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“You’re so fucking beautiful.” He stepped in front of her, phone pocketed and hands sliding down to cup her ass. “Do we need to go tonight?”
“Yes! Because your best friend just got engaged.”
“We can always congratulate them tomorrow,” he muttered, lips brushing against hers.
“Behave, Little Rhodes.”
Huffing, he released her with a quick forehead peck and grabbed their coats. Ginny smiled as he helped her into hers, buttoning it up as much as possible before tugging his on. Months ago she wondered what kind of father Gavin would make and now all she could think about was the kind ofhusbandhe would be.
* * *
As Gavin drove them to the Weston—the hotel where Frankie had set up the big surprise party to celebrate Oleander and Jackson’s engagement—Ginny thought about how a year ago, she hadn’t even considered running into the boy from Tybee ever again. In the twelve months since their accidental reconnection, so much had happened. She was fucking happy with how their lives had turned out and if Ginny was being honest, she wouldn’t change a single thing about their relationship.
A big house that wastheirs, a baby on the wayandhe’d upgraded his truck to make sure that it was safe for her and their unborn child. They’d come so far in the last year and she knew that to most it would seem like it all happened so fast. But when you had history like they did, time didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
Anastasia, her therapist, constantly asked Ginny if she was happy with the way her life was going, if she was satisfied by the choices she was making. Every single time, Ginny said ‘yes’. Because she was. Her mother was healthy and happy—she even had a job working at a small bookstore in New York. David, Stella and Joey were happy—or at least they seemed to be during the family calls they had every weekend—and while Joey had no intentions of getting married, she had met someone who put the biggest smile on her face.
Ginny couldn’t wait to put bigger smiles on their faces once she told her family that she was pregnant. Holding onto this secret was hard, but they’d decided that they would only tell their friends and family once she had fully crossed her first trimester. While the doctor assured her that there was nothing to worry about or complications to look out for, she was nervous. She wanted to shout it from the rooftop and tell everyone everywhere, but they had another check-up the following week. After which, they were going to share the news.
If nobody figured it out when they saw her that evening.
* * *
“Something’s different about you,” Frankie said, squinting as she looked Ginny up and down. “And I will figure out what it is before the night is over.”
Rolling her eyes, Ginny waved Frankie away as her friend went off to do last minute checks on all the decorations. They were expecting Jackson and Oleander to walk through the door any minute, and the ballroom was filled with so many people excited to celebrate with the newly engaged couple. But like she expected, Frankie had caught onto the fact that something was wrong. She even had a drink in her hand—Sprite to try and pass it off as gin and tonic—but her friend and colleague was much too smart for that.
Gavin returned after making the rounds and slid an arm around her waist, pressing a kiss to her cheek. “You want another drink?”
“No, my bladder already hates me,” Ginny huffed and leaned into Gavin. “Frankie knows, by the way.”
“What? How?”
Ginny shrugged, finishing the last of her fake drink. “Well, she knowssomethingis up with me, but she’s too shrewd to not guess.”
“What did she say?”
As she opened her mouth to respond, the lights in the ballroom went out and everyone fell silent. Frankie had given them strict instructions once all the guests had arrived, so not a single person was confused by the darkness. When the large door opened enough to let some light and a person through, Gavin squeezed her hip.
“You brought me to a dark room to kill me, didn’t you? Knew you were serial killer when we met.”
Jackson’s laugh filtered through the room as he stepped in behind Oleander. “And yet, you agreed to marry me. So what does that say about you?”
The lights came on and everyone shouted SURPRISE! while confetti and balloons dropped from the ceiling. Oleander shrieked and then slapped a hand over her mouth as she stared at everyone wide-eyed.
Ginny snorted out a laugh and glanced at Gavin. “Donotlet Frankie plan a surprise party for me. I will definitely pee my pants.”
“While you’re pregnant or ever?”
“Ever.” She shot him a look and Gavin chuckled, gently tugging her towards where Oleander and Jackson were being smothered by hugs.
After a quick round of hugs and congratulations, Ginny scurried to the restroom and emptied her bladder. She figured that if she was being spared morning sickness, weird cravings and the unusually high need to pee was a good trade off. Stepping out of the stall, she found Frankie leaning against the sinks with a smile on her face.
“Your best friend just got engaged and you’re stalkingmein the restrooms?”
Frankie nodded, eyes darting to Ginny’s stomach and back. “Yes, because I wanted to congratulate you too.”
It would be easy to pretend like she had no idea what Frankie was talking about, but Ginny also felt relieved that she could telloneperson the truth.
