Aiden felt like beating Lucas black and blue.
He had purposely sent him away to finish a ridiculous amount of tasks for the day so that he wouldn't be near the estate. So when he saw him casually walk into the living room with Claire, he immediately began plotting all the ways he would torture him. Starting by setting off the dogs on him.
Lily on the other hand happily smiled as soon as she saw Claire. She had asked for her multiple times since she had started to take too long to reappear. But when her eyes laid on the man next to her, the smile was replaced with a worrisome expression. Since she was sitting on Aiden's lap, she leaned into his chest while gripping the tea cup she had in her hand.
"Hi baby." Claire said to Lily as soon as she stepped inside the room.
Similar to every other room she saw while walking through the house, the living area Aiden and Lily were waiting for her in was beautiful. Dark oak wooden beams were exposed in the ceiling, all the leather furniture was decorated with big cream colored cushions that perfectly matched the floor to ceiling high window drapes. There was a large kashan design rug that covered most of the floor and many other details that made the color scheme match in harmony. And to tie it all together, an amazing brick fireplace decorated the very center of the wall in the farther back. It wasn't lit, but regardless of that, it played the role of a proud center piece that made the room look complete, not to mention cozy.
Claire walked towards Aiden and Lily who where sitting on one of the two large leather couches. The sofas faced each other with an antique coffee table placed between them. Said table was filled with different kinds of finger sandwiches, fruits sliced in different shapes and a complete tea set. And when she looked a bit closer, she also saw the snacks Ben had prepared for Lily carefully displayed near Lily as well.
"Don't squeeze it too tight Princess you might hurt your fingers."Claire heard Aiden say as she reached them.
Aiden sensed when Lily tensed up after seeing Lucas walk in. Pushing his need to punch his brother in the face aside, he focused on the alarmed little girl in his lap.
"I'm sorry I took so long Sweetie." Claire said as she sat down next to them. Aiden had taken the tea cup from Lily's hands, so as soon as Claire sat down she reached for her. "This house is so big that I kind of got lost." She said as she placed Lily in her lap and tapped her nose. Gesturing towards Lucas, who had now lazily taken a seat on the couch facing them, she continued. "But my new friend over there helped me out."
Lily looked at Lucas while hugging Claire. He was already waving at her with a wide smile on his lips. "Hi there Kiddo. I've been really excited to meet you."
Lily's eyes widened a bit when she heard how he called her. Besides the fact that he helped Claire reach her, he had said he was excited to meet her. And on top of that, he had called her one of her favorite nicknames. Colton would always call her Kiddo.
Using her own logic, she thought that the friendly looking man who was smiling at her wasn't so scary anymore. With that in mind, she hesitantly lifted her hands. She wasn't sure if he would understand her, but she decided to give it a try anyway.
'My name is Lily.' She began to sign in his direction. 'Thank you for helping Mommy.'
Lucas's eyes softened. 'She's a very good girl isn't she?' He thought to himself before replying in sign language too. 'You are very welcome Lily. You can call me Lucas.' He spelled out his name for her, since unlike Aiden, he didn't have a sign assigned to him to use as his name.
At that Lily smiled. Her Mommy's new friend was definitely not scary. Lucas continued to sign with her from across the coffee table while Aiden and Lily silently watched. They didn't want to interrupt Lily's fun.
After a while, the two chatter boxes had moved to sit on the carpet as they drank tea, ate snacks and talked.
Taking the opportunity, Aiden drew circles on Claire's waist with the arm he had placed behind her as soon as she sat down. Calling for her attention. Once she glanced at him, he leaned in so that only she could hear him. "How are you feeling Angel?" Although she had fixed herself up, he had studied her face enough times to know she was still somewhat pale and tired.
Claire lowered the tea cup she was currently drinking from to her lap and gently smiled at him. Although he didn't say it, she suspected he had changed his original plans to accommodate her.
Earlier, while they silently watched the other two converse, Aiden had covered her legs with a blanket. He hadn't stopped lovingly stroking her arm to let her know he was close and even went as far as refilling her tea cup as soon as she emptied it. Even the tea he had asked to be prepared was especially soothing.
"I'm much better. Thank you." She replied with a thankful expression on her face.
"I'm sorry. If I had known about it earlier I would've made sure you didn't go through that." His eyes were full of concern. Sure he knew it wasn't really his fault, but the way she seemed so scared earlier did a number on him. He had seen her make grown men fall to their knees, yet she trembled like a leaf in the wind on her very first visit to his house. It was an image and a sensation he wouldn't easily get over.
Claire felt both guilty and touched. "It wasn't your fault. I'm....I'm sorry I didn't mention it before. It's a sensitive topic." Now that she was much more relaxed, she could actually make out the words she tried to tell him earlier.
"It's fine." He replied as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "It's not like we've known each other long enough for you to have told me everything about yourself already. But like I said before, a couple of heads up will be very appreciated." After he finished saying, they both chuckled and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. He looked into her eyes and could tell that she was definitely much better.
Aiden was hesitant to stay on the topic, but he had to know her thoughts before he could actually go on with what he had planned. He gave a quick glance in Lily's direction to make sure she was getting along with Lucas before he looked back at Claire.
"Angel, can I take you somewhere? I have something I want to show you and ask your opinion about." He saw her look at Lily and understood what was going though her head. "If she's okay with staying with Lucas, I can assure you he won't leave her side until we're back."
Claire saw that Lily was fairly comfortable with Lucas, so she decided to see if what Aiden suggested would work. "Sweetie." She said to call for Lily's attention. Once her little flower faced her she continued. "Do you mind staying with Lucas for a while? Mommy and Aiden have to go do something for a bit. We won't be far."
Lily studied Claire's and Aiden's reassuring expressions then looked back at Lucas. He was again offering her a gentle smile while refilling her tea cup. She then turned to nod in Claire's direction before continuing whatever she and Lucas were talking about.
"Well that was...easy." Claire mumbled lowly as she watched them with widened eyes. She had expected at least a few questions from her. Yet Lily didn't even bother to sign her response!
Aiden chuckled at Claire's expression. Although he was curious as to why Lily had seemed so at ease with both Aurora earlier and now Lucas, he decided to investigate it later. He stood up and offered Claire's his hand. "Let's go Angel."