The Christmas Plan - Samantha Chase Page 0,5

hands in his. “No one’s going to hate you. It’s not possible. You’re too nice.”

Lacing her fingers with his–something she did from time to time–she smiled at him. “Promise?”

“Promise.”

They drove on for several minutes and Gabe liked how she didn’t let go of his hand.

Actually, there was a lot he liked about Aspen but he’d never admit to it out loud.

Back when they were in college, he had been seriously attracted to her. They’d flirted a little with each other, but he had been too afraid of making a move on her. She was out of his league. Getting put in the friend-zone was normally disappointing, but with Aspen it was pretty damn great. She was seriously his best friend.

Looking back, Gabe had to remind himself that there was a chance that if they had dated and broken up, he wouldn’t have her friendship. And without that, he wasn’t sure where he’d be. Aspen had been a sounding board for his creative ideas, his biggest fan whenever one of his projects went live, and his biggest cheerleader when he was doubting himself. As much as he sometimes wondered about what it would be like to date her and have a romantic–and sexual–relationship with her, he knew what they had was definitely better.

At least…that’s what he always told himself.

There was no way they would have lasted as a couple. Gabe wasn’t big on romance and she was. He wasn’t comfortable with public displays of affection and she was. As much as he knew Aspen loved being independent and taking care of herself, he also knew she dreamed of meeting a guy who showered her with romance and who would make her feel cherished and loved. And definitely one who was willing to shout it from the rooftops that she was the woman for him.

It obviously hadn’t happened yet, but Aspen was still optimistic that it would.

And there was no way Gabe was going to get in the way of that because he knew he’d just end up disappointing her.

“So,” she began a little too loudly, causing Gabe to jump slightly in his seat. “Are we going to see anything exciting between here and Hagerstown? Anyplace I’ll be tempted to stop and check out?”

“Um…maybe?” he replied warily even as he slowly released her hand. “We have nine hours of driving. That’s just driving time; that doesn’t include stopping for bathroom breaks or meals, so any other stops are just going to make us take that much longer to get to the hotel and stop for the night.”

“Oh, sure. You’re right. I mean, who wants to be stuck in the car longer than they have to, right?”

“Yup.”

They drove for several more miles in silence and there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that it was killing her. “Can you hand me some cookies from the cooler?”

“Already? We’ve been on the road for barely thirty minutes.”

“And?”

“And…cookies and hot cocoa for breakfast seems a little crazy even for you.”

She sighed loudly. “What is your deal today, Gabe? We’ve traveled together a bunch of times before and you’ve never been this grouchy. What’s going on?”

Now it was his turn to sigh. “I don’t know. I think I’m just a little stressed about spending the month with my family.”

“Why? They’re great.”

“Yeah, to you,” he mumbled.

“Care to explain?”

He twisted and fidgeted in his seat a bit before replying. “Any time you’ve been around my folks, it’s been in small doses. There’s a reason I moved so far away from home.”

“But…you always go back for the holidays.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s my way of helping out during the busy season.” He shrugged. “The tree farm has been in my family for like…a hundred years. Most of the year it’s pretty boring, but for the months of November and December, it’s a lot of hard work. Especially for my folks since they’re getting older.”

“I’m sure they have a lot of help, Gabe. Like…if you didn’t go home for these extended trips, I bet they’d be okay.”

“Maybe. I think it’s a little bit of guilt that makes me do it.”

“Guilt? Seriously?”

Nodding, he explained, “It was never something I wanted to do–the tree farm, the lot, any of it. I thought I’d go crazy living in that tiny town and thinking of nothing but Christmas all the time.”

She nudged him playfully with her elbow. “Oh, come on. I would think Christmas year-round would be awesome.”

The snort was out before he could stop it. “There’s nothing wrong with it. I know that. But it