The Christmas Plan - Samantha Chase Page 0,3

as packing for the trip up North. Somewhere around nine the night before, they decided that they did all that they could; her apartment was ninety percent packed and she had to make a decision on whether or not she was keeping any of the furniture. Gabe’s vote was for her to sell it all since it would cost a lot to move it across the country, and if she was moving in with her parents it was all going to have to go into storage anyway.

But Aspen was still undecided.

What they had agreed upon was that she was going to have to fly back to Atlanta before the end of December. Gabe and his family had a long-standing tradition to ring in the new year together and Aspen was going to have to be out of her apartment on or before New Year’s Eve. He hated even thinking about it, but…there were some things that were out of his control.

The plan was to leave this morning for the two-day drive to Silver Bell Falls so they would arrive the night before Thanksgiving. Normally he didn’t mind the drive; he actually looked forward to it because the quiet gave him plenty of time to think about movie projects. Having Aspen along for the drive was going to be a bit of an adventure because she was never quiet. She loved to talk–and sing and laugh and listen to the radio loudly.

Yeah. An adventure.

And honestly, he was used to it.

They were unlikely friends from the get-go. Aspen was outgoing, energetic, and a total people person, whereas he was way more of an introvert and a people watcher. Human behavior fascinated him and that skill really helped enhance his film projects. Aspen was the only person to draw him out of his shell and make him experience things that he’d normally avoid.

She got him to go zip lining.

And surfing.

But one of her biggest accomplishments with him was totally food related. She was a chocolatier first and foremost, but she loved to create all kinds of desserts–cakes, cookies, candies, and pies. Gabe was not an adventurous eater, but he learned to taste first and ask second whenever she tried to make something new. Most of the time he loved what she made, but there were a few times when he threatened never to speak to her again for making him put something so awful in his mouth.

And Aspen took all his whining and threats in stride.

They first met when he decided to do a short film in college on the culinary department. Aspen had taken one look at him and his camera and immediately volunteered to be interviewed and featured. She explained everything she was doing and why and then created this delicate and beautiful chocolate piece of art. It was a tower of hearts and flowers with ribbons and waves of chocolate holding it all together. In his entire life he had never seen anything like it. There was an artistic side to creating candy that he had never realized. It immediately intrigued him and he found he never got tired of watching her work.

Or eating what she created.

For the life of him, he still couldn’t understand why she was drawn to him. He was quiet and a little nerdy and the complete opposite of all of her other friends. But when it was just the two of them? It all made sense. It shouldn’t…they shouldn’t. But somehow, they did.

His alarm beeped again and there was no more time to lie around lost in his own thoughts. There was a lot to do before they got on the road and with a loud groan, he climbed from the bed and dragged himself into the shower.

By nine, they had his SUV packed and ready to go, and Aspen was going over everything one last time.

“Okay, so we’ve got water, soda, and I grabbed a few bottles of iced tea, but I’m going to get a hot chocolate from Starbucks.”

“Um…okay.”

“Then in this cooler are all the snacks–cookies, chips, peanut butter brownies, pretzels, Rice Krispies treats, and the party-size bag of M&M’s.”

Aspen watched as Gabe peered into the cooler before looking up at her. “Is there anything in there that isn’t sweet or salty? Maybe some…fruit? Sandwiches? Yogurt?”

“Ew, Gabe. You know how I feel about yogurt.”

“Yeah, sorry. I forgot.” He paused. “You really didn’t make any sandwiches?”

“We have ten hours of driving ahead of us,” she reasoned. “We’re going to want to stop and get