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Lydia grimaced. “I’m not sure he quite volunteered.” Leaning forward, she took a sip of tea from the patterned china cup Autumn had given her. She loved this living room, with its soft cream leather sofas and hardwood floors. The walls were painted white, and the evening light bathed them in a warm orange glow. Since they’d moved in, Autumn and Griff had made this place feel like home.
It was probably the closest thing to a home Lydia had, too, since most of her belongings sat in storage while she traveled.
Autumn tilted her head to the side, interested. “So if he didn’t volunteer, how did he end up with a dog?”
Lydia bit her lip. “I kind of got upset and he offered to make me feel better. I don’t think he realized what he’d done until Eddie was in the backseat, ready to go home with him.”
Griff’s laughter was loud this time. He almost sounded like he was choking.
“You know, I used to like you, Griff,” Lydia told him. “You’re my almost brother-in-law. You’re supposed to be on my side.”
“Oh honey, I’m on your side,” he told her, walking over to give her a hug. He had big arms, and an even bigger chest. She loved how snuggly and lovely he was. “I just can’t believe you got him to foster a dog. That’s all. He can barely keep himself alive.”
“Griff, come on.” Autumn shook her head. “He’s not that bad. He’s a successful businessman. You have to be pretty good at organization for that. I’m sure he’ll be the same with the dog. He can pay for sitters and walkers if
he needs to.”
“Hey, I’m not doing him dirty,” Griff protested. “I’m just saying his track record isn’t good. And yeah, he’s great at business, because he’s good at it. It never lets him down. And when he’s knee deep in numbers and coding he doesn’t have to think about anything else.”
“Like what?” Lydia asked, intrigued. “What else should he be thinking about?”
Griff shrugged and looked out of the glass doors to the setting sun. Autumn squeezed his hand. There were words in their touches that Lydia couldn’t quite understand. “It doesn’t matter,” Griff said softly. “You’re both right. He’ll be fine.”
But Lydia felt terrible. She was the one who’d almost forced him to take Eddie home. She hadn’t thought about how busy his life was, or how he’d find time to take care of a dog. “I did offer to help,” she told them. “I’ll go and walk him and keep him clean and give him lots of attention.” She smiled at baby Skyler. “Just like I’m going to spoil my niece like crazy.”
“Why don’t you hold her for a moment?” Autumn stood and walked over to where Lydia was sitting. Gently, she laid her baby in Lydia’s arms. Skyler snuffled against Lydia’s chest, wriggling her body until she found a comfortable spot. Lydia dropped her head, feeling Skyler’s downy hair against her lips.
“She smells so good,” Lydia whispered, her eyes filling with tears. Skyler looked up, her deep blue eyes staring directly into Lydia’s. She blinked, her thick eyelashes sweeping down. “You’re such a beautiful girl,” she whispered. “You probably get that from me. I’m your Aunt Lydia, by the way. Your favorite aunt. I know your mom and dad will tell you that I’m your only aunt, but that doesn’t make it any less true. I’m going to be your godmother, too, and I take that very seriously. It’s my job to show you all the wonderful things life has to offer. I’ll teach you things like always having your passport ready, and a travel bag packed in case the mood to travel takes over you. And we can talk about boys and things, all the stuff your mom and dad won’t want to hear.”
“You’re not talking to her about boys,” Griff told her. “She’s never going to meet any.”
“She’s already met about ten of them at baby class,” Autumn pointed out.
“Yeah, well she can be friends with them until she’s thirteen. After that she’s going to a nunnery.”
Lydia started to laugh. “Oh boy, Skyler. You’re going to have to run away from home. I’ll help you. I know all the best flights out of here.”
Griff raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to be a bad influence.” From the sound of his voice, he wasn’t looking forward to that.
“Yep.” Lydia grinned. “I’m planning on it.”
Skyler started to fuss, pressing her head against Lydia’s chest. Her little tiny face wrinkled up, as though she was frustrated, and her bottom lip started to tremble.
“Oh god, I’ve made her cry,” Lydia said, feeling her heart speed up. She really had to get over this fear of children crying.
“She’s just hungry, that’s all.” Autumn was completely calm as she walked over. “I’ll feed her and get her ready for bed. We’ll eat a little later, if that’s okay?”
“Of course. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“I’m ordering takeout,” Griff told her. “You can set the table before it comes. But apart from that, I think we have it handled.”
“You should go and unpack,” Autumn suggested. “We put you in the back guest room.”
“Okay.” Lydia beamed. “Oh, and I need to put Freddie the Teddy in Skyler’s room. Do you think she’ll like him?”
“She’ll love him,” Autumn said, taking Skyler from Lydia’s arms, as she kissed her sister softly on the cheek. “And she already loves you. Look how much she doesn’t want me to take her.”
Lydia nodded and blew a kiss at her niece. “Like I said, I’m her favorite aunt.”
