Hotter Than Ever (Out of Uniform 9)

She blinked in surprise. “You cook?”

Annoyance flickered in his green eyes. “Yes, I cook.”

“Oh. I didn’t know that.”

“There’s a lot you don’t know about me.”

She felt like he was making a jab in there somewhere, but his tone was light and his expression veiled, so she decided not to push it. “Anyway, I’m not hungry. My appetite left me around the same time Chris did.”

Dylan let out a breath. “I’m sorry you’ve had such a shitty day, Claire.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They both went quiet for a moment, and then he cleared his throat. “Okay, well, let me know if you need anything. I’m gonna fill Aidan in on what happened and then deal with my mom.”

“Thank you for everything you did today,” she said, shifting uneasily.

“No prob,” he said before sliding out the door.

Once she was alone, Claire sat on the edge of the mattress and ran her fingers over the soft, navy-blue comforter. She felt uncomfortable being here, in Dylan’s space, in Dylan’s home, yet somehow it felt oddly appropriate. This entire day had been a nightmare, so why not finish it out in the company of a man she hated?

Dislike, a voice corrected.

Yeah, hate might be too strong a word, Claire had to concede. She still didn’t approve of his behavior or the way he’d abandoned his family, but she couldn’t deny that he’d been decent today.

Sighing, she reached into her purse and found her phone. A moment later, she had a tally that made her gawk—forty-two text messages, twenty-one voice mail messages, twenty-four missed calls. Didn’t bode well for her email, which was her preferred method of communication.

She only bothered responding to the messages from her parents and her boss, reminding the former that she’d requested space, and thanking the latter for the reassurance that Claire still had the next three weeks off, honeymoon or no honeymoon.

After she pressed send, she checked the world clock app on her phone and nearly wept with joy when she realized she could now call Natasha and actually receive an answer. Long-distance charges be damned, she dialed Nat’s number and prayed her friend was still awake.

When Natasha’s voice blared over the line, the tears Claire had been holding back all day erupted like a volcanic explosion.

“Oh my God, I knew you’d get cold feet!” her best friend exclaimed before Claire even had a chance to say hello. “Don’t worry, I wrote up a little speech just in case. Hold on, hon, let me go find it.”

Claire laughed through her tears. “Don’t bother. It’s already done.”

“What’s already done? The ceremony?”

“The relationship.”

“Wait. What?”

A breath shuddered out. “Chris and I didn’t get married. He called it off.”

“Are you shitting me?”

“Nope,” she said glumly.

There was a long pause, and then a heavy sigh reverberated over the extension. “Start from the beginning.”

It took ten minutes to tell Natasha everything, and she finished by reluctantly admitting that Dylan had been a good friend to her today, a confession that elicited a laugh from her friend.

“So the ass**le brother ended up being the good guy, and the good guy ended up being the ass**le,” Natasha mused.

“Oh, like you’re surprised. You’ve never liked Chris.”

“Not really, no,” Natasha said frankly. “But that doesn’t mean I didn’t support your decision to marry him. As long as you were happy, I was happy. You know that.”

“Yeah, I know.” She sniffled. “I feel like such a loser, Nat. Like one of those chicks from a bad rom com who gets left at the altar.”

“I knew the dude was a pompous jerk, but disappearing like that? That’s f**king bullshit.”

“I know.” She hesitated. “But…”

Natasha’s tone sharpened. “But what? And don’t tell me you’re thinking of forgiving the ass**le!”

“No, it’s not that. I’m furious with him, I really am, but there was this moment earlier… It was right after Dylan told me that Chris was gone. I was shocked and hurt and embarrassed, but a part of me also felt…relief. God, Nat, I was actually kind of relieved I didn’t have to marry him.”

“That’s because he wasn’t right for you. I tried to tell you when you first started dating him, remember?”

“He was different then,” she protested.

“Uh-uh, no way. The man was a phony, Claire. I knew it from the moment I met him. He was too slick, and his stories about helping others and wanting to make a difference were pure BS.”

“What does that say about me then? For not seeing it?”

“It says you’re a good person with a big heart,” Natasha said quietly. “I think Chris told you everything you wanted to hear, and you believed it because you always try to see the best in people.”

“Maybe,” she murmured.

“But the fact that you felt relief today says it all, hon. Deep down you must have known it wasn’t right.”

“I guess. I just wish it didn’t have to end in such a humiliating way.” She sighed. “Shit, I’m really not looking forward to seeing him and listening to his excuses. I’m pretty sure it’ll take all my willpower not to slap him.”