“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.