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Nodding, Bronte’s smile dimmed slightly. “I don’t know if it’s my place, but I heard about your mom and I just want to say I’m so sorry for everything that happened. That must have been rough.”
A week ago, talking about it would have made Ginny miserable and angry. But now that they were moving forward as a family, she felt only peace. Smiling, she released a slow breath. “It was pretty rough, but my mom’s a strong woman and she’s back on her feet. It’ll take her time to be a hundred percent, but she’s tough. Thank you, though.”
“Of course.” Bronte smiled, the light coming back into her eyes just as Patty appeared with two plates of food. “Oh wow, Patty, these look incredible.”
“One Bacon, Apple and Cheddar for my favorite blonde. One Lasagna on Sourdough for my new friend.” Patty set the food in front of them and then pulled out two bottles of beer from the pocket of her apron. “These are leftovers from yesterday’s party, so don’t tell anyone you got them from me.”
Laughing, Ginny thanked Patty and poked at her food. The bread had the perfect crunch and crackle of a grilled cheese. She lifted the top slice of bread and found all the fixings of a lasagne spread on the inside. “I might end up living here forever.”
“Right? Once you take a bite, you’ll be absolutely addicted too.”
Ginny did just that, groaning as the butter, marinara sauce, ricotta, mozzarella and beef melted on her tongue. With her eyes closed, she chewed slowly and took her time swallowing her food. “Holy shit, Bronte.”
“Told ya.”
For the next few minutes, the two of them ate their food, swapping to try each other’s and Ginny was pleasantly surprised by how well balanced Bronte’s grilled cheese was. A few burps later, they were sipping on their beers when Ginny lost all control of her tongue.
“So, you and Spencer. What’s the deal?” Bronte’s eyes widened and she froze with the bottle pressed against her mouth. Ginny winced and shook her head. “All right, that answers it. Sorry, didn’t mean to put you on the spot. You don’t owe me anything.”
Bronte set her beer down with a soft thump and cleared her throat. “I mean…I don’t know. It’s confusing and weird. I like him, like a lot. I flirt with all the Rhodes brothers. Graham’s my favorite, obviously. But it’s always been different with Spencer and Ithinkhe likes me too, but he’s really weird about it. And I just…I don’t know, I like him.”
Ginny smiled at the blonde, nodding at the word vomit. “I like Graham too. All that brooding silence is sexy, right?”
“Sosexy. My god. And I don’t think he even realizes it. Was he always like that?”
“Oh yeah. I feel like Graham’s been a grumpy old man his whole life. But he’s really fucking sweet too.”
Bronte faked a swoon and both of them burst out laughing, which drew Patty back to their table. After paying the bill and raving about their grilled cheeses, Ginny dropped Bronte back at the shelter and then drove herself home.
* * *
Rustling of sheets, squeaking of a toy and shifting of the bed was what woke her up. Ginny kept her eyes shut and listened to the noise around her, fighting the smile at Gavin’s frustrated whispers. Cedar and Copper were clearly excited that she was home, so they decided everyone else needed to be awake.
Pressing her lips together, Ginny fought back a chuckle when Gavin huffed and gave up on whispering. “I’m excited she’s home too, but this is ridiculous.” A soft bark and whimper followed his words and then she heard Gavin sigh. “Okay, five minutes and then we’ll go for a walk.” The sound of Cedar running out of the room was accompanied by Gavin collapsing onto the bed beside her. “I know you’re awake,” he mumbled.
“You’d make a great dad,” she said, pulling the covers down as she blinked slowly into the dimly lit bedroom to focus on him. “You’d never be able to punish the kids.”
Gavin smiled, head turned towards her and Ginny scrunched her nose up at him. “How many kids?”
“Two. No, maybe three. All girls, all got you wrapped around their little fingers.”
“Considering they’d look like you, that wouldn’t be too hard.”
Her heart soared at his words and the seriousness in his expression. The last time they’d talked about kids, it had been random.Thisconversation wasn’t random, even if it was in the middle of the night. Or maybe early in the morning. It was too dark to tell.
“So three little girls with me, huh?”
“Can’t imagine doing that with anyone else.”
“The day we went to the state park and you were making flower crowns for Cedar and Copper, I wondered what you’d be like as a dad,” she admitted to him, watching as his eyes lit up. “And listening to that confirms what I thought.”
“That I’d make a great dad?”
“That you’d make a great dad toourkids.”
“Fuck yeah, I would be.” Gavin nodded, still smiling so wide. “I’d have the best dad jokes, too.”
Ginny blinked furiously, fighting back the tears she didn’t realize were on the verge of surfacing. Visions of Gavin learning how to braid hair, packing lunches and just being all round fantastic filled her head and she felt so relieved that he wanted all those things with her.
