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Another thing that was easy when it came to Ginny? Falling in love with her all over again. It was in all of the little things she’d been doing the past week, and then some. Starting with the magic she worked for Frankie and Milo’s wedding, then inviting his friends over for a barbecue. When she’d suggested the dinner, Gavin thought she was joking, but apparently she was being serious. Not only had Ginny been added to the friends chat, Everleigh couldn’t stop talking about how much she admired his girlfriend. Gavin was so fucking grateful for Ginnyandthe way she made room in her life for his people.
Including hearing her tell him that she loved him.Him. Ginny Thomas loved Gavin Rhodes. It blew his mind. He had most definitely scribbled that in his notebooks, drawn little hearts around it and willed it into existence as a teenager. Gavin wasn’t ashamed of it, sometimes there was power in doing the things people thought were silly.
“Did you buy everything Clem had on display?”
“Hmm?” Gavin blinked out of his thoughts and focused on Ginny as she knelt in the back of his truck unpacking the basket. After they’d finished the photoshoot, he’d found them a shaded spot in the park. He’d spread a blanket out in the bed of his truck, along with the two floor cushions he’d swiped from Ginny’s house. Then he’d taken Cedar for a walk so she’d do her business while Ginny and Copper got comfortable. He’d obviously been standing there for a while, just staring at nothing while thinking about her confession of love.
Fuck. The woman he loved felt the same way about him.
“Gavin, you okay?”
“Yeah, sorry…” he shook his head and offered Ginny a smile, letting Cedar jump into the back before he climbed on as well. “Clementine said a lot of this would go to waste if I didn’t take it, so…”
Ginny laughed and finished spreading out their food. He’d packed a bunch of cake slices from Pretty Baked, Clementine’s bakery, a couple of sandwiches, chips, and trail mix, just because. He’d also stuffed a couple of hard seltzers into a small cooler. Since he had no idea how long they planned to stay out, he’d made sure to pack enough. But looking at all the food now, maybe he’d packed too much?
He waited until she was comfortable and sat down beside her, stretching his legs out so she could snuggle into his side. Gavin kissed the top of Ginny’s head as she popped the tabs on both their drinks and handed one to him. Between Ginny’s admission, the smell of nature and the joy he felt at being there, Gavin was in a fantastic mood. He closed his eyes and leaned against Ginny, letting her lavender scent invade his senses.
“You sure you’re okay? You’ve been really quiet,” Ginny asked softly.
“Yeah, babe. Just processing today.” He smiled against the top of her head as he continued, “This woman I’m dating told me she loves me today.”
Ginny laughed. “She’s got damn good taste.” She shifted so they could see each other and he grinned at her expression. “Did you think I wouldn’t ever say it back?”
“Maybe? I remember what you told me that night at Mama Renata’s, I know that relationships and all of this is new to you.”
“For the record, I would have found my way here eventually.”
“I know, Nia. But I’m so fucking glad you got here now,” he said with a laugh as Ginny covered his face with her hand. Gavin pressed a kiss to her palm and she pulled her hand back to settle into his side again.
“Oh my god, look at them!” Ginny whispered, pointing at their pets snoozing in a small patch of sun. Cedar was curled up, with her paws tucked under her head, and Copper was sleeping on top of her. He released Ginny so she could grab her phone and take a picture, collapsing against him when she was done.
He squeezed her side and said, “Today was fun.”
“It was. I’m glad I got to do this with you. I don’t think it would have been as good if I did it on my own.”
Gavin shook his head, opening up a sandwich box and handing one half to Ginny. “You’ve been doing this without me for years, I think you’d have managed just fine.”
“But then I wouldn’t have the picture of Cedar and Copper andyou.”
“That’s true. I think it might even be the best picture in the whole lot.” She giggled and bit into her sandwich as Gavin did the same before he said, “Can we look through the pictures? I wanna see how I did today.”
Ginny nodded, finishing her sandwich by stuffing the last bit into her mouth so she looked like a chipmunk with puffed out cheeks. She leaned over and grabbed her camera, then turned so her back was pressed against his side. Gavin dragged his arm around her shoulders, his thumb tracing the necklace Ginny had been wearing since the night everything changed.
When Ginny had shown him the references for this photoshoot, he’d been puzzled by the concept. But once he’d managed to slide all the flowers into the waistband of her shorts and watched her tilt her head back to squint into the line of sunlight, he understood why it worked. Ginny made ‘oooh’ and ‘aaah’ sounds as she pressed the next button on her camera. But Gavin was more focused on how ethereal and unreal she looked. These were theuneditedpictures and Ginny was already glowing.
“You should post them raw,” he said softly, pressing his lips against her temple. “You look like a fairy queen.”
“Really?” She sounded unsure and Gavin squeezed her shoulder gently.
“You found the light every single time and just look at you…stunning.” Ginny tipped her head back and he smiled, leaning in just to rub his nose against hers. “Think about it, okay?”
Ginny put her camera away and then grabbed the cake box closest to her, flipped it open and held it out to him—dark chocolate cake. Then opened another one—a red velvet slice—and shook her head, swapping her box for his. Gavin just watched the whole thing in amusement, already aware that Ginny wouldn’t want anything with a bright color. He didn’t care—to Gavin, cake was cake. As long as it was sweet and buttery, he didn’t give a shit.
He finished his slice of cake and tossed the box into the pile of their trash as Ginny’s phone buzzed. It had been buzzing pretty much since the moment they started setting up for the picnic. She’d glanced at it the first few times, then refused to acknowledge it. In fact, Ginny put it on vibrate so the ringtone wouldn’t startle them. But the vibration was loud enough that Cedar and Copper woke up from their naps.
“Whoever it is, they aredesperateto talk to you,” he said, making sure his tone was playful.
Ginny shook her head, licking chocolate icing off her fingers. “Just my mother.”
