letting me set up a little table or something for people who are here to buy trees? Or…giving out free samples to anyone who buys a tree?”
He looked at her like she was crazy for a moment. “If you gave out free samples, that’s money out of your own pocket, Aspen. And the point of you being here was to try to save some money.” Then he paused and excused himself. “I’ll be right back. Just…give me a minute.”
Shrugging, she took a sip of the steamy hot chocolate and sighed happily. “You’d think I’d be tired of anything chocolate but…nope.” Another glance around the office space showed that she could clean it up a bit and set up little bags on two of the shelves that currently just housed Styrofoam cups and some random odds and ends that could easily be put elsewhere. Maybe she could line the shelves with some festive wrapping paper and hang some decorations and really make it look like a little shop. Of course, if they didn’t want her to use the space in here, she could always set up a table outside–in the cold–and just grab a red tablecloth and go from there.
A list of things she would need to buy began to tally in her head–more chocolate, gift bags, ribbons, bins to transport it all in…there was definitely a road trip in her future to go and shop. Of course, she could order everything online and have it here in a few days’ time, and that would give her more than enough time to get organized.
Excitement was bubbling up and as she hopped off the stool, Aspen knew this was exactly the kind of project she needed this month–something fun and creative to keep her mind off of her crappy situation come January. Perhaps she’d have to really go and sell herself and her idea to Gabe’s family so they’d see this could be something great for all of them. Although, considering this had been their family business for generations, they probably didn’t need her silly candy samples to help them out.
“Well…shit,” she murmured and immediately began second-guessing herself and mentally exhausting herself in the process. “Clearly I don’t need to be in a winter wonderland, I need to be in therapy.” She was about to step outside and let Gabe know she had changed her mind when he walked back in. His cheeks were a bit ruddy and between his beard and knit hat there wasn’t a whole lot of his face to see, but she thought he looked adorable. Without thinking, she handed him her mug. “Here. Warm up for a minute.”
He accepted it and took a sip. “Thanks.” When he handed it back to her, Aspen couldn’t quite read his mood or even imagine what he was going to say.
“So…um…”
But he held up a hand to stop her. “Dad loves the idea of the chocolate samples,” he began with a small smile. “And he insisted on paying you for them.”
“Gabe…”
“It’s not negotiable,” he countered. “The plan is to give anyone who buys a tree a goody bag filled with whatever chocolate treats you plan to have on hand.”
“Oh, wow! I love it! I think I could make all kinds of different things! A variety–you know, in case anyone has allergies or anything like that.”
He nodded and went on. “Then there’s the arts and crafts festival in two weeks. It’s the same day as the Christmas parade.”
“O-kay…”
“Once I thought about what you were suggesting, I figured you’d possibly want a bigger venue to sell your stuff so…”
“Thought about it? That was like three minutes ago!”
Gabe nodded again. “I know, but sometimes it just takes one little idea to get me going,” he teased. “I think word is going to spread about your chocolates and with people coming here and getting samples, they’re going to want more. So getting you a booth at the festival will be the perfect place for you to set up shop! What do you think?”
Placing her mug down on the desk, Aspen turned and hugged him. “I think this is going to be awesome!” Then she pulled back and gasped. “But…what if there’s no room for me at the festival? What if all the booths are filled?”
“My mom’s already working on it. I texted her as I was talking to my dad.”
“Gabriel Andrews…what would I do without you?”
He pulled her in for another hug and it hit her how in another month she was going to have to do just that.
Be without him.
Exhaustion.
Yeah, that was what Gabe was feeling.
It didn’t matter that he did this every year practically since he was a toddler–the older he got, the more exhausting it was. How his father managed to do this full time for so long was beyond him. It had been less than a week and Gabe was already marking off the days on his calendar and dreaming about when he could go back to Atlanta.
Without Aspen.
That was the one perk of being here in Silver Bell Falls–she was with him.
Here it was, December 1st, and they had less than a month before she left and because of his commitment to his family, he wasn’t going to be there when she walked out of her apartment across the hall from him for the last time.
And it sucked.
Every time he thought about it, he got a knot in his stomach and wished he had a solution for her.
Today, she shopped and bought all the supplies she was going to need to have her candy business–both at the tree lot and the festival. She had been gone all day with his mother and they didn’t get back until after dinner. Now she was over in the tiny house and he was in his room and as much as he just wanted to crawl into bed, it felt wrong that they hadn’t seen each other today.
Picking up his phone, Gabe tapped out a quick text.
Gabe: Hey. You still up?
* * *
Aspen: Sort of
* * *
Gabe: Sort of? What does that mean?
* * *
Aspen: I keep telling myself to go to sleep but my mind won’t shut down.
* * *
Gabe: I know that feeling. Want some company?
* * *
Aspen: Desperately