Ginger's Heart (A Modern Fairytale, #3)(74)

“How’d it go at the cake place?”

She sighed. “Our mommas and Miz Simpkins run the whole show.”

“Aw, baby,” he said, his hands making soothing strokes up and down her back. “They’re just excited, is all.”

They’re more excited’n you. Everyone’s more excited’n you.

He had asked her last night, after a lackluster few minutes of lovemaking, if she was happy, but she’d brushed him off, insisting that she was.

And he hadn’t pressed it, because her words relieved him even if he questioned them. The fact of the matter was that he loved her so much, he’d take her any way she offered herself to him. Sure, it bothered him that they didn’t reach for each other passionately, that she’d never—in the two years they’d been sleeping together—initiated lovemaking after the first time or cried out in ecstasy ever. But she also didn’t pull away from him. She didn’t deprive him of her warmth and her body. And when he’d asked her to marry him, she’d said yes.

Most of the time Woodman concentrated on the good and trusted that he had enough love for her to last them both a lifetime. Really, everything had worked out exactly the way it was supposed to for them. And hey, maybe things would get better with time. He looked forward to a long life with her, and he’d make every possible effort to keep her happy.

Apparently, however, Ginger’s happiness wasn’t on the agenda today. When she leaned back and looked up at him, her pretty face was sour.

“Your momma mentioned somethin’ ’bout a weddin’ gift?” she asked, her eyes wide and accusing.

Oh, shit. The cradle and rocker.

He cringed. “Too much?”

“Way too much,” she said without a fleck of humor.

He gave her a sheepish smile. “I just thought . . . well, honey, she was so excited about havin’ those things refinished. How about we take them and put them up in the attic for now?”

A brief rebellion flashed across her face—a little bit of the old Ginger spirit, and Woodman almost goaded her further because he missed that part of her. He wanted it back. But before he could say anything, she leaned her forehead against his shoulder.

“Fine.”

Damn it! Fine again.

“Besides,” he said, “it’s just a weddin’ gift. What matters is that we’re gettin’ married. You and me forever, right?”

“Right,” she murmured.

“Happily ever after, Gin,” he said, pressing his lips to her temple.

“Happily ever after,” she said softly.

He clenched his jaw, thinking about the postcard in his pocket, thinking that now wasn’t the time to share that particular bit of news with her. He’d make some time later to have a talk with her.

It certainly wouldn’t help her present mood to know that Cain was coming home tomorrow.

***

As a freshly minted lieutenant in the Apple Valley Fire Department, Woodman could think only about—aside from Ginger and their upcoming wedding—being given permission by his doctor to suit up and start actually fighting fires again. But after six reconstructive surgeries at the Lexington VA Medical Center, which included a vascularized bone graft, an osteotomy, total joint replacement, core decompression, and two years of physical therapy, his injury still hadn’t healed completely. In fact, Doc Collins hadn’t even given Woodman the official okay to give up his cane yet.

It was a source of ongoing frustration for Woodman to watch the rest of the guys suit up and know that he couldn’t do his part. Sometimes he’d throw on a coat and go to the fire just to watch and be on hand, but he could feel it in his gut—the longing to be in the action, to be a hero again. He wanted it for himself, of course, but he also wanted it for Ginger. He couldn’t chase away the nagging thought that the reason she was unenthusiastic about their sex life might stem from the fact that she didn’t see him as a whole man.

When she’d first offered herself to him, that amazing night three years ago on her parents’ porch, he’d been so overcome with lust and devotion, he hadn’t really thought twice about taking her virginity and sharing his own. He’d been waiting forever to sleep with the girl he loved—he wasn’t going to say no when she suggested it. And while it had been quick the first time, she’d nestled into his arms right after, falling asleep against his chest, her warm soft skin touching his everywhere. Woodman had believed himself in love with her before that moment, but that’s when everything changed for him. After knowing the heaven of sleeping beside her, he could never give her up.

She was uptight and jittery about the wedding? That was okay. As long as they met at the altar and said “I do,” the wedding would come and go.

She still saw him as her best friend? That was okay too. They had a lifetime to find the romantic rhythm that all married couples eventually discovered.

She didn’t love sex? Well, Woodman figured that could be remedied too. The minute she saw him as a whole, fully functioning superhero of a man, she’d feel different about being intimate with him. He just had to get there.

“Woodman!” greeted Doc Collins, stepping into the exam room. “How we doin’, son?”

“Very well, sir,” he said, shifting his thoughts from Ginger to his ankle and praying that this time he’d be given a clean bill of health.