Getting Hotter (34 page)

“How come?”

“We’re going to the desert again. Doing some mock extractions, I think.” He set the beer on the counter. “We go wheels-up at oh-dark-hundred hours, so I don’t think I should crash here tonight.”

“Yeah, probably not,” she agreed. “Tomorrow is the one day we all get to sleep in.”

Ironically, that day was Monday, which most of the world dreaded. But the twins’ school didn’t open until noon on Mondays, and she didn’t teach any classes at the studio, so that meant none of them had to get up early. Still, she’d miss waking up in Seth’s arms.

“You know, we could easily solve all our problems with one easy move.”

She raised her eyebrows. “We have problems? Plural?”

“Well, just one.” He yanked her into his arms and rested his hands on her lower back, seductively stroking the strip of exposed skin where her tank top had ridden up. “I want you around all the time.”

Miranda was momentarily distracted by the delicious way his rough-skinned fingers traveled over her flesh. “You’re saying that’s a problem? Wanting me around?”

“The problem is that you’re
not
around. And the solution is simple.” He met her eyes. “Maybe we should all get a place together.”

Shock slammed into her. “Are you serious?”

He nodded. “I’d suggest that I move in here with you guys, but this place is too tiny, and I’d need enough space for all my workout equipment and my gear.”

She was still trying to absorb it all. “What about Dylan? You’re just going to abandon him?”

“Our lease is up in November, so we just wouldn’t renew it. Or he could renew and find a new roommate. Or Dylan could move out and you guys could move in. There’re a lot of options.”

Wow. Living together. The notion was scary as hell, but it also sent a thrill soaring through her.

“I…would have to give it some thought,” she finally said. “A lot of thought.”

Seth grinned. “That’s exactly what I knew you would say. But I figured I’d bring it up anyway.” He dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers, the prickly stubble on his jaw scratching her chin. “You’ve got until November to mull it over, Miranda. No rush. Just know that the option is there.”

Chapter Twenty

September

Claire McKinley was infuriatingly attractive. Gorgeous, even, which only pissed Dylan off further as he took the overnight bag she handed him and lugged it to the spare bedroom of his and Seth’s townhouse. She’d only been in his presence for five minutes, and he already wanted her to leave.

Though in the woman’s defense, his brother
was
being a bit of a dick.

“I don’t have a choice. He had a last-minute emergency so the meeting was cancelled.” Chris’s soothing voice drifted out of the living room. “And the senior partner invited me to join him at the country club for a round of golf. Was I just supposed to say no?”

“Yes,” Claire shot back. “It’s one thing to dump me off on your brother while you have a legitimate business meeting to attend, but you’re blowing me off for golf? Can’t you see how that might be a tad annoying, Chris?”

His brother didn’t have the decency to sound remorseful. “When the senior partner invites you to his club, you say yes, end of story.”

After taking a calming breath, Dylan pasted on a happy face and strode back into the living room. “Your bags are in your room.” AKA
fuck you, big brother, for turning me into your damn bellhop.

“Thanks,” Chris said absently.

Claire didn’t say anything.

Dylan studied her discreetly, wondering what his brother saw in the woman yet at the same time knowing
exactly
what Chris saw in her. The woman was sex on stilettos. She had reddish-brown hair that cascaded down her back in long waves, enormous amber-colored eyes, a cupid’s-bow mouth that was made to be wrapped around a man’s cock. And she was packing a lotta sweet, sweet curves beneath that sleek black business suit of hers.

“Did I hear something about your meeting being cancelled?” Dylan said casually.

Chris nodded. “The partner I was supposed to meet bailed. So I’m playing golf instead.”

“Should we go out for dinner later?” He made sure to include Claire in the offer by sparing her a pithy glance.

“I’m having dinner at the club with the senior partner, and then he mentioned something about a cigar lounge. I’m not sure when I’ll be back tonight.”

As much as he hated feeling even an ounce of sympathy for the Ice Queen, Dylan understood why she looked so pissed off. Chris really
was
abandoning her.

“So you’ll be spending the entire day and night hanging out at a country club?” Dylan eyed his brother warily.

“Such is the life of a corporate lawyer,” Claire spoke up. Her voice was tighter than a drum. “Just think, Chris, you wouldn’t get to experience such luxuries if you’d taken that job at the public defender’s office.”

Dylan also picked up on a note of displeasure in her voice—directed at
him
. And just when he thought he’d imagined it, Claire actually scowled at him.

WTF? What did
he
have to do with Chris turning down a public service job and choosing to suck on the corporate teat?

“As you can see, my fiancée isn’t very happy with me at the moment,” Chris said wryly. Sighing, he wrapped his arm around Claire’s shoulders and offered that puppy-dog grin Dylan had seen him flash to get out of trouble during their entire childhood. “Don’t be mad at me, dear.”

Dear?
Had they moved into an old folks’ home without telling him?

“You know what a great opportunity this is,” Chris went on. “And it’s not like you’ll be alone. You can spend some time with Dylan, get to know your future brother-in-law.”

Both Dylan and Claire cringed, but Chris didn’t seem to notice.

“I have that carnival thing tonight, remember?” Dylan said, not bothering to hide the relief on his face. No way would Claire want to spend her evening at such a lowbrow event.

“Hey, that’s great. You love carnivals,” Chris said to the redhead. He glanced back at Dylan. “She’s always trying to get me to go to that carnival near the pier, the one you used to drag me to when we were kids? But you know how I feel about those places. So tacky and boring—” Something buzzed and Chris removed a BlackBerry from the pocket of his navy-blue blazer. “Shoot, gotta take this. You two hammer out the details.”

As Chris waltzed off, Dylan sized up his future sister-in-law the way he assessed a mission’s potential threat level.

“You don’t have to come,” he said graciously.

“You don’t want me to come,” she corrected.

Their eyes met in a Wild West standoff.

She drew first blood. “I don’t like you, but Chris wants us to get along, so you know what? Fine. Let’s just go to this stupid carnival, win him a big stuffed panda, and come home raving about what a super-awesome-fantastical time we had, okay?”

“I don’t like you either.”

“You just had to get that in there, didn’t you?”

“Thought it was only fair that you knew the feeling was completely mutual, honey.”

“Don’t call me honey.”

“Would you rather I called you
dear
?” He snorted. “What are you, an eighty-two-year-old woman?”

Her cheeks were flushed with anger, almost matching the color of her hair. “You know what? Maybe I’ll stay here and we can just pretend I went to the carnival.”

“Scared that you might fall in love with me?” he asked sweetly.

“Worried I might strangle you,” she shot back.

“Then we’re in the same boat, honey.”

“
Don’t
call me that.”

“Right, I forgot. Sorry, cupcake.”

She looked ready to murder him. Fortunately, Chris slid back into the living room before any dead bodies hit the floor.

Immediately, Dylan and Claire pasted on some smiles.

“Everything okay here?” Chris looked from one to the other.

“We’re great,” he said cheerfully.

“Super,” she agreed. Her happy mask shifted for a second to reveal a flicker of extreme reluctance. “We’re going to a carnival tonight. It’s going to be so much fun.”

“So much fun,” Dylan echoed. “We’re excited to get to know each other better. Isn’t that right, honey?”

Her jaw clenched for a second before relaxing. “Uh-huh. I can’t wait.”

Seth accepted the piece of cotton candy Jason held up to him and popped it in his mouth. The sugary sweetness melted on his tongue and brought forth an image of the dentist’s chair he and the twins would be sitting on in the near future.

He wished Miranda were here. She was much better at saying no to her children. He, on the other hand, let those imps walk all over him. He’d already bought them cotton candy, popcorn and snow cones, but he was determined to say no to the next sweet treat they begged for, because at that point, he’d be worrying less about cavities and more about vomit.

“Can we ride the ferry wheel again?” Sophie tugged on his hand to get his attention.

“Ferris wheel,” he corrected. “And the answer to that is
heck yes
.”

She giggled.

“Jase, you want to ride the Ferris wheel?”

The boy shook his head. “I wanna win a goldfish.”

“All right.” He searched the crowd for Dylan, finally spotting the blond SEAL near the railing of a nearby ride. “Wade! You two mind taking Jason over to games while Soph and I go up on the wheel one more time?”

“No prob. Get over here, squirt.”

Jason dashed off toward Dylan, who’d come in Miranda’s place and ended up bringing a smoking-hot redhead along. Seth had been ready to high-five his buddy for a job well done—until Dylan introduced the chick as his brother’s fiancée. The two of them had been bickering like cats and dogs since the moment they’d showed up, making him long for Miranda even more.

“I wish Mom was here,” Sophie said as he scooped her into the ride car and slung an arm around her.

The safety bar locked into place, and then the car began its slow ascent, each rise providing a better view of the busy carnival grounds. The scent of deep-fried food, popcorn and sugar permeated the evening air. The sun had just set, and the bright neon lights on the rides down below twinkled in the dusky night.

“I wish she were here too,” he agreed. “But she had to work.”

Miranda had been pretty bummed about it. Normally she didn’t start work at OMG until seven or eight, but the club was hosting a private party that had begun at five o’clock, so she’d headed over there right after she finished up at the school. Since this was the last night the carnival was in town, Seth had offered to take the twins himself and now he was glad he had. The kids were having a great time. And honestly? So was he.

It still amazed him, how different things were. How different he
felt
. Telling Miranda about Adam had been the most liberating thing he’d ever done. The second he’d given her that article, voiced his fears and insecurities, it was like a weight had been lifted off his chest. Miranda had said it wasn’t his fault. A tiny part of him even believed her. But a bigger part knew she was wrong—he
was
responsible for Adam’s abduction. That certainty hadn’t changed.

But Miranda had made him feel like there was hope for him after all. Her trust in him made him want to trust himself.

“Soooo pretty,” Sophie gushed as she peered down at the lights.

Her small hand slipped into his, and his chest tightened with emotion. Shit, he was starting to care something fierce about these rugrats. Sophie was the smartest, sassiest little girl he’d ever met, and Jason was so damn energetic, so eager to please and quick to smile.

Five months ago, he wouldn’t have dreamed that he’d be atop a Ferris wheel with a six-year-old nestled against him, yet here he was, doing exactly that—and actually enjoying himself.

When the ride came to an end, he lifted Sophie into his arms and made his way to the games area. Didn’t take long to find the rest of their party. Jason had abandoned his quest for a goldfish—he and Dylan were at the shooting gallery now, whooping up a storm and shooting BBs at a slew of metal chickens that rapidly popped up as they flew along a motorized loop.

“Where’s Claire?” Seth asked, looking around.

“Restroom,” Dylan replied without taking his eyes off the targets. “Even bee-otches need to pee.”

Jason looked curious. “What’s a bee-otch?”

“It’s a word you’re going to forget and never mention again,” Dylan said cheerfully.

“Sef, come shoot!” Jason begged, promptly forgetting about his pursuit of the definition of bee-otch.

“But I wanna see the pony,” Sophie whined, pulling on the collar of his T-shirt.

He set her down on the ground. “We’re going to the petting zoo when we’re ready to leave,” he reminded her. “Because it’s all the way on the other side of the carnival near where we came in, remember?”

She pouted. “But I wanna go now.”

“Soon,” he promised, playfully pulling on her ponytail. “Right now, why don’t we shoot some chickens with your brother? It’ll be fun.”