Hotter Than Ever

Difficult time?

Oh right. The wedding.

“It was difficult,” she admitted. “But I’m doing much better. It was the right decision not to go through with it.”

“It’s such a shame.” Barb made a clucking noise. “Christopher is such a charming man. And quite successful.”

And a total bastard.

She bit her tongue, instead saying, “Chris is a great person, but he wasn’t the right man for me.” Since she felt uncomfortable discussing her personal life with Barb, she quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, I’ve really been enjoying my time here, so if there are any more jobs in Southern California after this contract, I’d love to be considered for them.”

Maybe she was being presumptuous, seeing as how she hadn’t even spoken to the men about the future, but she at least wanted to throw the idea out there.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Barb replied. “All right, darling, it’s time for me to lock up the office and go home to get ready. Do you have big plans for this evening?”

“Not really. Just hanging out with a few friends,” she said vaguely.

“Have fun, then. We’ll be in touch.”

After Claire hung up the phone, she did a happy little fist pump that fortunately nobody else could see, then hurried out of the room.

She found the boys sprawled on their respective couches, sipping beers as they watched the Bears game on the screen. They’d flipped a coin earlier to see which game would be their “primary” one, and since Aidan had won the toss, Dylan and Claire were forced to catch glimpses of the Niners game when the Bears one was on commercial.

“What do you look so happy about?” Aidan teased as she skidded into the living room.

“My boss just called.” She paused for dramatic effect.

Rolling their eyes, both men gestured for her to go on.

“She wants me to do an assessment on a company in Oceanside. It’ll be a two- to three-week assignment, so that means…”

Wide grins stretched across their faces.

“You get to stay longer?” Dylan said happily.

“Yep, and I can totally commute from San Diego to Oceanside, which means I don’t need to book a hotel up there. All I have to do is rent a car and I can drive back here every night.” She paused again, this time with uncertainty. “That is, if you guys want me to stick around.”

Aidan’s dark eyes took on an intense glint. “Come here.”

She went to him without delay, squeaking in delight when he pulled her into his lap. “You know how f**king bummed we’ve been that you were leaving?” he said gruffly. “We don’t want you to go, Claire.”

Dylan spoke up in a low voice. “If it were up to us, you’d never leave.”

Her heart did a somersault, then took off in a gallop when Aidan leaned in to kiss her. His lips were firm, his tongue insistent as it slid into her mouth. He kissed her until she was breathless, then pulled back and smiled. “So yeah, we want you to stick around.”

She smiled back. “Okay.”

“Good. So now, what do we want to do for dinner? Anywhere we go will be packed tonight, so I vote for staying here and grilling up some steaks and maybe—”

Dylan’s ringing phone cut Aidan off midsentence.

On the other couch, Dylan swiped his cell off the glass table and checked the screen. His chiseled features instantly tensed. “Fuck.”

“Who is it?” Claire asked in concern.

“It’s a France country code.”

Claire’s back stiffened, prompting Aidan to run a reassuring hand up and down her spine.

Dylan answered the phone with a curt “Hello”. Then he stopped, listened, and sighed in resignation. “It’s only three p.m. here, but happy New Year all the same, big brother.”

Since she could only hear Dylan’s side of the conversation, it was difficult to get the full scope of what was being said, but Claire understood the gist of it.

“Yeah…no, nothing major, just chilling here… Good, because I’ll be there too…yeah, I’m flying in to see Mom the day after tomorrow.” Dylan paused for several seconds, and then his face twisted in disgust. “No f**king kidding, Chris.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “Right, of course. Uh-huh…yeah, whatever…I’ll see you Tuesday.”

He hung up and tossed the phone to the other end of the sofa as if it carried the Ebola virus.

Claire met his eyes. “What do you mean, you’ll see him Tuesday?”

“I was actually coming to talk to you about that before you raced in here with your good news.” His expression conveyed a whole lot of annoyance, but she knew it wasn’t directed at her. “I was going to tell you not to book anything commercial. My Coast Guard buddy got back to me and he’s agreed to fly me home the day after tomorrow. My Lieutenant Commander approved my leave request, so I have a day pass to see my mom.”

Right, because he still hadn’t spoken to Shanna, Claire remembered. And now she also recalled that her and Chris’s return flight from Paris had been scheduled for New Year’s Day, so he would be back in town the day before Dylan flew in.

“What did he say that made you so mad?” she asked quietly. “When you swore at him?”

Dylan’s mouth tightened. “He said, and I quote, ‘I guess I should give Claire a call when I get home’.”

A gust of anger swept through her. “He guesses?” She stumbled off Aidan’s lap, too pissed to sit still. “You know what? I’m coming with you on Tuesday. It’s definitely time for me to have a talk with your brother.” Sarcasm filled her tone. “You know, the talk we should have had the day of our wedding.”