Chapter Seven
Ben
I woke up early, as usual, snapping awake and feeling alert. Only, instead of being anxious to face the day, there was this huge grin on my face.
Last night, I’d fallen asleep and dreamed of the moment Ginger, and I had shared at our spot. Hours later, and I was still feeling the effects of it. After we’d kissed, and I’d driven Ginger back to my place to pick up her clothes, then walked her down to her car so she could leave. There hadn't been a single awkward moment between us. It was more progress than I’d hoped in such short time.
I jumped out of bed and went to take a shower, humming to myself the whole time. I got dressed quickly, picking out my one good pair of jeans and a clean t-shirt. I went to my little kitchen and looked around, to see if there was anything to eat. My cereal was all gone, though, and I’d used up my last carton of OJ with Ginger yesterday. Just the reminder had me grinning again.
“I’ll need groceries later,” I muttered to myself.
At the moment, though, I needed food. I checked my phone as I left, and figured my sister would be in the kitchen, helping make breakfast for the guests. So I headed for the dining hall, sat myself down at a free table, and waited for my sister to bring me something for breakfast.
She didn’t disappoint me, and a few minutes later, she was heading my way with a tray full of food.
“Do you have someone spying on me?” I asked, feeling curious. “And they just tell you every time I walk in here, so you know to bring me something?”
“It’s something like that,” she said, shrugging unapologetically.
She set the food down, and the same cup of tea I’d had last time, then sat down across from me.
“You should get back to work,” I told her, digging into the food.
“Slow down a little,” she admonished, but she was smiling. “You look happy, though. Like something good happened. I won’t ask what, but I hope it lasts.”
She got up to leave before I could give her an answer, but I was too busy stuffing my face, anyway.
I finished eating quickly and got up to leave. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for the day, but I knew I wasn’t going back to hiding in my apartment. After yesterday, I felt like I had a lot of courage to spare.
“Shit,” I cursed, frowning as I searched my pockets and realized I’d left my car keys back in my apartment.
So I ran back up to get the keys.
I was going to see Ginger today. I didn’t want to bother her at work, but she was giving me a chance, and I was determined to take it.
“Flowers,” I mused to myself as I left my room for the second time. “I could take her some flowers. She used to love it when I did that before.”
With a plan in mind, I headed back down to the lobby. Scarlett must have been done in the kitchen because she was already seated at the reception when I made it down.
“Don’t work too hard,” I called out as I walked past her.
“Don’t stay out too late,” she called back.
I shot a frown at her over my shoulder, but I knew why she was worried. I’d told my sister pretty much what I told Ginger yesterday, only with more detail, about the plane crash and how I’d been afterward. She was just worried about me, but I was an adult, and I could look after myself.
There was a flower shop not too far from the hotel. We had a lot of business with them, actually, so I knew the couple who ran it. I stopped by and picked out the flowers I wanted, having them put in a bundle that wasn’t too small or too big, then I hopped back in my car and drove to Ginger’s salon. I parked the car a bit of a distance away, where she wouldn’t see me immediately if she looked outside.
I stood on the sidewalk for a minute, going through the usual breathing exercises to calm my heart down. Then, I started forward, only to be stopped with a hand on my arm. I whirled around, a confused frown ready for whoever it was, and it quickly morphed into a scowl when I saw who stopped me.
“Hunter,” I growled.
He was someone else I’d gone to high school with, only back then, he’d been my rival. We both liked the same girl, and even though she chose me in the end, the bastard never gave up.
“The fuck are you doing here?” he growled right back at me.
I shoved his hand off me, and we stood glaring at each other on the sidewalk. Other people walking around gave us a wide berth, but I wasn’t about to start a fight, one that I knew I would win anyway, and not just because I’d had plenty of training during my service.
“I’m here to see Ginger.”
“Yeah, well, don’t. Better yet, stay the fuck away from her, okay? She deserves so much better than you.” He sneered at me. “You’re not good, just like the rest of your family. You’re only good for nothing, you hear me?”
The part about Ginger deserving better stung a bit because I knew it to be true. But at the mention of my family, I glowered. I clenched my hands, squishing the flowers I was holding onto just a little.
“I always knew you were pathetic, Hunter, but this is crossing a line even for you. I’m going to ask you one time to back away because I won’t put up with you floating in the wings this time just waiting for the time when Ginger would give you some scraps of attention. It is none of your fucking business.”
His face reddened a bit in anger, but before I could crow over winning one over him, he suddenly smirked, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Oh, but Ben. It is every bit of my business because I’ve been seeing Ginger. Did you think she’d just stay single for three years and wait for you after you ran out on her?” He let out a laugh, and it wasn’t nice. “I’m going in to see her. Take the chance and disappear before you embarrass yourself. It’s what you’re good at, anyway.”
I stood on the sidewalk and watched him head for Ginger’s salon and walk in. I wanted to follow him, but…
Was it true? I didn’t have the right to blame her for seeing someone else for all that time that I’d been gone, even if the person was Hunter.
But, after yesterday, a part of me refused to believe it. So I got back in my car and sat to wait. It was still early in the day, but I’d learned some patience in the past three years. I didn’t move from my spot, even as lunch came and went, and it finally began to grow dark.
I sat up when Ginger’s mom walked out with the little girl. My eyes fixated on her for a moment, the realization hitting me that she was my daughter. She and Ginger’s mom climbed into a car and drove away. Ginger wasn’t with them, though.
Hoping she’d stayed back, and I hadn't just missed her, I got out of the car, leaving the flowers behind. I crossed the street and opened the door, the bell above it ringing with my arrival.
“Sorry, but we’re closed,” Ginger said as she swept up the floor.
“I’ll only be here a minute,” I said, and she stilled. “I have a question.”
She whirled around, eyes wide. “Ben, what are you doing here?”
“I met with Hunter,” I said, ignoring her question. “He told me the two of you were seeing each other. Is it true?”
Chapter Eight
Ginger
I stared at Ben with my mouth parted, but no words were escaping my throat.
What could I say to him anyway? After he’d left me for three years, and we’d just barely gotten in better standing with each other, he was coming to me with accusations?
“Hunter stopped by earlier,” I said after a minute. “Did he speak to you before that?”
He nodded quickly, looking a little anxious. His fingers were tapping on his thighs, and I wondered if he even noticed it was happening. It was the only reason why I didn’t blow up at him for the question.
“Whatever you think he came here for, Hunter walked in here for his hair appointment.”
Ben’s eyebrows shot up. “What?”
I rolled my eyes. “Did you think our only clientele were women? We have a few guys come in now and then, Hunter too. But how dare you come in here and question me about this?”
Just because I was tamping down my anger, didn’t mean I wasn’t upset at him. I dropped the broom I was using to sweep up stray hairs on the floor, and folded my arms across my chest as I faced him. I saw Ben swallow, and his fingers tapped faster on his thighs.
“I just… I was a little worried about what he said.”
“Do you even have the right to be, though?” I asked.
He fidgeted, then shook his head. He dropped his head, looking every bit like a chastised little boy, only he was so much bigger than me. I sighed, dropping my arms.
“Why did you come here, then?”
He looked up, his expression growing determined. “I wanted to tell you that, if you would allow it, I want our daughter to know me. I want to be a part of her life, however way you want it. You could tell her I’m a friend and then tell her that I’m her dad in time. I just want to be there for her, looking after her when you don’t have the time… But then Hunter showed up and said that and I couldn’t bring myself to walk in here with her still here.”
I scowled at him, feeling angry all over again. He was meeting my gaze, not looking at all anxious so that I wouldn’t hold myself back either.
“You shouldn’t go around listening to what others tell you, you know. If you and I are going to start over, you need to at least trust me, Ben.”
“I do trust you,” he said.
“Not enough to ignore whatever Hunter told you, though. I went out for coffee with him, one time. Also dinner, again just the one time. That doesn’t exactly count as us seeing each other.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and frowned at the floor.
“I didn’t know what to think. It has been three years, and it would be unfair to think you’d wait for me for that long. Hell, if that accident hadn't happened, I would probably still be serving.”
My lips flattened at that because I hadn't thought of it that way. While I hadn't completely forgiven him, I had to admit, at least to myself, that I was glad he was back. In light of this new information, though, I couldn’t help but feel bad about that, because he’d had to go through shit to come back this early. It was enough to kiss my anger, and I let out another sigh as I crossed the space between us.
“Ben,” I said softly, stopping in front of him. I raised my hands up to cup his cheeks and tilt his face up so he would look at me. “I know that Hunter’s liked me since we were kids. It doesn’t matter to me. It never did, not even after you left, because I’ve never stopped loving you. Even though you don’t deserve it.”
He smiled sadly. “I don’t deserve it,” he agreed. “So why do you still love me, Ginger?”
I pursed my lips, feeling my cheeks warm just slightly.
“I can't explain it to you, all right? It just happened. I fell for you, and no matter how mad I was when you left, all I wanted was to have you come back so I could see you. Do you know why I was really angry at you when you came to the salon and started talking casually to me, like it hadn't been three years since we last saw each other?”
He shook his head slowly, eyes staring intently into mine.
“It’s because you were back, Ben. For months, you were back in town, and I wanted to see you desperately. But you never came, and I got sick of waiting, but I couldn’t bring myself to see you first. I was mad because I thought you didn’t miss you at all.”
His hands pulled out of his pockets, and I gasped as he circled his arms around my waist, tugging my body against his.
“I missed you,” he said, his voice husky. “You have no idea how badly, Ginger. For the first few months, I thought about you every day. Even after I got busy. You were the first person I wanted to see when I got to town, but I was so afraid you would turn me away, and I waited too long. I’m sorry.”
My breathing was coming faster, and my heartbeat was thumping harder in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was his words, how he said them, or the proximity, but I wasn’t against it.
“Stop apologizing already,” I muttered, my eyes dropping to his mouth. “You’ll make me mad.”
A slow smile grew on his lips, and he leaned in a little closer, probably noticing my preoccupation.
“Then I’ll stop saying it,” he reassures me in a whisper. “I’m not going to be sorry to you again because I’m going to do my fucking best to make sure I don’t hurt you again.”
My breath hitched, and that time, it was his words. He swooped in for a kiss, and I surrendered to him readily, my arms circling his neck as I kissed him back.