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His hold on her tightened. “I guess it did at the time. But now I’m older and wiser and so glad it ended.” He pressed his lips to the top of her head. “I wouldn’t be here now if it hadn’t. And there’s nowhere else I want to be.”
Her heart cracked open a little more at his words. How did his friends not see this side of him? This sensitive, caring man who loved his parents despite their faults. Who was still paying the price for his mom’s choices, and his dad’s obsession with her? The same man who’d once been engaged to a woman who’d broken him again, leaving shards of what he used to be in his wake.
He amazed and astounded her. And the thought of leaving him made her heart hurt.
Tracing her finger up the line of his chest, she touched his jaw, his lips, his eyelids. “I think you’re beautiful,” she whispered. “Inside and out.”
He curled his fingers around her wrist, pulling it down to press a kiss to her pulse point. “Show me,” he said, his voice so low it made her muscles tighten and release.
And she did. With her mouth, her hands, and her body. Until they were both sweaty and breathless, their bodies glowing with satisfaction when they finally parted.
And her soul? It felt complete. As though it had finally found what it was searching for.
“So where are we going?” Jackson asked her the next day, as he started the car and the engine rumbled to life. It was her last day here, and he wanted to spend every moment of it with her, the same way they’d spent half of last night with their bodies wrapped around each other.
And the other half of it with him inside her.
“I told you, it’s a secret. You surprised me with the tattoo parlor yesterday, I get to surprise you today.”
He bit down a smile. “Yeah, but you need to tell me where to drive, otherwise we’ll be sitting here for hours.”
“Good point.” Amusement danced in her eyes. “Okay, so you need to head into town, p
ast the boardwalk, then take a right.”
“Toward the grocery store?” Jackson shrugged and shifted the car into reverse. “Are we going shopping?”
“Yes, Jackson,” she said, deadpan. “I thought our last day together should be spent deep in the freezer aisle. It’s practical and romantic.” She leaned over to press her lips to his neck, and his foot slipped onto the brake. The car juddered into a halt. “Oh damn, sorry.”
“S’okay. I kind of like living on the edge with you.” He pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, following her directions.
Lydia sat back. “In that case, you’ll love what I can do with a frozen zucchini.”
He coughed out a laugh. She was his kind of wild.
It only took five minutes to get into town. The shops were open, and people were walking in the streets wearing jeans and t-shirts, the sun warming their skin as they crossed the roads. Jackson followed the rest of Lydia’s directions, parking in a lot at the back of a long white stuccoed building. “What is this place again?” He was trying to remember exactly what the building housed. He’d passed it enough times, but never paid attention.
“Before we go in, there’s no pressure, okay?” Lydia told him, in a strange echo of his words outside the tattoo parlor. “This is just for fun.”
He flashed her a confused grin. “Okay…”
When he’d locked the car, she slid her hand into his, and they walked around to the front of the building. They were a few blocks from the ocean front, but he could still smell the hint of salt and ozone in the air, as he looked up at the lettering over the top of the main entrance.
Angel Sands Pet Rescue.
Of course it was. He glanced at Lydia, bemused.
“I just thought we could see what kind of dogs they have,” she said. “I know you’re missing Eddie like crazy, and that’s completely understandable.” She gave him a soft smile. “But I called yesterday and they told me they have at least eight dogs that need a loving home. Maybe one of them is the one you’re looking for.”
Jackson blinked, saying nothing. This wasn’t what he’d expected at all.
“Is this a stupid idea?” Lydia asked him. “It is, isn’t it?” She tugged at his hand. “Come on, we don’t have to go in. We can go and grab a coffee and do something else.”
She shifted her feet, but he didn’t follow her. Instead he looked up at the sign again, blowing out a mouthful of air.
“We can go in,” he told her.
“Are you sure? It doesn’t mean you’re committing to anything. We can take a look around and come right back out.”
