Page 38 of Snowbound

As I watch Jensen leave, I feel something change in me, something small. Something that feels like my entire life is about to go in a direction I hadn’t seen coming.

CHAPTER20

CARLY

“Do you always have to be this difficult?”

“I’m not being difficult,” says Gabe, staring forward at the road. “I told you I didn’t want to come.”

“And I told you, it would mean a lot to Ruth and John. You don’t have to be grumpy about it. You know you are allowed to be happy every now and again.”

“I am happy sometimes,” he says with a distinctly sour expression on his face. “I was happy last night.”

I try to fight the blush that I know is rising on my face. Almost every night since that first night, we’ve gone to bed together. It’s been passionate and wild.

I think it’s something we’ve both been needing. Somehow, I get the feeling it’s been a long while for him too.

Gabe is kind of like me in a lot of ways. He puts his work first, and he sacrifices his personal feelings for others. Even if he wouldn’t say it like that, that is what he’s doing. He pretends he doesn’t need anyone else, but everyone needs someone. And it’s not that I am his someone exactly, but at least right now, we’re helping each other.

At the very least, it’s great stress relief.

“I still don’t see why you need me to be here,” he says, moving on before he can embarrass me any further.

“I told you already. It’ll be easier for Ruth and John to just tell you what they want, and if you can get an idea of the rest of their palette and mood board, then you’ll be able to make something that’ll fit.”

“Or you could tell me what to do. I could make something that would work, and everyone would be happy.”

“It does you some good to get out of the house.”

“You’re not my mother,” he scoffs, and that’s when I realize we’re bickering like an old married couple.

I have no doubt that my face is at least pink by now, and not wanting to dig myself into a bigger hole, I don’t reply to that. He has this knack for embarrassing me but doing it in a way that’s clearly teasing and fondness.

At least that’s how it feels. I hope he’s fond of me. Even if this isn’t a relationship as such, I don’t want to sleep with someone who doesn’t like me at all.

“You really pay attention to the fine details, don’t you?” he says.

“Yes. It’s not a bad thing.”

“I didn’t say it was.”

“Hold on, are youcomplimentingme?” I gasp, then press the back of my right hand to my forehead dramatically. “Something I never thought would happen. Be still my beating heart!”

“Calm down,” Gabe scoffs. “It’s not a big deal.”

And he’s right; it’s not a big deal. We’re just friends joking with each other. It just doesn’t help with the wild fantasies that keep threatening to come into my head. But maybe one day soon, he’ll realize that he wants to change his mind about the no-strings-attached thing and ask me to stay.

Not that I want to stay.

I don’t think I want to stay.

“Anyway, yes,” I say, steering us back on topic. “I do pay attention. I do care about all of my clients, even the annoying ones. You don’t get successful like I have if you don’t care. You really have to have a passion for other people and solving their problems.”

“Didn’t realize I was in a car with a celebrity.”

I roll my eyes, hitting him gently in the arm. “You’re not. I get asked to do a lot of events because I’m good at what I do. But most of my clients are just rich, not big names.”

“Would you want to do big names? I mean, if some real celebrity came along and asked you to plan their wedding, would you?”

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