The Christmas Plan

by Samantha Chase

Still, he got it all done and was pleased with the results and hoped Aspen would be too.

  Walking over to the bedside table, Gabe plugged his phone in and hit the playlist he’d made especially for tonight. Then, he quickly changed into a pair of hunter green flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt before pulling out the matching pair he got for Aspen.

  “Either I am completely adorable or a dork,” he murmured, but he was smiling and knew Aspen was going to appreciate his effort.

  Walking across the room, he gently knocked on the bathroom door and hoped she was ready to finally get out of the tub.

  “You can come in,” Aspen called out, but Gabe stayed firmly on his side of the door.

  “It’s okay. I just wanted to let you know that dinner was going to be here soon, so…” He heard water sloshing and pictured Aspen standing up while all the water–and possibly bubbles–cascaded down her body.

  Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to go in…

  Slowly, he opened the door and peeked inside and…yeah. She looked exactly as he imagined. He stepped inside and quickly shut the door behind him and reached for a towel for her. “Ooh…heated towel rack. Nice.” Handing her the towel, Gabe took her hand and helped her step out of the tub. “So? Was it as good as you hoped?”

  “It was better,” she said dreamily, wrapping the towel around her. “I think this bathroom has spoiled me for all other bathrooms. I may start playing the lottery so I can buy a house with a bathroom like this. Either that or so I can just move in here and have this bathroom all to myself.”

  “Wow, that’s…a lot of love for a bathroom,” he said. “And a little weird.”

  “We’ve been over this. You know I love a good bathtub…”

  “Clearly.”

  Aspen walked over to the mirror and glanced at her reflection. “So what have you been up to out there? You were so quiet.” Then she looked at what he was wearing and chuckled softly. “Oh, my goodness. Were you napping? Did you seriously take a nap while I was in here?”

  Gabe laughed along with her while not giving her any clues as to what he did to pass the time. Once she was dried off, he helped her put the robe on and took her by the hand.

  “You’re seriously not going to tell me?” she teased.

  “I figured I could just show you,” he replied, his voice gruff, and he felt mildly nervous about what she was about to see. Opening the door, he stepped aside and then just…watched.

  Her soft gasp was her first response.

  Then her hands flew up over her mouth as she whispered, “Oh, my goodness…”

  And the tiny knot in his stomach started to relax.

  “Gabe…how…? I mean…when…?” Aspen turned to look at him and he swore he saw tears in her eyes. “This is like some sort of Christmas wonderland!”

  In that moment, Gabe knew he made the right decision.

  Earlier today, he dropped off all the supplies he needed–strands of white twinkly lights for atmosphere, a medium size Christmas tree that already had several hundred multi-colored lights on it, a box of ornaments for them to decorate with, two stockings, and lastly, a few wrapped gifts for under the tree.

  Because Gabe always came back to Silver Bell Falls for the month of December, he and Aspen always made a time to have a mini-Christmas just for the two of them. With everything that had happened this year, there hadn’t been time.

  Until now.

  Taking a step back into the room, he stayed where he was and watched as Aspen walked around looking at everything. The smell of pine filled the room and he had to admit, it looked incredibly festive in here. Cassidy–who owned the inn–had put a few Poinsettia plants in here, but he had a feeling she placed them in every room. Still, it added to the Christmas setting.

  “Ornaments? You even brought ornaments for us?” she asked with a giggle. “When did you have time to do all of this?”

  “Like you mentioned yesterday, we really do have a lot of help over at the tree lot. I found the tree this morning and on my lunch break, I went into town to try to find decorations,” he explained. “It was harder than I thought because everything was sold out so I’m glad the tree is a little on the small side. I think we’ll have enough. And then we’ll bring it home with us tomorrow and we’ll put it up in my room.”

  Looking at him over her shoulder, she smiled. “You’ve thought of everything. I am blown away, Gabe. This is…it’s just…” she sighed happily. “It’s perfect.”

  Unable to help himself, he walked over and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m glad you think so.”

  “I really do.”

  “I thought about us going out for dinner and walking around town and looking at lights like you enjoy doing, but I knew we’d end up running into a ton of people and then it would be late before we got to come back here and enjoy the room. So I’ve ordered dinner–Italian–and it’s going to be delivered in a little while. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It’s a little early, but you know I’m almost always ready to eat.” And with a wink, she placed a kiss on the tip of his nose. “You have thoroughly surprised me, Gabriel. This is going to be the perfect night.”

  He smiled to himself because there were a few more tricks up his sleeve, but he’d wait and let her find out for herself. Motioning to the bed, he showed her the matching pajamas he bought her.

  “Are you just the cutest?” she cried happily, even as she shrugged out of the robe and stood gloriously naked next to the bed before walking over and grabbing a pair of panties from her bag. She was dressed way too quickly for his liking but…there would be plenty of time for him to enjoy her naked later on.

  In the tub and out of it.

  Once she was dressed, Aspen was finally still for a moment, her eyes going wide. “The Chipmunk song? Did you make us a Christmas playlist?”

  Nodding, he replied, “I did. You can’t decorate the tree without Christmas music playing. And all your favorites are on here–including all the ones from the holiday specials you love so much.”

  “Seriously? Even the Heat Miser one?”

  “Of course.”

  She did a happy little dance before coming over and hugging him. “So what are we doing first? Are we going to decorate before or after dinner?”

  Glancing at the clock, he said, “I think we have time to do it now. There’s not a lot, and it won’t take long, so…”

  “Oh, stop. It’s all perfect. Don’t ruin it by being negative.” She walked over and picked up the box of ornaments–which were really a mishmash of different kinds of ornaments. Most of them didn’t match, but he figured they’d get a good laugh out of some of them.

  Which they did.

  They had just put the star on top of the tree and lit it when Gabe got the text that their dinner was downstairs. Excusing himself, he went down to get it–alone–even though Aspen was more than willing to come down and help.

  He wasn’t fooled, though. He knew she was just curious to see what he ordered for her.

  When he walked back into their room, Aspen had cleaned up some of their decorating mess and was anxiously awaiting him.

  A fact he confirmed by the way she hovered over his shoulder asking if she could help.

  “There’s a bottle of wine over in the corner in the cooler bag along with a couple of glasses. Why don’t you grab them while I set this up?”

  She was back in the blink of an eye and Gabe couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m beginning to feel like you don’t trust me.”

  “I’m just curious what we’re having,” she said innocently. “I mean, I know you’ll only order a few different things but…”

  Reaching into the bag, he pulled out her order. “Eggplant rollatini with fettucine Alfredo on the side.”

  Her eyes went wide.

  “I remembered when we ate there last week you mentioned how they should offer this combination because it’s the best of both worlds so…here you go.”

  And her eyes got misty again.

  “As for me, I thou
ght I’d be a little adventurous and try something new.”

  Her eyes went back to wide.

  Pulling out his plate, he grinned. “I went with the rigatoni in the brandy cream sauce with shrimp and scallops.”

  “Wow! Who are you? What did you do with my best friend?” She laughed and sat down.

  “Apparently boyfriend Gabe is a little more adventurous,” he teased. “Don’t make me regret it.”

  “Oh, I won’t. I promise!”

  They ate and Aspen told him how glorious the bath was–again–and they talked about their tree and how nice it was to have a night away from home. By the time they were done eating, Gabe wasn’t so sure dessert was the smartest thing to do because they were both so full. But…no one said they had to eat it right away.

  “I’m regretting the decision not to walk around town,” Aspen said, her hand on her belly. “That was worth every bite, but I am so full.”

  “Me too, but luckily, all we have to do is walk about five feet over to the bed.”

  “Gabriel Andrews,” she cooed. “I’m going to need a little time before we can get naked and sexy. I don’t think I could handle anything like that yet.”

  His burst of laughter was out before he could stop it. “Get your mind out of the gutter! I just meant that the next phase of our night will have us relaxing over on the bed.” Holding out a hand, he gently pulled her to her feet. “And not for sexy purposes. Yet.”

  “Oh. Sorry. I just thought…”

  He kissed her to silence her. “Trust me. At some point, we will get on that bed for sexy purposes, but not yet.”

  “So then…”

  Growling playfully, he gave her a small shove toward the bed. “Just go sit and stop asking so many questions!”

  “Okay. Sheesh…”

  Once he saw she was settled, he walked over and turned off the music and turned on the TV. All the TVs in the inn had all the good streaming channels and he had one of Aspen’s favorite Christmas specials cued and ready to go.

  “Frosty the Snowman?! Oh, my goodness! You are the best!” Reaching out her hand to him, she pulled him down on the mattress beside her. “Just when I think you’ve done it all, you throw something else amazing at me.” Curling up beside him with her head on his shoulder, Aspen hummed happily.

  “I know it’s maybe not the most romantic night…”

  “Are you kidding me? Maybe not in the traditional sense, but to me it’s the most romantic night ever.”

  It was crazy how that made him feel like high-fiving himself, but it did.

  So they snuggled close and watched the holiday cartoon, and when it was over, Gabe’s phone pinged with an incoming text.

  Right on schedule.

  Aspen looked at him curiously. “Who’s texting?”

  With a sly grin, he placed a quick kiss on the tip of her nose before replying. “Our dessert.”

  “Dessert? Really?” She scrambled off the bed. “What is it?”

  “Nikki’s bringing us ice cream. I have to go down and meet her.”

  “I’m coming with you!” And before Gabe could stop her, she was already out the door.

  Down at the front door, Aspen was bouncing on her toes with excitement, but she let Gabe be the one to greet Nikki.

  “Hey, you two!” Nikki said, handing the cardboard tray to Gabe. “Looks like you’ve got a nice little romantic getaway going on!”

  “And it just keeps getting better,” Aspen gushed. “I’m seriously psyched for your ice cream, even though about thirty minutes ago I swore I couldn’t eat another thing.”

  “There’s always room for ice cream,” Nikki told her. She took a step back on the porch and then stopped. “Um…Aspen, I was wondering if you could stop by the shop tomorrow. Maybe some time after three?”

  “Sure! What’s up?”

  “Well, I looked at those sites you told me about to learn a little more about chocolate making and I made my first batch today and…well…I clearly did something wrong because they look and taste awful.”

  “Oh, my goodness! Of course I’ll come by. No worries!”

  “Thanks! You’re the best!” She smiled and waved before walking down the porch steps. “Have a great night and I’ll see you tomorrow!”

  Closing the door, they went back up to the room and Gabe was taking Aspen’s sundae out of the tray. “What should we watch next?” But when he turned around, she wasn’t there. “Aspen?”

  That’s when he heard water running.

  More specifically, water filling the bathtub.

  What the…?

  Slowly, he wandered into the bathroom and found Aspen pouring some sort of crystals into the tub. “Um…what’s going on?”

  “Oh! You scared me!”

  That was it? That was all she had to say?

  Once she was done, she faced him. “Okay, I know you’re going to think I’m weird but…earlier–when I was taking my solo bath–I thought about how decadent it would be to eat dessert in here with you. And then Nikki showed up with the ice cream and I thought…yeah! We can do it!”

  “You want to eat ice cream…in the tub.”

  It wasn’t a question.

  She nodded enthusiastically. “I really do, Gabe. Please say yes! Please say we can!”

  There was no way he was going to deny her something like this–especially since this was going to be the one and only time they could do it.

  Rather than answer, he turned and walked back into the bedroom and grabbed the dessert tray, then returned to the bathroom–all while feeling mildly ridiculous.

  Her smile was dazzling when he came back in and put the tray on the massive vanity. “So…how do we do this?”

  “You mean take a bath?”

  “Aspen…”

  “Seriously, Gabe, this isn’t difficult. We get naked, get in the tub with our ice cream and eat it. Then…I’ll wash your back–or front,” she added with a sassy wink. “And you can wash mine.”

  He didn’t think he had ever stripped so fast in his life.

  Within minutes, they were getting situated in the massive tub–Aspen at one end, Gabe at the other–so they were facing each other while they ate.

  “Admit it. This is amazing.”

  He nodded. “I never even knew this was a thing.”

  “Well, to be fair, you need a tub like this to make it happen. That’s why I want one of my own.”

  “I have a feeling if you had one, I’d never see you again. You’d spend all your free time taking a bath.”

  With her spoon in her mouth, she seemed to think about what he was saying. “I don’t know about all my free time, but definitely a good portion of it.” Then she hummed happily. “You definitely get the greatest boyfriend award. This has all been just…the best.”

  He was relieved that she felt that way because he didn’t have anything else major planned.

  Once their ice cream was done, Aspen turned and scooted toward Gabe so her back was pressed up against his chest and he had to admit, this whole thing was getting more and more appealing by the second.

  “Mmm…” she hummed. “Now brace yourself because things are going to get even better.”

  Gabe didn’t think it was possible.

  Then the jets came on and it was like sensory overload.

  Between Aspen’s warm silky skin, the hot water, a wee-bit of a sugar high, and now the jets, Gabe was pretty sure this was where he was going to live from now on.

  “I told you,” she said softly, turning in his arms to kiss him. “You took care of everything so far, but this next round of amazingness is on me.”

  All he could do was arch a brow at her.

  One soft hand skimmed down his chest to below the water and then…lower.

  “Tell me something, Gabriel,” she said against his lips.

  “Anything…”

  “Have you ever made love in a bathtub?”

  He shook his head.

  “Are you interested in trying it?” she asked as
her hand teased him with what was to come.

  He vigorously nodded. “Hell yeah.”

  There was a bit of water sloshing over the side of the tub while Aspen moved around, but he barely gave it a second thought. All he could think about was the curvy, beautiful vixen in his arms and how she continued to blow him away.

  And then continued all the way through the night.

  It was almost dawn when they finally settled down to get some sleep. Naked and sated and curled up together under the blankets, Aspen placed one last kiss on his chest.

  “Gabe?” she whispered.

  “Hmm?”

  “I know when we first got here–to the town, not the inn–this was all supposed to be a little like a pretend relationship and just while we were here in Silver Bell Falls.” She paused and yawned. “But I just want you to know that you’re the best boyfriend I’ve ever had. And I mean ever.” Another yawn. “And if it were up to me, we’d stay like this forever.”

  The next sound out of her was a soft snore.

  Gabe wished he could fall asleep. But that admission kept him awake far longer than he thought possible.

  Thirteen

  On Sunday afternoon, Aspen was walking down Main Street toward the ice cream parlor with a definite spring in her step. It was one of the coldest days she’d experienced in Silver Bell Falls and there was definitely the smell of snow in the air and yet she embraced it. Hell, she felt like embracing everything today.

  And it was all thanks to Gabe.

  What a night! Never in her entire life had she experienced anything like it–not as a date with a boyfriend, or a night out with her friends, or even any event with her family. Everything they did last night was just insanely perfect.

  And a lot of it made her blush.

  They had slept in this morning–since it was practically dawn when they finally went to sleep–and then they enjoyed the most amazing breakfast. Cassidy made Belgian waffles with sausage and a fresh fruit cup on the side, and even though they shared the dining room with three other couples, it still felt intimate.

  When they checked out, Cassidy asked–again–about ordering chocolates, and Aspen knew if she really buckled down this week she could bang all the orders out by Christmas Eve and be able to head back to Atlanta with a clean slate.