Hotter Than Ever (Out of Uniform 9)

“What about dates?” Jane asked. “Do the three of you go out?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but we don’t go overboard on the PDA or anything. Usually just hand-holding.”

Annabelle giggled. “Does everyone’s jaw just drop when they see the three of you holding hands?”

“Sometimes.” She smiled impishly. “I get a lot of envious looks from other women.”

“Well, duh,” Savannah said, grinning widely. “You’re walking around with two of the sexiest men on the planet. Chicks are probably jealous as hell when they see you.” The grin dissolved into a guilty look. “I was jealous too, if I’m being honest.”

“Ooooh,” Jane teased. “Look at that, Claire, you brought out Savannah’s green-eyed monster by stealing Aidan away from her.”

Discomfort rose up her spine, but it faded when she saw the sincerity shining in Savannah’s gray eyes. “I’m not jealous anymore, I promise,” the woman assured her. “It just caught me off-guard seeing Aidan kissing you that night. Matt and I have always thought of Aidan as ours, know what I mean?”

“I get that,” Claire said quietly. “He’s pretty damn special. I don’t blame you for feeling possessive over him.”

“But it’s nice to see him looking so happy,” Savannah admitted. “He’s not the kind of man who wears his emotions on his sleeve, but lately he’s always smiling and laughing, and it’s all because of you.”

Claire was genuinely touched. And she knew exactly what Savannah meant. Aidan had been opening up more and more to both her and Dylan. The other night, he’d even told them about how guilty he’d felt after his mom’s death, how living with the knowledge that she’d died to save him had eaten him up inside. Afterwards, Dylan had pulled her aside and thanked her for being there. He claimed that her presence was good for Aidan, and now Savannah was saying the same thing, which only cemented Claire’s decision to stay.

Her parents were still avoiding her calls, and she was still unemployed, but when it came to her love life, she’d never been happier. And she was holding on to the hope that all the other parts of her life would fall in line too. Preferably sooner rather than later.

The conversation was interrupted by Savannah’s cell phone, which vibrated with an incoming text. The blonde glanced at the screen and laughed. “Matt is requesting we all put our clothes on because he’s on his way up. He doesn’t want his buddies beating him up for seeing their women naked.”

Annabelle looked mystified. “What on earth does he think we do on girls’ night?”

“According to his fantasies, we all get naked and have a pillow fight.”

Everyone laughed.

“We should do that one time just to f**k with him,” Jen suggested.

A few minutes later, the front door of Savannah’s loft swung open and Matt strode in.

Sporting a very swollen, very black eye.

His fiancée immediately bolted to her feet. “What the hell, baby? What happened?”

A second later, a very sheepish-looking Aidan entered on Matt’s heels, prompting Claire to gasp. His gorgeous eyes were just fine, but his bottom lip was split and caked with dried blood.

She was at his side in a heartbeat, touching the side of his mouth in concern. “What the hell?” she echoed.

“Ah, darlin’, it’s just a little shiner,” Matt told Savannah.

“And just a busted lip,” Aidan assured Claire.

The two women glanced at each other, then turned to glare at their men.

“You two got into a fight?” Savannah demanded. “Please tell me the other guys got it worse.”

“Um…” Aidan shifted on his feet. “There were no other guys. We, uh…”

“Fought each other,” Matt supplied.

A loud snicker came from the living area.

Matt glanced past his fiancée’s shoulders and offered a careless wave. “Evening, ladies. Thanks for getting dressed so fast.”

“No problem,” Jane said with a snort. “You know we don’t like anyone walking in on our nude pillow fights.”

Claire narrowed her eyes at Aidan. “Why were you fighting each other?”

“Just for fun.”

“For fun?” Disbelief fluttered through her as she stared at his swollen lip. “How is beating each other up fun?”

Behind them, the other women began gathering up their purses and jackets, chuckling amongst themselves. Miranda was the first to approach, and she paused in front of the men with a suspicious cloud in her hazel eyes.

“Why do I get the feeling my husband played a part in this?”

Aidan’s lips twitched. “It may or may not have been his idea.”

“Of course.” Miranda sighed. “How much money did he lose?”

“None,” Matt grumbled in response. “Your ass**le husband bet against me, and then he and your ass**le boyfriend—” he glanced at a grinning Jen, “—decided that Rhodes was the winner because black eye trumps split lip.”

“They have a point,” Savannah told him.

Mock outrage filled his eyes. “You’re saying I lost?”

“Sorry, babe, but I think you did.” Her lips curved seductively. “Don’t worry, you’ll still be a winner tonight. Just wait until everyone leaves and then you’ll be winning all over the place.”