by Elle Kennedy
Claire’s heart stopped. “Because of me?”
His silence answered the question, and she experienced a rush of guilt that made her chest hurt. God, her parents were splitting up. Because of her. Because of the choice she’d made, the choice that had apparently torn them apart.
“I had nowhere else to go,” her father mumbled. “You know I can’t sleep in hotels, and your mother and I don’t have many friends, especially any that would take me in. So I got in my car, and…somehow I wound up here.” He looked defensive now. “You emailed me the address after you moved in. I figured that meant it was okay for me…for me to come.”
“Of course it’s okay.”
With a sigh, she moved to sit beside him. After a second of hesitation, she gave him a hug.
To her surprise, he hugged her back.
“I’m so sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to come between you and Mom. I’m surprised she even did this. I mean, she’s ignored all of my calls and texts and emails. I thought she was on your side when it came to…well, this whole thing.”
“She was, at first.” Her father’s face grew sad. “But she missed you. And she became resentful, angry at me for pushing you away, and then this morning she’d just had enough. She told me that unless I fix things with you, she was going to divorce me.”
Claire gawked at him. That didn’t sound at all like her mother. Nora McKinley always took her husband’s side in every argument. Always put her husband first. Always let him take the lead.
That she would give Claire’s dad an ultimatum like that came as a complete and total shock.
“She’s not going to divorce you,” Claire said firmly. “She’s just upset and not thinking clearly at the moment.”
Hope filled his eyes. “Do you really believe that, Claire-Bear?”
Her heart squeezed at the familiar endearment. “I really believe it. And if you want my advice, I’d give her a few days to calm down. I’m sure you two will be able to work it out. You love each other and you’ve been together for more than thirty years, for Pete’s sake. Your marriage is strong, Daddy. So strong it can withstand anything, even your daughter’s unconventional love life.”
“Claire…” Her father hesitated. “Can I stay with you until I…until your mother and I… Can I stay here?”
She met his gaze head on. “I don’t live alone, Dad. This is Dylan and Aidan’s home too.”
He shifted in discomfort. “I know.”
“I won’t ask either of them to leave while you’re here.”
“I know,” he said again.
She raised her eyebrows. “And you’re okay with that?”
Her father let out a tired breath. “I guess I’m going to have to be.”
Day One
Aidan strode into the kitchen on Saturday morning, then halted in his tracks when he spotted Claire’s father at the counter, drinking coffee and reading the morning paper.
Damn it. He’d been hoping yesterday’s surprise visit had been a bad dream, that really, Ron McKinley was back in San Francisco, passing judgment on his daughter’s relationships from afar.
But it wasn’t a dream.
Claire’s father was here.
Claire’s father was their houseguest.
Fucking hell.
“Good morning,” Aidan said politely, grabbing a mug from the cupboard.
“Good morning,” Ron answered in a tone that more than conveyed his disapproval.
“Did you sleep well?”
He damn well better have, considering his presence had completely disrupted their sleeping arrangements. Although Claire refused to apologize for loving two men, she was still that same girl who’d hidden her wild streak growing up, and she claimed she didn’t feel right sleeping in the same bed as them when her father was in the condo. So as long as Ron was here, Claire had decreed that Aidan stay in the master bedroom, her father would get Dylan’s room, she’d sleep on the pullout couch in the office, and Dylan was relegated to the living room.
It fucking sucked. Even more so because Claire had also decided that having sex while under the same roof as her father was, as she put it, icky.
And having a threesome was apparently even ickier.
Aidan was praying Claire’s mom took some pity on Ron McKinley and let him come home soon, because he wasn’t sure how long he could last living under these restrictive conditions. But for Claire’s sake, he was willing to suck it up. At least long enough for her to repair her relationship with her dad.
“I slept very well, thank you,” Ron said stiffly.
“Glad to hear it,” Aidan replied.
An awkward silence fell between them.
Ron cleared his throat. “Where’s the other one?”
Aidan didn’t need to ask for clarification. “He works out on the beach every morning.”
“Huh.”
“He’s a SEAL,” Aidan felt obligated to add. “He needs to stay in shape for his line of work. You know, saving the world and all.”
He could have sworn he glimpsed a flicker of approval in Ron’s eyes, but then the man buried his nose in his newspaper and proceeded to pretend Aidan wasn’t in the room.
With a sigh, he poured himself a cup of coffee and left the kitchen.
Day Two
“Holy shitballs! Did you see that touchdown pass?” Dylan let out a loud whistle.
“That was a thing of beauty,” Aidan agreed.
Neither of them asked the man on the other couch what he’d thought of the pass; Ron McKinley had been ignoring them for the past hour and a half, his face hidden by the Sunday paper. The only indication he was even in the room was the sound of newsprint crinkling every time he flipped the page.
Dylan had never felt so uncomfortable in his life, and he resented the fact that Claire’s father was making him feel this way in his own home. This was the place where Dylan was supposed to kick back and relax, but these last two days he’d wanted to be anywhere but here.
For Claire’s sake, he was playing nice with her dad, but damn, winning that man over was next to impossible. Dylan doubted there was anything he and Aidan could do to change Ron McKinley’s opinion about the two men his daughter had committed herself to.
Claire, who was curled up in the armchair with an afghan drawn over her legs, rolled her eyes. “I still don’t get why we’re watching old games that you TiVo’d.”
“Because it’s Sunday,” Dylan retorted. “And we watch football on Sundays.”
“But the season’s over.”
“There’s no such thing as an off-season when it comes to football,” he said gravely. “Jeez, honey, and you call yourself a fan.”
A loud snort of amusement cut through the air.
Everyone swiveled their heads in Ron’s direction, but he was innocently reading his newspaper again.
Day Three
“So you’re really going to do this? Start your own business?”
Claire met her father’s serious eyes. “I’m really going to do it.”
The two of them were sitting out on the terrace, the remnants of their dinner littering the large glass table. Aidan had dropped off some takeout for them because he and Dylan were having dinner at Cash and Matt’s place tonight, and the thoughtful gesture had warmed Claire’s heart. Before he’d left, Aidan had dropped a quick kiss on her lips and told her he hadn’t wanted her to spend the evening slaving over a stove when she could be spending time with her father.
She knew her dad had overheard that, and she could have sworn she’d seen him nod in approval before his expression grew shuttered.
“Do you have a business plan yet?”
Her father’s brisk inquiry interrupted her thoughts. “That’s what I’ve been working on for the last couple of months,” she told him. “But I think I’m finally ready to make this happen.”
“Why don’t the two of us go over the business plan tonight?” Her dad’s voice turned gruff. “That is, if you don’t have plans with…uh, your men.”
She hi
d her surprise. This was the first time he’d even acknowledged there were two men living here, let alone her men.
And this time, when he’d uttered those two words, he’d done it without any scorn.
Day Four
If he didn’t have sex with either Claire or Aidan soon, Dylan was going to fucking explode.
Day Five
“I’m serious, Mom, he’s been so great this week,” Claire said, balancing her phone on her shoulder as she tried to grab a bowl from the top cupboard. “I really think it’s time for the two of you to talk this out.”
Aidan came up behind her and intercepted her straining hand. He planted a quick kiss on her knuckles before reaching up and getting her a bowl.
With a look of gratitude, she headed to the counter and poured herself some cereal, feeling her father’s anxious eyes on her as she continued to talk him up to her mom.
And the bitch of it was? She wasn’t even lying. Her father had been pretty great this week. She couldn’t say he’d completely warmed up to the men she loved, but at least he wasn’t looking at them like he wanted to skin them alive anymore.
Definitely progress.
Day Six
“I’m dying here, man.” Aidan lit up a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a cloud of smoke into the night air.
Dylan shook his head in disapproval. “What are you doing? You only smoke when you drink.”
“Or when I’m so fucking horny I feel like my balls are going to fall off. I jerked off in the shower three times this morning. Three!” Aidan said in disgust.
“Me too.”
They exchanged a look and grinned.
But both grins faded fast.
“We need to get him out of here,” Dylan said grimly. Then he paused. “Though that’s not to say I dislike him. If I’m being honest, I kinda like the old grump.”
Aidan’s reply was grudging. “Me too.”
“He’s a damn good poker player.” His gaze drifted past the terrace door to the dining room, where Claire’s father was shuffling a deck of cards like a professional card shark. Dylan hadn’t been kidding, though—Claire’s dad really was growing on him.
“That’s because he’s an accountant. I bet he counts the cards.”
“You think?”
“You boys buying back in or what?” Ron McKinley’s smug voice wafted through the open sliding door and onto the terrace.
Dylan sighed. “Let’s go lose some more money.”
“Gee, can’t wait.”
Day Seven
“It was nice of Dylan and Aidan to treat us to dinner tonight.”
Claire knew it took a lot out of her father to say that, and a lot more for him to actually say their names instead of “your men”.
She had to admit, “her men” might have actually done it. Officially won Ron McKinley over.
Then again, when you made reservations at the best steakhouse in the city for a man who loved steaks more than life itself, you had a solid chance for success.
She picked up her menu and scanned the unending amount of meat options. “What do you think I should order, the eight-ounce peppercorn or the—”
“You really love them, don’t you?”
Her head swung up. “What?”
Ron reached for his beer, took a big gulp, then set the glass down on the rustic wood tabletop. The entire restaurant had a cookhouse-type feel to it, masculine to the core, with animal heads mounted to the wall and country music coming out of the speakers.
“You love them,” he repeated. “Dylan. And Aidan.”
“Yes. I do.”
Her father shifted in discomfort. “Those boys adore you.”
She smiled. “I know.”
He harrumphed. “Still don’t get how it’s ever going to work, Claire-Bear.”
“We’ll make it work,” she said simply.
“It’s not that easy.”
“Yes, it is. I know it doesn’t make sense to you, but it works, Daddy. It really does. And I truly hope that in time you’ll be able to accept it, and them.”
Ron paused for a moment, a thoughtful look in his eyes. “Well, they do know their football. It might be nice to get their advice next season about my fantasy lineup.”
Claire burst out laughing. “Oh, Dad, I love you.”
“I love you too, sweetheart.” He sounded choked up as he said the words.
Their heart-to-heart was interrupted by the arrival of their waiter, a burly man with a buzz cut and a goatee. “Excuse me, but the rest of your party has arrived.”
Claire glanced over her shoulder in confusion. Her jaw dropped when she spotted Dylan and Aidan advancing on their table.
With her mother sandwiched between them.
Her father looked equally stunned. “Nora?” he exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”
Claire’s mother tucked a strand of auburn hair behind her ear, looking hesitant. “Claire’s…um, Claire’s friends arranged for me to fly in.” Nora suddenly smiled. “I flew in a Coast Guard helicopter. It was very exciting.”
Claire noticed that Aidan and Dylan were fighting grins. She also noticed that her father looked extremely nervous as he rose from his chair and walked around the table toward her mom.
“You’re here,” he said gruffly. “What does that mean, sweetheart?”
Nora shrugged. “Well, right now it means we’re all going to sit down and have a nice dinner.”
“And afterwards?” Ron pressed.
“Afterwards, we go home.”
Claire had never seen such an enormous smile overtake her father’s face.
From a discreet distance, the waiter cleared his throat, then glanced at Claire’s dad. “Will your friends be staying?” he asked expectantly.
“They’re not our friends,” Ron said curtly.
Claire froze.
But her dad wasn’t finished. “This is my wife,” he informed the waiter. “And these are my daughter’s boyfriends.”
“I can’t believe you guys did that,” Claire declared as the three of them walked into the apartment later that night.
Her parents had already left to make the long drive north, but not before Claire’s mom had hugged not only Claire goodbye, but Dylan and Aidan too. And her father had actually shaken their hands. She was still in disbelief over it.
“We figured your dad needed a little push,” Dylan said with a grin. “He was taking his sweet-ass time winning your mom back.”
She dropped her purse on the couch, then took Dylan’s face between her hands and kissed him deeply. A second later, she gave Aidan the same loving reward.
“I love you guys so much,” she murmured.
She hadn’t thought it was possible to love one man this much, let alone two, and yet her heart was so full it was about to overflow.
“We love you too, sweetheart,” Aidan told her.
“So damn much,” Dylan added. His green eyes gleamed with sinful promise. “With that said, you have a ten-second head start before we chase you down, strip you naked, and have our way with you.”
“Try to make it to the bed in time,” Aidan advised. “Because we’re going to be fucking you wherever we catch you. Against the wall, on the floor, the kitchen counter…choose wisely, baby.”
She coyly fluttered her eyelashes. “But what if I’m not in the mood?”
Their faces took on pained expressions.
“Are you seriously not in the mood?” Dylan demanded.
She shrugged.
They both went quiet for a moment, and then Aidan flashed that dimpled grin she loved oh-so much.
“Then I guess we’ll just have to fuck each other until you come to your senses.”
Claire threw her head back and laughed. “Well, at least you’re honest. But luckily for you, I’m more than in the mood. In fact, I’m so in the mood I’m going to come the instant you put your hands on me.” She slanted her head. “I have exactly ten seconds before you have your way with me, huh?”
&nbs
p; “Yup. Starting now.” Dylan narrowed his eyes. “One.”
“Two,” Aidan warned.
Claire took off running.
Epilogue
Six months later
“What the fuck is he doing in there, buying the whole damn store?” Dylan grumbled.
Claire shared his impatience. Aidan really had been in that flower shop for a while. At least twenty minutes had passed since he’d ducked inside, after insisting they stop and buy flowers for Claire’s mother.
The three of them had flown into the Bay Area earlier that morning to spend the day with Dylan’s mom. It was Shanna’s birthday, so they’d taken her to one of the fanciest restaurants in the city for brunch, a two-hour affair that gave new meaning to the word awkward because not only had Chris been present, but he’d brought his latest girlfriend along. Stephanie Lowenstein was a thing of the past, having dumped Chris a few weeks after they’d returned from Claire’s honeymoon—which Ron McKinley had sent Chris the bill for, much to Claire’s amusement.
“Oh, and I totally forgot to ask you,” Dylan suddenly said. “What did Tanya say when you two went to the bathroom together? You came back to the table looking like you’d won the lottery.”
Claire had to grin. “She didn’t say anything important. I just remembered something I’d heard about her from one of the country-club wives. Apparently Chris’s new love has made the rounds at the club, sleeping her way through all the men she thinks will elevate her social status.” Now a laugh slipped out. “I can’t imagine her sticking with Chris for much longer, not once she realizes it’ll be years and years before he makes partner.”
“So you’re saying my brother’s in for an imminent dumping?”
“Very imminent, considering the way she was checking out every other man in that restaurant.” Claire arched a brow. “Should we warn him?”
Dylan shrugged. “Warn who?”
His lack of sympathy didn’t surprise her, but she still wished Dylan would be more open to mending this rift with his older brother. Despite the fact that he’d brought his bimbo to brunch today, Chris had actually made an effort to speak not only with Dylan, but Claire and Aidan, whom he’d completely ignored when they’d visited over the summer.