Page 19 of Parading the Cowboy Billionaire (Bluegrass Ranch 4)

“I’m ready for a huge change,” she said. They finished getting their food, and she led him to a dining room table that could seat eight. With just the two of them, Cayden felt small among this large house.

It was easily three times smaller than the mansion he’d visited before, though, and she probably liked it a lot better.

“Oh, cake,” she said, jumping back to her feet and returning to the kitchen. He watched her pull a chocolate cake out of the refrigerator and smile widely as she brought it to the table.

“Wow,” he said, admiring it. The chocolate frosting had peaks and valleys, with strawberries and raspberries in little clusters across the top. “Did you make this too?”

“Yes, sir,” she said proudly. “I always make my own birthday cake.”

He’d just taken a bite of garlic bread, and he inhaled, getting crumbs and butter stuck in the back of his throat.

“I always get my hair cut on my birthday too,” she said. “And I always have carbonara.” She twisted up a forkful of noodles and put them in her mouth while he struggled to breathe.

He coughed and choked, finally getting the bread where it belonged and the air where it did. He reached for his napkin and wiped his face. “It’s your birthday?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, that smile still stuck in place.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Foolishness ran through him. He had nothing for her, not even a rose or a card.

“I didn’t want you to fuss over me.”

“Ginny.” Didn’t she know that was exactly what hewantedto do?

“I got everything I wanted,” she said. “The pasta. The salad. The cake.” She pointed to each one with her fork as she said them. Her eyes lifted back to his. “And you.”

Warmth filled him, and while Cayden had vowed not to kiss her again until he knew more about Virginia Winters, he suddenly wanted to lunge across the corner of the table keeping them apart. He wanted to kiss her until he couldn’t see straight. He wanted to find out where her master suite was and go there with her, so she’d have the best birthday possible.

Cayden tried to tame his hormones, managing to get them into submission. “Wow,” he said, his voice pitching up a little. “That’s a lot to live up to.”

“I think you can do it,” she said her smile curling up further. She went back to her meal, but Cayden wasn’t sure what he’d been doing before she’d said it was her birthday. He held a piece of bread in his hand, so he took another bite.

“Do you normally make your own dinner on your birthday?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said. “I celebrated with my family last night.”

“Your mother?”

“Yes.”

“She doesn’t know we’re dating, does she?”

“No.” Ginny looked at him. “I talked it out with my brothers, and we agreed on several things. One, I’m going to date you. It’s what I want, and I’m tired of letting Mother run off the men I like. Two, I’m not telling her I’m dating you. She’s going to think I chose Sweet Rose—and her—over you. She gets to feel powerful and vindicated, and no one has to know about us.”

“What if I want people to know about us?”

“I don’t see why any of them would ever talk to Mother,” Ginny said. “It’s only the two of us who need to be careful. You can’t come see me at work, for example. I put your name in my phone as Bill, for another. If Mother happens to see any texts, I’ll simply say you’re a supplier or something.”

“A supplier.” Cayden didn’t like the dishonesty that went with a forbidden relationship, even if being in a secret relationship was kind of exciting.

“You are a supplier,” she said with a giggle. “A supplier of happiness and charm and amazing kissing.”

Cayden laughed, glad Ginny could spin things in such a positive way. “About the kissing,” he said, looking at his plate. “I was thinking maybe I—we—should get to know one another first before we do that again. You know, the real you and the real me. Not these fake versions we’ve been for months.”

Surprise covered her face. “Oh.”

“No?”

“I mean, it’s my birthday. You won’t kiss me on my birthday?”

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