Elkin Brothers Christmas: The Complete Series

by Leslie North

  “He was good behind closed doors, too?” Elena asked, seizing on the comment.

  “Very good.” Anna’s face heated. He’d been better than any other man she’d ever been with. Gabe was on another level and she craved more time with him even as she sank into the sadness of never being able to see him again. “But then Freddie showed up.”

  Elena did a double-take. “What? At the resort?”

  “Yeah. For a vacation with his family and his new girlfriend. Everything blew up in my face.” Anna took Elena through the reception desk scene, feeling like she was living through it all again. It wasn’t any better now. “Gabe asked me to stay, but I left. It was too embarrassing..”

  “But if he asked you to stay...”

  “We spent the whole time working on things with his family.” Anna’s throat went tight, but she thought it through. “Gabe had spent all his life thinking he wasn’t good enough, and nothing he did would be good enough, but while we were there, I think he...he came to see that wasn’t right.”

  “What about you?” Elena said pointedly.

  “What about me?”

  “Did you figure out that you belonged there, too?”

  Anna shot her friend a look. “I don’t belong there. Never will. My dad—”

  Elena shot her a sharp gaze, her brow furrowing with intensity. “Your dad what? What your dad did doesn’t have to define everything for you,” she ground out.

  She put the burger down. After Gabe had found out about her dad, he’d hesitated. Hadn’t followed her out when she left. Hadn’t spoken to her since. Gabe might have had issues with his family. Who didn’t? Not even money could buy your way out of some family drama. But he’d tried to help her and show her he cared. And he’d protected her.

  Anna had been so aware that their arrangement came with an expiration date that she hadn’t been able to see the situation clearly. Gabe’s painful expression when he found her packing made her believe he cared, but it didn’t change anything. He’d let her go.

  “Yeah,” Elena said softly. “See?”

  “I’m a little annoyed at you for pointing it out,” Anna said, but it wasn’t Elena she was irritated with—it was herself. How long was she going to fixate on the things her dad had done? She could leave those things in the past, where they belonged, and keep living the life she’d built for herself. In fact, that was her only option.

  The one thing she couldn’t do was turn back time and fix things with Gabe.

  “You can be mad at me.” Elena popped a fry in her mouth. “I know you’ll get over it when you taste the cake.”

  “Speaking of cake...” Anna held out a hand, and Elena passed her one of the containers. Chocolate cake—her favorite. The thin layer of white icing on the top would burst on her tongue with so much sweetness it brought tears to her eyes. Anna scooped up a fork from the table and stabbed it into the dessert. Cake, unlike herself, never let her down. Cake was always there for her. “What am I going to do?”

  “What do you want to do?” Elena blew out a breath. “I’ll be behind you, no matter what. I know I was...maybe unnecessarily harsh during our phone call, and I hope you know I’m sorry for that, and I’ll support you with whatever you want to do.”

  Anna reached out and patted her friend’s hand. “I do know that. You were worried, and you had every right to be. It did turn out to be a disaster.”

  “Disasters can be fixed,” Elena said briskly. “You can clean up and start again. Starting with the icing on your face.”

  Anna used her finger to wipe off the icing and then licked it off her finger, not wanting to miss a single drop. Somehow, half the cake had disappeared without Anna realizing it. “Even with people, though?”

  “Oh, please. You work with disasters all the time. I’ve never heard of a situation you couldn’t fix.”

  Anna thought of all the times there’d been sticky negotiations with hotels and last-minute itinerary changes and freak accidents with equipment and scheduling. Over the years, she’d come to think of those things as part of the job and not anything to be especially shaken by. What would she say to a client who’d had a curveball thrown at them? Things happen. We’ll get through this. Well, things had happened. And she would get through it. But the next thing she did after reassuring her clients was to take action.

  “You’re right,” she said softly. “I can at least try to fix this.”

  “In the meantime, are you going to come over on Saturday?”

  Anna blinked at her. “Come over for what? And when’s Saturday?”

  Elena sighed. “You’ve really been out of it, haven’t you? It’s Thursday now. Tomorrow’s Christmas Eve. You’re invited to my family’s Christmas dinner, just like you always are.”

  The dinner at Elena’s house would be a family affair, and a crumbling feeling in her chest told her she’d never make it through. Not unless—and until—things with Gabe were all patched up. Everything felt too sensitive and raw. Showering for a burger was one thing; getting dressed up for a Christmas dinner while she was supposed to be at the Elk Lodge was quite another. Not this year.

  “I—I don’t think so,” she admitted. “You know I love you and your family. I just don’t think—”

  “It’s okay,” Elena said quickly. “There’s always next year, or really any year. But I just need you to know that you’re welcome. No matter what happened in your past.”

  Anna reached out and hugged her.

  “I know you’ll figure things out,” Elena said into her hair. “You always do.”

  “I think that’s what I’ll do on Christmas,” she said, letting a small smile escape. “Figure things out.”

  “A gift to yourself.”

  “Yes.” Anna laughed. “You didn’t just come for burgers, did you?”

  “No way.” Elena released her and tucked her feet up under her on the sofa. “I came for movies, too. As long as you didn’t watch everything available on Netflix already.”

  “Not everything,” Anna said. It would work out, she told herself as Elena browsed through Netflix, finally choosing a sci-fi movie with lots of aliens and no romance. Yes, it would all work out.

  20

  The cake looked ridiculous.

  It was Gabe’s third version of the dessert he’d baked, and it still looked slightly lopsided and fallen in. This was the first one he’d bothered to frost, and the frosting wasn’t anywhere near perfect. His hands itched to make it exactly right—with perfectly straight edges and a flat top and impeccable piping on the sides, but perfection wasn’t what mattered. Even if he felt it down to his bones, what mattered was showing that he’d listened. It was about showing Anna that he didn’t have to live within the old constraints of his family. Constraints that had fallen away after his grandmother’s conversation with him.

  He turned the cake around on the makeshift stand one more time. “If you wait until it’s perfect, you’ll never leave,” he told himself aloud, feeling more than a little silly. But it was true. If he waited until he became a master baker to fly to Vegas, then he wouldn’t make it, and Anna would think she didn’t mean the world to him.

  Gabe took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a familiar number. “Ready the plane.” It was Christmas Eve, and there wasn’t much time left before all the family traditions began. He hated activating the crew on Christmas Eve, but it couldn’t be helped. Hopefully, what he had to do wouldn’t take long, and they could be back with their families soon. He didn’t want Anna to miss those if he could help it. He wouldn’t miss them if he could help it. But he would if that was what it took to get Anna back.

  The cake felt like the most precious object he’d ever carried out of the Elk Lodge. His one concession had been to borrow a cardboard box from the kitchen—they had lots of them for sending leftovers home from lodge weddings, and the bright red box was perfect for this time of year. Gabe held it on his lap all the way to the airport, where his private jet waited for him. The driver got out and opened the d
oor, reaching for the box, but Gabe put his hands over it. “I’ve got it,” he said, not wanting anyone to take it.

  All the way to Vegas he tried to keep his thoughts positive regarding the outcome of the meeting with Anna. He couldn’t let her walk out of his life, and he’d do everything in his power to convince her, but the scary part was not knowing if she’d agree.

  Anna left the Elk Lodge believing a person could never overcome their mistakes. And the fake engagement had been his mistake, not hers. And her family? No. A person’s family wasn’t what mattered. Anna’s family was a part of her, but they weren’t all of her.

  Gabe’s heart beat hard with all the love he felt for her. And that was what mattered the most.

  The plane landed and he hustled into the waiting car. He had the address to her one-bedroom condo from a previous meeting, and he gave it to the driver. The closer they got, the more he wished he’d been able to get through to her phone. Was she even going to be home when he got there?

  Gabe’s heart was in his throat by the time the car pulled up in front of the building. “Wait here,” he told the driver. The afternoon sunshine in Vegas belied the cold temperature this time of year, but it was a far cry from the snow and chill of the resort in Colorado, and the breeze stroked his face as he made his way to the main entrance. A list of names and numbers decorated the call box, and he used a knuckle to press the one next to Anna’s name. The deep buzz came from far away. Sweat pricked at the back of his neck as he waited. Gabe Elkin was nervous about talking to a woman. A first.

  “Hello?” Anna’s cautious voice made him wince, but just knowing she was home helped calm his nerves.

  “Anna,” he said. “It’s me. Can I come in?”

  He thought he heard a sharp intake of breath, and then the door buzzed, letting him in. He breathed a sigh of relief. She was going to talk to him. Gabe took the stairs two at a time to the second floor, not bothering to wait for the elevator. At the top of the landing, he spotted her in the doorway of her condo. Hope and fear were reflected in her dark eyes. Her hair had been pulled back in an elegant twist at the back of her head, and though she wore soft pants and a loose top, she still looked like she could take on the world.

  “Gabe,” she said. “You’re here,” her voice low and breathless. Gabe closed the distance between them like nothing existed except Anna, his name on her lips the best sound he’d ever heard.

  “Hi,” he smiled, hoping to earn one back from Anna. Anything to put them on even ground.

  She looked up at him and folded her bottom lip between her teeth. “Hi.”

  His heart squeezed, then thundered, heat whispering across his skin. “I made you something.”

  “What is it?” Her eyes flicked down to the box in his hands, then came back up to his, surprise dancing there. “Did you bake?”

  “I did.” He lifted the top of the box and held it out to her.

  Anna took it, wonder shining in her eyes. “You made me a cake?” A little laugh escaped her. “All by yourself?” And that was when he saw it. A smile. A beautiful smile from the woman he loved.

  “Yes.”

  She moved into her condo and set the box on the counter, pausing to gaze down at it with a pose that made him want to pull her in close. Anna turned to him as he stepped closer. “Explain,” she said, her voice a little wobbly with confusion.

  “I love you.”

  Anna gasped, a hand flying to her mouth.

  “I love you,” he went on, “and I will do anything you want, give you as much space as you need, but I want this fake relationship to be real because I’ve fallen in love with you. All of you. Even the parts of your past you’d rather not think about. I want you with me and I baked you a cake to show you that I don’t care about being perfect. All I care about is loving you.”

  Anna couldn’t believe this was happening.

  Gabe had shown up at her condo with the ugliest cake she’d ever seen. Anna burst out laughing, joy flooding through her like sunlight after a long night. Tears gathered at the corners of her eyes and spilled out. “I love you too,” she said. “I can’t believe you did this.”

  She could not believe that he’d spent so much time doing something he didn’t like—and all for her. Gabe was the kind of man who’d prefer to show up with jewelry glittering in a box than a cake that looked like it had been decorated by a child. But she knew he’d tried. And more than that, she could see the faint embarrassment in his cheeks. Gabe didn’t just do embarrassing things for anyone. It meant the world. It was the most personal, caring thing she could imagine him doing.

  Anna flew into his arms, wrapping around him and holding him tight. His arms went around her too, and she felt the tension drain out of him. Gabe’s hand slid down to her jaw and he tugged her face up to his, kissing her as though each kiss were priceless.

  “I’m sorry,” she said against his mouth. “I’m sorry I ran out like that. I shouldn’t have done it.”

  “I don’t care.” He kissed her again, firm and unyielding, and her lips parted for him instinctively. Their tongues met and danced together, warmth shooting down her body to her knees, making them weak. Gabe held her in tighter. “I love you no matter how you react. You put up with my antics, after all. It’s what makes us so good together.”

  She ran her fingertips down the lines of his body, feeling like he’d lit her soul aflame in the best possible way. “We are good together,” she agreed, and some of the weight of her past fell away. Anna had been carrying it for so long that she felt a strange emptiness for a heartbeat, but the emptiness was soon replaced by another kiss from Gabe and a low sound in the back of his throat that spoke of relief and desire all at the same time. She was no longer empty but filled with Gabe’s love.

  “I missed you,” she whispered.

  “I missed you so much I baked,” he whispered back, and she laughed through her happy tears. Gabe pulled her in for another hug, then lifted her higher, and then he was walking through her apartment to the sofa. He sat down and arranged her in his lap, arms around his neck, the two of them as close as possible. Her pulse felt fluttery and delicious joy moved through her again and again. “I wanted to ask you something,” he said, a careful note in his tone.

  “Anything.” Anna breathed him in, the leather and soap smell of him, and let her head rest against his shoulder. Soon they’d have to get up, but for now, she just wanted this.

  “I want you to fly back to Colorado with me and spend Christmas with my family.” He stroked a hand over her hair. “Unless it would make you uncomfortable. If it did, I could spend it here with you if you let me.”

  Anna thought her heart might fly out of her chest. Gabe was offering her an enormous sacrifice. There could be no greater sacrifice than offering to miss this holiday with his family. She sat up in his lap and put a hand on his face, studying his eyes. They met hers with humble honesty, and she ran a thumb over the line of his jaw, drinking him in. If he could make this sacrifice with everything going on in the Elkin family—with his grandmother’s health—she could make one too.

  “I want to spend Christmas with you,” she said. “And I want to spend it with your family.”

  Relief brought color to his cheeks, his eyes wide and echoing the sentiment. “Really?”

  “Yes. If you can offer this to me, then I can face your family even after that whole big scene. I love you, Gabe, and I care enough about you to go for it even if they judge me.”

  “They won’t judge you,” he said fiercely. “They can judge me all they want, but never you.”

  “Oh, they can.” Anna laughed. “I stormed out of the family resort because I got caught in a lie. If that’s not judge-worthy, what is?”

  “Anybody can be forgiven for what they do under duress,” Gabe pointed out. “My entire family saw your ex show up in the lobby. Plus, the entire scheme was my idea. You were only along for the ride. They can’t judge you without judging me.”

  “Don’t remind me,” she grumbled
, but then his hand was around the back of her neck and Gabe pulled her in for a tender kiss. A slow, searching kiss that soothed every part of her that was embarrassed or ashamed. She could do anything for this man, and she would. She’d make a grand apology to his family. She’d spend Christmas with them, knowing what they’d seen. Anything. “When do we leave?”

  His other hand tightened on her waist. “The plane is waiting at the airport and the driver’s outside.” A smile lifted the corner of his mouth. “All of your things are still at the resort, so we could walk out the door any minute.”

  “There’s just one thing I want to do first.”

  “What’s that?”

  She stood up and took his hand, pulling him up to stand. “Just a quick visit.”

  Confusion furrowed his brow. “To where?”

  “To the bedroom.”

  21

  They emerged from Anna’s bedroom a hot fifteen minutes later, her sheets newly messed up by the most gorgeous man she’d ever met in her life. “There,” she said. “That should tide me over.”

  Gabe laughed. “Tide you over until when?”

  “Until the family meeting is over,” she said briskly. “That’s first on the agenda, right?”

  He put a hand on the small of her back. “We don’t have to do that right away if you don’t want.”

  “Oh, no. We do.” Anna moved around her condo, gathering up the necessities. The suitcase would be good to have, so she brought that. She knocked all her bathroom things back into the outside pocket and went out for the cake, putting the box carefully in Gabe’s hands. “I’m already nervous.”

  “How can you be nervous after what we just did?” He murmured the words against her temple, then punctuated them with a kiss. “I would have thought that would cure you.”

  She turned her head and kissed him, running her tongue along his bottom lip. “It cured me for the moment. That’s why we’ll have this meeting and then go directly back to our suite.”