by Emma Lea
Christmas with the Billionaire
The Young Billionaires Book 6
Emma Lea
A Sexy Billionaire Christmas Romance
Copyright © 2018 by Emma Lea
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Images licensed by Adobe Stock
Cover Design by Michelle Birrell
Created with Vellum
Contents
Other books by Emma Lea
About this Book
Author’s Note
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Epilogue
Also by Emma Lea
In Like Flynn
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Thanks
Other books by Emma Lea
Other books by Emma Lea
This is Emma Lea’s complete book library at time of publication, but more books are coming out all the time. Find out every time Emma releases something by clicking here and signing up for her New Release Alerts.
SWEET ROMANCES
These are romantic tales without the bedroom scenes and the swearing, but that doesn’t mean they’re boring!
The Young Royals
A Royal Engagement
Lord Darkly
A Royal Entanglement
A Royal Entrapment
A Royal Expectation
A Royal Elopement
A Royal Embarrassment
A Very Royal Christmas
Bookish Book Club Novellas
Meeting Prince Charming
Meeting the Wizard of Oz (coming soon)
Broken Arrow Trilogy
Broken
Cursed
Eternal
SWEET & SEXY ROMANCES
In my Sweet & Sexy Romances I turn up the heat with a little bit of sexy. No swearing, or very minimal swearing, and brief, tasteful and not too graphic bedroom scenes.
Love, Money & Shoes Series
Walk of Shame
Strictly Business
Skin Deep
In The Money
All At Sea
Love, Money & Shoes Novellas
The Five Year Plan
Summer Fling
Standalone Novels
Amnesia
HOT & SEXY ROMANCES
Hot & Spicy Romances turn the heat way up. They contain swearing and sexy scenes and the characters get hot under the collar.
Recommended for 18+ readers
TGIF Series
Girl Friday
Black Friday
Good Friday
Twelve Days
Twelve Days of Christmas - Her Side of the Story
Twelve Days of Christmas - His Side of the Story
Quickies (Collins Bay Novellas)
Last Call
Standalone Novels
Learning to Breathe
TOO HOT TO HANDLE ROMANCES
These are definitely 18+ reads and contain graphic sex scenes and high level swearing – not for the faint of heart
The Young Billionaires
The Billionaire Stepbrother
The Billionaire Daddy
The Billionaire Muse
The Billionaire Replacement
The Billionaire Trap
Christmas with the Billionaire
The Playbook
In Like Flynn
Music & Lyrics
Rock Star
Songbird
Strings
Sticks
Symphony (coming soon)
About this Book
“I got stuck in an elevator with a Christmas elf,” was not a sentence Zoë Farraday ever thought she would have to utter. And to have it happen in the building of her brand spanking new job kind of made the entire situation worse. Of course, she had to then have a melt-down in front of him to make her humiliation complete. Asking him to come home with her for Christmas and pretend to be her boyfriend was madness and her only excuse was the trauma of her near-death experience by way of plummeting elevator. Or perhaps the way he filled out that elf costume momentarily melted her brain. It may also have had something to do with her mother’s meddling and the very real possibility of being set up with one of her dad’s colleagues that pushed her over the edge.
She didn’t think he’d accept.
Blake Austin—AKA the Christmas Elf—spent the previous twelve months back-packing around the world in an attempt to ‘find himself.’ Growing up as the middle child in a family that only ever cared about the almighty dollar messed him up and his only redemption was to escape the toxic environment and find out who he really was when all the trappings of wealth were stripped away. Now he was back and determined to somehow mend the ragged, torn seams of his family and Christmas was the perfect time to do it.
Except none of his family planned to be in the country.
Abandoned at Christmas by his family made the outrageous proposal from Zoë more than tempting. And it didn’t hurt that she was a knock-out.
It was only for a week and it was only pretend…what could go wrong?
This is a standalone sexy billionaire romance - no cliff-hanger!
*This is a ‘Too Hot to Handle’ romance on the Emma Lea rating scale - These are definitely 18+ reads and contain graphic sex scenes and high level swearing – not for the faint of heart.
Author’s Note
Christmas with the Billionaire takes place in one real city, Melbourne (situated in the state of Victoria) and a fictional town called Hope Springs which is, theoretically, situated two and a half hours west of the Melbourne CBD.
It might also be good to note that this story is set in Australia which happens to be in the Southern Hemisphere, and as such, the seasons may be different to what you’re used to. Summer in Australia happens at Christmas (December to February), the new school year begins in February and finishes in December and the final year of high school is Grade 12. Tertiary education is usually University or TAFE (Technical And Further Education) or other vocational training.
Boxing Day is celebrated on December 26th and started as the traditional day for servants and tradesmen to receive their ‘Christmas Box’ from their bosses or employers. It is a public (or bank) holiday and has become synonymous with big retail stores sales.
Other fun facts about Australia
- We use the metric system for measurement (millimetres, centimetres, metres and kilometres)
- We use Celsius for temperature (30℃ is equal to 86℉ )
- We use dollars and cents for currency
- Yes, we have some of the most dangerous creatures on earth living in our country
- No, we don’t have koalas, kangaroos and wombats as pets
- We like our beer cold (and our wine too)
- Thongs are footwear, not lingerie
- Utes are cars or ‘utility vehicles’
This book uses UK/Australian English
I’d like to dedicate this book to my mother, grandmother, and all the relatives from Howes Valley.
I have fond memories of attending Christmas Bush Dances as a child and I drew from my experiences to make Zoë & Blake’s Christmas special.
1
“What are you doing calling me in the middle of the day?” Zoë asked as she slid into the back of an Über. She held her hand over the receiver and leaned forward to the driver. “Sorry,” she mouthed to him and he waved her comment away with a smile.
“I just wanted to check that we were still on for tonight,” Willa replied.
“Oh god yes,” Zoë said, tipping her head back to rest against the seat and closing her eyes. “I need chocolate, wine, and someone to talk me off a ledge.”
“Oh no. What’s going on? I thought you were over Tanner.”
“Tanner is not the problem,” Zoë replied with a sigh. “It’s my mother.”
“You told her,” Willa said with a gasp.
“I didn’t have a choice. The woman already knew. It’s spooky. She has this ESP thing.”
“God. What did she say?”
“Apparently Ryan is back in town and single.”
“Your high school boyfriend?”
“The very one. Not only that, but there’s a new doctor at my dad’s practice. According to my mum he’s ‘single and ready to mingle!’”
“Oh god. She didn’t actually say that did she?”
“Word for fucking word,” Zoë replied. “I love her, I really do, but she needs to butt the fuck out of my life. After the whole ‘Tanner Affair’—”
“Is that what we’re calling it now? ‘The Tanner Affair?’” Willa asked, interrupting.
“Well, it’s better than ‘That Time Tanner Screwed Me and Took My Job.’”
“True. Plus, it’s shorter and easier to say.”
“I am so over men,” Zoë sighed. “I’m just going to focus on my career and be the crazy rich aunt who spoils all the nieces and nephews and turns my sisters green with envy at my fabulous life.”
“And your mother?”
Zoë exhaled roughly. “I just have to get through Christmas unscathed and avoid all her attempts at setting me up with every eligible bachelor within a two hundred kilometre radius of Hope Springs.”
“The offer still stands,” Willa said. “You’re welcome to have Christmas with Jonathon and me.”
“Thanks babe, but if I don’t go home for Christmas my mother is very likely to bring Christmas to me. I do not have room in my tiny apartment for the Farraday clan and extended family. Twenty-five people, Willa. Twenty-five! Good god, I’m going to lose my fucking mind by New Year’s Eve.”
Willa laughed. “Maybe you need to find someone to take with you as a buffer. Or take your mum up on one of her eligible bachelors. It might be a nice distraction from all those pesky relatives.”
“Do you know where I can hire a male escort for the week?” Zoë said, only half joking.
“No, but maybe Jonathon knows—”
“No,” Zoë said. “I am not going to take your soon-to-be husband’s pity dates to Christmas with my family.”
“Suit yourself,” Willa said. “But you’re still coming tonight, right?”
“I’ll be there with bells on,” Zoë replied.
“Excellent.”
Zoë disconnected the call as the car stopped in front of the building that would be her new workplace. Fucking Tanner had made it impossible to stay in her old job. The new position didn’t start until the new year, but she didn’t mind the few weeks of being unemployed. She’d needed it after the way it all went down at FMR. The directors of the company had shortened the full name—Foreplay Market Research—after one too many requests by adult product lines for product testing. When the founder of the business had come up with the name he hadn't realised the implications. Zoë felt sorry for his wife if he didn't know what foreplay was. But that had little to no impact on her current circumstances and the fallout from ‘The Tanner Affair.’ She’d given the company five dedicated years and then one arsehole went and fucked it all up. She should have trusted her gut when it came to Tanner Michaels and not let him charm his way into her panties. He’d fucked her and then fucked her over by stealing the promotion that should have been hers with work she'd done that he’d taken credit for. He’d graciously asked her to work as his ‘right-hand-man.’ She hadn’t realised how much it hurt to slap someone in the face. But it was a good pain. Cathartic.
Zoë stepped through the doors of Austin Industries and sighed in appreciation of the cool air-conditioning. It was so hot that she could feel rivulets of sweat roll down her back and the air-conditioning set to sub-zero temperatures was a welcome reprieve. She took a breath of the frigid air and banished ‘The Tanner Affair’ to the vault in the back of her brain. She refused to bring him with her into her new life. New year. New job. New Zoë. No more falling for sweet words and charming men. The next time she got close to getting screwed, it would be on her terms and she’d be the one walking away with a smug smile on her face when it was done.
The phone in her hand rang and she groaned as she looked at the display. She’d been dodging her mother’s calls and the temptation to hit ignore right now was powerful. Instead, she swallowed her irritation and tapped answer, lifting the phone to her ear.
“Hi mum, I can’t talk now. I’m just about to go in and sign the contracts for my new job.”
“Okay, this won’t take a minute. I just wanted to check that you managed to get that bottle of beer your father has been talking about.”
“I got it,” she said. “You know it cost me seventy-five dollars? How can beer cost so much…it’s just beer?”
“Craft beer, sweetheart. Aged in oak barrels and bottled on the night of a full moon.”
Zoë rolled her eyes. Her dad’s obsession with craft beer had gotten a little out of hand. He had a cellar…for beer. Zoë liked a cold one just as much as the next person, but beer was still just beer.
“So, you’re still coming by yourself?” her mother said, too casually.
“At this stage,” Zoë replied through gritted teeth. “I’ll let you know if anything changes.”
“I just wanted to make sure, you know, for catering purposes. Ryan popped in to see us the other day. He asked about you.”
“Sorry mum, you’re breaking up.” Zoë made totally credible (not) crackling noises into her phone. “I’ll call later.” She stabbed the disconnect button on the screen and tipped her head back. Christmas was going to be a nightmare.
Shaking off the call from her mother, Zoë crossed the lobby to the reception desk. The cool interior was decorated for the holiday season with a tall white and silver tree decorated in silver and blue baubles. Large blue balls, bigger than her head, hung from the swags of thick silver tinsel that were draped across the high ceiling.
“Hi. I’m here to see Rebecca Fitzpatrick,” she said to the man behind the desk.
“Just take the elevator to the fifth floor,” he said.
“Thank you.”
She saw the elevator doors closing and she ran, sticking her fingers between them just in time. She flicked her hair back and stepped into the car and then did a double take. Standing in the corner of the elevator was an elf. A fucking Christmas elf. This was no cute elf on a shelf. This was a full-size, living, breathing, delicious man dressed as an elf. Striped stockings over long, lean, muscular legs that ended in soft, felt shoes with a curly toe and a jingle bell on the tip of each. A red shorty jumpsuit which stretched across wi
de shoulders and was secured with a wide black belt across a firm, flat stomach. A floppy Santa hat with another jingle bell on the point finished the outfit. He was committed, that was for sure. And hot. So hot. So hot she felt her own temperature rise just by being in the same proximity with him. What happened to the air-conditioning?
Zoë swallowed as they made eye contact. The side of his mouth turned up in a smirk.
“Have you been a good girl this year?” he asked.
“Nope,” she said, finding her voice and forcing herself to match his smirk with one of her own. “I’ve been a very, very bad girl.”
His eyes flicked over her and deepened to a dark blue. “I’ll make sure to let Santa know,” he said, and his deep voice skipped over her skin like a caress.
Forcing her eyes away from him, she pressed the button for her floor and faced forward, suppressing the urge to turn back and look at him again. She could feel his eyes on her and clenched everything together so she didn’t shiver with anticipation. Hadn’t she just sworn off men? Was this fate testing her?