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She hooked a finger under Lydia’s chin and lifted it ever so gently so she could kiss her. “Come on, love. I’ll help you get your bag in the car, and then once you’re on the road, I’ll give this place one last pass to make sure we didn’t leave anything, and then I’ll return the key and get us checked out.”

“Okay.” Lydia smiled sadly and went to zip up her suitcase. “You’re not going to hang out and try to grab breakfast or something with Kit and Jack before they fly back to Boston?”

Zann shook her head. “Their flight leaves like an hour after yours, so there isn’t time. We’ll just figure something out next time we’re in each other’s neck of the woods. Hell, maybe I’ll just talk them into coming down to New York to see us.”

Lydia’s smile warmed as she nodded and lifted her suitcase off the bed. “I like that idea.”

“Me too.” Zann stole another quick kiss as she grabbed the handle of the bag and gently wrestled it from Lydia’s grip. She couldn’t do anything about their situation, but she could make things easier for Lydia. She glanced at the chocolate brown leather satchel on the chair next to the dresser opposite the bed. “Do you need to pack anything else in your carry-on, or is that good, too?”

“I threw my chargers in there earlier, so it’s good,” Lydia said as she glanced over at the bag. “That’s literally the only thing I used from it once I got here. Never even looked at my laptop.” She pulled a face as she went to grab it. “Or the market report I was supposed to work on,” she added as she slipped the strap over her shoulder.

Zann grimaced. “Um, sorry?”

“I’m not.” Lydia ruffled a hand through her hair, her shoulders lifting and falling with a breath as she turned back to look at Zann. She took another breath, long, slow, deep, as their eyes met, and as she exhaled, a sense of comfortable, confident serenity settled around her. It was there in the softness of her eyes and the easy, almost playful slope of her lips. She knew who she was and what she wanted, and she owned it completely. “I wouldn’t change a single thing about this week.”

She was fucking breathtaking.

“Me neither,” Zann whispered, having never meant anything more.

Lydia bit her lip. “I need you to stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?” Zann smiled.

“Like you want to kiss me until I can’t remember my own name.”

“But I do.”

Lydia groaned, the sound rife with equal parts warning and amusement. “Zann…”

“Sorry. I’ll be good,” Zann promised. She chuckled at the way Lydia muttered something under her breath, and arched a brow. “Would you rather I not behave?”

Mischief sparked in Lydia’s eyes. “I really would,” she purred.

Zann groaned as her entire body reacted to the heat in Lydia’s voice. “Lyds…”

“Sorry,” Lydia laughed, looking lighter than she had since they woke up. “I know.” She glanced at the clock on the nightstand and groaned. “I need to go.”

“I know.” Zann gestured toward the bedroom door for Lydia to go ahead of her. “It’s okay.”

Outside, Zann muscled Lydia’s suitcase into the trunk of her rental as Lydia stowed her bag on the passenger seat, and she swallowed around the lump that formed in her throat when she slammed the trunk shut. She wiped her hands off on her jeans as she watched Lydia close the car door and turn toward her, looking like a beautiful dream come true in her faded Yale hoodie and her hair blowing slightly with the breeze.

Her eyes fluttered shut as Lydia fell into her arms without a word, and she tucked her face into Lydia’s hair as she held her tight. She breathed deep, filling her lungs with Lydia’s scent, letting the now familiar notes of coconut and vanilla from Lydia’s hair products and the subtler, spicy scents of her perfume soothe the hollow, wanting ache that cracked open inside her.

She knew she needed to let Lydia go, but she couldn’t get her arms to listen, so she held her tighter instead.

“Darling,” Lydia whispered brokenly.

“I know.” Zann cradled Lydia’s face in her hand as she dipped her head to kiss her goodbye. When they broke apart, she wasn’t surprised to find that they were both crying again, and she bit her lip as she tenderly brushed Lydia’s tears from her cheeks. “I will see you Friday,” she promised.

“I will see you Friday.”

“Let me know when you get to the airport? And that you’ve made it home safely?”

Lydia nodded. “I will.”

Zann kissed her one more time before, with a heavy heart, she took a step back. The distance felt like a lance to the heart, and she swallowed back a fresh wave of tears as she said, “Drive safely,” instead of the “Please don’t go” that her heart was begging.

“I will,” Lydia said, her jaw flexing as she wiped at her eyes. She exhaled roughly. “I will talk to you soon,” she whispered, her touch light against Zann’s cheek as she pressed onto her toes to steal one last kiss as she passed.