“Oh, because I said hello?” she interrupted sarcastically. “Because I asked him how he liked working at the firm? Is that what you consider a signal? That bastard cornered me against the wall and tried to shove his hand up my skirt, and I didn’t do a damn thing to invite it! I can’t believe you’d even think I would.”
The bite to her tone raised his hackles. “I don’t know you, honey, and I’ve never seen the way you behave around other men. Maybe you’re throwing off come-hither signals left and right to every man in San Francisco.”
Her jaw fell open. Then snapped shut.
After a beat, she rose from the couch and pinned him down with a fierce look. “When I make a commitment to someone, I don’t throw off signals to other men. I was committed to your brother. I loved him, and I was planning on marrying him. I don’t give a shit what you think about me, but let it be known that I’ve never cheated on anyone in my entire life, and if for some reason I transmit come-hither signals then it’s definitely not done intentionally. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to boot up my laptop so I can book myself a flight home.”
“Claire—” Aidan started.
“No, I don’t want to hear it,” she cut in. “A moment of weakness drove me to come here, but I have no desire to stay where I’m not wanted and with people who think I’m some kind of horrible human being.”
With that, she marched out of the living room in a huff, her red hair whipping behind her like an angry cloud.
Several seconds ticked by. Dylan had no idea what to say, and the longer the silence between him and Aidan dragged on, the more irritated he got. To make matters worse, Aidan was just sitting there, his dark eyes shuttered, his body language tense.
“Spit it out, Aid,” he ordered.
“Fine. You were a real dick to her just now, is that what you want to hear?”
“I’m a dick, huh? Why, because I asked a harmless question?”
“Harmless, my ass. You felt like antagonizing her, so you did.” Now Aidan was the one standing up. “And for what it’s worth, I think the two of you have the most fucked-up perceptions of each other. Neither of you is the villain the other one thinks, and if you had one fucking conversation without sniping at each other, I think you’d really get along.”
Bitterness trickled through him. “You just want me to get along with her so you can get her into bed.”
Aidan responded with a harsh laugh. “Right, like you don’t want the same damn thing. You’ve been sporting a semi since the second she got here. You undress her with your eyes whenever she’s in the room. Oh, and you kissed her—thanks for mentioning that to me, by the way.”
“She kissed me,” he grumbled. “And I didn’t mention it because it wasn’t a big deal, nor was it ever going to happen again.”
“Can you at least admit that you want her?”
“Christ. Fine. I want her. You happy now? But guess what, man, I want a lot of things. Wanting something doesn’t automatically mean it’s a good idea to go out and get it. So yeah, I think she’s hot, and yeah, she gets me hard, but I’m not going to act on it.” He let out a frustrated breath. “If you want to sleep with her, go ahead. You have my blessing, okay? But me, I have no intention of ever sleeping with the woman, so for fuck’s sake, leave me out of it.”
Aidan didn’t know whether to curse or laugh as he left Dylan in the living room to cool off. Last time he’d seen Dylan this worked up over being attracted to someone, it had been toward Aidan himself. Dylan had been so freaked out about desiring a man out of the context of a threesome, and it had taken him a while to realize that sometimes you couldn’t help who you felt an attraction for.
And now Dylan was fighting the way he felt about Claire. A blind person could see how much he wanted the woman, and Aidan didn’t blame him one damn bit. He’d known Claire for only two days and he could honestly say he’d never been more drawn to a woman.
Not only that, but he found her presence strangely soothing. He was still reeling over the fact that he’d told her and Dylan about his mother’s death—that was something he never spoke of, yet when Claire had asked about his parents, the confession had slipped out without warning. And afterwards, he hadn’t felt exposed or embarrassed, the way he usually did when he revealed personal details about himself.
Why did he feel so comfortable opening up to Claire when he’d been denying Dylan the same privilege for months now? He had no answer for that, but there was one thing he did know—he didn’t want Claire to go yet.
Which was why he wasted no time in heading for Dylan’s bedroom so he could hopefully convince one very pissed-off redhead not to skip town.
He rapped his knuckles on the door. “Claire, it’s Aidan. Can I come in?”
A gloomy “Sure” came from the other side of the door.
He stepped into the bedroom and found her on the bed with her MacBook in her lap. Her striped shirt had fallen off one shoulder, revealing smooth lily-white skin and making his fingers tingle with the urge to stroke all that softness.
“Did you book a flight yet?” he asked.
“No.” She met his eyes. “You here to talk me out of it?”