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Every now and then she’d press her finger on her phone screen, just to make sure it was working. And every time the photograph of Skyler that was her wallpaper would come, with no mention of a message or missed call. Her heart felt like it it was breaking.
When they walked into the departure lounge, the bustle and the noise was overwhelming. Griff had stayed in the car with Skyler, leaving Autumn to walk with Lydia into the airport. She looked up at the screens lining the wall, and saw her flight listed.
“Desk thirty-eight,” Lydia murmured, giving her sister a closed-lipped smile. “I guess this is where we say goodbye.”
“I could stay,” Autumn offered. “Walk you to security at least.”
“No, it’s okay.” She kind of wanted to be alone with her misery. Her phone was still resolutely silent. Maybe once she was through security her heart would accept that she was really leaving without seeing Jackson again. “Thank you for everything.” She hugged Autumn tightly. “Now go back to Griff and your adorable baby before he racks up a fortune in parking costs.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yep. I’m sure.”
Autumn sighed. “Okay. Let me know once you’re through security. And call me when you land in Barcelona. I worry about you.”
“Of course I will.” Lydia glanced at her phone again before looking up.
Giving her a worried glance, Autumn nodded. “Maybe he’l
l call you when you get to Spain.”
“Maybe.” Lydia forced her shoulders to roll back, and lifted her cheeks to brighten her smile. “I love you. Now go.”
Autumn laughed gently. “I love you, too. Safe journey. I’m going to miss you like crazy.”
With her passport in hand, Lydia walked toward the check-in desk and stood in line, pressing her lips together as she checked her bags, before heading to security. She was three people from the front when her phone rang. She looked down, fully preparing herself for it to be Autumn, checking if she was through security yet.
But she saw his name, and her heart leapt.
“Jackson?”
“Hey. I’m sorry. You’ll never believe how long it took me to get here. Where are you?” He sounded breathless. Like he’d been running.
“I’m at the airport.”
“Have you gone through security?”
The man at the front was pointing her toward a scanner. “Not yet. But I’m just about to.”
“Shit. Don’t go. I’m almost there. I can see you, I think.”
There was a man in a suit behind her. He seemed so desperate to get through security, his body was almost pressed against hers. “You should go first,” she told him, her phone still at her ear. “You seem in a hurry.”
“Lydia!”
The voice came in stereo, through her phone, but also echoing through the terminal. That’s when she saw him, pushing his way around people, muttering apologies as he moved determinedly toward her.
She wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. In the end she did both, tears stinging at her eyes as her lips curled into a grin. Ignoring the muttering behind her, she ducked under the tape barrier and ran toward him, clutching her phone in one hand, her passport and boarding pass in the other.
Jackson swept her into his arms, burying his face in her hair as he twirled her around. “Thank god,” he murmured. “I thought I’d missed you.”
“You nearly did.” She was as breathless as he was. “How’s your mom?”
“She’s battered but okay. Dad’s taking her home with him to recuperate.”
“That’s such good news.” She was beaming up at him. “I can’t believe you’re here. I really thought that was it.”
“If I didn’t make it in time, I was already planning on booking a flight to Barcelona. There was no way I could let you go without seeing you.”
