“Go away, Gavin. I changed my mind I’m not ready to leave.”
“I’m not in a hurry. Take your time.”
“You are not getting my message. I don’t want a ride home with you.”
“The message you’ve been giving me the last three days is pretty fucking clear. You’re done with me. See, I get it, hard not to when after sleeping for two days straight, I wake up and find you put my favorite T-shirt over the target hanging on the tree. And if that didn’t paint a clear enough picture, you disappeared the first day I’m awake.”
Ginny spared him a brief glance. “You look more rested than I’ve ever seen you.”
“I feel better than I’ve felt in a long time.”
“I’m glad for you.”
Ginny turned her attention to the dancing couple.
“I never imagined you’d sink to a hook-up bar just because you’re pissed at me. What I did had no bearing on you. Just because you hate me and finally realized you had no future with me doesn’t mean you have to settle for the men that frequent this place.”
Her mouth dropped open at his assumptions.
“Are you flipping kidding me?” Ginny scooted her chair closer to the table. Folding her arms on the table she leaned closer to him. “You … you … big flipping jerk! You think I’m waving a flag over my head saying I’m giving up on us?” Anger had her railing at him. “I said you’re not my soul mate. It doesn’t mean I no longer love you. I’ll love you to my dying day, you big jerk. Soul mates don’t hurt each other the way you hurt me.” Ginny lowered her voice to combat wanting to yell her lungs out at him, and God forbid Dustin and Jessie overhear. “What you know about love couldn’t fill a thimble. You know who you remind me of?”
Stiffly, Gavin stared at her with a clenched jaw.
Ginny continued her rant not giving him time to answer.
“The prospectors that were gung ho to go out west looking for gold. Then when they found it, they made all those grand plans about what they were going to do with all this gold. Happily they went to sell it, guess what they found out? It was fool’s gold.” Angrily, she pointed a finger at him. “What you had with Taylor was fool’s gold. What you can have with me—if you would just be willing to see with your heart instead of your eyes—is the real thing.”
“What I had with Taylor was not an illusion.”
“Wasn’t it? I beg to differ.” Being the sweet, understanding woman was getting her nowhere fast; it was time Gavin heard the cold hard truth. “You’ve built up this fantasy about the two of you being happy together. And for some reason, you can’t break yourself out of the illusion of wedded bliss, with the 2.5 children you two probably planned to have. The fact is, if you had married Taylor you would have been miserable.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Have you even taken the time to look at her Facebook page to see what kind of life she is living? You had the same friends as her at one time. Have you asked them about her?” Ginny released a sarcastic sigh. “I’m not the quitter, you are. If you ever love me the way you thought you did her, I’d be furious you didn’t put up a better fight. You’ve been tracking your enemies to the end of the earth, but you gave up on Taylor with one no. Instead you’ve been pining after fool’s gold that never really existed, because it’s easier than risking your heart.”
“You don’t know what’s in my heart.”
“Because you won’t let me.” Ginny gave a ragged sigh. “You don’t let anyone get close enough to hurt you. Gavin, so many people were hurt when they believed you were dead. To have garnered that kind of love, you had to have reciprocated those feelings. What’s been destroying you isn’t what Slate did to you but what you’ve been doing to yourself. Wild man, a heart isn’t like an arm or leg that can be amputated and you can still survive. You know what hurt me the most about you possibly going over that cliff with Slate? Leah’s life was cut short, and you were willing to throw yours away because of him. I’ll never get over losing her, ever, and despite you not wanting to hear this I would never have gotten over losing you. Even if we never had a relationship, I’d know you were breathing, walking, and talking. I couldn’t bear you not sharing this crazy world with me, even if you’re not with me.”
Gavin’s anguished amber gaze met hers. “I’m not worth what I put Viper, the brothers, and you through.”
“No, you’re not, you’re worth so much more.” Ginny stood up and held her hand out to him. “Come dance with me.” Seeing he was going to refuse her, she sabotaged his intention. “I was asked to dance two times tonight. Third time’s a charm.” Grinning at him, she reached down to take his hand.
“Who asked you to dance?” His tiger-like eyes narrowed on her, while his hand twisted under hers and clasped it within his. He pulled her closer until her kneecaps brushed against his. “Why did you come here tonight?”
“Come dance with me, and I’ll tell you,” she cajoled him. Using her free hand, she brushed his long hair back to tuck behind his ear. “Please… for me and Leah. We’ll share the dance with her.”
Taking her hand out of his, she slipped her hands under his jacket to slide his jacket down his arms. Gavin didn’t resist as a Berlin song in the background began to play “Take My Breath Away.”
“Dance with me, Wild man.”
Holding her hand out again, she held her breath as she waited for his answer. The warm clasp of his enfolded hers as Gavin rose to his feet.
On the dance floor, Dustin and Jessie began slowly moving away to give them space. Inexperienced, Ginny mimicked the way Jessie was holding her husband. Sliding her arms over his shoulders, Ginny moved closer to Gavin leaving more space than Jessie had between she and Dustin. Using the beat of the music, Ginny started moving backing and forth.
“Why were you here?”
Ginny shook her head, “I’ll tell you after our dance. Just feel the music, Gavin. I want to remember our first dance, make it special for me … and Leah. Something we’ll always cherish, even if you don’t care for me. Just this once can we pretend you’ve never loved a woman before …. and it’s brand-new to both of us. Take my breath away, Wild man, make me forget everything but you.”
Ginny felt’s Gavin’s body loosen against hers, as he slowly moved. When his hand went up her arm, she thought he was going to pull away, instead he moved it higher until her arm circled his neck.
“Hold me like this…,” his deep voice whispered into her ear.
Dropping his hands, he went to her waist to pull her closer. Languidly he swayed them back and forth. She was self-conscious of her breasts being pressed against his chest, until the music took over, and as it always did, it drove her into the realm of make-believe that Gavin had never held another woman the way he was holding her.
Sensuously, their hips would touch, then part, then meet again with a sensuality that Ginny had never experienced. This wasn’t a boy and girl dance; it was an earthy feast of senses for a man and woman yearning for each other. Laying her head on his shoulder, she let the music carry her away emotionally, while she remained physically cognizant of the differences between his muscular body and her feminine one.