by Leslie North
“Our suite,” he repeated. “I like the sound of that. You know what else I like the sound of? Our house.”
“Don’t ask me to move in with you until your family has a chance to give their blessing,” she said, that nervous pressure intensifying.
Gabe swept her into his arms again, her purse falling to the floor. “Move in with me. In my home,” he insisted. “No matter what they say.”
He kept up his determination on the way to the car and onto the private jet and through the flight. Anna held the box of cake in her lap and tried to match him. This would be like any other awkward meeting, she decided. She’d get through it. And if they didn’t approve, then they didn’t approve. Worse things had happened.
Gabe made a quick call as they approached the resort. “Are you all waiting?” He took her hand and squeezed. “Good. We’re almost there.”
“Waiting for what?” asked Anna.
“Wouldn’t you like to know,” he teased.
They pulled up in front of the lodge a moment later. Anna had the strangest feeling of homecoming—a relief, in a way. However, the conversation they were about to have probably wouldn’t be the most fun experience of her life. Gabe got out first and pulled her against his side on the way through the big double doors.
The lobby was just the way they’d left it—in full swing for the Christmas season. A pianist played carols at the grand piano, and decorations made to look like gifts had appeared under the tree.
“Those are real,” Gabe said in a low voice.
“You’re kidding.”
“No. They’ll be packed up tonight and taken to families in town who need them. Every guest here will wake up with a similar package outside their door.”
It gave her hope. If the Elkin family did things like this at Christmas, they could surely find it in their hearts to forgive her. They had to forgive Gabe—he was family. But it was important to her that they forgive her too. Anna took a deep breath. Even if they didn’t, it would be okay, so long as Gabe still loved her.
“Stop at the suite?” Gabe asked.
“Suite afterward.” She led him resolutely to the elevator. “They’re all waiting with your grandmother, right?”
“That’s right.”
He seemed totally at ease as they rode up to her floor and stepped out into the hall. Anna’s heart felt too big for her body. Her pulse pounded, a drumbeat of nerves, and she took another deep breath to calm herself. Then another.
The door to Elin’s apartment opened before they could knock. Tana and Chase stood there, arms wide open. “Welcome back,” Tana said, and she grabbed them both and practically dragged them inside. She pulled Anna into a hug. “We’re so glad you’re here.”
“Are you really?” She didn’t want to let go of Tana and face the rest of the family, but that was what they’d come here to do.
Tana stepped aside, and Anna saw Elin and Jonas sitting in the living room. They both stood, and she couldn’t remember what she was going to say for the life of her. Gabe took her hand and led her into the living room, everyone standing as if things might go haywire at any second.
“I wanted to say that I’m so sorry,” Anna heard herself say. “For any pain that I might have caused. It was wrong of us to lie to all of you, and I wish we hadn’t done that. There’s one thing that is true—through all of this we fell in love.”
“Yes,” chimed in Gabe. “We’re together now. For real.”
Jonas cleared his throat, and Anna braced herself. “I shouldn’t have been so overbearing, either. I only wanted everyone to be okay.”
“I get it,” Anna said, stepping into Jonas’s waiting arms for a brotherly bear hug.
And soon they were all gathered around, chatting and talking about their trip from the airport like it had been any other trip. Like they were just two members of the family arriving for a holiday.
“I’m just happy you’re together,” Chase said, bending down for a hug of his own. “Gabe was insufferable without you.” Chase ruffled her hair and Tana knocked his hand away playfully
As if by silent agreement, they all took seats in the living room. Anna sat next to Elin, who put an arm around her. “I’m thrilled you’re back. Gabe needed you,” she said softly. “And I have to apologize, too, if I gave you the impression that you didn’t belong here.” Elin met her eyes unflinchingly. “You do belong here, Anna. I would be honored to have you as my granddaughter.”
Her throat closed, tight with tears, and she leaned forward to draw the older woman into a hug. “You have no idea how much that means.”
A knock at the door interrupted the new flow of conversation, and Anna stood up without thinking, wiping at her eyes. “I’ll get it.”
“She’s already settled in,” Chase said, and the spill of their laughter—kind and familiar—warmed her from the inside out. She was accepted here. Loved. It was the most comforting feeling she could have dreamed of.
At the door, a bellboy waited with a red box in his hands. “Oh! We must have forgotten this in the car.” Anna took the cake and reached into her pocket for a tip. All she had was a twenty, but she pressed it into his hand. It was Christmas, after all.
She returned to the living room and cleared her throat. “I have an announcement.”
Elin’s hand went to her throat.
“It’s not that I’m pregnant,” she said, shooting Elin a grin.
Tana let out a huge breath.
“It’s that Gabe baked me a cake.”
“That’s almost a bigger deal,” said Jonas, and then they were all looking at him and the cake as she unveiled his creation.
“Who wants a slice?” Anna called out. “I’m cutting it right now.” She was met with silence. “Oh, come on. He did a good job!”
The brothers laughed again, and Anna even forgave Jonas for his wariness about Gabe’s first baked dessert. He genuinely loved his family and he wanted what was best for them, even if he could be a little pigheaded about what was best. When she returned from the kitchen a few minutes later, with a tray laden with pieces of sliced cake on plates, he was the first to step up and take one.
The family took their seats in the living room again, each one turning their cake over for inspection and then looking to one another, as if for reassurance.
“Who’s going to go first?” Gabe asked. “Oh, never mind. I made it, so I’ll take the plunge.” He cut off a piece with his fork and popped it into his mouth without hesitation. Anna held her breath. She had never wanted someone to be successful more in her life. Gabe’s eyes went wide. “Oh, my God,” he said. “It’s good. I’m not even kidding—it looks weird, but it tastes delicious.”
Everybody followed suit after that, and Anna took a bite. Oh, it was delicious. Soft and wonderful, with a hint of vanilla. Gabe had done an excellent job. Anna leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
“Save it for when you’re alone,” Chase teased.
“No way,” Gabe said, leaning over to kiss her again.
Gabe crawled into the bed beside her at the end of the day—the longest, happiest day of Anna’s life. Christmas Eve with the Elkin family had run late—and Elin had retired much earlier, exhausted from the fun and her illness taking its toll. Jonas and Chase had stayed to talk by the fire, while Tana and Lindsey had slipped out together over her protests.
It was only when Anna finally whispered to Gabe that she was ready for bed that he’d made a move to leave. The truth was Anna just wanted to be alone with him. And now he was here, stretching out beside her and running a hand over her face. “I love you,” he said.
“I want you,” she said, a huge grin keeping her from making it a seductive invitation.
His eyebrows rose. “Yeah?”
Anna reached over and tugged down his boxers, revealing the thick, hard length of him. “You want me, too.”
“I don’t deny it.”
She climbed on top of him, and Gabe slid his hands up underneath her big, soft sleep shirt. The high
er his hands went, the wider his eyes got. Anna wasn’t wearing anything underneath.
He finally reached her waist and pulled her down over his chest to kiss her, deep and hard and fierce, and she pressed herself down on the hard ridge of him and rocked her hips back and forth. Anna was already slick, already wanting. There was a time for elaborate foreplay and lingering between her legs, but this wasn’t it.
Gabe groaned into her mouth, his hands digging in hard on her hips. He stuck a hand out, and it collided with the bedside table, almost knocking the lamp over. His low growl showed his impatience as he wrenched the drawer open and dug inside for a foil packet. Gabe ripped it open with his teeth, and in one swift move, rolled it on, his knuckles teasing at the soft, slick parts of her.
Anna lifted herself up, feeling on top of the world, and worked herself down over his shaft with a breathy moan that she couldn’t have stopped if she wanted to.
Gabe swore. “You’re a beautiful sight to see like this,” he said, voice strained, eyes sweeping over her.
“I’d rather—focus—on feeling.” She rocked her hips over him, grinding into the stretch and the pleasure, and as she touched his base, he thrust up into her with startling power. It didn’t matter if she was on top. He was still in control, always there for her. Anna bent down and kissed the exposed flesh of his neck where it rose from the collar of his shirt, and his arms came around her, caging her there.
There was nowhere else she’d rather be in the world.
Gabe pumped into her, and she met him thrust for thrust, rock for rock, the pleasure winding and curling low in her belly until the next graze of his skin on her clit set her off like a Christmas firecracker, and she came, shuddering, digging into Gabe’s shirt with her fingers and holding on for dear life.
Then she pushed herself upright and leaned into the wash of sensation. Each breath was a new miracle, and the steady back and forth of him inside her, a perfect fit. It brought her slowly up into another wave of pleasure.
Anna tipped her chin down and met his eyes, loving how they burned with intensity for her. His whole body was a picture of longing—all tight muscles, a freshly bitten lip, and restless hands that caressed every inch of her skin.
Gabe held her gaze as he came, gritting his teeth and sucking in a short, sharp breath, and Anna collapsed on top of him. They rolled together over the sheets, Gabe landing on top of her.
Her handsome billionaire.
Her dream come true.
Gabe bent to kiss her lips, and a pleasant tiredness descended along with him. “You did good today,” he said softly. “We did good. Now sleep. Tomorrow’s Christmas.”
This is what it must be like to be excited for Christmas.
Turning over, she snuggled in his arms and drifted off to sleep.
22
It was, without a doubt, the best Christmas morning of Gabe’s life.
He came awake all at once, his arm still slung over Anna, and breathed in her essence. Definitely the best Christmas ever.
She stirred underneath his arm and swiped her hair out of her face, then turned and stretched. “Merry Christmas,” she whispered.
“Merry Christmas,” he said. This was the best Christmas in his memory. Her body next to his was the most incredible gift. They lay together, savoring the silence for several minutes.
“What do we do now?”
“It’s still early,” he murmured, preferring to stay in bed with Anna. Thirty minutes later, they headed for the bathroom. A long, leisurely shower with Anna was the perfect way to start the morning. He washed her hair and soaped every inch of her skin like it was another gift. In fact, it was his third gift of the morning. First had been waking up next to her, second had been what they did after, and third...the shower.
They walked hand-in-hand to the elevator, and Anna took a deep breath. “How’s my hair?”
“Perfect.” He kissed her on the temple.
“You didn’t look.”
“I don’t have to look to know it’s perfect.” The elevator whisked them upward and he took both Anna’s hands and spun her around. “There—now I’ve looked, and you’re gorgeous.”
She pressed a kiss to his jawline and then it was time to go in. Anna’s wide smile sparked something like childhood excitement in him—pure and fresh.
Tana and Chase were there along with Lindsey. Jonas and his grandmother sat opposite, and they all got up to greet one another. For once, Gabe didn’t have to focus on whether they were judging him. He just settled next to Anna until it was time to head into the dining room for breakfast. Gabe might have moved away from home, but these old habits hadn’t left—he knew the rhythm of the holiday with his family, and it was comforting in a way it hadn’t been in years.
The staff came out with serving platters piled high with fluffy pancakes and sausages and crispy bacon. Another tray was decorated with a fan of fruits. English muffins. Gravy. It was an embarrassment of riches, and Gabe saw it through Anna’s eyes for the first time. This was when all the high standards and expectations came together to make something lovely—a breakfast table with laughter and helpfulness and rules for everyone to follow. Those weren’t always a bad thing, he realized. They were meant to give everyone a framework so they could relax.
And the framework had relaxed, too. Grandmother didn’t lean forward as often to scan everyone’s plates and guide the conversation. She enjoyed it while they served to the left, passed to the right, and waited for everyone’s plate to be filled before they started. Gabe caught himself watching his grandmother carefully, appreciating the matriarch of the family with a deeper understanding.
After breakfast, they took turns freshening up in the bathroom and then gathered in the living room for a Christmas photograph.
Gabe put his hand on the small of Anna’s back as the photographer set up her tripod and helped everyone into what she considered the proper placement. She was a tall woman with jet black hair and a full smile. Gabe liked her instantly, especially when she took the time to compliment the silver-and-white decorations used to turn the room into a winter wonderland. His grandmother beamed with pride. Gabe looked around and finally understood so much about his life and his family. For so many years, it had faded into the background for him. But not tonight. Never again.
“Are you sure I should be here?” Anna whispered, her eyes darting up to his. “I can step out if you’d rather have the photos without me.”
“I’m completely sure. If I’m supposed to be here, then so are you.” It hit him like a flash, like a bolt of lightning. He wanted her by his side forever. Not a single thing in the world could keep him away from her now that he had her back.
The photographer raised a hand. “And let’s all look this way, natural smiles, no need to overdo it. Just imagine you’re enjoying a relaxing Christmas morning with your family.”
All of them laughed, all except Jonas. His brother was acting odd, and Gabe made a mental note to ask him what was wrong when they had a chance.
The shutter clicked away, capturing family memories. Normally, Gabe would have been irritated with this kind of exercise and with Jonas’s insistence on making his gift take center stage. But Anna had shown him something different. She’d shown him that these kinds of gestures were meant to be thoughtful—and not in a competitive way. They were for the future versions of themselves who would have to take family photos with members missing. Gabe’s heart squeezed.
“And we’re good,” the photographer said, lowering her camera. “Would you like couples photos?”
“Yes,” Jonas said, his voice firm, brooking no opposition. Was it for the benefit of those in the room who might object, or the benefit of the photographer and issuing orders in Jonas’s typical abrupt fashion?
“Anna and Gabe first,” Tana said, pushing them front and center.
Whatever was wrong with Jonas would have to wait.
It was Christmas and Gabe had every reason to be joyful. Pulling Anna into his arms, as easily a
s he’d done anything in his life, he kissed her. Chase whooped at the sight, the clicking of the camera alerting him that the kiss would be solidly documented. Anna put her arms around his waist and posed again. It was so easy. He’d suffered through a hundred corporate photoshoots, but this was nothing like that. He couldn’t keep the smile off his face, and he couldn’t keep his eyes off Anna. She was his kind of lovely.
“Would you like to see a few of the shots?” the photographer asked.
“Yes!” Anna grabbed Gabe’s hand and they went to stand next to the woman.
The images took his breath away. Anna’s eyes shone up at him, and it was clear from the way they touched each other that it was love. Real, deep love. He put a hand to his chest and caught the photographer’s eye. “Do you do wedding photography?”
Anna gasped.
“I mean it,” he said, the knowledge breaking over him like a wave. “I want to be with you. I want to marry you.”
Everything fell away except for Anna and the happy tears in her dark eyes. Gabe was dimly aware of the photographer hustling to detach her camera from the tripod and whisk it away. He took both of Anna’s hands and was surprised to find that his own were trembling. This seemed way more momentous than his first throwaway proposal at the Top of the World. This was probably the most important thing he’d ever do. The significance of it settled over his shoulders and made his heart beat hard, and Anna bit at her lip, smiling through her own surprise.
He didn’t have a new ring—but he did have the old one in his pocket. Anna had handed the old engagement ring back to him when she left, and he hadn’t been able to leave it behind. Gabe had carried it with him all the way to Vegas and never went anywhere without it. It was a testament to his love and kept him close to her even when they were apart.
Gabe sank down onto one knee and put his hand into his pocket. The room went silent, all eyes on him. For one heart-stopping instant, he couldn’t find the ring. Relief filled him when his fingers closed over it, Gabe eager to ask the biggest question of his life. “Anna, you’ve changed everything about my life for the better,” he told her. The click of the camera’s shutter was the only sound that could be heard. “I want you to be by my side forever, and I want to be by yours. Will you marry me?”