Lydia nodded. “It was good to see you.”
“You, too. Will you be coming back to New York soon?”
“I don’t think so.” She squinted her eyes, trying to remember her itinerary. “Not before summer at least.”
“Well, maybe you can let me know. It would be good to see you.” He caught her eye. “And, um, I hope your job goes well.”
Lydia blinked back her surprise. “Thank you.”
He turned to Jackson, their gazes meeting. “Jackson,” he said, giving him a nod.
“Sir.” Jackson nodded back, his voice strong.
“It was good to meet you.” Her dad held out his hand, and Jackson shook it. “What you said about Lydia, you were right. I’m very proud of her.”
“Maybe you should tell her that,” Jackson suggested. Lydia’s heart clenched at his protective tone.
Richard inhaled sharply, then looked at her again. “Sweetheart, you’re doing a wonderful job.”
Her throat felt scratchy. “Thank you, Daddy. I hope your vote goes well.”
He waved his hand. “It doesn’t matter. I’ll get a majority somehow.”
She didn’t doubt it. What Richard Paxton wanted, he always got. Well, almost always. Pulling out of Jackson’s hold, she leaned forward to hug her father. “Have a safe journey,” she whispered against his chest.
Richard patted her hair. “You, too, sweetheart.”
As he walked away, she lifted her eyes to Jackson. He was smiling softly at her, his eyes holding promises only she could understand.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Yeah. I am now.” Life was for the living, wasn’t that the essence of her promise to Skyler? And now she was ready to eat Jackson up like her favorite piece of cake.
“Tell me about your trip to Spain,” Jackson asked as they walked along the ocean’s edge at twilight. Eddie was running in and out of the water, yelping with happiness every time Jackson threw a ball for him.
The naming day had been perfect. They’d stayed until people started to say their goodbyes, then helped Autumn and Griff clear up the pier. On their way home, Jackson had picked Eddie up from Lisa’s house, promising her a day off very soon to repay her for dog-sitting.
Of course, Lisa had shooed him away. “I like Eddie. You can just buy me lunch some time.”
And then he and Lydia had spent the next two hours in bed, touching every inch of each other like they were trying to commit it to memory. And it had felt so damn good to have her in his arms. Even knowing that this thing between them couldn’t last.
Lydia looked up at him, the setting sun casting a pink and orange glow on her skin. “Well, I’m flying into Barcelona and meeting with a family who’re traveling their way through Europe. I’ve told them to do the usual stuff before I get there. The Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, and maybe Monserrat.”
; “Sagrada Familia?”
“It’s probably the most amazing basilica in Spain. Gaudi designed it a hundred and forty years ago, and it still isn’t finished.” She laughed. “They do things at a much slower pace in Europe.”
“I guess time seems different there,” Jackson mused. “They have so much history, they don’t need to rush.”
“The Spanish are so laid back,” Lydia agreed. “It’s one of the reasons I love the country so much. When they say mañana it means that whatever you’ve asked for might happen tomorrow or not until next week or next year. But it doesn’t matter, because there’s so much to enjoy in the meantime.”
“Where will you take the family?”
Lydia took the ball from Eddie’s panting mouth, throwing it for him again. “They’re a couple with teenage kids. When I met them to plan their itinerary, they seemed kind of frazzled, you know? So I’m going to take them into the hills. I have some friends who run a beautiful vineyard, and the parents will do wine tasting and get a lesson in making authentic paella. That evening they’ll go to a local flamenco show. The next morning, if they’re a little rested, we’ll head back into Barcelona itself and I’ll take them to all the little places the tourists don’t know about.”
“What about the kids?” Jackson asked. “Will they do the same thing?”