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Jackson pulled away, his brows knitting as Eddie let out another howling bark. Releasing her hold from his neck, Lydia pulled the towel tightly around her, looking over her shoulder in concern.
“Is he okay?”
“Jackson?” another voice called out.
They both blinked at the unexpected interloper. Unlike Lydia, he knew exactly who it belonged to.
“Where are you?” the masculine shout echoed through the house. The dog started barking happily, as though he was being stroked. “Hey Eddie. Is my boy upstairs?”
“Your dad?” Lydia asked, looking down at the small towel wrapped around her, and at Jackson?
?s bare chest.
“Yeah.” He exhaled, stepping back to have some air between them. His skin protested at the sudden cold against it. “That’s my dad.”
Tiptoeing downstairs, Lydia tried not to trip over the grey sweatpants Jackson had given her. She’d rolled them up to make them fit. Her hair was brushed away from her face and the old, soft t-shirt she’d knotted across her waist smelled so much of him it made her chest feel tight.
Her skin felt overheated. A combination of the shower and Jackson Lewis. She let out a sigh, remembering how good it had felt to be touched by him. His soft fingers, his warm lips, and that almost-kiss.
“She fell in the ocean and that’s why she had to take a shower?” Jackson’s dad was laughing in the kitchen. “Sure. That’s exactly what happened, son.”
There was a bang, as though Jackson was brewing more coffee. How much did he drink in the evening? No wonder he couldn’t sleep. Maybe she should introduce him to green tea.
“Will you cut it out?” Jackson said. She lingered on the bottom step, not wanting them to know she was listening. “She came to walk the dog, got submerged by a wave, and needed a shower. End of story.”
“You have a beautiful woman in your house and nothing happened?” Ryan sighed. “Why not? Are you blind or something?”
“She’s Autumn’s sister,” Jackson said as though it explained everything. “And she’s leaving soon.”
Lydia sat on the step, resting her chin on her hand. It was wrong to listen, she knew that. And yet she couldn’t help herself.
Anyway, she was still trying to calm down. She’d rather not let Jackson’s dad see her all flushed and excited. That would really contradict Jackson’s story about nothing happening.
“So she’s leaving. Doesn’t mean you can’t see where things go. I think she likes you.”
“Can we shut up about this now?” Jackson asked. There was a loud bang, as though he was closing a cupboard with force. “What did you want anyway?”
“I just wanted to check on Eddie. Make sure you’re taking care of him.”
Hearing his name, Eddie gave a bark.
“Eddie’s fine. And so am I. Now I’m going to finish my coffee, give Lydia a ride home, and get on with some work.”
“I’m worried about how hard you’re working.” Ryan’s voice was low. “You need to let go. You’re still young. Life doesn’t get any easier once you settle down and have a family. You should be enjoying it now, letting loose, having fun.”
“Like you did?”
“If you’d like,” Ryan agreed. “I got to travel the world, follow my dreams, and achieve everything I wanted.”
“And then you met mom and everything went crazy.” Jackson sounded sad. Lydia shifted on the step, her brows knitting together.
“I’ve never regretted meeting your mom. She gave me you,” Ryan said softly. “The best kind of prize a man can get.”
There was silence for a moment. Lydia’s heart clenched at the emotion in Ryan’s words. She had to blink to stop tears from forming. How sweet was he? Was that where Jackson got it from? Because despite his hard exterior, she knew he could be sweet, too.
“Dad…”
“It’s okay.”
