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As Claire laughed, Aidan just h the intersection

Twenty minutes later, they were seated in a red vinyl booth at a family-style diner near the harbor, with Claire and Aidan on one side, Dylan on the other After a perky blonde waitress took their orders, Claire glanced at Aidan

"I keep forgetting to ask you, but why did you leave Chicago? Did you get stationed here?"

He shook his head "No, er He owns an architecture firo, but he wanted to open a second branch on the West Coast After high school, I joined the navy and o et the new office off the ground, then left it in the hands of his second-in-coo"

"So what is it you do on the base? What’s your rank?"

"Lieutenant junior grade"

"And the job description part?" she pressed when he didn’t expand

His dark eyes grew shuttered "Naval intelligence"

"Okay…which means…?"

On the other side of the booth, Dylan rolled his eyes "Honey, he does a lot of super-secret intelligence stuff that he’s not allowed to talk about I don’t even bother to ask anyue non-answer"

She laughed "Fine, then I won’t ask either Hear that, Aidan? You can continue your super-secret life in peace"

"Thanks, sweetheart," he said dryly "I appreciate that"

As they waited for their food, the subject changed to the holidays again, and Dylan’s expression turned glum "I’ve decided not to talk to my mom about the money shit until after the New Year The holidays are her favorite tiood idea," Claire said

It still angered her that Chris and Shanna had withheld such important infor to her about Dylan having coe of the situation, she would have rectified that a long tio Dylan should have been told that hisout of control, and now that she knew hi in his power to help Shanna

"So you’re going to spend Christmas with her then?" she asked

"Actually, no"

Both she and Aidan looked at him in surprise "Since when?" Aidan deot invited to spend the week in Pal club" Dylan shrugged "I told her to go With Chris out of town, it would be just the two of us, and I’d rather she have soh year she’s had"

"Here you go, guys" The waitress strolled up to their table juggling three plates in her hands

She served Claire and Aidan without comment, but when she set Dylan’s plate in front of hi with a strand of her hair and set you?"

Claire’s body stiffened The waitress ht as well have added, "LikeDylan like he was a yu in