As much as Rowan loved the idea of hiding out here in the cabin with Gideon, it was Christmas and this was his family. He had no intention of skipping out on them. But this was a chance of a little bit of quiet time, just the two of them. It would also give the rest of the family a chance to finish setting up for Gideon’s birthday surprise.
Surprise? A bunch of balloons and a cake, was that much of a surprise?
“…wan. Rowan.”
“Huh? Oh, sorry. What?”
“I said a drive sounds good.”
“Great. I’ll tell Mom we’re taking the van.”
Gideon raised an eyebrow.
“Or do you want to be squashed in the Lotus with your knee like that?”
“Ah.” Gideon lowered his head and smiled. “You’re always thinking ahead.”
Rowan jumped to his feet. “Part of my job after all. Okay, eat up and get ready. I’ll head over and tell everyone our plans.”
Ten minutes or so later they were in the large van. Rowan settled behind the wheel, and the passenger seat pushed back as far as it could go to leave space for Gideon to stretch his legs, with snacks on the back seat.
“Right.” He wiggled his butt in the seat, checked the distance to the pedals, and touched the mirror. “Been a while since I drove this thing.” He glanced over at Gideon whose brow furrowed. “Relax. It’ll be fine.”
“You say that, but I never did hear the whole story about you or Kevin or whoever crashed a car.”
“It was Kevin, and it was the family car. We were supposed to just be sitting in it as it warmed up before Momo came out to clear the ice off the windshield.”
“Supposed to?”
“We were kids and Kevin liked showing off so he was pretending to drive but…he ended up releasing the handbrake. The car was on a slope so…”
“So, what?”
“The car rolled down the slope. Kevin panicked and couldn’t find the brake pedal. I thought it was cool because Kevin looked as if he was properly driving, and we hit the tree on the opposite side of the street.”
“Wow,” Gideon said.
“Not what Momo said.”
Gideon cleared his throat with a laugh. “I bet.”
“Anyway.” Rowan gripped the steering wheel. “Ready?”
Gideon rested his elbow on the door. “As I’ll ever be.”
“Meanie,” Rowan uttered through a grin.
The drive was filled with comfortable, meaningless conversation, mostly about other playful escapades of Kevin and the other children.
“The Ewok? She really thought it was called Widget?” Gideon laughed.
“The guy she was dating at the time was a big Star Wars fan, and she embraced her inner geek for a while. It was probably more for show to impress him, so I think she’d only watched the movie once. Ava had been calling the dog Widget for weeks before anyone corrected her. In the end, it was for the best. He dumped her the following month.” Rowan turned his head, searching for a place to park. “She really does have no luck at all when it comes to men…” he trailed off as he focused his attention and pulled into the roadside space and straightened the vehicle.
“Here we are. You up for a short walk? Thought we could get some ocean air.”
“I can manage for a while.” Gideon opened his door and got out onto the sidewalk with a small grunt. “Cold,” he muttered and pulled his coat more tightly about him.
“It’s sheltered a little up ahead, there’s a bench.” He leaned into the back and grabbed a Tupperware container. “Do you want to borrow some gloves? I brought a spare pair.” He tucked his scarf in his jacket and pulled the zipper higher then got out.
Gideon shook his head, fishing a pair of his own from his coat pockets. “I’m fine.”
Rowan locked up and walked around the van to join Gideon. He briefly hugged Gideon’s arm, squeezing him tightly. “Come on,” he said and tugged at his sleeve before letting go.
The viewing area was a few minutes from where they had parked, backed by hedges and surrounded by plants that dulled the briskness of the salty air blowing in over the ocean.
Rowan sat and brushed the seat beside him while Gideon arranged the bottom of his coat.
With a sigh, Gideon joined him. “Cold,” Gideon said for a second time.
Rowan laughed and rested his hands on the plastic tub.
“What’s in the box?”
“Oh, something.” He was vague, and Rowan could tell that Gideon really wanted to ask for more information. “There’s a bakery not far from here. Our moms would buy us pastries when we were kids, and we’d come up here to eat them.”
“So it’s a pastry.”
“Yeah.” He looked out at the rolling waves, lost in memories.
“Do you like coming to the ocean?” Gideon asked gently.
Rowan shrugged. “I don’t mind it. I think it’s more the family memories I appreciate about the place rather than the ocean itself.”
“Your family means a lot to you doesn’t it?” There was something solemn, lonely in Gideon’s words.
“They do.” He nudged Gideon’s arm. “My friends too. Hired or otherwise.”
“You’re still saying that?”
Rowan smiled. “I didn’t want to be presumptuous. I mean you’re my boss first, and I’m your PA.” He looked at Gideon, meeting his dark gaze. “But if it’s okay with you, I wouldn’t mind calling you a friend.”
Gideon turned to look at the horizon. “I think that’s fine. If I can do the same.”
“For you,” Rowan said and pushed the tub against Gideon’s chest.
Gideon tilted his head. “Me?”
“Just take it.”
Gideon took the tub and narrowed his eyes.
“As I was saying, there’s a bakery, but I wasn’t sure if it would be open what with it being Christmas Eve today, so this is the best I could do. Or rather Mom did because I can’t bake to save my life. She made a batch for breakfast. But I did do the icing.”
“Okay.” Gideon removed the lid and carefully folded back the napkin. “This is…”
“Happy Birthday.” Rowan jumped in and waved his hands. “Yeah, about the icing. It was a bit fiddly trying to spell it all out on there, so it reads more like Hoppy Birthday Gidoon. But it’s the thought—”
“Thank you,” Gideon interrupted. He stared down at the cinnamon roll. “I didn’t realize you knew.”
“Well, yeah, I know a lot about you, but Christmas is a busy time usually and not being at the office means it slips past. I feel bad I never said anything but thought since this time we’re together, and well—” He shut up when Gideon grabbed his hand.
“I mean it. Thank you.” Gideon’s gaze was intense, and Rowan thought he would have melted to the ground if he’d been standing as a warm sensation spread from his chest down to his knees.
Gideon gripped his hand and wasn’t letting go.
Rowan turned his hand over and squeezed back. He didn’t understand Gideon’s reaction to such a small gesture, but he was glad it had made Gideon smile.
They sat quietly together, and Rowan watched the waves against the shore.