“But I made it,” she said wryly to her Mama, who looked as if she could throw Ginny over her knee in that moment and give her a good and proper spankin’. “And look, they’re married! Crisis averted.”
“Ginny,” her daddy warned, using his best retired Air Force Colonel voice, “don’t sass your mama.” He had a twinkle in his eye that said he thought whatever she was up to was likely far better than their morning chaos, but Ginny didn’t mention it.
“I’d never sass her, Colonel,” she said and perched a hand against her dad’s shoulder so that she could better reach his cheek for a kiss.
“I was just wonderin’ where you were, is all,” her mom said quieter, bumping Ginny on her side, the tulle skirts to both theirdressesshuuussshhhingwith the movement. “You’re so elusive sometimes, and it seemed odd. I just wanna make sure you’re alright. And ya deserve to get just a little grief for missin’ out on Georgia’s schedule this morning when the rest of us had to memorize her color-codin’ and charts.”
“It was one for the ages,” the Colonel added, winking at them both. He put his arms around them and pulled them close as they all watched Sadie and Dakota greet guests before their first dance.
Sadie wore a silk, spaghetti-strapped ivory dress with a ruched neckline and a dramatic train that made Ginny think of old hollywood. It looked stunning against her coiled curls, pulled to one side. Dakota, dapper in his Air Force dress blues, looked as if he wouldn’t be letting his brand new wife out of his sight. His hand had found its home resting against the small of her back or pulled tight around her waist or at the base of her neck since the pastor had said, “You may kiss your bride.” He’d been touching, attentive, and completely smitten with Sadie all night, just as he’d always been.
Ginny smiled at her brother and sister-in-law as they hugged Sadie’s parents across the reception room. “I had to grab their wedding gift, that's all. I was waiting to find the perfect one.”
A record. Featuring Men Without Hat’s single,Safety Dance. They didn’t have a record player, but Ginny knew Sadie and Dakota would love displaying the album in their home. A reminder of the road trip that had finally brought them together two years before. She’d picked it up at For the Record after weeks of back and forth over which album would be best as a gift to them.
The first time she’d been to For the Record was with the purpose of chasing Ryan down after he’d been avoiding their family for months. Ginny suspected she knew the reason behind his notable absences, which only fueled her annoyance further.She’d been watching Dakota get his first tattoo, saw Ryan walk into the store across the street, and didn’t think twice about marching over and giving him a piece of her mind.
Unfortunately for her, Ryan had been meeting a date at the store that day which gave Ginny the unfortunate opportunity to meet that lovely creature—dressed in a strapless, flowing dress and long wavy locks—right after she’d placed a familiar kiss on the very man Ginny had aimed to chew out. So, instead, Ginny greeted them, introduced herself as Virginia, earning Ryan’s irritated glare. Then since she couldn’t challenge the fairy goddess that was Ryan’s date to a pie-eating contest—one she’d absolutely win—Ginny proceeded to shop in the store as if that had been her intention all along.
Despite her flailing, she’d soon found the store to be a kind of sanctuary and, after that, returned morning after morning to walk through the aisles in between the freelance graphic design jobs she did from home. She hadn’t run into Ryan again but loved getting lost in the smell of worn and dusty, vintage album covers and the eclectic playlist heard over the speakers. She’d rummage through a section, organizing them by color or alphabetically—since they always seemed to be ridiculously out of order—and introspectively wondered whether she should just go ahead and apply to work there in her down time.
For some reason, though, Ginny had kept her little, record store hobby a secret. A kind of quiet place for herself, outside of her siblings or friends. A clubhouse all her own. One she only mildly associated with the man she’d harbored a crush on for half her life.
None of these things would she admit to her mama and daddy, who looked back at her like she hung the moon, despite her tardiness.
“Ya ready for your big moment, Sugar?” the Colonel asked.
Her big moment being the song her brother and Sadie had requested be sung for their first dance. A song she’d practiced countless times on her own but never with the accompanying guitar player and harmonizer—Ryan—who’d also been asked.
“Yes, sir. I’m sure it will be fine.”
She got her cue from the DJ, acome hitherwiggle of his eyebrows that made Ginny want to both squirm and burst out laughing, but she took center stage all the same, meeting Ryan halfway.
“Hey,” she offered, trying extremely hard not to appreciate the way he filled out his navy blue suit or how the guitar strapped over his shoulder looked so natural it may as well have been another limb. “I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier, but I like your suit. Ya look like a born and bred superstar.”So much for not noticing his hotness, Ginny.“Which socks did ya pick for the occasion?”
She nudged him playfully, loving the tiny tilt of his lips at her question.
Ginny had learned only a couple weeks before, during one of her visits to Danger’s office, that Ryan had the habit of wearing quirky novelty socks in his day-to-day life.
“Something to keep the kids happy,”he’d whispered so that Danger, who’d been distracted at the time and unaware of his sock secret, wouldn’t overhear. More like something to swoon the proverbial socks right off of Ginny, but she’d steadied herself and locked her lips. His secret would be safe with her, but she’d delight in the knowledge all the same.
He’d seemed embarrassed during her initial discovery. A day when he’d chosen to wear calf-high blue and purple polka-dotted socks with armadillos scattered across the fabric. She’d wanted to ask whether he’d special ordered them, but the look on his face in the office that day had her hesitating and justsoaking up that private piece of him. She wondered if his closer friends—her sisters, Blaire, or Dakota—knew.
He leaned towards her, distancing himself from the mic, but didn’t take his eyes from the crowd of wedding guests before them. “They’re music notes…”
“And?” She leaned in, meeting him halfway and getting smacked across the face with the scent of his familiar cologne, the same one he’d worn since high school. She had no idea what brand—it could be a low budget pharmacy brand for all she knew—but she’d happily live in a cotton-candy cloud of that scent, if given the option.
Ryan strummed once. Always keeping his hands busy. “And dancing hearts with bow ties,” he admitted quickly. “You’re gonna ask me every time you see me, aren’t you?”
“Duh. Yes. I spend far too much time thinkin’ about you layin’ out your special socks every night before bed. I bet they match your mood or your outfit… or your underwear.”
Do not think about Ryan’s underwear, Virginia.
“I don’t do that.”
“Mhmmm. Sure. Whatever you say, Ryan Hood… Those socks are precious. They may be my favorite thing about you.” She took the mic in her hands and noticed the way Ryan barely glanced at her as he took his position in front of his own microphone. “In any case, from your head down to your dancin’, heart-printed feet, you look really handsome, Ry. ”
His hand slipped, strumming off key and sending a sharp twang into the room, but he regained composure quickly. Ginny could almost see him clam up and draw a figurative dark red line between them on the stage.Stay back! it said.The man is terrified.
