“Don’t dampen my mood,” I whispered.
“I’m sorry.” He kissed the top of my head, and we slid out of the booth. Dillon’s brothers had already cleared away everything, but when I reached for my wallet, Aiden was there in a flash, growling.
“If you think you’re paying for any of this, I’m going to have to slap my brother for you. I would never hit you, but Dillon’s fair game.”
My eyes widened, and Dillon rolled his eyes. “Be nice. You’re going to make her think that we’re a weird family.”
“That ship sailed long ago,” Aiden added dryly. “Have fun tonight. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. And if you do, do it twice.”
I laughed and couldn’t help but hug Dillon hard at the blush on his cheeks.
“I swear they’re doing their best to embarrass me as much as possible now since they missed out on most of my teenage years.”
“At least they’re consistent,” I said, laughing. “Come on, let’s head home.”
“Your place or mine?” Dillon asked.
“As my bag is already in your truck, yours.”
“I didn’t want to assume,” Dillon said quickly. “You’re okay with spending the night?”
I blushed. “Of course. We’ve done it before, after all.”
“That was sort of an accidental falling asleep thing. This is planned.”
“You have a bigger shower than I do. Another reason we’re picking your place.”
“I see. It’s not about me and wanting to spend the night and having way too much fun. It’s all about my shower.”
“I’m so glad you finally learned the truth. Yes, I’m having an affair with your shower.”
“It’s the removable head, isn’t it?” he asked, his voice low.
I stumbled and fell into him. “Dillon!”
“What? You’re the one who started it.”
“But I didn’t think you’d end it with an orgasm in the shower joke.”
Safely in the truck, I knew my cheeks were bright red.
“As I’ve given you an orgasm in my shower before, I don’t see the problem here.”
“Oh my God,” I mumbled, shaking my head. “You know, I’m getting better about freely talking about sex, but sometimes I can’t help but giggle like a schoolgirl.”
“It’ll only get worse once I start giggling like a schoolgirl,” he said dryly, and I laughed.
“Only two more weeks of exams, and then we’re finally free.”
“Until the next semester.”
“And the next,” I said, sighing. “So, what are you doing for the holidays?” I asked as we made our way south from downtown Denver to the university.
“Staying here as usual. I’ll be working most of the time, but we’re closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We want to make sure the family and staff have a chance to spend time with their families.”
“That’s great. I love that some places are open because not everybody has somewhere to go, but since yours is family-owned and operated, it makes sense that you guys want to spend time together.”
“Brendan’s pretty sure we lose money in the deal, but even he has to agree that sometimes family is more important than profit.” He paused as he turned into his driveway. “Just don’t let him know I said that aloud.”
I laughed and got out of the truck as he turned it off. “I promise I won’t say that. However, you know he thinks it, too.”
“Of course, he does. But it’s a lot more fun to picture him as this money-hungry, egocentric dude.”
“I’m sure it is,” I said dryly. Dillon picked up my bag, and we made our way inside.
Mackenzie and Sanders were already in the kitchen, Sanders working behind Mackenzie as they cleaned up their meal dishes.
“Hey, you two, how was dinner?” Mackenzie asked.
“Amazing,” I said, leaning over to hug my new friend around the shoulders as her hands were filled with soapy water.
“Next time, you’re going to have to bring us,” Sanders said. “I’ve heard good things about your brother’s food, and I’m a little jealous.”
Dillon smiled. “He was saying that he wanted to do another meal tasting for the restaurant. Maybe I’ll get him to agree to add my roommates.”
He looked over at Mackenzie. “And their girls.”
“Thank you,” Mackenzie said dryly. “I would hate to miss out on the Aiden Connolly’s food.”
Dillon blinked, and I laughed at the expression on his face. “I wouldn’t say the Aiden Connolly in front of Aiden, though, Dillon may freak out.”
“I’m just saying. We don’t need his ego any bigger than it already is.”
“What? My parents took me to the restaurant where he was the chef before everything changed, and it was so good. It doesn’t live up to what it used to be, though, at least according to my parents. They were back last week and said the food has gone downhill.”
I leaned into Dillon as he nodded. “We’ve heard that, too. And I think Aiden is a little conflicted about it.”
I frowned and looked up at him. “Why?”
“Because he didn’t leave the restaurant on the best terms because of the way that they treated him. But it was his other home for years. He doesn’t want to see it go downhill, but I think he also likes the fact that it’s obvious he was so needed.”
“That makes sense.”
“Anyway, we’re headed up for the night. We’re completely full and could use the time to just digest,” Dillon said, and I knew I blushed.
From the way Mackenzie and Sanders looked at us, they knew what we were about to do.
“Everybody’s already in their rooms for the night. Pacey still has an exam in the morning, and I think Tanner and Miles have that huge paper due for their joint class in economics.”
“Oh, I have to take that class next semester,” I said, shuddering. “Is it going to be hard?”
“From the way Miles and Tanner were both going on, it sounds like the end of the world,” Sanders said dryly.
“Yay, something to look forward to.”
We said our goodbyes, and I slid my hand into Dillon’s as we made our way upstairs.
Feeling like I was at home, even in a place that
