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He knew Lydia’s job was all about traveling. Autumn had told him she was an independent travel consultant. And yeah, he might have occasionally checked her Instagram.
“It is?” Jackson frowned. “How did I miss that one in etiquette class?”
She laughed. “Stop it.” Adjusting the ginormous stuffed toy she’d inexplicably brought with her, she curled her hand tighter around his bicep.
“You want me to take that for you?” he asked, inclining his head at the toy as they walked toward the exit doors.
“Nope, I’ve got him. Just.” She wrinkled her nose. “He seemed a lot smaller in New York.”
“Maybe he grew on the flight.”
“It’s all those beers I kept buying him,” Lydia said, nodding as they made it to the sliding doors leading out to the concourse. “I’m gonna have to put him on a diet.” Her warm eyes met his. “And take him out for bike rides.”
He tried – and failed – to suppress a grin at the thought of her cycling with the stuffed toy around town. Walking with her felt like walking with a ray of sun, light and warm. He wanted to bathe in it.
Yeah, and then he’d get burned.
He sighed, and pulled his arm from her hold, pretending to root in his pocket for his keys. “I’m parked in that garage,” he said, inclining his head to the left. “If you and your friend want to wait here, I’ll go get the car and come pick you up.”
“Oh. Sure.” She smiled brightly. “But if it’s too much trouble I can come with you. I’ll even pull my case.”
“It’s no bother,” he told her. He di
dn’t add that he already needed the space from her. Not because she was bothering him, but because he was bothering himself. He only had one job. Take Lydia home to Autumn and Griff and get on with his damn work. It was simple, yet so damn difficult, because she made him think of things he knew he didn’t want.
Of soft lips and warm breath. Of hands that caressed and a body that welcomed.
Damn it, this was all Griff’s fault. He’d opened Pandora’s Box. Made Jackson want things he knew he couldn’t have. And even if he could, they weren’t good for him.
Maybe it was him who needed to go on a diet. A Lydia Paxton diet.
3
Jackson was quiet on the drive, as though he had a lot on his mind. Lydia kept herself busy by scrolling through her phone, replying to email enquiries and responding to comments on her Instagram. This time in California was supposed to be a vacation from work. It was crazy, really, that she had to take a vacation from traveling, but that’s how her life was. When she was in a foreign country, showing her clients around the sights they wouldn’t normally see, it was non-stop. She barely got time to breathe. So she was excited about spending these few days with her sister and her family.
Sending the last email – setting up a video conference with a honeymooning couple she was taking to Rio – she slid her phone into her pocket and smiled up at Jackson.
“So, we’re going to be godparents,” she said, her voice light. “Isn’t that funny?”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Yeah, I guess it is.”
“Could they have picked two people less suited?” She smiled to let him know she was teasing. “Poor Skyler’s going to grow up thinking we’re normal.”
Jackson lifted a brow. “I am normal.”
Oh, she liked the way his voice was teasing. The heaviness that had been pushing down on him seemed to melt into the California air. “You think being a workaholic is normal?” she asked lightly. She’d heard Griff and Autumn talking about his business. All work and some play, but nothing in between.
“More normal than living life as a permanent vacation.” His mouth quirked up, as he stared at the road through the windshield.
“I’ll have you know vacationing is hard work.” She crossed her arms over her chest in mock annoyance. “I haven’t had a break in three months.”
“So what do you plan to do while you’re here?” he asked.
“Spend lots of time with Autumn and Skyler, I guess. And maybe lie on the beach and work on my tan.”
“Doesn’t look like it needs much work,” he told her, glancing at her legs from the corner of his eye.
She bit down a smile. “I guess it’s more about the lazing than the tanning.” She couldn’t wait for a few days of doing nothing. Running the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip, she looked over at him. The sun was shining through the driver’s window, illuminating his face. No wonder Charlie’s mom had lost all her bite when he’d asked if everything was okay.
