Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
GEMMA
E arly in the morning, before we’d even finished our first cups of coffee, we sat around the fireplace in our cabin, chatting as we watched the flickering flames. Overnight snowfall had transformed the world outside into a fairy-tale scene, where a hot fae guy could run out of the forest at any moment.
Laurel smiled as she looked out the massive windows that surrounded this room. “It’s so beautiful out here. Maybe we should come back with the guys sometime.”
“I’m up for that,” I said, but before I could suggest that we choose a couple of dates before we even left here to make sure the next trip actually happened, a knock sounded at the front door. I frowned. “Is anybody expecting anyone or anything?”
Laurel shook her head. “I don’t even think I gave anyone the address of this place. You?”
Mariam shrugged. “Nope.”
I suddenly remembered that I’d sent Noah the link and my heart skipped a beat in my chest as I shot to my feet. “Noah has it.”
Racing toward the door, I threw it open hoping he would be on the other side, but instead, I found a gorgeous, huge bouquet of flowers staring at me. It was so big, I couldn’t even see the delivery guy who was holding them, but he peered out at me from behind the purple and white arrangement.
“Are you Gemma Longstrum?”
“That’s me,” I managed to say once I unglued my tongue from the roof of my mouth. “Is this…”
“For you. Yes.” He handed it over, saluting me. Then he spun on his heels and raced back to his truck to get out of the cold.
For a long moment, I stood there in the open doorway. The icy breeze outside eventually reminded me that I had to stop gaping and get back inside. As soon as I shut the door again, I glanced at the beautiful bouquet, noticing a little note sticking out of the top of it.
Carefully balancing the heavy arrangement in one hand, I slid the note out with the other. “For the most beautiful girl in the world. Noah.”
My heart fluttered, skipping and jumping, and a smile I couldn’t hide split my face. I hurried back to the living room and the girls went crazy when they saw what I was holding.
“Whoa! This man is rich. Get it girl!” Laurel cheered.
Mariam laughed. “Where can I find me a man like that?”
“Check an airplane bathroom.” I giggled, my cheeks heating. “This one is all mine. Sorry.”
I winked at them around the bouquet, then gently laid it down on the counter so I could search for a vase. My mind spun as I opened cabinet after cabinet, my chest feeling so fuzzy and warm that I could barely grab onto any of the thoughts racing through my head.
The only thing I was absolutely sure of right then was how I felt, and I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. Mariam had told me a little more about what she’d read after we’d arrived here, and while I had to admit it didn’t paint the rosiest picture of Noah’s ability to commit, I still didn’t feel like he was playing me. Every relationship failed until one finally didn’t.
As Laurel had pointed out, the guy was young, rich, and famous. It was almost a given that he would have fun with his newfound fame and play the field as much as he had. I was also hanging onto what she’d said about not all celebrities being the same.
Simultaneously, I couldn’t dismiss Mariam’s worries or my own insecurities about our age gap either. Sure, he was fine with my age at the moment, but what would happen when a perky new model with less miles on it showed up? As I found a vase and arranged the bouquet in it, I sorted through all those thoughts one at a time. I finally managed to grab hold of them, but the truth was that I still didn’t know what to do about any of it.
The only thing I really could do was to take each day as it came, and today, I was going shopping in Gatlinburg with my girls. Noah had sent me a wonderful surprise, and I’d also received a text from him earlier saying that he was hanging out with the boys today.
All of which meant that for this particular day, both of us were spending some quality time with our friends and everything between us was still good. Still solid.
Exhaling deeply, I took one last look at my flowers before I went to rejoin my friends, needing a little pick-me-up before I gave into the temptation to beg Laurel to drive me back to Nashville early. “Who’s up for drawing the next item on my Naughty List?”
Both girls blinked at me, but Laurel smiled. “I am. I could use the distraction and I’m assuming that’s why you want to do it, too. Besides, it could be something really fun.”
Mariam chuckled. “We’ve already got a majority, but for what it’s worth, I was going to say yes too. Whatever you get though, we’re going to have to do it after our Christmas shopping. We can’t get so distracted that we go home without any gifts.”
“We’re definitely not going home without gifts,” I said, already excited at the prospect of finding something special for Noah. “Alright, I’m going to go grab my list, and if I draw something we can all do here together, we’re doing it after we’re done shopping?”
“Deal,” Mariam said.
Laurel nodded. “Deal. I’ll put on some more coffee.”
“Yes, please.” I grinned at her, then took off to find my handbag.
The little wooden box was living in there for now and I had to admit, I was going to miss it once we’d finished our lists. All of these tasks so far had helped me come such a long way toward being a new me that I might even try to convince the girls that we needed to add more tasks once we’d each completed the original four.
It was certainly something to think about, but I was simply going to focus on doing my next task with the girls who had helped me formulate the list to begin with. Look at me, living in the complete present for a change.
Even that felt amazing.
While I’d always been the free spirit of our group, that didn’t mean a heck of a lot considering the group it was. Both Laurel and Mariam were overplanners and overthinkers. I, myself, was generally more of a planner than most.
I longed for some more spontaneity in life, and this list was certainly giving me that. Once I located my handbag, I pulled out the box and brought it back to the girls.
Laurel had refilled everyone’s coffee. I took my seat, setting the box down on my knees. “I’m definitely going to need another drumroll for this.”
Mariam leaned forward and started tapping her fingers against the glass top of the coffee table, her eyes wide on mine. I opened the box and dramatically plucked a piece of paper out of it. Laurel’s chest had gone completely still, like she was holding her breath as she waited to hear our fate.
“Get drunk at a wedding and act a fool,” I read from the paper. Laughing, I shook my head at the girls we used to be. “How on earth are we supposed to attend a wedding today?”
Laurel’s lips pursed as she thought it over. “Maybe there’s a chapel in town we can pop into?”
“We’ll find something,” Mariam said confidently. “If we don’t, I suppose you’ll just have to ask Noah to do it with you in Nashville.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Laurel said. “I, for one, would love to get drunk at a wedding and act a fool today. I need it and you guys do too. If we can’t, then fine, but let’s not give up before we’ve even tried.”
“Oh, we’re trying, alright,” I said, picking up my mug after setting the box down on the coffee table. “Let’s drink up and get ready for the day. I’m suddenly seeing a lot more excitement ahead for us than we thought when we woke up this morning.”
Settling back in, I wrapped my fingers around my hot drink and helped my friends try to come up with ways in which we could act a fool if we found a wedding. Noah was never far from my mind though, and when we arrived in town, he was the first person on my list to get something for.
In a souvenir shop packed with all sorts of awesome little knick-knacks, I found an ornament of a guitar that looked just like his. The universe is totally on my side with him.
Taking it as a sign, I bought the ornament, my head in the clouds about the flowers and the thought of telling him how serendipitous finding this little guitar had been. As the day continued, the girls and I had a great time shopping, and having fun with them kept me from driving myself nuts with thoughts about the guy I was crazy about.
Around lunch time, we found a cute little coffee shop with a fantastic holiday menu, loads of garland wrapped around every available surface, and all sorts of Christmas decorations everywhere. Michael Buble, Mariah Carey, and Wham! serenaded us with familiar holiday classics. We each ate a sandwich, then decided to spoil ourselves with a yummy, Christmassy drink.
I scanned the holiday menu, pointing at the best thing I remembered drinking in a long, long time. “Peppermint Bark Latte? Yes, please. Do you think I can have two?”
Mariam laughed. “Well, you could, but we definitely won’t be trying to find a wedding after if you do. You’d need a nap.”
Laurel giggled. “Why would she need a nap? What’s a Peppermint Bark Latte?”
“They put peppermint chocolate on top of hot coffee and it melts into it,” I explained quickly, my mouth already watering. “It’s divine. You have to try one.”
“I was hoping for a salted caramel drink,” she mused out loud, but then glanced at me and shrugged. “Never mind. Even if they did have one, theirs wouldn’t top my regular place for it, so bring on your peppermint. That sounds pretty great too.”
“You won’t regret it,” I promised, placing an order for three when Mariam decided she’d have one as well.
When our decadent treats arrived, I grinned at the girls and held mine up for a toast. “This is going to become a problem for both of you. You won’t be able to get enough.”
They giggled and held theirs up before each taking a sip, and a lot of delighted moans and smiles later, we paid our check and vowed we’d be back before we left Gatlinburg. Heading back out onto the streets, we did a little bit more shopping, and as we were walking around town, I suddenly spotted exactly what we needed.
“Over there!” I pointed toward a little dance hall at the end of the block. Outside it, there was a sign advertising shotgun holiday weddings and I grinned. “It says there are free drinks for anyone who decides to come on in. Should we do it?”
“Obviously,” Laurel said enthusiastically. “If this isn’t a sign that we should knock this item off your list today, I don’t know what is.”
“Great minds think alike.” I arched an eyebrow at Mariam. “Are you in?”
She nodded slowly before smiling. “You know it. There’s no way we can let an opportunity like this pass us by.”
“Maybe we should just take all our shopping back to the cabin real quick and catch a cab back here,” Laurel said.
I shook my head. “Nope. We’re going in there. Right now. I’m sure our gifts will be safe, and if we drink too much to drive, we can always come fetch the car tomorrow. We’re doing this now. Spontaneously and without thinking about every little detail.”
She paused, then shrugged. “Alright. That actually sounds pretty good.”
I winked and reached out to pat her arm. “I knew you’d come over to the dark side sooner or later. I love it. Let’s go.”
Leading the charge down the block, I was surprised to find there was already a wedding going on. Perfect timing. We went in and watched the couple get married. Then we joined in the fun after, drinking and dancing. Several cocktails in, we were finally acting like fools.
We laughed at each other the whole time, doing silly dances and having an absolute blast with the other guests, none of whom we’d ever see again. In that moment, I wished harder than ever that Noah had been here to enjoy it with us, but I hoped he was having fun with the boys—and that his flowers meant he wouldn’t have forgotten all about me by the time I made it back to Nashville.