“Well, I’m glad he’s okay. And that you are. Did you get much work done?”
“Yeah, I did. Managed to solve a couple of snafus my coders have been having. And I also moved some things around in my schedule. I still have to go into the office tomorrow, but after that I’m taking a few days off.” He paused before adding, “I was wondering if you’d like to spend them with me.”
“Are you sure you can spare the time? You seemed pretty stressed this morning,” Lydia said, letting her head fall back on the pillow.
“I’m sorry about that. I took it out on you and I shouldn’t have done that.” She could hear his soft breaths echo through the phone line. “I was worried about Eddie, and it all built up in my mind. I didn’t mean to make you feel bad.” His voice lowered. “Let me make it up to you.”
His words sent a shiver down her spine. “How are you going to do that?”
“By making your last few days here the best they can be. I want to take you out, have fun, and show you that Southern California can be just as amazing as all those places you’ve visited.”
It already was in her mind, because he lived here. She didn’t need to be wowed by the scenery when she had Jackson Lewis to look at. “I don’t care what we do,” she admitted. “I just want to spend some time with you.”
“I want that, too.” His voice was firm. “So what do you say?”
She couldn’t stop the smile from bursting out on her face. “It’s a deal.”
22
“You’re taking how many days off?” Lisa asked, as Jackson leaned on the corner of her desk. They’d just finished their meeting with her preferred candidate, and offered him the job. Lisa was writing the email as she spoke. “Did hell freeze over, too? Because that’s more likely than Jackson Lewis using some vacation time.”
“I own the business,” Jackson pointed out. “I don’
t get vacation time.”
She stopped typing and turned to look at him. “Damn right you don’t. I swear the last time you took any days off George Bush was still president.”
His brows knitted. “Which one?”
“Walker. You were a little kid peeing in your diapers when his dad was president.” Lisa ran her finger across her chin. “Though come to think of it, I bet you were an overachiever as a kid. Were you out of diapers before any of your friends?”
“I don’t know.” Jackson wrinkled his nose. “And can we not talk about diapers? I had a run in with one of Skyler’s a few days ago. I’m still working on repressing the memory.”
Putting her chin in her hands, Lisa smiled up at him. “So what are you gonna do with your time off? You should take a real vacation for once.”
Jackson shrugged. “I’m staying here in Angel Sands.”
Her eyes were wide. “A stay-cation? Oh my. Won’t that be a bit boring? You’ll be dog-free, won’t you? When are the owners picking Eddie up?”
“Tomorrow.” Jackson’s stomach dropped at the thought. “And I want to stay around here. There’s so much to see and do.”
“Does this have anything to do with a certain blonde you were spotted kissing on the pier?” Lisa asked.
“You heard about that?”
She laughed. “The whole damn town heard about it.” Her warm eyes met his. “She must be something special for you to be taking time away from the business.”
Jackson glanced at his watch. “Actually, you’ll meet her in a bit. She’s bringing Eddie in to say goodbye to the office.”
“She is?” Lisa’s face lit up. “I wasn’t sure I’d get to see him again. I’m gonna miss seeing his face around here.”
“He’s only been with us for a week.”
Lisa sighed. “I know, but he made a big impression. I got used to having him around. His gorgeous face kind of lit up this office.”
“Some people have that effect.” Jackson thought of Lydia, his sunshine girl with a smile that lit everything up. “But he has a family. He belongs with them. It wouldn’t be fair to keep him.”
“Well at least we got to have fun with him while he was here." She shot Jackson a sympathetic smile and clicked her mouse. “The contract is sent. He said he’d be available to start next week, so I’ll start talking to him about the other candidates then. Before you know it, you’ll be able to take more time off. Not like that will actually happen.”