6
“Show of hands—who thinks Dylan’s brother is a grade-A douchebag?” Seth Masterson promptly raised his own hand, and was joined by Cash McCoy, Jackson Ramsey and Ryan Evans, who all wore identical looks of disapproval.
“See, it’s settled,” Seth announced before taking a deep drag of his cigarette.
No sooner did he exhale a cloud of smoke into the late-morning air than a pretty blonde burst onto the patio like a tornado.
“Uh-uh, no way,” Shelby Garrett said in a stern voice. “No smoking!”
Dylan grinned as Seth’s gray eyes flashed with indignation. Their resident badass had been warned several times to not even think about lighting up in Shelby’s place of business or else, and the woman clearly hadn’t been bluffing—she swiped the cigarette out of Seth’s fingers and proceeded to drop it directly into his coffee mug.
“Aw, that’s cruel, Shel,” Seth grumbled. “Now what am I going to drink?”
“Oh, is there something wrong with your coffee?” she asked sweetly. “Go ahead and drink it right along with that nasty butt, seeing as you were determined to put those toxins in your body anyway.”
As the other men laughed, Shelby settled in the chair next to Ryan’s and glanced at Dylan. “Okay, finish your story. I just had to show my new part-timer how to handle a cake order.”
For the tenth time that morning, Dylan had to wonder what Shelby was even doing here. Not that he was complaining or anything. The wife of a former SEAL, Shelby was not only gorgeous, but so easy to talk to, and she was a California girl to the core. The moment she’d learned that the guys were incorporating surfing into their Sunday workout, she’d invited herself along and had been joining them bright and early on the beach every week.
Not much surfing to be done today, though. The water had been too calm, not a decent wave in sight, so eventually Shelby went for a walk while the men finished their workout, and then the six of them had headed over to the Coronado bakery/café Shelby owned.
Dylan had been in the process of telling everyone about yesterday’s wedding fiasco, and now he quickly wrapped up the tale. Omitting, of course, the unexpected kiss Claire had planted on him—that was one can of worms he had zero intention of opening.
“So she’s staying with you and Aidan now?” Shelby raised her coffee to her lips, her blue eyes watching him over the rim of her mug.
“Yeah, for a few days.”
“That was cool of you, rescuing her like that,” Cash told him. The dark-haired SEAL reached for the plate of banana muffins Shelby had brought out, grabbed one, and proceeded to shove the whole thing into his mouth.
“Such manners,” Jackson remarked in that southern drawl of his. “Jen must be so proud of you.”
“Trust me, Jen has no complaints about the way I eat.” Cash’s blue eyes twinkled. “Food, of course. The way I eat food.”
“What I want to know,” Seth said, “is whether you and Aidan have—cover your ears, Shelby—fucked her yet.”
The blonde rolled her eyes. “God, you are such a sleaze.”
Seth blinked innocently. “Hey, I was just voicing what everyone else was thinking.”
“Uh, I wasn’t thinking that at all,” Ryan spoke up.
“Me neither,” Cash said.
“Didn’t even cross my mind,” Jackson confessed.
“Oh, come on, you totally were. I mean, you all met her when she came to visit, right? She’s a stone-cold fox.”
“Claire and my brother were just here for a night,” Dylan reminded his former roommate. “You were the only one who met her.”
“Ah, right. Well, shit, you guys missed out.” Seth offered the other men his trademark scoundrel smirk. “She’s sexy as hell—great tits, curves in all the right places. Oh, and she’s a redhead. Every redhead I’ve ever—cover your ears, Shelby—fucked has been phenomenal in bed.”
This time the eye-roll came from Ryan. “Dude, do you kiss your wife with that mouth?”
“Yup, and she loves it.”
Dylan didn’t doubt that. Miranda Breslin—well, Masterson now—seemed to have no problem with her new husband’s rough edges.
It was still hard to believe Seth was married. Much to everyone’s surprise, he and Miranda had eloped to Vegas last month, and Seth had recently confided in Dylan that he was going through the process to adopt Miranda’s six-year-old twins. After a shaky start with Miranda and a tenuous relationship with her kids, Seth now worshipped the ground all three of them walked on.
Seeing his buddy so happy never failed to bring a rush of longing to Dylan’s heart. In fact, as he looked around the table, he realized that he and Jackson were the only single ones there. Shelby was happily married and raising a three-year-old daughter. Seth and Miranda had tied the knot and were doing the whole family thing too. Ryan and his girlfriend, Annabelle, had recently gotten engaged, Cash and Jen would surely follow suit.
And then there was Dylan. Living with Aidan, yet he hadn’t told any of his buddies about the sexual part of that arrangement. The only person who knew was Jen Scott, Cash’s girlfriend and Dylan’s closest female friend. He’d asked Jen not to say anything to Cash, but it wasn’t shame or fear that was stopping him from telling other people. Like he’d told Aidan, he had no clue how to classify what they had, and until he could make sense of it himself, he didn’t want to deal with all the questions he knew he’d receive.
“Anyway, speaking of Miranda,” Seth was saying, “she wanted to know if you’re all planning on coming to our place for Christmas Eve dinner. My mom’s flying in from Vegas on the twenty-fifth, so we’re doing Christmas Day with her.”
“Annabelle and I will be in San Francisco that week,” Ryan said. “Seven whole days with the snooty Holmes clan. Can’t fucking wait.”
Shelby glanced over in sympathy. “They still haven’t warmed up to you? Even after, what? Three years?”
“Nah, they’ve gotten a lot better. Her dad has stopped trying to bribe me into dumping her, so that’s progress. And I think he was secretly happy and impressed when I flew up there to ask for his blessing to marry her.”
“And he gave it to you,” Shelby pointed out, “so I guess that is progress.”
On the other side of the table, Seth reached over the muffin plate and nonchalantly stole Dylan’s coffee from right under his nose.
Scratch that—not nonchalantly at all.
“Seriously?” Dylan said. “You’re that lazy? Stealing my coffee instead of walking ten feet to the counter and getting a fresh cup?”
“That lazy,” Seth confirmed. “Anyway. So Ryan’s out. Texas?”
Jackson nodded. “I’ll be there.”
“John and I won’t,” Shelby chimed in, sounding apologetic. “We’ll be at my parents’ place that night, and his family’s the next night.”
“McCoy? You and the Scotts?”
“Yeah, we’re all coming,” Cash answered.
“So that leaves the D-Man. You coming or what, bro? Oh, and Miranda says Aidan’s welcome too.”
Dylan raised his eyebrows. “The D-Man?”
“New nickname I’m trying out.” Seth paused. “Is it not working?”
“No,” everyone answered in unison.
“Fine. I’ll think of something else.”
Dylan snorted. “Please don’t. You’re terrible at giving people nicknames.”
“Fuck you. I rock at it,” Seth retorted. “Who gave Texas his nickname, huh?”
“Yeah, because it’s so original,” Cash said with a laugh. “Calling a man from Texas Texas. Pure gold, man.”
“Ugh, you guys all have major ADD,” Shelby declared. “I want to know more about Dylan’s brother fleeing the country on his wedding day.”
“That’s pretty much the grand summation of it,” he said wryly. “Chris left without a word and is now lying on a beach in Aruba.”
“Douchebag,” Seth muttered.
Shelby’s blue eyes shone with compassion. “How is Claire handl
ing it?”
“Well, she got rip-roaring drunk last night, so…” Dylan let the others reach their own conclusions.
“And you and Aidan didn’t take advantage of that and—cover your ears, Shelby—double-team her? Prudes.” Seth shook his head in mock disgust.
“Why do you bother telling me to cover my ears?” Shelby demanded. “You don’t even give me time to do it! And besides, since when do you care about offending my delicate sensibilities?”
“I live with kids now,” the scruffy-haired SEAL replied. “I’m pretty sure I ask Sophie and Jason to cover their ears at least twenty times a day.”
Everyone snickered, including Shelby, but the blonde didn’t waste any time in steering the conversation back to what she perceived as juicy gossip.
“Is double-teaming actually something you’re considering?” she asked Dylan. Then she gasped. “Have you secretly been lusting over your brother’s girl this whole time and now you’re finally going to make your move?”
He flashed her a dark look. “No, I have not been lusting over her.”
The disappointment on her face made all the men laugh.
“Motherhood and wifehood have gotten boring, huh?” Cash teased. “Is that why you’re trying to turn the D-Man’s life into a soap opera?”
Seth cursed. “You’re right. The name doesn’t work. Stop using it to spite me.”
“I’m not bored at all,” Shelby said. “But you’ve got to admit, the whole situation is very soap-opera-esque.”
Dylan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, only if I had a thing for Claire. Which I don’t.”
“Fine,” she said glumly. “Maybe she and Aidan will hook up then. The poor woman got dumped on her wedding day. She deserves some sexytimes with a sexy guy, and Aidan totally fits that bill.”
Yep, Aidan certainly had sexy guy down to a T. But Shelby’s suggestion only succeeded in making Dylan feel edgy as hell. Didn’t escape him that Aidan was back at the condo with Claire at this very moment, just the two of them, alone together…
Swallowing a sigh, he claimed the last banana muffin and said a silent prayer that his lover would remember to keep his dick in his pants.
* * *
Son of a bitch. She’d kissed Dylan last night.
Claire couldn’t erase the memory from her mind, no matter how hard she tried. It was the last thing she’d thought of before falling asleep last night, and the first thing she’d thought of when she’d opened her eyes this morning. And each time the image of Dylan’s heavy-lidded green eyes and sexy mouth popped into her head, she was overcome with equal doses of lust and shame.
It had been a good kiss.
Oh, who was she kidding? It had been the hottest kiss of her entire life. Which didn’t make any sense, because she didn’t even like the guy! Not only that, but he was Chris’s brother. Chris, the man she’d almost married. What kind of woman made out with her ex-fiancé’s brother?
“You slept late.”
She jumped as the husky male voice sounded from the other side of the kitchen. Her water glass nearly fell from her grip. She managed to hold on to it, then turned to give Aidan a tentative smile.
“Too late,” she answered. “I crashed at eight and woke up at noon. That’s a good sixteen hours of my life I’ll never get back.”
He chuckled. “You needed it. Yesterday was stressful for you.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
The kitchen offered an eat-in counter, so Claire slid onto one of the tall stools and watched Aidan rummage around in the enormous double-door fridge.
“You want something to eat?” he asked without turning around.
As if on cue, her belly grumbled, but she didn’t quite trust that part of her anatomy at the moment. Even though she hadn’t woken up with a hangover or an upset stomach, she’d consumed nearly half a scotch bottle last night, and she knew from past experience her stomach was going to be sensitive.
“Depends what,” she told him. “It’s gotta be something light that I can keep down.”
He tossed her a sympathetic look over one broad shoulder. “You feeling queasy?”
“No, but I don’t want to push my luck.”
“Good plan. Okay, well, I’m all about the bacon and eggs after a night of drinking, but maybe you should stick to some toast?”
“Aw, but bacon and eggs sounds so yummy,” she said in a glum voice.
He flashed a dimpled grin, and her heart promptly did a happy flip. Gosh, this man was so freaking adorable. Not to mention so incredibly sexy. How was that combination even possible?
Aidan’s dark eyes narrowed. “What’s the secretive little smile all about?”
“I was trying to figure out if it’s possible for a man to be sexy and adorable at the same time.”
He let out a surprised laugh. “Ah, okay.” His grin widened. “Do you always blurt out whatever’s on your mind like that?”
“Usually.” She took another sip of water. “I try not to be so forthcoming at work, but in general I’m pretty opinionated and not afraid to be honest.”
“Honesty’s a great quality to have.”
“I’m glad you think so. But not everyone appreciates it.”
As he started pulling ingredients out of the fridge and setting them on the counter, Claire got up and tried to help, but he led her back to the stool and forced her to sit.
“You’re the guest, and I’m cooking you breakfast. Deal with it.” His commanding tone brooked no argument, and for some reason it turned her on like crazy.
“Yes, sir,” she said with a little salute.
“So, did we decide whether you’re having toast or taking a risk?” Aidan flipped open a carton of eggs.
Claire sighed. “I’m taking the risk. I’m a sucker for bacon.”
“Good call. And look, if you end up puking it all up, I’m willing to be a gentleman and hold your hair back.”
“Aw, thanks, that’s so sweet.”
Laughing, she rested her elbows on the smooth black granite and admired the ease with which he moved around the kitchen. He got the bacon going, then leaned against the opposite counter and whisked the eggs in a glass bowl, all the while watching her with curious eyes.
“What’s the final answer then?” Aidan slanted his head. “Can men be simultaneously sexy and adorable?”
She replied with no hesitation. “Yes. They totally can.”
A heated look passed between them, identical to the one they’d shared yesterday within seconds of meeting. And unlike yesterday’s Dylan-provoked desire, her attraction to this man made sense.
Actually…nope, still didn’t make sense, seeing as she was attracted to Aidan in a confusing, primitive way she’d never experienced. Everything about him teased her senses—his rumpled dark hair, the perfect chest beneath his faded Chicago Bears T-shirt, those dimples. And he smelled so darn good; his lemony-scented aftershave mingled with the aroma of sizzling bacon in the air, and she honestly couldn’t decide which scent was more intoxicating.
Last night she’d been convinced this man wanted her. This afternoon was no different. Her striped off-the-shoulder tee and black yoga pants were by no means indecent, yet Aidan’s gaze was so seductive, so intense and appreciative, she felt like she was buck-naked.
A crackling sound interrupted the moment of awareness. When Aidan turned to tend to the bacon, she took a deep breath and ordered herself to stop drooling over the guy.
“So who didn’t appreciate your honesty?” he asked curiously.
“Chris, for one. He hated how blunt I was, especially if I said something he didn’t want to hear.”
“Like what?” Aidan lowered the heat on the burner and moved on to the task of scrambling the eggs, but he glanced over his shoulder every few seconds, encouraging her to go on.
“Well, I wasn’t exactly shy about voicing my opinion when it came to his country-club friends. Those people are such jerks—you should have seen the way one of the partners’ wives treated our wait
er one time. And the racism in that club was unbelievable. It made me sick, but Chris didn’t seem to give a shit. He just shrugged and said that deep down everyone’s a little racist. Can you believe that?”
“Chris doesn’t sound like the nicest guy.”
Sadness washed over her. “I thought he was. I thought he was amazing, actually. When we first met, he was so passionate about the law and making a difference. He was excited to work in the prosecutor’s office and clean up the streets and all that jazz. But instead, he took the job that Lowenstein offered, and suddenly his whole personality changed.” She bit her lip in dismay. “He got all prissy and pretentious, and started acting, I don’t know, entitled, I guess.”
“From what Dylan has told me, Chris was always a bit on the conservative side, and I’m pretty sure Dylan mentioned that Chris intended to work for a big defense firm from the start.”
Claire frowned. “Yeah, I don’t know how much I really trust Dylan’s word.”
“You should,” Aidan said frankly. “He’s probably the most honest man I’ve ever met. And the most honorable.”
“Honorable?” Bitterness rose in her throat. “I haven’t seen any indication of that, and trust me, he’s had many opportunities to prove me wrong.”
“What exactly has Dylan done to give you such a skewed view of him?” Aidan’s tone was more curious than angry.
“Maybe your view is the skewed one.”
“Trust me,” he mimicked, “I know everything there is to know about Dylan Wade. The guy’s got a heart of gold. It’s fucking exasperating at times.”
She opened her mouth to argue that clearly Dylan’s fabled heart of gold didn’t extend to his mother, then thought better of it. She wasn’t prone to gossiping, and she knew Shanna would be humiliated if she found out Claire was blabbing about her private business with a stranger. Besides, nothing she said would change Aidan’s mind about the man he obviously cared very deeply about.
The man Claire had practically sexually assaulted last night…
Crap. Did Aidan know about the kiss? It suddenly occurred to her that he might, and her cheeks grew hot.
“Is there a reason your face just turned redder than a fire engine?” he teased.
Out of Uniform Box Set: Books 4-6 plus 2 Bonus Novellas Page 35
