Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

NOAH

T he day of the Christmas party kicked off with Gemma and I picking up some bagels for the set-up crew. I’d never actually organized an event outside of a kegger before, but so far, it had been pretty fun.

I was also mostly only Gemma’s sidekick, which meant getting to spend time with her while seeing her in her element—and that made it more than worth all the hours we’d spent talking about the details of the party. The sun was barely peeking out above the horizon outside, but we were up and at ‘em, on our way to the venue.

Gemma had the box of fresh bagels on her lap where she sat beside me in the backseat of my car and she was practically thrumming with energy. She couldn’t stop smiling, but her eyes also had a faraway, almost vacant quality to them that told me she was deep in thought. I tightened my grip on her hand, actually really excited about getting to see her in action once we got to the hotel where the event was being held.

“I’ll leave the planning parts to you,” I said as we slowed in front of the wide, double doors of the boutique hotel. “Just remember that I’m here if you need me.”

She blinked herself out of her thoughts. Squeezing my hand, she turned her head to glance at me. “Thanks. On the actual day of, we always end up needing more hands to put everything together, so I’m definitely going to be taking you up on that.”

“What’s first?” I asked as the car rolled to a stop. “All you need to do is point me in the right direction and I’ll take care of it.”

“Well, all the local vendors ought to be here by now, so we’ll need to check in with them and make sure they’ve got everything they need. If any of them are missing something, our first challenge will be making sure they get it so they can continue getting themselves ready.”

“Awesome.” Excitement shot through me. I’d volunteered to help with the party to have an excuse to reach out to Gemma and to get to spend more time with her, but now that it was here, it was pretty cool to be involved.

This team did a lot for us and it felt good to help do something special to give back to them. Hotel staff members rushed forward to open our doors and Gemma and I stepped out onto the path leading up to the hotel. I hadn’t been there in person before, and the pictures didn’t do the place justice.

For a minute, I just stood there staring, taking it all in while knowing that I would remember this moment. It was a big deal for us as a band to have come so far that we had a team of two to three hundred people backing us up, and this was the place where we would show them how much we appreciated their hard work.

Rolling lawns and manicured gardens surrounded the old manor house that had been turned into a small, intimate hotel, and a few fountains and ponds dotted the space. The hotel itself was built of red brick and stone with some greenery climbing up the sides.

It was a gorgeous setting, the perfect choice for a large party where we were still trying to create a cozy, family-type feel. Gemma was standing beside me, looking like she was taking a moment to soak it in herself.

I reached for her hand, winding my fingers around hers and smiling. “You sure have a knack for choosing a venue. This kind of feels like I’m arriving at my rich grandmother’s house. If I had a rich grandmother, that is. I don’t, but it still feels like I’m about to walk into a home.”

She chuckled. “I don’t have a rich grandmother either. In fact, my grandparents aren’t very involved in my life at all. They moved to Florida when I was a kid and we hardly even hear from them, but Laurel has a grandmother I could see living in a place like this. She’s fabulous and so much fun. We can always pretend this is her place.”

“I hope I get to meet her one day,” I said, and weirdly, I meant it.

Clearly, the lady fulfilled some kind of surrogate role in Gemma’s life, and if my girl viewed her as family, then I wanted to get to know her. As we started toward the hotel, I glanced at Gemma, once again surprised by how easy it was sharing random tidbits about my life with her.

“I’ve only ever met one of my grandmothers. My mother’s mom gave up on her when she got involved with my dad, but she came by once for my birthday when I was about seven. It turned out that she didn’t like what she saw, so she never came back, but at least I met her.”

“I hate that.” She squeezed my hand. “You’ve created a new family for yourself now, though, Noah. It doesn’t excuse what your own family has done, but it’s definitely something for you to be proud of. Today is all about celebrating them and we’re going to make it a celebration none of you will ever forget. You deserve it.”

“We have created a new family and I am proud of it. I just never imagined being part of a family of almost three hundred.” I winked at her. “Maybe I should aim lower next time.”

As we ascended the few stone steps to the front doors, I released her hand and slid an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to me for a moment. Then we walked in to find organized chaos going on inside. Gemma slid out from under my arm and slowed to a stop, her gaze flitting from one group of vendors to the next.

Scores of people were already here, each of them on a mission of their own as they did what they needed to do. Some were cleaning while others were setting up tables and chairs. There were people restocking the bar and wiping down every inch of it.

Decorators on ladders were hanging ornaments, lights, and garland while caterers were carrying in equipment to set up the buffet. If I had come in here alone, I wouldn’t have had a clue where to start but Gemma literally rolled up her sleeves and got a determined look on her face.

As soon as she’d finished surveying the scene, she took charge like a boss, working her way through the room systematically to talk to someone from every vendor. I drifted along after her, hands in my pockets. I marveled at her planning and organizational skills.

Without stopping or even slowing down, she directed those who were unsure of where to go and issued instructions to the decorators. She rearranged the layout of the buffet to be more efficient and talked to the bartenders about the glasses to be used for the welcome drinks.

All just off the top of her head. Without consulting a single note or even her phone.

All of a sudden, I realized exactly how good she was at her job and how much she loved her career and her company. Until now, it had been sort of a vague concept, but as I watched the party take shape in front of my very eyes, it occurred to me for the first time that she was a true professional.

We’d run into people she knew and had worked with on multiple occasions, and I’d always noticed how they treated her with respect and admiration, but it just hadn’t really sunk in for me until then. This was a woman who’d spent years honing her craft and building her reputation, and while she was also fun-loving, carefree, and singing all the time, this side of her was meticulously organized, had an eye for detail, and knew exactly what she wanted.

Once she’d checked in on everyone, she went back to the car to grab the bagels, then called the room to order. People jumped when she spoke, listening immediately and grinning and cheering when she said she’d brought breakfast.

It was hot as hell to watch her do her thing. Even just a year ago, it might’ve intimidated me, but right then, I found her sexier than ever. I grinned as I followed her from the main room where they were all digging in. We went to a small parlor down the hall.

“What?” she asked, narrowing her eyes at me jokingly. “What’s happening to your face right now?”

I shrugged. “Nothing. I’m just proud of you, is all. You’re pretty damn good at this.”

After looking around, presumably to make sure we were alone, she stepped into me and looped her arms around my neck. “You hired me for this not knowing if I was good at it?”

“I knew you would be,” I said, lowering my head to hers and murmuring against her lips. “You’re really fucking good at everything, darlin’. It’s no surprise to me that you’re also awesome at your job.”

She smiled. “We make a pretty good team.”

“We do.” I finally pressed my mouth to hers and stole a quick kiss, sliding my arms around her hips and holding her to me.

A noise down the hall made us jump apart, and we separated right before a woman wearing a uniform identifying her as hotel staff walked in. I wouldn’t have been opposed to her seeing us kissing, but this was Gemma’s job.

The last thing she needed was for everyone she’d hired questioning why she’d gotten the job and doubting her ability to do it. Right now, they respected her as the head honcho around here, which was what she was.

I didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that, but it looked like they all had bigger problems anyway. The woman grimaced as she looked at Gemma. “I’m so sorry to bother you, Ms. Longstrum. We’ve been waiting on one more vendor from the list you provided us with, but they haven’t arrived yet, and Mr. Parks’ security team would like to do a sweep of the grounds. They want us to close the gates.”

“Close them,” she said, making a decision on the fly. “Which vendor is it?”

“The Hot Cocoa Co.”

Gemma groaned. “Alright. I’ll check in with them, but let security start with what they need to do. We want City Lights and their special guests to be safe. That’s our main concern, so we won’t keep them from doing their jobs.”

The woman nodded and hurriedly left the room, and Gemma slid her phone out of her pocket, glancing up at me with an apologetic smile. “We’ll get back to that in a moment. I need to make a quick call.”

“Do it.” I took a step back but kept my eyes on hers, seeing the panic sparking to life in them as she waited for whoever she was calling to pick up.

I assumed it was someone from the company responsible for the hot cocoa bar, and once they took her call, it didn’t look like good news.

Gemma didn’t say much, mostly listening until she finally wished them luck and hung up. Her gaze came back to mine, her eyes wide and shiny with much more intense panic now. “The Hot Cocoa Co had to cancel. There’s a flu going around their staff and they don’t want it spreading to the guests.”

“Shit. Okay.” I frowned. “Why didn’t they tell you earlier?”

She sighed. “The poor owner is sick as a dog. He barely has a voice and he’s coughing more often than he’s breathing, but he said he was hoping he’d still able to deliver the supplies and set up.”

“I’m assuming that’s not going to happen?”

She shook her head. “His wife is rushing him to the doctor right now, so no. I doubt that’s going to happen.”

“So no-go on the cocoa.”

Gemma turned away from me as she ran her hands repeatedly through her hair. She drew in an audible breath, pacing for a moment before she spun back to face me. “Okay, this is what we’re going to do. You and I are going to go to Target and buy all the stuff we need for the bar. Then we’re going to set it up ourselves.”

“I’m down,” I said immediately, catching her wrist when she raced past me. “We could also just scratch the hot cocoa bar, though.”

“Nope. We’re doing it. Your guests will not go cocoa-less today. Not on my watch. Come on. The sooner we leave, the sooner we can get started.” Determination tightened her jaw, her eyes hardening with resolve.

I nodded and jogged after her as she hurried to the car. After grabbing just one bodyguard to come with us and leaving the rest to their sweep, my driver raced us to the nearest Target. Strangely, I was pretty excited about it. I hadn’t been to a regular grocery store for months, usually opting to have whatever I needed delivered to avoid the crowds.

Praying that I wouldn’t be the reason for any hold-ups, I grabbed my ballcap before we left the car and kept my chin tucked low. Gemma was moving so fast that I doubted anyone would’ve been able to get a good look at me anyway, but I kept up, grabbing an extra cart when she told me to and loading up whatever she pointed at.

We got lots of cocoa, marshmallows, cups, toppings, festive containers to keep it all in, a table covering, and even a Christmas village to decorate the table with. After grabbing some colored snowflake confetti as well, we were on our way back to the venue.

All without me being noticed once. I grinned. Guess no one expects Noah Parks to be following around a hurricane of a girl barking orders about hot chocolate.

When we arrived at the hotel again, my bandmates appeared at the top of the stairs and I frowned at Lewis when he jogged down to meet us at the car.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“It’s our party too. We figured we’d come see if you need any help. Someone inside told us we’re setting up our own hot cocoa bar?”

“Yeah, the company we hired to do it has had a flu outbreak. They canceled about an hour ago.”

“That sucks. So last minute.” He winced. “We could’ve just ditched the bar. It’s a great idea and I love it, but it’s not essential. If it was the food that had canceled, it would have been a different story.”

I chuckled. “That’s what I said, but Gem wasn’t having it. Come grab a bag. We’ve got a lot of shit that needs to be unpacked and set up.”

I waved Brandon and Jack over too, and Gemma thanked them profusely before rushing back inside. The driver popped the trunk and I walked around to it, reaching in to start off-loading to my waiting friends.

Brandon glanced into the bag of whipped cream he was carrying and smirked at me. “Would you look at that? You really are ‘whipped.’ Should I cover you in the stuff so everyone will know?”

“Knock it off.” I laughed, but he wasn’t wrong.

Naturally, none of them knocked it off, deciding instead to keep ribbing me about it as we walked in and found the tables Gemma must’ve asked someone to set out for this. We put the bags down and I started digging around in them, finding the deep red tablecloth we’d bought.

“I never would’ve thought you’d be building a Christmassy hot cocoa bar,” Jack said as he watched me cover the table. “I feel like I need to get a video of it. Record you doing an actual honest day of work for a change.”

“Fuck off. I work every damn day.”

“Yeah, charming the crowds and standing behind a mic. That’s real back-breaking work, man,” he joked. “Here. Give me those cups and I’ll start stacking them.”

I happily handed them over, not pointing out that I never would have thought he’d be building a hot cocoa bar either. Yet here we were.

The truth was that I would do anything to get to be around Gemma. Hell, if she’d told me to dress up as Olaf the snowman, I would have done that too. As they kept joking about how gone I was for her, I didn’t even argue.

I had made my peace with it, and I could take all the shit they had to give and then some. As long as I got to go home with her tonight, there was absolutely nothing that could get me down.