“So smart!” Elaine saluted him with her spoon. And he was smart. Thank God one of us knew all the wedding traditions and rules. Brandon really should have asked one of his genius friends to be best man. I was likely to stick out like a grease stain on a linen tablecloth, but he wanted me there, so I’d for damn sure do my best.
“You’ll have to tell me what costume to get.”
“Sure thing,” Brandon said easily. I’d meant Gideon, but this worked too. As long as I wasn’t left to my own devices.
“I’d pay good money to see Gideon as Frodo and Paul as Aragorn.” Elaine was giggling so hard she had to set her spoon down.
“I…uh…” I didn’t want to admit that I wasn’t entirely sure who those characters were.
“Keep it simple. Batman and Superman.” Brandon joined Elaine in snickering, but Gideon stayed quiet. Maybe he didn’t like the meddling, or maybe he too lacked comic book aspirations.
“I’ll figure something out.” I made my voice stern because I didn’t need them making Gideon uncomfortable. And hell, if Gideon was anti-costume, so much the better for me.
“Okay, okay.” Elaine was still laughing. “I haven’t even settled on my final colors. We’ve got time.”
“Not too much time,” Brandon protested. “No long engagements.”
“Don’t want me getting away?” she teased as Gideon started collecting our empty bowls.
“Nope.” Brandon gave her a loud kiss before we all trooped to the kitchen to start cleaning up from dinner. We made a good team, the four of us. Elaine made an art form out of loading the dishwasher, Gideon was the expert leftover packer, I enjoyed scrubbing, and Brandon was the comic relief.
“You should take the cat some beef scraps as a peace offering for us keeping you all day,” Elaine said to Gideon as he sliced up the rest of the roast.
“Maybe I’ll do that after we finish cleaning up.” Gideon sounded weary. “I should probably get back in any event.”
Huh. Perhaps that was the issue. We had monopolized him for the better part of two days. Despite being such an extrovert, he might be the kind of person who needed alone time to recharge his batteries. God knew I usually was. Preferring to be alone with Gideon was something new, and I could certainly understand needing a break from all this togetherness without taking it personally.
Heck, if Gideon did go home, I was likely to escape to my basement with Jim myself. This had easily been the best holiday I’d ever had, but it was still a ton of talking for a guy as used to his own company as I was.
“Take as much meat as you want.” I handed him some plastic storage bags. “Potatoes too. We’ve got potatoes for days.”
“All right.” He nodded sharply. “You can turn leftovers into potato pancakes as well. I’ll text you the recipe.”
“Thanks.” I licked my lips, not sure what to make of this new formality between us. “And thank you for everything today. I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Yes, you could.” His tone was kind as he patted my arm, but there remained a strange stiffness about him.
“Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to try,” I said stubbornly, trying to meet his gaze, but he was already hustling away to take the remaining leftovers to the fridge. “I meant what I said last night. You saved our Christmas.”
“Good.” He exhaled hard as he headed over to where his shoes were stashed. “Think you’ll need help taking all the decor down?”
“Nah. You’ve already done so much.” I certainly didn’t want to take advantage of him, especially with him seeming so tired. “Your work is complete, Boss,” I joked, but he didn’t smile. “Seriously, I’ve got Brandon for help. We’ll follow your schematic for putting everything away, and after watching Elaine with the dishwasher, I think she can handle the tree ornaments.”
“Yeah. She can. I’ve got my own house to put to rights. That’ll likely take most of the day tomorrow.”
“Okay.” I’d been preparing to come up with some cooking emergency or outing that required him, but I didn’t want to keep him from his plans.
“Well. Goodnight.” Shoes on, he straightened back up, his presents and leftovers in his arms.
“You got all that? I could help you carry.” And I could also stay long enough for another make-out session on his couch, but he was already shaking his head even before I could get a heated look in.
“Nah. I’ve got it.”
“All right.” I went in for a clumsy kiss, his armload between us. Couldn’t kiss him the way I truly wanted with Elaine and Brandon still lingering in the kitchen, which was probably for the best as Gideon didn’t seem in much of a kissing mood. “Thank you again.”
“Anytime.” He gave me a sad smile before slipping out into the frigid night. A weird emptiness settled over me as the door clicked shut. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I’d said exactly the wrong thing, and hell if I knew how to fix it.
Chapter Thirty