The Billionaire’s Fake Christmas Engagement: Elkin Brothers Christmas Book Two

by North, Leslie

  Gabe was right. “Why are we going into town?”

  “Shopping,” he said, as he pulled on his shoes.

  Anna managed not to ask about it until they were in the car and on their way to the small downtown area not far from the Elk Lodge. “What are we shopping for?”

  “Christmas gifts, obviously.”

  “Obviously? What more could anyone want other than a batch of homemade cookies?” At first, he thought she was making fun, but she took his hand, and the world fell back into place. “What do you have in mind?”

  He pulled up into a parking spot in front of a jewelry store and got out. “I don’t know. I’m hoping you can help me.”

  She put a hand to her chest, pretending to be honored. Or maybe she was honored. It didn’t seem to matter when her other hand was still firmly locked together with his. The town was decorated with holly and red ribbon, and Anna took in a deep breath.

  “Is it me, or does it smell like fresh gingerbread here?” she asked.

  “That’s the bakery.” He pointed to a location just down the street.

  Anna’s shoulders shook. “This is just so Christmas. I love it.”

  They went into the jewelry store, a hybrid place with a little boutique on the side. Soft Christmas carols played as they looked in all the cases. Gabe stopped by a collection of jeweled watches, and Anna slowly let go of his hand, leaving him to browse the boutique.

  He’d just settled on the watch in the center—one with rubies and diamonds surrounding the face—when he felt her presence at his side.

  “I found something.”

  “So did I. This watch.” He held it out to show Anna.

  “It’s gorgeous.” A beat of time passed. “But given her condition, I think she might like something soft and more functional.” Anna took his hand and led him to a beautiful display of colorful shawls. They felt like water moving through his fingers. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen his grandmother in anything this vibrant, but they were so soft.

  “I think you’re right,” he murmured, choosing one that looked like spring flowers in the evening. The colors were bright and burnished, the way they looked in the sunset from his grandmother’s favorite spot on the property. “How did you choose the perfect thing?”

  She put her arm through his and leaned in. “Good instincts, I guess.”

  He breathed in the shampoo and hairspray scent of her, and not for the first time, he wanted to kiss her right here in front of everyone. And not just any kiss. A long, deep, lingering kiss, so that he could imprint the feeling on his memory. Anna, shopping with him for his family. He might not be an optimal fit for the Elkin crew, but he fit with Anna like a puzzle piece.

  Gabe shook off the urge to do something crazy, like propose to her in the jewelry store. He handed the shawl to the clerk to have them box it up and wrap it. Anna moved to look at the window display. The snow had started to fall, little flakes glittering in the sun, a beautiful backdrop for a beautiful woman. Although even cold and her teeth chattering, she drew him irresistibly. A quiet conversation with the shop owner saw his gifts wrapped up and put into a small silver bag.

  “Let’s walk.” Anna slipped her arm through his at the door. “It’s so beautiful here.”

  “Anything for you,” he smiled. Anna laughed, but he meant every word.

  They strolled down the street, taking in all the shop windows with their wrapped gifts and shining lights. In a small courtyard, kids met with Santa Claus for pictures, their laughter high and excited. He felt an answering thrill in his chest. Gabe had long since stopped being excited about the holiday like a child would be, but the memories came hard and fast at times like this. His mother’s arms wrapped around him by the Christmas tree. His father leaning over to kiss her cheek.

  Gabe cleared his throat, and they moved on. They stopped at a food cart selling hot chocolate and ended up at the massive Christmas tree in the center of town. It had been decorated with ornaments made by children.

  “I just love this. Look at that one—it’s all glitter.” Anna’s enormous grin was heartfelt.

  The paper plate had indeed been covered in glitter. “That one’s eye-catching, but I think this one’s underrated.” Gabe pointed out a paper plate ornament that had a single smiley face drawn in the center in a shaky hand. “Somebody worked hard on that.”

  “They did,” she murmured. “Very hard. It turned out perfect.”

  But a minute later, her teeth started their telltale chatter. Anna was a long way from getting acclimated to the cold Colorado temperatures. He pulled her into his arms. “Why didn’t you tell me you were getting chilled?” He kissed her cheek, the smooth skin chilly against his face.

  “I’m a desert girl,” she laughed. “I’ll always be cold in the wintertime. Luckily, there’s a whole ski lodge to keep me warm.”

  Gabe bundled her back to the car and turned up the heat. “Most of the ski lodge is colder than you’re used to,” he said sagely. “But there’s one place that’ll always be hot.”

  Anna grinned, knowing exactly what he meant. She rubbed at her arms on the way in. “I know you have the heat blasting, but somehow I’m still chilled.”

  They made their way to the elevator and headed for the suite. “Not for long.”

  Once inside, Gabe went into the sparkling bathroom and started the water to draw a bath in the jacuzzi.

  “Oh, that looks good.” Water filled the tub quickly, and before he knew it, Anna had shrugged off her clothes and was stripping down.

  His heart stopped, then stuttered to a start again. “You look good.”

  Anna threw him a coy look. “Don’t I know it.” She flipped her hair, confident and a little sassy, but her face flushed, nonetheless. He watched as she put one foot into the jacuzzi, then the other. Taken in by her curves and her long hair falling across her shoulders, he thought he might need a cold shower instead.

  Anna sank down into the water with a moan that he felt down to his toes, her hair curling into the water. She opened one eye. “Are you coming in?”

  “Only if you want me to.”

  It was a risk, and his heart thudded with a kind of painful anticipation. Anna might not want him to. After all, they’d slept together. But maybe, just maybe... It was just that this would be more intimate. Like relationship intimate.

  “I do,” she said softly.

  Sweet relief. “There’s only one thing I need to do first.”

  He went back to the table in the entryway where he’d put the silver bag from the shop and lifted out a jewelry box. He’d meant to wait until Christmas, but everything in him said to give it to her now. Gabe hesitated. She was in the tub, hands already wet, so he took the gift from the box and held it in his palm. The watch was thin and delicate, with diamonds and sapphires, and it wouldn’t weigh anything on her wrist. The moment he saw it, he’d known he wanted it for Anna.

  Back in the bathroom, he perched on the edge of the wide tub. Anna leaned her head back against the rim, lips slightly parted, but when she sensed him there, she opened her dark eyes and smiled at him. Another arrow of desire shot through him. He was beginning to think that with Anna, it would never stop.

  And now Gabe felt slightly shy in a way he never did at his office, and never had in all his meetings with her. The professional wall between them had come down over the last few days.

  Her eyes searched his. “What is it?”

  “I wanted to give you something.” He opened his palm, the bracelet winking in the low bathroom lights. “It’s a thank you for everything you’ve done. And everything you’re still doing.”

  She sat up with a slosh of water against the side, her eyes wide. “Gabe, that’s—that’s too much.” Anna blinked as if she wasn’t sure the bracelet would still be there when she opened her eyes. She lifted her fingertips and brushed them gently over the bracelet. “I can’t...”

  “You can,” he said, but that sounded almost too harsh, too demanding. “I want you to h
ave it.”

  Her eyes met his again, and a tentative smile played over her lips. “You’re very sneaky. You know that?”

  “I do.” He laughed, and he saw the echo of that laughter in her grin. “I mean it, though. All this would have been impossible without you.”

  The tiniest frown crossed her expression. “I’m a little worried that might go down the drain.”

  Gabe bent down and kissed her. “I’ll put it back in its box for when we get out.” He started to shed his clothes, enjoying Anna’s eyes on him as they followed his every move. He slid into the hot water, letting the heat relax his muscles. Their legs fitted neatly together, and Gabe closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of the slip and slide of her skin against his.

  The water moved against his chest, and then her hands met his pecs. Anna worked her way onto his lap and put her head on his shoulder.

  Gabe wrapped his arms around her and held her close. He felt the rise and fall of her chest as she took each breath and could feel the damp heat of her skin. He’d never seen Anna hide from anything—not a meeting or client or tough project—but she seemed like she needed a refuge in the silence of the moment

  Something he would give her.

  Anna had loved the bracelet—that much was evident from the light in her eyes. But something wasn’t right.

  He opened his mouth to ask her about it, then closed it again. There would be time to talk about it later. For now, there was only the gentle weight of her in his arms and the startling intimacy of breathing together. Breath after breath in the warm water as the bubbles rose to cover them in a blanket of relaxation.

  11

  Gabe could have stayed in the jacuzzi forever. Unfortunately, their fingers and toes eventually wrinkled, and Anna lifted herself out of his lap and climbed out of the tub. He dressed, feeling calm and loose with only the slightest worry prickling at the back of his mind. Was the bracelet too much?

  Anna came out of the bathroom, her hair freshly dried, just as he was pulling on his shoes. “Heading out?”

  “I need to talk to Jonas. And the best place is probably going to be in his office.” But then again, maybe he should stay and not have a conversation with his brother. Although sitting at the dinner table each night and hearing reports from his brothers on how his grandmother was doing wasn’t the best option. Especially since they coated everything in polite language. He had to know the truth.

  Anna came over to him and bent down to brush a kiss against his lips. “Wait a minute before you leave.” She left the room and returned seconds later with the jewelry box, lifting the bracelet from the velvet lining. “Before you go, could you help me put this on?”

  They’d been naked in the tub minutes ago, but somehow it seemed just as intimate to touch the delicate bones of her wrist and to close the intricate clasp of the watch bracelet.

  Anna admired it in the light, turning it this way and that, and walked him to the door. “I’ll be around,” she said, her smile verging on the shy side. “Obviously.”

  He laughed. “I’ll find you in a bit.” It felt strange, walking away without telling her something—but he couldn’t say I love you. That would be way over the top. And not strictly true. Or maybe it was strictly true, and he’d fallen for her. That would explain the tug in his chest when he left her in the suite instead of holding her hand as the two of them went to Jonas’s office. Like a couple.

  Get it together. Gabe couldn’t lose himself in his feelings now. Not during this conversation.

  Jonas’s door was open. Gabe entered, finding his brother sitting at his desk, furiously tapping something on his computer. Jonas glanced up but kept typing. “One second.” The stream of tapping tapered off a minute later, and Jonas met his gaze.

  Gabe dropped into a chair across from Jonas’ desk.

  “What’s up?” Jonas asked, leveling a frown at him.

  “We need to talk about Grandmother.”

  His brother let out a breath and rubbed at his forehead. “It was a good thing they were able to start the treatments early on, but she’s tired.” A sheen of tears appeared over his eyes, but he blinked them away. “Not that she wants anyone to know it.”

  She’d made the announcement at Thanksgiving about her cancer, and Gabe had missed it. If he thought about it too long, it ate at him, sticking in his thoughts and keeping him up at night. But she would never get into details like this, even with everyone gathered around for the holidays.

  Especially with everyone gathered around for the holidays.

  It wasn’t done in the Elkin family. Gabe’s heart pounded. When his parents had died, he’d spent months on edge, wondering when the next shoe would drop. It had been years since then, but it still felt like this was what he’d been waiting for. It didn’t make him worry any less. It didn’t make it any less awful.

  “No,” Gabe agreed. He’d had questions for Jonas, things he wanted to talk about, but now the words dissolved on his tongue. He searched them out by a sheer force of will. “Do you think she’ll beat the odds?”

  It sounded so strange coming from his mouth. Beating the odds was a cliché, but the thoughts that dogged Gabe were starker than that. He couldn’t bring himself to say them to his brother.

  “I don’t know. The odds—well, Grandmother might not have long, no matter the treatment. It’s impossible to say. If she knows differently, she hasn’t told me.” Jonas shrugged. “What I do know is that you made her happy with the engagement. She mentioned the wedding to me yesterday, hoping you’d have it here. You know, before anything happens to her. Are you—planning to have it here, that is?”

  Guilt swam up and threatened to choke him, but Gabe swallowed it down. “We haven’t discussed it yet.”

  His brother arched an eyebrow. “Seriously?”

  “No. The engagement happened fast.”

  Jonas let out a short laugh. “I would’ve thought you two had the whole thing planned out. She’s great for you.” His brother seemed to have had a change of heart about Anna.

  He couldn’t meet his brother’s eyes, his gaze settling on a silver Christmas tree at the corner of the desk. Anna was great for him. They complemented each other. And with every day that passed, he was more and more interested in her. Truly interested.

  “The Elk Lodge could be good for you, too. For both of you.”

  Gabe snapped his gaze back to Jonas’s. “What?”

  “Yes, you’re a great businessman, and your company is hugely successful. Those things are both true. But Gabe, you could be doing so much with the resort. With your family legacy.” Shock caught up with Gabe in a rush of blood to his head and a thundering heart. “Nothing would make Grandmother happier than to have all of us here, taking over the resort together.”

  “I—”

  “You’ve at least thought about it, haven’t you? Anna seems to love it here. The two of you could be happy.”

  “Jonas.” He could not move back here.

  “It’s a good suggestion.”

  “You’re asking me to give up my entire career to move back?” He’d brought home the perfect fiancée. Everyone in his family loved her. His grandmother was delighted that he’d found someone. Why couldn’t that be enough? When would what he did ever be enough? Gabe clenched his jaw and then forced himself to relax. One deep breath after another. “I’m sorry.” He sounded clipped and short, but it was the best he could do. “That’s not on the table.”

  Gabe got up from his seat and left, the conversation unfinished and seeming to follow him out the door. The weight of each moment pressed down on him like a massive boulder, hovering there and crushing him slowly with each moment that passed. Yes, his grandmother had gotten terrible news and a prognosis that didn’t seem promising. But moving back to the Elk Lodge wouldn’t save her. The problem was, if he returned, he might not leave again.

  He felt raw from his skin to his core and halfway to his grandmother’s suite, he realized where he was going—his old room. He knocked on the d
oor and went in without waiting for a response, finding it unlocked the way it always was when they were in town.

  “Grandmother?” No answer. Gabe moved down the hall into the quiet of the space, peeking into the master bedroom. His grandmother slept peacefully, shoulders rising and falling under her blanket. Good for her. She deserved a nap, after raising the three of them and running the lodge for so long.

  His room was down the hall from hers, and the door opened soundlessly under his hand like the hinges had been freshly oiled. Like his brothers’ rooms, she’d left them all pretty much as they were when they lived there. A queen-size bed in the center. Low bookshelves brimming with comic books. Anime posters on the walls. Gabe’s room wasn’t like his brothers’—they had ski trophies and things like that, and he’d never been much for formal skiing competitions.

  People were always surprised when they heard that. How could an Elkin not be an incredible skier?

  Jonas’s proposal was untenable in every possible way. There was nothing for him here. Nothing permanent, anyway. He would always be looking for a way to find a place where he belonged. He wouldn’t ever belong here because his family was complete without him.

  You’ll belong here if Anna stays, a voice whispered at the back of his mind—but Anna wasn’t going to stay. She was only here because he was here, and when he left, so would she. The thought of her leaving gave him a pang of sadness. Impossible. He couldn’t be sad about it.

  The quiet of the room pressed in on him. He wanted to be back in his apartment in Vegas and he wanted to fit here. Such a bizarre contradiction. The person who would make everything seem less fraught would be waiting for him in the suite, so he left as quietly as he’d come. Anna.

  The first thing he wanted to do was kiss her. And then he would pull her in close and breathe in the sweetness of her hair and feel the sensuous curves of her body beneath his palms. There would be no more ringing silence because she would make those little noises she always made in the back of her throat. It would be delicious.