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Chapter Eleven
Jenna
GabeandIsatacross from each other on the floor of the cabin pulling the cards out of their packs and shuffling them. He was much better at it than I was, and it made me want to try and be impressive. Of course, this resulted in me spilling cards absolutely everywhere and Gabe being polite enough to pretend he didn’t see.
I watched as Gabe laid out the formation for Solitaire, and I followed in suit. I’d really had more of a joint game in mind, but if this was what he wanted to do, I could get on board. I’d spent nearly the entire two-thousands playing solitaire on my PC. I was practically an expert.
The wind blew furiously against where he’d boarded up the window, and it took everything in my power not to get anxious. What would happen if that covering failed? Were we doomed to just end up frozen?
I looked up at Gabe to ask him if he thought it was strong enough to hold but saw him deep in thought about a move. He looked really handsome when he was that focused, and suddenly the worries about our makeshift window covering faded.
His hands were almost graceful as he lay down card after card, pausing between to make decisions. I could almost picture him at a desk with a suit and tie being Mr. Wall Street.
Regardless of how I initially felt about him, my heart was warm watching him, and I was extremely conflicted over whether to try and start new or hold my ground. Perhaps the hot cocoa we’d made after all would sway me. Rum always made me more friendly.
“Done,” he said, and I gaped in awe. Sure enough, he’d completed his game in about seven minutes. Eight-year-old me would have been very impressed. Hell, twenty-four-year-old me was very impressed.
He picked up the cards and shuffled them again, laying them out to start over. That was when I got a bold question, and with how well things were going, I decided to ask it.
“So why did you and your fiancée break up?”
There was thick silence between us and he didn’t look up from his game but didn’t play either. I worried almost immediately that I’d crossed a line, but he soon spoke.
“Hannah walked out a week before Christmas because I was never fucking home,” he said, his voice absolutely laced with regret. “And she took the damn dog.”
Oof. That hurt me and I was a cat person. But why would him being busy make her leave him? “I guess I don’t understand,” I said, trying to clarify.
“I am, and always have been, a workaholic. I grew up very poor and it made me develop a bit of a preoccupation with earning as much money as I can as fast as I can. Nothing, and no one ever has gotten in my way, including her.”
Doing my rotations in the hospital, I was well aware of what a workaholic looked like. I couldn’t even count how many times I’d seen young doctors pull seventy-two-hour shifts, and many times I’d find them sleeping in empty rooms.
“What about you?” Gabe asked. “You ever had anyone serious in your life?”
“Hardly,” I scoffed. “I’ve barely got time to eat most days let alone date. And sadly for me, I’mnotone of those nurses who wants to snag a doctor so my social pickings are limited.”
Gabe raised an eyebrow. “Youdon’twant a doctor?”
“Hell no,” I replied, flipping two of my cards over. “Those guys are the biggest douchebags on the planet… maybe besides you.” I stuck out my tongue at him and he laughed.
“Fair enough. I’m pretty sure you and Hannah would agree on that.” He shook his head, chuckling, and I put down my card to ask him another intimidating question.
“Is Dean seeing anyone?”
Gabe looked up at me, eyebrows raised. “He hasn’t told you either? I know he’s been seeing someone but I have no fucking clue who.”
I felt my heart sink a little. My initial suspicion that this would be one of the last Christmases together was closer than ever to coming true. It wasn’t that I didn’t want Dean to find someone. Dean had always been a hopeless romantic. But there was no guarantee it would be someone who enjoyed these traditions as much as we did, and I’d never ask my brother to choose between me and love.
“You seem upset,” Gabe said, studying my face.
“It’s nothing,” I replied. “Just thinking about the future.”
Gabe shifted and moved next to where I was sitting, putting a hand on my back. “I don’t think you have to worry about anyone splitting up you and Dean. He talks about his little sister like you’re what makes his sun rise. He’s so proud of you and your career, and he’ll tell anyone who will listen. Even some people who won’t.”
The sentiment warmed my heart and I couldn’t help but smile a little. Even though we bickered, I loved my brother, and knowing he was proud of me felt like an extension of Mom and Dad being proud of me too.
I looked down at the cards and my cup of rummy hot chocolate and realized my cheeks were flushed. Guessed I’d drunk more than I realized, though not so much to lose my ability to think.
“Do you…?”
