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She swallowed hard when her gaze met Jackson Lewis. Her future brother-in-law’s best friend.
“You need some help there?” he asked, reaching his hand down. She took it and he lifted her to her feet.
A blue cap was pulled over what she knew was thick, dark hair. He hadn’t shaved today, from the look of it, and the shadow of beard growth only emphasized the lines of his jaw. And she tried really hard not to stare at his lips, despite their perfect shape.
Was it her, or was it warm in here? Someone needed to turn up the air conditioning.
“Come on, Charlie.” His mom huffed, sending Lydia one last dirty look. “Your granddad is waiting for us.”
Charlie took her hand. “Bye, Freddie” he said, using his free hand to wave goodbye to the teddy.
“Bye,” Lydia said gruffly, waving Freddie’s stuffed arm at the departing boy.
Jackson sniggered, and she raised an eyebrow at him.
“How did you end up on the floor?” he asked, grabbing her suitcase in his hand.
“I was just, um, taking a rest,” she lied. Not that he believed her. She could tell as much from his expression. “All this flying can take it out of you.”
“Yeah, I get that.” He nodded solemnly. “First thing I do when I get off a plane is sit down in the terminal. It’s refreshing.”
A laugh escaped from her mouth. “I knew you’d understand.”
His fingers flexed on the handle of her case, drawing her eyes to his tanned forearms. A dusting of dark hair covered his warm, brown skin. She liked guys with a bit of hair. Maybe that’s why she liked Europe so much. The men there were dark, tanned, and sexy.
Her gaze lifted to his t-shirt. Was there hair on his chest, too? When she looked up to his face, and her eyes met with his, a shot of warmth rushed through her.
“Hi,” she said, smiling. “Maybe we can start again and pretend you didn’t see me on the ground.”
The corner of his lip curled up. “Sure.” He let go of her suitcase and held out his hand. “Hi,” he said. “I’m Jackson. I’ll be your driver today.”
She curled her fingers around his, smiling at the strength of his grasp. Why was everything about him so sexy? “Thank you for picking me up. I could have gotten an Uber.”
“It’s no problem. We’re gonna be godparents, we have to stick together. Now you want to pick up your boyfriend? My car’s in the short term parking.”
“My boyfriend?” she repeated. “I don’t have one of those.”
“I meant the stuffed toy.” He glanced at Freddie the Teddy. “I assume he’s yours.”
She grabbed Freddie, holding him with her left hand, and slid her other hand through Jackson’s arm, curling her fingers around his elbow.
“Yes, he’s mine, but hopefully not for too long. I’m hoping to fob him off on Skyler. He’s a terrible boyfriend. Keeps flirting with other stuffed toys.”
Jackson laughed. “A lothario teddy bear. Now I’ve seen it all.” She felt his bicep flex beneath her fingers. His muscles were hard as steel. “Let’s get him home before he causes any more embarrassment, like, you know, throwing himself on the floor.”
“Good idea.” Lydia nodded, her face straight. “Because that would be embarrassing.”
Griff should never have told him Lydia was verboten. Because right now, with her wrapped around him like a monkey on a tree trunk, all Jackson could think about was how good she felt.
How amazing she smelled.
And how the hell he was going to stop himself from doing the one thing he’d promised not to.
His grip tightened on her suitcase as he took a deep breath to center himself. It was easy. He was way too busy to do anything but work anyway. He could bury himself in code and goddamn meetings for two weeks, then she’d be gone. That way he wouldn’t piss Griff off, and that was a good thing.
He raised an eyebrow when he had to tug hard to pull her suitcase along. “What’ve you got in there?” he asked. “Dead bodies?”
“Just clothes. And toiletries, plus a few other essentials. After I leave here, I’m heading to Europe. From there to South America. I’ll be away for a while, so I need a lot. Anyway, it’s rude to mention how heavy a woman’s suitcase is.” She grinned at him.
