“Cay?” she asked, and he rose from the wingback in front of her desk. Joy burst through her at this surprise. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought breakfast,” he said, holding up a bag. “I know you have four meetings today, and you’re stressed about your mother.” He shrugged and took a couple of steps toward her. “I hope this helps.”
She met him and took the bag from him. “This is a cinnamon scone from Doughboy, isn’t it?”
“What gave it away? The giant logo on the bag?” He grinned at her, one hand sliding down her arm.
“I could smell the cinnamon out in the hall.” She grinned at him. “Thank you so much.”
“There’s honey-lemon tea on your desk,” he said. “Did everything go okay with Ben and Alex this morning?”
“They were right on time,” she said. “I’ll admit I’m worried about it.” He knew all of that already, because Ginny had been venting to him every time Mother brought up her reluctance to the construction.
“I know.” He touched his mouth to her cheek. “It’s going to be okay.”
She nodded and tipped her head back to receive a proper kiss from him. She didn’t let it last long, because she did have another appointment in only another sixty seconds, and she’d need all her wits about her to deal with Martin’s demands.
“I have your final banner design,” Cayden said. “It’s on your desk too. Final cost and donation amount. There’s a copy of the invoice, and I’ve already given one to Miss Oscarson out front.”
“Thank you,” she said, her voice taking on a crisp quality too. “Anything else I need to do for the event?”
“Nothing on our end,” he said. “I do need your approval in writing, but you can have Mel email it over.”
“How are things going for you and Lawrence?”
His expression darkened for a moment. “We’ve had some ups and downs in the past twenty-four hours alone. Things are still coming along, though.”
“What happened?”
“Our biggest horse was pulled,” he said. “A real draw for other owners to sign up their horses, and for the deep-pocket buyers to come to the race.” He sighed and turned to set her scone on the desk. “Thankfully, Lawrence fielded a call this morning from Mariah, and she’s found a fairly large owner to enter his horse.”
“I’m glad,” she said. “If I had a horse that anyone cared about, I’d enter it in your race.”
Cayden smiled at her, the moment tender and soft between them. “Thank you, sweetheart.” He started for the door. “I won’t keep you. No sense in starting your day out behind.” He paused with his hand on the doorknob. “I’m in Louisville for a couple of days, but we’re still on for dinner on Friday and Blaine’s wedding on Saturday?”
“Yes, of course,” Ginny said. “Good luck in Louisville. You’ll call me tonight?”
He smiled, nodded, and left the office.
Ginny took a moment to sip her tea and take a single bite of her scone. While she chewed, she searched for a breath mint in her desk drawer and thanked the Lord for a sweet, kind, thoughtful man like Cayden to take care of her.
She jerked her head up, the mint in her hand. “That’s what I want, isn’t it?” She’d been trying to figure out why she’d want to get married this late in life, especially because she couldn’t have children. Now she knew—she wanted someone to take care of her.
With a smile warming her soul, she quickly popped the mint into her mouth and went to open the door for Mel to send back Martin Gold.
* * *
A few days later,Ginny’s stomach roared and shook at the same time. She hadn’t eaten since breakfast, and that had only been a few swallows of her strawberry protein shake. She’d survived a very busy week, and Cayden should be arriving to take her to dinner at any moment.
She smoothed her hand down the front of her dress and over her stomach. It wasn’t flat, and Ginny couldn’t remember the last time it had been. She didn’t care, because some days required potato chips or pretzel crisps to survive. Really bad days had her opening a specific drawer in the credenza in her office and taking out a bag of Reese’s Pieces.
She hadn’t told Cayden about her secret candy stash, just like she hadn’t told him about her inability to have children. They’d been seeing each other on a near-daily basis for just over two months now. She’d shared many things with him, but not this.
They hadn’t started talking about long-term things like marriage and family, but a voice had been nagging Ginny since Tuesday, when Cayden had shown up at her office with her favorite scone and tea.
He knew so many little things about her, and she wanted him to know the big things too. All the intimate things that could really bond them.
“It could also drive us apart,” she whispered to Sarge, who lifted his puggy head and looked at her through squinted eyes. Minnie stood up and stretched, a yawn squeaking out of her mouth. Ginny smiled at the little dog and picked her up.