in the evening. Does that work for you? We haven't had a lesson in a while anyway, so we can catch up on what we missed."

Gonzalez naturally had no objections. "Sounds good. I'll try to get home early." Norah's clear eyes shone, her voice soft and sweet. "Then when I come over for dinner, it won't just be me mooching off you anymore."

Gonzalez looked at her and smiled. "Of course. Consider it your compensation." Norah wiggled her eyebrows playfully and went back to focusing on her food.

After breakfast, Gonzalez took Circe and left, while Norah started getting her things ready for work.

Before walking out the door, Gonzalez told her, "I'll handle your breakfast from now on. If there's something specific you want, just tell me the night before."

It would keep her from having to eat while working at her desk, which was barely a real meal anyway.

Norah felt a little guilty. "Gonzalez, aren't I taking advantage of you way too much?"

Gonzalez went quiet for a second before saying seriously, "You're helping me watch Circe, and you're sacrifieing your evenings to tutor me A little payback is the least I can do

Norah's conscience cleared. "Okay, thank you!"

"You're welcome."

Once she got to the office, her assistant Zoe brought her breakfast just like she had for the past few day's Norah smiled and sale, You don't need to do that anymore! Just worry about yourself from now on."

Zoe asked, "Why?"

Norah said proudly, "Because someone is already making sure I have breakfast."

Zoe grinned. "Did you get a boyfriend, Norah?"

"No!" Norah corrected immediately. "Don't start rumors. It's just a neighbor."

"Why can't I ever find neighbors that good?" Zoe laughed as she walked away to get to work.

Norah pulled out her documents and

started her day. Maybe it was

because she actually ate a good

breakfast, but her dopamine levels were high. She felt energized and inexplicably happy.