“I’m not confused,” she said softly.
“You need to pack your bags and leave. Your father is very upset about this, but he’ll forgive you, as long as you break it off with those men and come home.”
“I can’t do that. Mom…I think I love them.”
Silence. Lasting so long Claire thought her mother had hung up.
“Mom, are you there?”
Nora sounded anguished. “Claire, this is crazy. Do you realize how crazy that sounds?”
“I know it’s crazy,” she burst out. “But it’s real, damn it! I have feelings for them, for both of them. Real, strong feelings, and I can’t walk away from that.”
“Your father will never accept this.” Nora hesitated. “I don’t know if I can accept it.”
Pain jolted through her, but Claire wasn’t about to back down. “Mom, I love you and Daddy, but this is my life, and I live it for me. You don’t have to agree with all my choices, and if you and Dad are willing to cut me out of your lives because of this, then that’s on you. I’m sorry you don’t approve, but like I said, I’m not walking away from them.”
“Even if it means your father will never let you come home again?”
Her throat burned with regret. “Even then.” She let out a wobbly breath. “I’ll give you some time to digest this and call you in a few days, okay? Just…please try to keep an open mind. At least meet Dylan and Aidan before you write me off forever.”
A distressed sob met her ears. “Claire, just come home.”
“I can’t.”
“Claire—”
“Bye, Mom.”
She hung up, feeling bruised and beaten and so very tired. Her eyes hurt from all the tears she’d shed, and her face was still damp, prompting her to leave the room and duck into the hall bathroom, where she gasped at her reflection in the mirror.
Her mascara had run like crazy, glaring evidence that the word waterproof on the applicator was pure and total bullshit. She looked like a madwoman—streaky black lines on her cheeks, red-rimmed eyes, splotchy skin.
And yet neither Dylan nor Aidan had commented on it. They’d held her and comforted her and whispered reassurances without once pointing out she looked like a rabid raccoon.
As she left the bathroom, there was an unexpected spring to her step, which was damn peculiar considering she’d just lost her job and probably her parents. She was giving up everything for these men—why wasn’t she more freaked out about it?
She got her answer the moment she entered the living room and saw both men leap off the couch, their eyes shining with concern.
She belonged here with them. She belonged to them.
And they belonged to her.
“Are you leaving?” The gruff inquiry came from Aidan.
With the slight shake of her head, she walked toward them and said, “I’m not going anywhere.”
Chapter Sixteen
“So a little birdie told me you and Dylan are both dating Claire.”
Aidan rolled his eyes. “And does that little birdie go by the name Seth?”
Chuckling, Matt rested his elbows on the iron railing of the second-floor balcony and glanced over. “Actually, it was Cash. He said Dylan told the boys about it the other day when they were chilling by the pool.”
Aidan wasn’t surprised that McCoy had shared the news with his roommate, but he’d kind of been hoping to be the one to tell Matt. He and O’Connor were tight, had been ever since they’d run into each other on the base several years back, and other than Dylan, Matt was Aidan’s closest friend. The two of them had indulged in a shit-ton of threesomes, including some seriously hot nights with Matt’s fiancée.
“So it’s true, huh? You’re both dating the same woman?”
After a beat, Aidan nodded.
“And how’s that working out for you?” Matt asked in a careful tone.
“Pretty damn good,” he admitted.
“I see.” The other man’s skepticism was unmistakable.
Aidan didn’t blame Matt one bit for being skeptical. He still couldn’t wrap his head around it, either. A relationship between three people? He wouldn’t have ever dreamed a scenario like that could actually work, and yet it did. At least for them.
“Okay, I don’t see,” Matt blurted out, retracting his previous remark. “I mean, I get it in the sexual sense—you know how much I love a little variety in the bedroom. But romantically? I don’t get it.”
Aidan moved away from the railing and swiped his beer bottle from the small table before sinking into one of the plastic chairs. Matt flopped down in the other chair, his green eyes mystified.
“Seriously, dude, you’ve gotta explain it to me.”
“It’s just like any other relationship, except there’s another person in the mix. I care about Claire, and so does Dylan. And she cares about both of us.” He sighed. “I still feel guilty as hell, though.”
Matt furrowed his dark eyebrows. “Why?”