After their morning fun, everybody got ready for the day. Anna was the first to get dressed. She wore her usual business attire and left.
Since she would be absent from work for some time to take care of Colton, she headed to the office to leave a few things in order. Thanks to Claire's plans with Aiden for the day, Lily wouldn't be in Ben's care. Creating the perfect opportunity for Anna to have him tend to Colton for the day.
Claire and Lily also got ready. Lily insisted on them matching, something they would do often on Claire's days off, so they did. The pair wore the same kind of white dress with black polka dots. It reached the middle of their thighs where it ended in a flowy skirt. It was short sleeved with a bateau neckline. They both wore black mary jane shoes with the only difference being that Claire's where high heels while Lily's were simple flats. Each had a simple silver bracelet with little charms on their wrist while their hair was styled with a side braid. Claire added some simple makeup to her own look before deciding they were ready.
They stepped out of her bedroom together and saw that Colton was waiting to see them as Ben worked in the kitchen.
"You guys went with polka dots today huh? You look very nice." Colton said as soon as he laid eyes on them. "Dammit..." He murmured right after. It was in a hushed tone, but Claire heard it clearly. She simply rolled her eyes due to knowing all too well why he was cursing.
"Ben." She said as she joined him in the kitchen. He was currently stirring some kind of liquid in a pot over the stove. By the smell of it, Claire knew it was his homemade recovery elixir. She smirked. Colton was in for torture.
"Yes Madam." He replied with a gentle smile.
"Do you mind prepping Lily's snack's in her lunch box? I have to go check a couple of things before I leave and Aiden already texted he was on his way." It was usual for her to make a go bag with anything Lily could need when they went out. Even more so when she wasn't sure of what the day would bring.
Others would think it wasn't a necessity, seeing as she could buy anything, as people with her kind of money would do, but that wasn't her way of doing things. Especially when it came to her little flower. She firmly believed that the best made, was the home made. And her Lily only deserved the best.
"I don't mind at all." He answered with his usual warm tone.
"Thanks." She smiled back at him before making her way towards the door. "I'll be back in a little bit."As soon as she opened the door to step out, her eyes widened.
Aiden stood in front of her with his fist in the air as if he were about to knock. His expression was also surprised for a moment before his lips spread into a smile. She was breathtaking as always.
The way her hair was swept to the side gave him a clear view of her beautiful face. Her dress hugged her thin waist perfectly and her heels made her already toned legs look even more eye catching. Aiden felt as if the doorway he was facing was the one that lead to heaven and a real life angel was attempting to escape.
He noticed her eyebrows stitched together in confusion so he quickly explained himself.
"I was about to call you when I saw Anna leaving." He said as he read her expression. It was no mystery why she would be on alert. It was obvious she hadn't been informed he was in her base and he had suddenly appeared at her door step as if he strolled unaccompanied through her very private property. "She brought me in before leaving. One of your guys escorted me here. You haven't read your messages have you?" He could see she had started to lower her guard as she deemed his explanation to be true. "Now that how I got here was explained, how about that good morning?"
He opened his arms out for a hug while wearing a welcoming smile on his face. She pursed her lips for a brief moment before stepping into his embrace. "You shocked me." She mumbled into his chest as she wrapped her arms around his waist. Looking up at him she finally greeted him. "Good morning."
"Good morning Angel." He replied with a chuckle as he hugged her back. After giving her forehead a kiss he continued. "You shouldn't be so shocked though. I will always pick you up right at your door."
"Stop it with the dog food already." Colton's irritated voice was suddenly heard. "Can't you see I'm already hurt? I don't want to feel sick too."
Aiden and Claire looked in his direction and saw a very moody Colton sitting next to a smiling Lily who was currently waving at them. Ben nodded towards him as a greeting before continuing to move in the kitchen.
"Hey." Claire started to speak as they walked back inside. "It's not our fault little miss somebody isn't making things easy for you." She chuckled as Colton threw daggers threw his eyes. He was the one who should tease, not the other way around.
Claire ignored his pouting as she watched Aiden grab Lily's hand and twirled her to see her outfit. "You guys are seriously going to kill me with this much cuteness." He said with a wide smile.
"I know right?" Colton said as his pout shifted into a smirk. "If only they'd play more for the team then it would be perfect."
Aiden raised an eyebrow and looked at him confused. But before Colton could explained what he meant, Claire cut in. "You're here really early."
Colton winked at Aiden as a way of letting him know that he would explain later. Seeing that, Aiden decided to go with the flow. "I was already close by when I texted."
"Well I was actually about to go check some things out before we left. Mind coming along? It won't take long." She asked.
"Sure." He replied as he patted Lily's head.
"Come sit with uncle Kiddo." Colton called Lily over as he turned on the tv. "They'll get to hang out with you all day so stay with me for little while longer."
'Okay.' Lily signed as she made her way towards him.
"We'll be back in a bit Sweetie." Claire said as she and Aiden made their way outside.
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"I'm actually glad you're here a bit earlier than expected." Claire said as they walked through the base's halls. "I invited you last time to show you something but I didn't get the chance."
He hummed in reply as he observed everything he was walking past. He still hadn't gotten over how detailed everything was. Every door he saw had some sort of complicated security system, none off which he had ever seen before. There were sensors, cameras and roaming guards at every corner. The entire place was like an underground fortress. He wasn't necessarily shocked by it, but he was indeed intrigued.
Aiden had similar security, but he was a multi billionaire that also had deep roots in the underworld. The differences between him and Claire should be astronomical, yet she was as heavily guarded as him. And on top of that, he couldn't understand how the quality of her people was even greater than his own.
The men that followed him through the shadows and from a distance had yet to lay eyes on her own security teams. No matter if it was when he took Lily to the zoo, Claire to dinner or even when he entered the city's center base, none of the people in charge of keeping them safe could be spotted. And he was certain that his team wasn't simply being lazy or looking for something that didn't exist. When he had first taken Claire out for dinner, the man on the motorcycle she talked to appeared as soon as she stepped out of the restaurant. He had been obviously following them. And he had done it so closely that even before his men could notify him of his presence, he had already approached her, received orders, and left.
His little lady was truly a mystery to him. One he was patiently waiting to unravel.