The Christmas Plan

by Samantha Chase

  Hypocrite.

  They had gone to midnight mass at the church and sang even more Christmas carols with people in the town square at on in the morning, while it was ten degrees. And when they got home? They each opened up one last gift for the night–new pajamas. Everyone got new pajamas.

  Including her.

  Then there was Christmas Day. The dinner table looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, and then there were more presents.

  Like seriously, more presents.

  The last gift she opened was from Gabe. He’d gotten her a cookbook by her favorite chocolatier, and it was signed. It was something only he would know, and she was incredibly touched. She hated the distance between them over the last week and hated even more that they were ending things like this.

  In the car, Aspen figured they’d have some time to talk and maybe come to peace with the way things were and maybe–in time–they’d get back to the kind of friendship they’d always had.

  Before she messed it up.

  Groaning, she rested her head back against the seat.

  “The heat will kick in soon,” he said, misreading the situation. “It’s harder to get warmed up when it’s this cold out.”

  All Aspen could do was nod.

  If she thought things would be awkward, she was wrong.

  Gabe talked the entire time about how much fun Christmas was and told stories about each of the relatives she’d met and then how they were all going to spend the rest of the week and then all the New Year’s Eve festivities. She was actually sorry she was missing it all.

  “Things will probably still be a little festive around town when you get back,” he said. “The decorations don’t usually come down until mid-January, so you’ll get to enjoy them for a little longer.”

  “I guess.”

  “But you’ll be so busy with the shop, you probably won’t even notice.”

  “Maybe.”

  “I heard Josiah and Melanie were definitely renting you the tiny house. That’s awesome!”

  It was awesome, Aspen just wished she could move it someplace else that wasn’t right on Gabe’s parents’ property. She would love a little distance from the Andrews family and a little privacy for herself.

  Not wanting to talk about it any longer, she turned the topic around to him. “So what about you? Have you gotten any leads on what film projects you’re going to be working on when you get back?”

  He shrugged. “Dave gave me a few options and I’m thinking about them. Neither thrilled me.”

  “Did you ever pitch him the docuseries idea I came up with?” she asked and then wanted to kick herself. “I mean, not that you had to. Maybe it was a stupid idea. What do I know about movies and documentaries?”

  “After all the years we’ve known each other, with you having to listen to me talk about my work, I’d say you know a lot,” he replied, smiling at her.

  She’d missed that smile so much, and she felt guilty for being a bit of a brat. They should have been spending these last few days hanging out and cheering each other on, and instead she’d done everything humanly possible to be away from the house all day every day.

  Although, to be fair, Gabe didn’t reach out either, so…

  Basically, they were both idiots.

  By the time they arrived at the airport, it felt like things were good between them. Maybe not exactly the way they were pre-Silver Bell Falls, but good nonetheless. When Gabe pulled into the parking garage rather than up to the door to drop her off, she thought he’d made a mistake.

  “Um…why are you parking?”

  “What? I can’t walk you in?” he teased, climbing from the car. He had her bag out of the trunk before she was out of the car, and when she met him back by the trunk, all he said was, “I’ll carry it.”

  It was crazy cold and they huddled together on the long walk to the terminal. “You know you’re not going to be able to go far with me, right?”

  “Yeah, but it seemed wrong to just drop you off at the curb, so…just humor me. I’m trying to be considerate.”

  She nudged him playfully. “I know how hard that is for you.” They both laughed and almost slipped on an icy patch of pavement and then continued to laugh all the way into the terminal.

  Inside it was warm and toasty and Aspen simply stood and enjoyed it for a moment. Looking around, she found where her airline’s ticket counter was and then pulled out the boarding pass she printed back at his house.

  “I don’t think I need to go to the ticket counter since I’m not checking any bags. I think I can go right to security, right?”

  He nodded. “Want to grab a cup of coffee first? There’s a little coffee shop right before the TSA line.”

  It would be easy to say yes, but she needed to make this a clean break. There was no point in dragging things out. They had a good drive here together and she had a feeling if they pushed their luck, someone was bound to say something stupid and ruin it all.

  And it would probably be her.

  “I think I need to just go, Gabe,” she said, looking up at him sadly. “Thank you for the ride.”

  “There was no way I was letting anyone else drive you here.”

  “You’re very sweet.” Then, because she couldn’t hold back, she all but threw herself at him and hugged him tight. “I’m going to miss you.”

  His arms slowly wound around her and he held on just as tight. “I’m going to miss you too.” They stayed like that for several minutes. “You’re going to be an amazing business owner and I am so freaking proud of you.”

  “And you’re going to make a blockbuster movie and win all kinds of awards. I believe in you.”

  When they finally broke apart, Aspen was on the verge of tears. “I…I need to go.” She turned to leave, but Gabe reached out and snagged her hand. She faced him and did her best to hold it together for a little longer.

  “I just want you to know something.”

  “O-kay…”

  “I love you,” he said, her hand still in his. “And not just as a friend. But as a woman. I always have. I know my timing sucks and it’s probably not going to change anything, but…I wanted you to know that. It’s always been you. It’s always going to be you. And someday we’re going to be living in the same place at the same time and it’s going to be perfect.”

  And dammit, now she was crying.

  And then she was kissing him and he was kissing her back. People walked around them and she lost track of time, but when they finally broke apart, breathless and teary, Aspen knew it was the perfect goodbye.

  Cupping his face in her hands, she said, “I love you too. Always.”

  This time when she turned to walk away, he didn’t stop her and she didn’t look back. She couldn’t. The walk through the TSA queue wasn’t terrible. There weren’t a lot of people at the airport at this hour; there were maybe a dozen people ahead of her and none behind her.

  Gabe loved her.

  Her heart felt so full and she knew they were going to be okay. Things were just going to suck for them for a while. Maybe once she was settled in back in Silver Bell Falls and the shop was up and running, she could convince him to come for a visit. It would be easier for him to come to her–especially once her side of the shop was open. Hopefully she could get him to come for the grand opening because there was no one else she wanted there to share that moment with her. It would be wonderful and the whole town would be there and…

  Someone banged into her from behind and she almost tripped over her carry-on. “Hey, watch it,” she snapped, glancing over her shoulder.

  Gabe.

  He was standing behind her, looking innocent–like he hadn’t just nearly knocked her off her feet.

  There were a dozen questions on the tip of her tongue and she was certain her lips were moving, but no words were coming out.

  “What? Like I was going to make a declaration like that and then let you go?” he said with a dramatic snort of disbelief. “Please. I may be
clueless in a lot of ways, but not this one.”

  “But…I don’t understand. How…?”

  “Next!” the TSA agent called out, and she had no choice but to wait for her answer.

  The look on Aspen’s face was priceless and Gabe was pretty much grinning like a fool as they made their way through security and to their gate.

  Because yeah, he was flying back to Atlanta with her.

  And then moving back to Silver Bell Falls with her.

  Sometimes it took him a while to catch on and realize what was really important in life, and Aspen was the most important thing in his and there was no way he could let her go.

  Not as a friend.

  Not as a lover.

  Not as his everything.

  They walked over to their gate and sat down. Aspen may not have asked him a single thing, but he knew she was dying for some answers.

  “It’s not a coincidence that you suddenly got kept busy with the shop,” he began. “I sort of enlisted the town’s help in keeping you in Silver Bell until today.”

  “But…why? If you had just asked me to stay…”

  “I couldn’t. I had my own stuff that I had to take care of and I didn’t know how it was all going to go, so I needed everyone to keep you busy.”

  “So the papers at the bank?”

  “Duplicates.”

  “The contractor who kept not showing up?”

  “An old buddy of mine from high school. He owed me a few favors.”

  “The Women’s Council of Business Involving the Arts?”

  “Yeah, Nikki made that one up. I think most of the women there were from her Zumba class.”

  Relief washed over him when she started to laugh. “Wow. Just…wow. I never knew you could be this sneaky.”

  “Desperate times called for desperate measures.” And just because he could, he leaned in and kissed her.

  Her hands raked through his hair before she broke the kiss. “Okay, but now I need to know what you had to take care of and what happens from here.”

  Leaning back in his seat, he let out a long breath. “All of the planets had to align.”

  “Um, yeah. I don’t know what that means.”

  “It means we have a moving company coming tomorrow to load up your stuff and mine.”

  Aspen’s eyes went wide and her jaw dropped open and it was the cutest thing he’d ever seen.

  “So when we land later this morning, we need to really kick it into gear and pack everything up.”

  “What do you mean we? My stuff’s already done.” Luckily, he knew she was teasing.

  “Well, we also know that I live in a rather spartan apartment so it won’t really take that long.”

  “You’re really moving? I thought you said…”

  He placed a finger over her lips. “I know what I said, but I was wrong. I mean, I do love living in the city but I can go to the city any time if I really want to. I feel like I wanted to get away from Silver Bell because there wasn’t anything there for me. Now there is. You.”

  Her smile was slow and sweet. “Me?”

  He nodded. “This last month was the greatest time of my life in that town. You opened my eyes to things I had forgotten or that I never took the time to appreciate. Moving back isn’t going to be a hardship.”

  “But…what about your job? The films?”

  “I talked to Dan and pitched him an idea–maybe you’ve heard me talk about it.”

  And her smile grew. “Is it a docuseries about Christmas towns?”

  “It is a docuseries about Christmas towns. I’m going to be doing a lot of Zoom calls with him and the production team over the next few months and there’s going to be a lot of research involved but he loved the idea and will be pitching it to some of the networks once I shoot a trailer for the concept. Luckily, Silver Bell Falls will still be decorated for the next few weeks, so it’s really the perfect time to head back.”

  “I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe you’re going back with me.” Then she gasped.

  “What? What’s the matter?”

  “How are we getting back? The moving truck is taking all our belongings, but your car is here.”

  “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

  “Um…”

  “You do still have a car in Atlanta, silly.”

  “Oh, my goodness. I can’t believe I didn’t even think of that. I guess my head is still spinning.” She caressed his jaw before leaning in and kissing him. “I thought this was going to be one of the worst days of my life and it turned out to be one of the best.”

  “It’s only going to get better from here. I promise.”

  “You promise? Really?”

  He nodded, grinning. “Are you kidding? You? Me? Living in the tiny house? How great is that going to be?”

  Aspen burst out laughing. “Oh, no! We can’t possibly both live in that house! But I also don’t want to live with your parents and keep sleeping in your childhood bed! What are we going to do?”

  It was his turn to kiss her. “Lucky for you, Josiah and Melanie knew of my plan so they aren’t expecting you to really rent the tiny house. We’ll stay with my folks for a week while we look for an apartment. I’ve got a call into the local real estate office and they reopen after New Year’s so…we’re good.”

  “Gabriel Andrews, it seems to me you’ve thought of everything. I’m impressed.”

  “Well, don’t be too impressed. I think I may have over-scheduled us and we’ll be rushing around ready to strangle each other.”

  And he was only partially kidding.

  “The packing and getting ready for the movers may be a bit of a stretch, but what else do we have to rush for?”

  “I want us to be back in Silver Bell Falls for New Year’s Eve. I can’t help it; it’s a family tradition and I’ve never missed one. Plus, I’d really love for you to experience it.”

  “Wait. You want us to get all of this done and…today’s the twenty-sixth and you want to be back here for the thirty-first? Gabe…I don’t know. We’ll be so exhausted that we won’t even be awake to ring in the new year!” she said with a laugh.

  “Or…” he countered, “we can look at it like a little adventure and race back here like we’re crossing some kind of finish line like the end of The Amazing Race.”

  “Ooh…I do love that show.”

  He grinned. “I know you do.”

  Aspen considered him for a minute. “Can I ask you something?”

  “Anything.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

  “When?”

  “That night that I came to your room. I made a complete fool of myself and then cried all over you. Why didn’t you say anything about you felt?”

  Gabe knew this was going to come up, and yet he still didn’t really know how to explain himself.

  “You had this amazing opportunity ahead of you,” he said, his voice low as his thumb gently caressed her knuckles. “I knew if I said how I felt, you’d give that opportunity up and come back to Atlanta with me. I couldn’t let you do that. You deserved to be happy, Aspen. Your dream was finally coming true. Anything I said about my feelings was going to be selfish. Hell, I would have encouraged you to come back to Atlanta with me because I’m that selfish.”

  Frowning, she looked down at their hands. “I don’t know if I would have given up the shop, but I would have sorely been tempted to.” Then she looked up at him. “And if we’re being honest, we were both a little selfish. I wanted it all–you, the business, the town…”

  He couldn’t help the smile that tugged at his lips. “And you’re getting it all. So don’t blame me when we all get on your nerves.”

  Pulling her hand back, she smacked his arm. “Wow. Way to ruin the moment.”

  Rather than argue, he simply reached up and grabbed her face and kissed her. “It’s what I do. I think we both know that. And remember…you love me anyway.”

  Aspen leaned forward, resting her for
ehead against his. “I do. I really, really do.”

  “You ready to take on the big adventure with me? I’ve got it all planned out.”

  “I would go anywhere and everywhere with you,” she told him. “Plan or no plan.”

  He kissed her again. “That’s my girl.”

  “We have an hour to kill before we board…”

  Gabe wasn’t sure where she was going with this, because her voice had that sexy huskiness to it, but…she couldn’t possibly be thinking of sneaking off anywhere.

  Could she?

  So with a nod, he waited her out.

  “And there’s something I’ve always wanted to do,” she went on, turning the tables on him and gently caressing his hand.

  “O-kay…” And honestly, he’d be open to finding a place where they could be alone. It had been far too long since he’d touched her, made love to her, and if she wanted to try that somewhere in this airport, he was completely on board with it.

  “I’ve never tried a Cinnabon,” she said with a devious grin. “And they had one in the food court we passed. Want to go grab some breakfast?”

  “Food? You’re thinking about food?”

  “Well, duh! What did you think I was talking about?”

  But the smile on her face told him she knew exactly what he was thinking. She stood and held out a hand to him.

  “You can ply me with a giant cinnamon roll and then we’ll see if we can find a private spot to share it. What do you say?”

  “Just like you, I’d go anywhere and everywhere with you. Lead the way.”

  And she did.

  Epilogue

  New Year’s Eve…

  “This is insane! Why is everyone outside? You didn’t mention the family tradition was outside, Gabe!”

  “Well, this is part of the new town tradition,” he explained as they huddled close as they wandered around the town square. “New York City does the ball drop at midnight; we do the bell drop.”