by Leslie North
“Good. The holidays won’t be right for Grandmother unless you’re here.”
Maybe Jonas believed it, but that wasn’t true—he’d never fit in with his family. His life choices didn’t align with the family’s plans for him, and they’d been hugely disappointed by his decision to leave Colorado. His grandmother had never wanted him to go into the tech field, and she’d never warmed to any of his girlfriends. Of course, neither had he. The women were just a way to pass the time, and his grandmother had seen right through him and disapproved. She wanted him to find love, the same way she had with their grandfather. It was something she wanted for all her grandsons.
Nothing he did ever measured up, no matter how much his accomplishments impressed the rest of the world. And he doubted his family had changed their opinion of him. But what did it matter if this was Grandmother’s last Christmas? At least he would be there, even if it was as the family disappointment.
“Thanks, Jonas,” he said finally. “I’ll text you when I have the flight number.”
They ended the call, and Gabe stared down at the screen as he tried to gather himself. It felt like falling, news like this. He’d always assumed his grandmother would be indestructible, even in the face of lung cancer. He’d wanted her respect all his life, and now it sounded like there wasn’t much time left to get it. To prove to her that he had his life together and would be happy. There wasn’t much he could do in the business world that he hadn’t already done—his successes international. But what if he could at least prove to his grandmother he’d settled down and found someone to love? Maybe then she’d forgive him for leaving and see that he had his life together. Except there was a little problem with his plan—he wasn’t dating anyone, and time was limited.
An engagement would fix everything.
The idea popped into his head the same way a new idea for an app would—the outlines already there, waiting for the details to be filled in. If an engagement would make Grandmother happy, then all he had to do was get engaged. Never mind that there was no time to actually fall in love and have a romance. The romance wasn’t the point—the engagement was.
He put his phone back into his pocket and headed back to the table, where Anna sat watching over the lights of the Las Vegas Strip with her hands tucked under her chin. Gorgeous. Her little black dress hugged her in all the right places. Her hair spilled over her shoulders, gently curled at the ends, and he wanted to run his fingers through it more than he wanted to finish his dinner. More than he wanted to do anything else in this moment. Her huge brown eyes met his as he slid back into his seat.
“Something happened,” she said definitively. “Tell me what it was.”
Gabe wasn’t the type to get into personal discussions with colleagues, but her voice was so forthright that something broke free in him. She was so intuitive. It was what had drawn him to her as a liaison in the first place. “My grandmother was diagnosed with lung cancer a while back, and it’s progressed.”
“Oh, Gabe, I’m so sorry to hear that.”
He suddenly had no appetite. “It’s all right. I mean—it’s not all right.” The one thing he had a craving for was Anna’s voice. “My family wants me home for the holidays. I’m leaving tomorrow. But the thing is—” He pursed, sensing the edge of a precipice under his feet. If he admitted this to her, then...then they’d be closer than he’d bargained for when he originally planned the night. “The thing is, I’ve never brought home anyone who passed muster with my grandmother.” An old ache to please her reared up. “I want to make her happy, especially if this is her last Christmas.”
“Make her happy?” Anna cocked her head to the side. “You mean, give her some good news? Maybe that you’re seeing someone?”
Not good enough. “I mean, I want to bring someone home with me.” The restaurant rotated a bit further, the smooth motion bringing different lights into focus on Anna’s face. Sure, she wasn’t an actress or a business magnate, but he’d tried bringing home women like that, and it hadn’t panned out. “I want her to know that everything’s going to be all right with me and that I’m settled and happy with my life choices.”
“Even if it’s an act?” There was no judgment in her tone or her eyes.
“Yeah. Even then.” Nothing was more important than giving his grandmother peace of mind. And no one would be better at it than Anna. She was perceptive and skilled at making connections, and she would fit in at the Elk Lodge just as well as she’d fit in here. “This could be my only chance to paint the picture for her.” Another ache rose in his throat and he swallowed it back. “So, I have to ask you a question.”
Anna straightened up. “Are you proposing to me, Mr. Elkin?”
He let out a laugh, the tension that cut across his shoulders loosening. “I’m making an insane proposal. And I realize how bonkers it sounds, but—what do you think about marrying me?”
“I do,” said Anna seriously. “Think it’s bonkers, that is.” She was joking, but he wasn’t. It was the perfect plan. His grandmother would see him happy and fulfilled. His last and best Christmas present to her.
“No, really. Would you pose as my fiancée and go home with me for the holidays?”
2
Of all the things Anna expected at the dinner, which Gabe had pitched as a thank-you meal between two close colleagues—she had not expected a proposal.
It was fine. Of course it was fine. He wasn’t actually proposing. Anna’s heart didn’t seem to know the difference. It jittered and pounded and leapt up into her throat like he’d really gone down on one knee at the table with a ring in a box. Anna did what she usually did when she had no idea what to do—smiled. Big. Warm. Inviting him to laugh it all off if he wanted.
“I think we should get to know each other better before we go in front of the priest.” She threw in a wink for good measure.
Gabe leaned forward. “What do you want to know? I’m an open book.”
He was not an open book. They had their jokes and conversations, but Gabe didn’t talk about home or his family very much. He certainly hadn’t mentioned anything as earth-shattering as the fact that his grandmother had cancer. Anna knew from tidbits he’d dropped into conversation that his parents had long since passed away, but aside from those drive-by facts, she didn’t know much about him.
Except, of course, that he was extremely handsome, with golden blond hair that made him look like he’d just stepped out of a magazine. That and the gray-green eyes, piercing and gorgeous. And the cut jaw. And don’t forget the lanky frame, kept in shape by near-daily runs.
Handsome. Driven. Talented. Rich. It had Anna at a loss for words. “You’re sure you’re not kidding about this?”
Those piercing eyes met hers again, as though he were planning something in his head. “I’m sure. I want you to be my fake fiancée.”
Maybe he was a little bit crazy. Bad news could do that to a person. They’d had a long day at the expo, and the day had stretched out into the evening. People often made rash decisions when they were tired. Anna didn’t know how often those decisions amounted to “come home and pretend to be my fiancée.” But it was certainly within the realm of possibility.
She scanned the restaurant, taking in all the other couples enjoying the view. They weren’t so much looking out the window as they were at each other, eyes alight in the candles from the centerpieces. Those were real couples. It wasn’t feasible to expect she’d pull off an act like that with Gabe. Not without having her breath stolen away. And the way he was looking at her now...
It seems real. But obviously, it wasn’t.
“I don’t know if I’m up for the part.” She gave him a cheeky smile, one she hoped covered her nervousness and the fact that she wanted to lean in close to him. Flirt with him—even more than they’d already been flirting. But then, with a man like Gabe, it wouldn’t be all fun and games. There would be press and public recognition of their engagement at some point. And then Anna’s past would come out. “Maybe you shou
ld hire an actress.”
“If I did that, I’d have to get to know an actress. I already know you. And I already like you. I want you, Anna, not some random woman from a casting call.”
I want you. The words came out in a seductive tone that made her swoon a bit. Not too much, but a little. Anna sat bolt upright in her seat, quietly assessing Gabe.
He leaned in close, his eyes alight, and focused on her. He was flirting with her. Wanted her. For a fiancée if nothing else. And it would be nothing else—she decided that right away. Her last boyfriend hadn’t thought she was worthy enough to be seen in public with him. Anna wouldn’t make the mistake of giving anyone the power to hurt her again. Relationships were a thing of the past.
“My family’s not nearly as big-time as yours,” she said, trying to keep her voice in check. “We might not fit on paper.”
“What does that matter?” Gabe cocked his head to the side, gray-green eyes skimming over her skin and heating her up from the inside. “This is only a charade, not a real engagement, and even if it was a real engagement, a person’s past doesn’t matter nearly as much as the present. And the future.”
“It could matter,” she argued, keeping her tone light and pretty. “Wouldn’t that kind of thing matter to your grandmother?”
“She’s not going to dig into your past if that’s what you’re saying.” A grin flashed across his face and disappeared. “She’ll be preoccupied with the holidays and being happy. She’ll like you, Anna. That’s why I want you to come with me. You’ll be wonderful for her.”
I could be wonderful for you, too. But she didn’t say that out loud.
“Listen.” Gabe leaned in another inch, nudging his plate out of the way so he could speak to her in a low voice, one that sent desire curling through a place in her belly Anna had ignored since the breakup.
Desire! Who got such a mad crush on her own boss? Or colleague—whatever he was.
“We’ll stay at my family’s luxury ski resort for the holidays. It’s one of the nicest, most sought-after places in the country for winter vacations. There will be tons of Christmas traditions, like carols and cocoa and the whole nine yards. Lights on the trees—everything. And we can talk about your dream.”
“What dream?” She wrapped a hand around her wine glass and took a sip. They’d traded dreams back and forth over the many hours they’d been working together, but it had always been lighthearted and joking. For the life of her, Anna couldn’t remember what she’d told him.
“Of owning your own conference consulting firm. There are ways I can help you with that.” Gabe’s mouth curved up in a smile so attractive that she felt a gravitational pull toward it and had to keep herself firmly planted in her seat to resist it.
Anna would never have dreamed of asking him to give her a hand up. She’d worked hard all her life to overcome the lousy hand she’d been dealt—the father with the criminal record, the mother who married four times and couldn’t ever decide when to come down to earth. Holidays had been nothing like the picture Gabe was painting of his family’s resort. No cocoa, no carols, just fighting and bitter silences. Then there was the year her parents had finally split but decided they wanted to spend Christmas Day together. It had not been in the holiday spirit, suffice it to say.
Not that she was going to tell Gabe all of that. Getting that deep into her history would be way across the line for two people who worked together, no matter how close they’d been over the past few weeks.
“And...” Gabe sat up, looking her square in the eye. “Don’t forget, my grandmother is dying.” The confident look on his face slipped. “Please. Do it for me. It would mean the world to me if she knew I was engaged to someone wonderful and had my life all sorted out.” He let out a breath. “There. That’s it. That’s all my cards on the table.”
Anna felt like she was still holding a fistful of cards with things like a criminal father and her mother’s four marriages in her hand. But none of them could top the pleading look on Gabe’s face, or how incredibly handsome he was. She’d stolen so many glances at him while they were working together at the conference, trying to ignore the twist of want in her chest. Up until now, she’d been pretty successful at it. It was her job, after all.
And beyond that, the offer was one of the most attractive she’d ever received. Christmas at a luxury resort, far from anywhere she’d ever lived. No tense hours spent trying to calm high emotions with her parents. No new husband showing up with her mother. It would be like stepping into a different world for the holidays—the kind of world she saw in Hallmark movies.
“For how long? Fly out Christmas Eve, come back Christmas morning?”
“Oh, no. My family wants me there as soon as I can get there. Tomorrow morning at the latest.”
Her breath caught. “You want me to spend two weeks with you out there?” Suddenly Colorado seemed like a vast state of forests and wildlands, Anna trying to picture a luxury mountaintop resort they’d need snowshoes to get to.
Gabe shrugged. “Three. We’d leave in the morning and come back after the New Year.”
“But my job...”
He gave her a look. “You and I both know there’s nothing scheduled from now until after the holidays. No big conferences. Everybody’s going home for Christmas.” His eyes twinkled. “Honestly, Anna, no pressure. If it doesn’t seem like something you can do, then I’m not going to hold it against you. But it would be nice if I could show you off as my significant other.”
“I know you wouldn’t hold it against me.” She heard the sincerity in his voice as clearly as she felt it. Gabe moved fast when it came to making plans, but he was flexible, too. It was why they’d managed to put together such an excellent presentation. It was why they’d hooked all those international clients on his app. It was another success in his portfolio, but he still wanted more.
If that was how he was when it came to romance...
No. This wasn’t going to be a romance. This was going to be a project, like the one they had just wrapped up, only with more acting. A bright spark of anticipation lit up in her chest. A luxury Christmas—the very first in Anna’s life. And a chance to collaborate with Gabe on her own business idea. When she landed in Vegas after the New Year, life could be completely different.
The ten-year-old version of Anna, who had wanted a whole new life more than anything in the world, had become her personal cheering section inside her mind.
Look at him! that part of her squealed. Go to Christmas with him!
And really, she had nothing to lose...except Gabe as a client if the whole thing went south. Anna had never allowed a project to end on bad terms in her entire career. She wasn’t about to start now.
Gabe rested his fingertips on the linen tablecloth, his plate abandoned, and his body tense. He was ready to go now, she realized. Right now. And if she waited to leave until morning, she might lose her nerve. Might decide that it wasn’t very professional to jet off with one of your clients to spend Christmas as his pretend fiancée. Might consider all the many and varied possible consequences and decide that it wasn’t such a good idea after all—for either one of them.
“Let’s go now,” she said quickly.
His eyes went wide. “What?”
“Isn’t part of the bargain a flight on your private jet? How soon can it be ready?”
The shock on Gabe’s face gave way to a surprised grin. “Ninety minutes, if I make the call now. But we can’t just hop on a plane, you know. We need something first.”
“Our clothes?” She would have to shop, come to think of it, her mind was already picturing the Forum Shops at Caesar’s Palace and wondering if she’d have time to head out to the sportswear store at the outlet mall. Anna’s wardrobe was geared toward convention centers and business dressy, not winter in Colorado. After a lifetime in the Nevada heat, she'd need a parka and boots. The thought thrilled her more than a little. Maybe a parka with faux fur around the hood. Something soft and sexy.
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��More important than that.” He reached out a hand to her across the table, and Anna took it. The simple touch took her breath away. Play it cool. She couldn’t be breathless and blushing the entire time they were with his family, or else they’d know something was up. Gabe ran his thumb over the empty space on her ring finger. “We need a ring.”
3
Gabe’s high from getting the go-ahead on the most ambitious plan of his life lasted all through their trip to the jewelry store. The owner, a close friend of his, had opened during off hours as a special favor. They’d managed to catch the owner of the winter sports boutique next door as she was closing, and she was happy to remain open for them while they picked out what they would need, especially once she realized how much they were spending.
He’d bought Anna everything he could think of for the trip to Colorado. Never mind the cost. Any woman who agreed to marry him would have a full winter wardrobe, of course, and be comfortable in it. It took three hours to shop and another thirty minutes to get to the private jet, which waited for them on the airport’s tarmac.
By the time they landed in Colorado, it was late. Too late to wake up his entire family and have a meet-and-greet with Anna. Gabe felt like he was sneaking in after curfew. As he walked across the lobby at a fast clip, the night receptionist blinked at him curiously. “Mr. Elkin?” She wore a pleasant smile, but it was clear they hadn’t expected him to arrive mere hours after Jonas’s call.
“Hi, Rebecca.” He leaned on the counter, trying not to let sleep drag him down into oblivion. “I’m a bit early, or late, depending on how you look at it. I’m assuming the family suite is available?” He could have chosen to stay in his personal home, but he wanted to be close to his grandmother.