“She wants to spend time with Autumn and the baby. Says she’s staying for just under two weeks. I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Another thing that fascinated him about Lydia. She never stayed anywhere for long. Blink and you’d miss her. She had a good excuse, being a travel consultant, but it didn’t stop him from being intrigued.
“Well, I’m happy to pick her up.” Jackson tried to push down all the thoughts of the programming he had to do this weekend. He’d just have to miss a night’s sleep or something. “Message me the flight details and I’ll be there.”
“That’s great.” Griff exhaled loudly. “Autumn was panicking. She needs to be at the pier for this meeting. And I can’t really turn down the charter, it’s for a longstanding client.”
Griff cleared his throat. The silence that followed made Jackson’s brows lift up. “There’s one other thing I want to ask you,” Griff finally mumbled, as though he didn’t want to ask.
“What?” Jackson grinned at his friend’s reluctance.
“I know you wouldn’t, but just in case you’re thinking about it, please don’t hit on her. She’s important to Autumn, and like a sister to me. I know you have a thing for blondes, but not this one, okay?”
That’s what you got for letting your friends think you were constantly playing the field. Like so many lies, it had started off as a truth. After coming out of a long – and frankly toxic – engagement, it’d felt natural to play the field and have a good time for a while. After a couple of years, when his friends started to settle down, one by one, it had become a good shield against their attempts to get him to do the same.
‘Ember works with this great girl. She’s single, you should meet her. Maybe we could double date.’
‘My cousin’s flying in from Atlanta next week. She saw a photo of you and is interested. Do you want her number?’
‘You should really think about settling down with somebody. You’re not getting any younger. Don’t you want a family?’
Yeah, well settling down was fine for his friends. But Jackson knew how it ended. He’d had a ringside seat at the implosion of his parents’ marriage. So he’d let his friends think he was a player. The kind they definitely didn’t want to introduce to their sisters or cousins.
And now here it was, biting him on the butt.
“I’m not going to hit on Lydia,” he promised, shaking his head. Lisa let out a laugh, and he glared at her. She lifted her hands and turned back to her laptop, but he could still see her shoulders shaking.
He’d deal with her later.
An image of Lydia flickered into Jackson’s mind. He remembered the way she looked the last time he’d seen her when she’d flown in for Skyler’s birth. He’d been working from six in the morning until ten at night that week, trying to put together a proposal for a total security system for a company in White City, and he’d only managed to see her briefly as he ran into the hospital to give Autumn and Griff a baby gift.
Lydia had been sitting next to Autumn, holding her tiny niece in her arms, her expression full of love as she stared down at the tiny bundle. She’d looked up and seen Jackson, and her lips had broken into a huge grin. In a different life, maybe he’d have flirted with her. Seen what was there.
But Griff was right. He wasn’t dating material, and there was no way he was going to enrage his best friend.
Jackson wedged his phone between his shoulder and ear, switching on his laptop. “Send me the flight details and I’ll be there,” he promised, again.
“Thanks, man.” Griff had the good grace to sound embarrassed. “I appreciate it.”
After he ended the call, Jackson took a sip of coffee and opened up his emails, wincing when he saw a hundred of them awaiting his attention. He didn’t have time to think about Lydia Paxton, or anything else for that matter. He had way too much work for that.
He’d pick her up from the airport, bring her home to Autumn and Griff, and forget all about her. Because sometimes life was simpler that way.
2
Walking toward the sliding double doors leading to the arrivals lounge, Lydia shifted a giant teddy bear in her arms, and pulled her oversized suitcase behind her, smiling when she saw the shafts of sunlight beaming through the glass wall of the airport.
This was the part of traveling she loved. Arriving in a city and soaking up the atmosphere. And if the sun was shining, all the better. She wrinkled her nose when she remembered one particular visit to London where it had rained for fourteen days. Not a shaft of sunlight at all. Thank goodness those Brits knew how to do museums.
The sun seemed to shine for ninety-nine percent of the time in California, and that was something she was thankful for. With only two weeks between jobs, this was her one chance this year at a break.
Which was wild, really, because her whole job revolved around vacations. Other people’s vacations. She planned them, escorted them, and made sure they had the holiday of a lifetime. As much as she loved her career, it was exhausting, too.
Even Vacation Specialists needed time off.
The teddy bear’s leg got caught on the doorjamb, and she had to tug hard to release his furry limb. He’d been a liability since she’d stepped into JFK that morning.
It was a good thing she loved her baby niece. Otherwise this bear might not make it to Angel Sands.