Chapter 28 Lily
LILY
Gabe ended up being right. Everything went smoothly regarding the holiday orders, and I knew part of that was because he instilled the confidence in me that I could do it and that help wasn’t a bad thing.
Even though I hadn’t asked her, Tiffany stopped by, too. She said she couldn’t leave me hanging, and her husband insisted on staying with the kids so Tiffany could focus on helping. Luckily, Jack was feeling better. He’d miss the Christmas festival tonight, but Tiffany told me she’d bring Maddie.
My mom, Tiffany, and I took the lead on baking while Eliza and Jules packaged orders. Gabe had the order sheet and was double-checking everything, and he also helped me this morning when customers stopped by to pick up their orders.
I couldn’t believe it was already Christmas Eve. The month was flying by.
When Gabe had told me that people from across the state had placed orders, I didn’t believe it until I saw for myself.
I had orders from Golden Falls, of course, but there were also people coming in from surrounding towns.
Sometimes even upwards of an hour away. I couldn’t describe how amazing it felt that word was getting out about Purrfect Blend, and it made me more excited to try to find time to pursue the baking classes I’d been eyeing.
For the next week or so, however, I was taking a break. After all the orders were picked up this morning and volunteers from the animal shelter came by to pick up the cats, I closed Purrfect Blend for the week. I’d reopen after the new year.
At first, when I decided to take time off, a part of me realized it would be strange not seeing Gabe every day. Then I remembered I’d see him both tonight and tomorrow, and the ache in my chest lessened.
My eyes searched for him as I stood outside my apartment building. The cheers, laughter, and conversation from the Christmas festival echoed in the air, the event already in full swing. And the snow was coming down hard.
Since we’d gotten a decent snowfall, the festival included sledding, a gingerbread house building contest, and snow tubing, in addition to food, holiday music, and spots to sit around fire pits. The lake had frozen over and was safe to walk and ice skate on.
As I stood outside the building, I had to blink away the snowflakes that were floating down. Paired with the decorations, lights, and smell of hot chocolate, the ambiance was magical.
Once I saw Gabe, I straightened, a grin appearing on my face.
It didn’t take him long to spot me, and his own smile spread across his lips.
His gaze zeroed in on me, and I lifted both my hands to show off the two cups of peppermint hot chocolate.
The one for me had a mountain of whipped cream, and the one for Gabe was more tame.
“You made it!” I exclaimed, rocking back and forth on my feet.
“And you’re prepared.” His smile stayed on his face as he nodded toward the drinks.
“They might not be as hot anymore, since it’s been a little bit, but the line gets crazy long.
I didn’t want our first stop to be waiting.
That’s not a good start to our night.” I handed him his hot chocolate.
“This one should be less sweet, although I’m happy to share the whipped cream if you want.
Or you could even have this one if you prefer. ”
“The one you got me is perfect,” Gabe assured, his eyes softening. “Don’t worry so much, Sunshine. I’m fairly easy to please.”
That might have been true, but I wanted to give him what he wanted. I didn’t know why I wanted to do that, but I did.
He didn’t take the hot chocolate right away, though. He eyed me, his eyes narrowing in on the top of my head, which by the feeling of it, likely had lots of snowflakes on it. “You have snow everywhere,” he said with a chuckle. “Did you forget your hat again?”
“I did,” I admitted sheepishly. “I considered running back upstairs, but then I had the hot chocolates and only two hands to hold everything…which meant having to figure out how to get the door. It didn’t seem possible.”
“I brought a spare for you.” Gabe reached into his pocket, pulling out a spare winter beanie. He carefully slipped the hat onto my head, moving a few strands of hair away from my face. “Can’t have you freezing before Christmas.” He then took one of the drinks from me.
My lips parted at his gesture, at how he was thinking about me.
I swallowed the lump in my throat. I often felt like I had something to prove or that I wasn’t successful if I had help along the way, but Gabe was dispelling those myths day by day.
I liked having him care for me. I liked having him thinking about me.
“That’s really sweet,” I said softly. “Thank you.”
“Of course,” Gabe said, reaching into his pocket with his free hand. “I brought these for you, too.” He handed me a pair of gloves, which I’d also forgotten upstairs.
I took them from him and slid them into my own pocket for now, giving him an appreciative smile. “You’re one step ahead of me, aren’t you?”
Gabe grinned, shaking his head. “Barely. I’m just trying to keep up.”
I let out a laugh, unable to help the smile on my face. The snow crunched beneath our boots as we started walking.
Gabe reached for my hand, murmuring, “Wouldn’t want you to slip.”
I rolled my lips, nodding in agreement. “Good thinking.” I intertwined my fingers with his and gave his hand a squeeze. Even though it was frosty outside, Gabe’s palm—his presence, really—was warm and inviting.
“When I asked Hal earlier today if he’d be here, he gave me a weird and mysterious response. Do you know why that might’ve been?” Gabe asked. We started to walk toward the heart of downtown where all the attractions, food, and shopping were set up.
I hid my smile by taking a sip of hot chocolate. “I do,” I said slowly. “It’s because Hal isn’t…himself tonight.”
Gabe raised his brow. I tipped my chin toward what was coming into view: a large red sleigh set up next to one of the tallest Christmas trees I’d ever seen.
“No way,” Gabe said under his breath with an amused laugh. “You’re telling me out of all the places in the world, Santa decided to come to Golden Falls.” I liked the light-hearted teasing in his tone and how playful our interactions had gotten.
“He’s going to travel to other places, too, but this is his first stop.”
Gabe chuckled, shaking his head and pulling me in toward his side as I was taking a sip of hot chocolate, a trace of whipped cream clinging to my nose and upper lip.
“Hey!” I laughed, bringing my cup up to shield my face and glancing around to see if there was a napkin I could grab from one of the nearby stands.
Gabe was quicker, though. He gently tugged my hand for us to stop walking and turned so he was facing me.
When I lowered my cup, he brought his hand closer, using the pad of his thumb to wipe the cream that was on my nose.
I watched carefully as he brought his thumb up to his lips, sucking the whipped cream with a hum.
My lips parted slightly as my gaze dropped and stayed on his full lips.
I felt his hot touch on my upper lip, and he swiped more of the sweetness off.
Before he could pull away, I captured his thumb between my lips.
His warm, brown eyes turned dark, and his jaw clenched.
His throat bobbed while his eyes stayed firmly glued to me.
I would say this moment reminded me of my kiss with Gabe, but that’d be a lie.
Because I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about our kiss. It was all I’d been thinking about and if we’d get a chance to do it again. Maybe tonight, even. There had to be mistletoe around here somewhere.
I pulled away after a moment, acting unfazed and taking another sip of my hot chocolate, more carefully this time. “What’d you think of the whipped cream? Too sweet for you?” I asked, hoping that my voice stayed even and didn’t give away how wound up I felt, heat coiling deep in my stomach.
“No, not too sweet,” he said, voice low. “Just the perfect amount of sweetness.” With the way he was looking at me, I started to think maybe he wasn’t talking about the whipped cream, but that would be ridiculous.
“Well, don’t you two look adorable and cozy!” A voice cut in.
I turned to see Susan approaching us, unsure when she’d gotten close. Her hands, which were covered by knitted mittens, were holding two small mason jar candles. Susan loved making candles, and all of us in town encouraged her to sell them beyond the Christmas festival.
“I wanted to bring you a couple of candles.” Susan handed one to me and the other to Gabe.
“You didn’t have to do that,” I said as I took the candle from her with my free hand. “Thanks so much, Susan. I was going to show Gabe the booths after our next stop.” I glanced down at the cranberry peppermint candle. “What did you get?” I asked Gabe, peering over.
“Cinnamon gingerbread,” he told me, angling the candle so I could see. “That’s so nice of you, Susan. I’d be happy to buy these from you. You don’t need to give them to us for free.”
“Oh, nonsense!” She waved her hand. “Consider it a small gift for the holidays—and a thank you to you, Gabe.”
My brows furrowed in confusion until Susan explained, “I had a grocery run to do before the first snowfall came in, but my car was in the shop. Gabe picked up the groceries for me, which was so helpful.”
“It wasn’t a problem at all. Plus, I got to see Sugar Plum, so I’m happy to help.”
Susan smiled warmly. “You’re always welcome to come over. Well, I won’t keep you two kids much longer. Enjoy the rest of your night, and stay warm!” She gave us both a wave before walking to where she had her booth set up, joining her husband and continuing to talk to the line of customers.
I looked over at Gabe, my eyes searching his face. I kept learning more about him, and the more I learned, the more I realized I had been completely wrong about him.
“Ready for our next stop?” I asked as we put the candles in my purse for safe keeping.
“Lead the way, Sunshine. Let’s see what you have planned next.”