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“That’s fine by me.” Her voice was light. “I’ve taken up way too much of your time already.”
“You’re not mad?” he clarified. He wasn’t sure why that made his chest tighten.
“Why would I be? It was a nice offer, but we can do it another time.” She shrugged. “Or not at all.”
“No, we will,” he said quickly. “I’ll call you and we can arrange something.”
She smiled at him. “Sounds good.”
The lights were red as he drove along the main street in town. Jackson took the opportunity to look at her as she stared out of the car window at the bookshop. Her jaw had the perfect curve to it. Delicate, yet defined. He wasn’t sure he’d ever noticed a woman’s jaw before, let alone felt drawn to it. He had to tightly grip his hands around the steering wheel to stop himself from tracing a
line across her soft, tender skin.
Yeah, sure, a driving lesson would be great. Well done, Jackson.
“I really like your dad,” she said, turning back to him. “He’s a sweetie.”
“Yeah, well he likes you, too.” Jackson pulled his gaze away from her jaw. Didn’t stop him from wanting to touch her, though. Every time he inhaled he could smell the aroma of her freshly washed skin. It made him feel weird inside to smell the woody notes of his soap on her.
“He does?” She looked strangely gratified at that.
“Of course he does. Who doesn’t like you? You’re… very likeable.”
Lydia laughed. “I can be too much for people.” Her voice dipped. “I know I make you angry sometimes.”
“You don’t make me angry.” He glanced at her, frowning. “What makes you think that?”
Her lips twitched. “I guess it’s the way you look at me. Exactly the way you are right now.”
How was he looking? Jackson took stock of his expression. Brows knitted together, lips turned down. Eyes narrowed to a slit. She thought he was angry at her? Dammit. He was angry at himself, not her.
Angry because he wanted her even though it was wrong. Angry that he couldn’t have a normal life like Griff and Lucas and their families. That he couldn’t seem to get it together the way his friends had. And that he spent way too long thinking about this stuff.
“I’m not angry with you,” he said, his voice soft. “Not at all.” He steered the car onto Griff and Autumn’s road. The sky was completely black now, with pinpricks of stars shining down. Their reflections lit up the dark ocean, dancing with the waves. Jackson turned into the driveway and brought his car to a stop.
“You’re not?”
He shook his head slowly. “I’m not.” He switched the ignition off. Silence filled the car. “And what happened back at my place? Outside the bathroom? I’m sorry.”
Lydia blinked, her lips parting. “Okay.” She nodded. “In that case, I should be sorry too.” Unclipping her seatbelt, she reached for the door knob. “And thanks for the clothes, I’ll get them back to you once I’ve washed them.”
“No rush. And no need to clean them.” Because he was a dog, and wanted to smell her on them.
“Goodnight.” Lydia gave him the smallest of smiles. “Don’t work too hard tonight. You need sleep, too.”
The corner of his lip quirked up. “I’ll try not to.”
She cracked opened the door and froze. As if on impulse, she turned and leaned across the car, cupping his jaw with her hand and planting a huge kiss on his cheek. “By the way, I’m not sorry at all about what happened outside your bathroom.”
Before he could reply, she was hopping out of the car and closing the door behind her, carrying her wet clothes in the bag he’d given her, as she sashayed along the driveway to Griff and Autumn’s house.
Jackson laughed to himself, because what else was he supposed to do?
The truth was, he wasn’t sorry, either.
10
Lydia was the last to get up the next morning. By the time she climbed out of bed at nine, Griff was long gone, and Autumn was flying out of the house, Skyler in her stroller. “I’m in meetings this morning,” she told Lydia. “And this afternoon I have the decorators coming to nail down the plans for the ceremony. But tonight is girls’ night. Ally’s invited us all over for cocktails.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “You up for that? We can go somewhere just the two of us if you prefer.”
