Maybe…
Gently tugging her in close, Gage wrapped his arms around her waist. “What do you say we skip lunch and spend the afternoon alone? Just the two of us.”
“Mmm…” Rubbing her cold nose against his, she replied, “That does sound nice.”
“But…”
Ducking her head, he heard her giggle. “The place we’re going for lunch was really good when you and I went last week and…I’m kind of starving.”
Rolling his eyes, he couldn’t help but laugh with her. Food was definitely Hannah’s love language and as much as he would have preferred a more private and sexier afternoon, he supposed it wasn’t the worst thing to go and grab something to eat. With a long huff, he said, “Fine. We’ll go eat, but later…”
Hannah lifted her head and gave him a seductive grin. “Later I promise to reward you for being such a good sport about this.” Then she kissed him softly on the lips just as the elevator doors opened.
The plan was to meet back up with everyone in the lobby in thirty minutes and by the time they got up to their suite and changed into dry clothes and freshened up–and Gage made sure everything was put away–it was time to go.
Not everyone was staying here in the complex–mainly because there wasn’t enough room. Christina and her family were staying at a nearby hotel along with Steph, Amy, and their families. Sarah and her husband were staying down in his mom’s apartment because his mother wanted to help out with the babies. But because they’d planned this jam-packed day, everyone had scattered to utilize the amenities to change and get ready for lunch and by the time he and Hannah were back down in the lobby, everyone was already there.
“How is it that you’re the last one to show up when you have no kids?” Stephanie teased and then gave him an exaggerated wink.
Groaning, he shook his head and apologized to Hannah. “I know they think they’re funny…”
She just chuckled. “Please, I wish my sisters would unclench a bit and have fun like this. They’re both way too serious. This has been awesome. You’re very lucky.”
And while Gage knew that to be true, he realized they hadn’t talked much about her relationship with her siblings. He knew enough about her relationship with her parents and it seemed to be great, but this was the first time she shared anything even remotely negative about her sisters. But as much as he wanted to find out more, there simply wasn’t time. Did he really want to spend this last day together analyzing her feelings about her family?
Absolutely not.
“How many cars do we need to take?” someone called out, and it was decided that everyone was taking their own except for his mother, who was going to drive with Gage and Hannah. It wasn’t until they were pulling out of the parking lot that he heard his mother’s sigh.
“Mom? Everything okay?”
“What? Oh…just a little tired and there’s still so much to do. Everyone’s heading home in the morning and then I have to finish Christmas shopping and wrapping gifts before we go to Steph’s on Christmas Day.” She sighed again. “Sometimes I truly regret not having a house, but…”
“You don’t need a whole house,” he reasoned gently. “And you know that it’s just this one time a year that you feel this way. If it weren’t for the party and you wanting everyone here for it, it wouldn’t be a big deal.” They’d had this conversation dozens of times before and he knew they’d have it another dozen more in the future.
“Maybe,” she said wearily. “Or maybe I just need to move closer to everyone. I’m beginning to realize just how much of an inconvenience it is to be this far away.”
“You know we all love coming to Evergreen, Mom. This is where we grew up.”
“And I get that, but…it’s hard with all the kids to come up and have to stay at hotels or do the long drive back and forth in a day. I spent a lot of time today while you were all on your sleds thinking about how much effort it took for everyone to come here just so I could look good to people who sometimes aren’t particularly nice. Then I think about all the pressure I’ve put on you.” She reached over from the back seat and squeezed his shoulder. “Thankfully you found Hannah, but I’m sorry for badgering you simply because of what I wanted and what others were telling me I should have.”
It was nice to have the apology, but if it wasn’t for her badgering, he and Hannah wouldn’t be here right now. They wouldn’t have connected and conspired and had these amazing last few weeks.
He only wished they weren’t ending.
They hadn’t had a chance to talk again about her job offer and what it meant–to her or to them–and he was beginning to think they never would. After lunch they were going to the local Christmas Village with the kids and then ice skating and then to dinner. By the time they got back to their suite later, it was going to be about making the most of every last moment and not talking about depressing things like how they were over.
Or maybe…that’s what they needed to do.
Not that he had much time to think about it because the topic of conversation had already changed.
“Do you think we can stop at the grocery store later?” his mother asked. “I feel like I’ve spent so much time prepping for the party and stocking things for all the grandkids that I don’t have a whole lot of things for just a regular meal.”
“No problem,” he assured her.
They pulled up to the Valley Diner and parked beside the rest of his family. Amy had called ahead so they could have a spot big enough for all of them. With twenty-three people, it was hard to find a restaurant to handle them all.
After lunch, they walked the two blocks to the Evergreen Christmas Village where the kids got to decorate ornaments, the adults made wreaths, and everyone drank cocoa. Gage felt like his face hurt from smiling for so many pictures, but basically, it was another holiday tradition and he was thankful for it. Once they’d finished all their crafts and walked back to the cars, it was off to the lake. Hannah had never donned a pair of ice skates before, so he spent a lot of time holding her up while she laughed and tried not to fall.
It was a great excuse to stay close.
When the sun started to go down, everyone was moving a little slower as they climbed back into their cars.
“Mom, I know we said we’d get together for pizza,” Christina said as she ushered her kids into her minivan, “but I think we’re just going to head back to the hotel and order in. We’ll meet up for breakfast though, okay?”
It seemed that was what everyone was doing and honestly, Gage couldn’t blame them. He could tell all the kids were tired and cranky and he knew exactly how they felt. Sarah, Dave, and the twins had their own car and said they’d order dinner and meet his mother back at her place.
“I hope she gets the babies down to sleep before I get back,” Rebecca said around a yawn. “It’s been a long day.”
Gage had to agree. They had crammed about three days’ worth of activities into one and he was more than ready to take a hot shower and crawl into bed himself.
And not for anything sexy with Hannah, just to sleep.
After making the rounds saying goodnight to everyone, they made the trek to the grocery store. Since they were there, Gage decided to grab a few things for his own refrigerator so he wouldn’t be obligated to only cook with whatever his mother had on hand–which just added to his exhaustion–and by the time they were walking back into the apartment building, he and Hannah also begged off and said they’d be ordering pizza and relaxing.