“No, I was actually just about to do that.” Her gaze drifted to the open laptop sitting on Dylan’s bed. She’d left him and Aidan in the living room and ducked in here to book the flight, but she’d been procrastinating from the second she’d turned on her computer.
Because she didn’t want to go home.
At all.
“Don’t,” Barb told her.
Claire wrinkled her forehead. “Don’t what?”
“Book a flight. I need you to head to Oceanside.”
“What for?”
“The firm just got contracted to do an assessment for a software company there. Since you’re already down south, I’m going to put you on it. Spend as much time as you need on site, but realistically, the job shouldn’t take more than two or three weeks. Can I count on you?”
Excitement sparked in her belly. Two or three weeks. And Oceanside was less than an hour’s commute from San Diego. She could stay here at the condo and easily make the drive to the company’s headquarters every day, and all her reports could be prepared off site.
Trying not to reveal how elated she was, she put on a professional voice and said, “You can definitely count on me.”
“I knew I could.” Barb sounded pleased that Claire was being so agreeable. “I’ll email you the details and company profile the day after tomorrow. Businesses go back to normal on the second of the month, but you’ll be meeting with the CEO on the third. That’s Wednesday morning.”
“Sounds good.”
“You sound good. The time off seems to have lifted your spirits,” Barb said, her normally commanding voice softening. “I know what a difficult time this must have been for you.”
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 fucking 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.”