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That made him laugh and Ginny’s lips twitched into a smile. She didn’t want to belittle the way he felt about her, but Ginny needed to defuse the situation because it was too heavy. The boy she knew had been charming and beautiful, he’d been all smiles and sparkling eyes. The man in front of her was all of that and more. His smiles were dangerous, his eyes said everything his talented mouth didn’t and Ginny knew that she was in trouble when it came to Gavin Rhodes. Not that she’d want it any other way.
A loud purr drew their attention to the floor where Copper was twisting around Gavin’s legs, tail flicking back and forth. Ginny shook her head with a smile because even her cat wanted all of Gavin’s attention.
Well,herkittydid too, but she wasn’t in a rush.
“Copper!” Gavin dropped to his knees as the kitten mewled and Ginny watched in fascination as the two of them reconnected. First, Gavin scratched Copper’s belly and then he let her crawl into his lap, up his shirt and onto his shoulder. “Look at you, you’ve grown up so much.”
She really had. In the month since Ginny had brought Copper home, she’d gone from being a tiny kitten that could curl up on her shoulder and sleep to being unable to balance herself there. She was still pretty small, but with lots of love and good food, her cat was growing up beautifully.
When Gavin’s eyes met hers, Ginny said, “I’m not the only one that missed you.”
“Now I’m wishing I brought Cedar,” he admitted softly and Ginny smiled as Gavin carefully walked to the sectional and sat down. Copper made herself comfortable on his shoulder and Ginny took a quick picture on her phone before heading upstairs to her bedroom. She hung up her jacket and wiped the makeup off her face, the soft sounds of Gavin speaking to Copper drifting up to her. Smiling, Ginny swapped her joggers for a pair of shorts and then came back downstairs to where Gavin was scrolling through his phone.
Joining him on the couch, Ginny let the memories of him bending her over the back of it go and let them be replaced by the sight of Copper and Gavin cuddling. He tossed his phone aside as Ginny scooted closer and tucked her feet under her ass. Gavin slid a hand over her thigh, his fingers curling around the side as his thumb brushed back and forth along her skin. It was the simplest action and yet, her attention was drawn to the way it felt to have him touch her so casually. Ginny’s eyes tracked the movement of his finger, slowly shifting up to his wrist and then the hair along his forearms.
“I never asked what brought you to Wildes,” Gavin said softly.
Ginny smiled, dragging a finger over his knuckles. “Your brother. And a job.”
“What on earth did Spencer say to convince you to leave Houston?”
“I was between jobs and struggling to find something that was a good fit. I didn’t want to go back into the corporate world and I definitely didn’t want to work for misogynistic assholes anymore.” She took a sip of her water, finger tracing the veins running along the back of Gavin’s hand. “I saw the job for an assistant at Knots & Crosses, applied for it and spoke to Frankie almost within a week. She mentioned Wildes and I remembered Spencer telling me about it, so figured I could move closer to him.”
“I spoke to him about it, actually. Well, just why he didn’t tell me that you’d moved to town. He had been super fucking cagey about you at our family Christmas dinner. And I was really upset that he kept this from me foryears. But I think I get it.”
The first time Spencer called to tell her he was struggling, Ginny thought it was just a work thing. It took a few more phone calls for her to fully grasp that her best friend was depressed. And apparently had been since high school. The fact that they’d known each other since they were in diapers and Ginny hadn’t been able to see that in Spencer scared her enough that she relocated for him.
But she also knew that Spencer hadn’t told his family what was going on. They all just assumed he quit football because of an injury and never went back because the doctors said it wasn’t safe. As far as Ginny was concerned, the Rhodes family would support him every step of the way, but she knew that Spencer was trying to figure this outhis waybefore telling them everything.
“I asked about you once, soon after I got here, but Spencer told me that we couldn’t talk about you. And I figured you didn’t want anything to do with me, so we just let it go.”
Gavin frowned and tipped his head back slightly to drink his water, the action disturbing Copper’s comfortable position. She made it known that she was unhappy with the interruption.
“Oh, Copper. I’m sorry.” Gavin reached over to pet her head, but Copper was already crawling down his chest to drop into his lap. Ginny leaned against Gavin and both of them watched Copper squirm around until she was comfortable.
“I didn’t know how the rest of your family felt about me and didn’t want to force myself into your lives after everything,” she admitted softly. Because that had always been a fear. If the Rhodes’ felt differently about her because of what she’d done to Gavin, she would have been devastated. But from the time she’d spent with them, it was clear that his parents didn’t know, and if his brothers did, they didn’t care.
“My parents still love you, as you already know. My brothers would have been fine, if I’m being honest. They put on this act of being Team Gavin, but they’re not.”
“So all the Rhodes’ were Team Ginny, huh?”
“To be fair, I’m Team Ginny too,” he said softly, squeezing her thigh.
Ginny laughed, kissing his shoulder. “Good answer.” As Copper started to move around in Gavin’s lap, a loud yawn came out of him. The sound startled her cat, who leaped straight into Ginny’s lap with a soft meow.
Gavin snorted. “It’s been a long week and it’s finally catching up with me.”
“Come on.” She picked Copper up with one hand and her water with the other, getting to her feet as Gavin yawned again. This time, she couldn’t fight her own yawn and groaned as she playfully kicked Gavin’s leg. “Stop yawning.”
Gavin laughed and she looked away as he clamped his hands over his mouth to stifle the next yawn. Setting Copper in her little corner, Ginny turned off all the lights downstairs and led the way up to her bedroom. Gavin’s footsteps came to a halt a few feet behind her and Ginny looked over at him to make sure he was okay.
“I was going to suggest a shower, but I don’t think I have the energy for it,” he mumbled.
“Just get into bed.”
Gavin peeled off his shirt and jeans, and in the dull light from her lamp, Ginny could vaguely see the firmness of his body. He dragged a hand through his hair and told her, “Next time I’m in here, I’m going to show you a really good time.”
Ginny laughed and pulled the covers back, watching Gavin climb into the bed. He moved around a little and then groaned softly before settling, his body practically sinking into her soft mattress. He stretched a hand out for her and Ginny turned out the lamp before joining him in bed. The last time they’d been in her bed together, they’d been naked and sweaty, and while she knew she’d have him in her bed again, Ginny hadn’t expected it to happen this way. She didn’tsleepwith someone, definitely not in her bed, but it was clear that with Gavin she was always going to do things differently.
