“Yup.” His endearing dimples popped out. “C’mon, let’s eat.”
She’d just gotten to her feet when she spotted Matt and Savannah lingering near the doorway. From the distrustful way the couple was looking at her, she realized they must have witnessed her and Aidan’s kiss.
Wariness circled her insides, growing stronger when Matt clapped a hand on Aidan’s shoulder and casually fell in step with him.
Leaving Claire alone with Savannah.
“Hey,” she said tentatively.
A pair of gray eyes pinned her with a hard look. “So your rebound is Aidan?” the blonde asked coolly. “I assumed it would be Dylan, if anyone.”
Discomfort tightened her belly. “I’m…Aidan is…” Claire cleared her throat. “It’s not a rebound. Aidan and I are just enjoying each other’s company. Just having a little harmless fun.”
Savannah pursed her lips. “A little harmless fun.”
The suspicion in the other woman’s tone irked her. “Look, no offense or anything, but what’s it to you? You were introduced to me as Matt’s fiancée. Why do you care who Aidan spends time with?”
“Aidan is a good friend of ours. Matt and I care about him.”
“Yeah? Well, so do I.” Claire knew she sounded haughty, but she didn’t care.
“Good, then that means you don’t want to see him get hurt.” Savannah paused ominously. “So you’re not going to hurt him, are you, Claire?”
Needles of indignation pricked her skin. “No, I’m not going to hurt him.” She cocked her head. “Will you beat me up if I do?”
“Damn right I will.”
They eyed each other for a moment, like two animals vying for territory, and then Savannah broke out in a smile and said, “Let’s go eat. That turkey smells delicious.”
“I really liked your friends,” Claire remarked during the car ride back to the condo. “For the most part, anyway.”
Confused, Dylan glanced over from the passenger seat. “What do you mean, for the most part?”
“Well, there’s that one teeny tiny issue of Savannah threatening me.”
In the driver’s seat, Aidan swiveled his head to stare at her. “She f**king did what?”
“Oh, you know, threatened to kick my ass if I ever hurt you.”
Aidan’s jaw dropped. “Son of a bitch. Great. Now I’m gonna have to kick her ass.”
Claire waved a careless hand. “Oh, don’t worry, she was just looking out for you. She and Matt are very protective of you, by the way.”
“That’s because he used to f**k them,” Dylan piped up. He found this entire conversation highly amusing, and he had to wonder if Savannah would issue the same threat to him when she learned he was sleeping with Aidan too.
“Excuse me?”
Claire sounded so displeased that Dylan couldn’t help but turn around again. Sure enough, he noted her shoulders had gone rigid.
Chuckling, he repeated himself, slower this time. “He used to f**k them.”
The unmistakable jealousy burning in her big brown eyes told him that had Matt and Savannah been in the SUV with them right now, Claire would’ve clawed both their eyes out.
“It was just an occasional thing,” Aidan said sheepishly.
“Besides, doesn’t it make you feel better about the whole threesome thing?” Dylan added. “Everyone we know has ’em. It’s the norm in our circle.”
“Well, I hope you’re not planning on paying them a visit anytime soon,” she told Aidan, her voice tight with irritation.
“Aw, she’s jealous,” Dylan teased.
Aidan caught her eye in the rearview mirror and put those dimples of his to good use. “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’m not going anywhere. I’m right where I want to be.”
Dylan wholeheartedly agreed. This time with Claire and Aidan had been so amazing he still couldn’t believe he wasn’t dreaming it. He was so ashamed of his previous attitude toward Claire—she was not at all what he’d thought her to be, and the more he got to know her, the harder he fell.
Claire McKinley was smart, gorgeous, sarcastic, compassionate. And open, so f**king open. She spoke her mind, never tried to hide what she was feeling from him and Aidan, and he loved and appreciated that about her. A lot of women expected a man to be a mind reader, but hell, a little guidance was nice, and Claire was a master of honest communication.
She was also the hottest, most passionate woman he’d ever met. Her sexual appetite was voracious, and Dylan knew he and Aidan appealed to that wild side she’d been forced to hide growing up. They fueled it, fed it, and damned if they weren’t having a good time doing it.
Ten minutes later, Aidan pulled into the underground parking of their building and the three of them made their way upstairs. The condo board had a strict rule about keeping the hallways decoration-free, so there was nothing Christmasy about the corridor as they crossed the cream-colored carpet toward their apartment.
Inside was another story. The tree was lit up and the ornaments were twinkling, giving the room a holiday feel that the hallway had lacked.
When Dylan moved to flick on the light, Claire intercepted his hand. “No, don’t,” she urged. “Look how pretty the room is with just the light of the tree.”
He couldn’t deny there was something magical about it. The red and silver ornaments shone like little gems, the glow from the strings of light creating a romantic ambience.