“Now that that’s done,” Chase said, folding his hands on the table, “what do you two have in mind for the wedding? Because I have some ideas.”
This earned him a look from Tana. “You have ideas? About weddings?”
“Yeah.” Chase grinned. “But I want to hear what the plans are first before I jump in with suggestions.”
“Oh, we—” Anna glanced at Gabe. “We haven’t had time to talk about plans for the big event yet, what with the holidays, and the engagement.”
“What’s your dream wedding?” Tana said, reaching for a roll in the basket at the center of the table. Those rolls were one of Gabe’s favorite things in the restaurant, but he didn’t want one now.
Something had gone horribly wrong, and the direction the conversation was headed left him reeling. He should get up and make some excuse. But then his brothers would know something was wrong, and their questions would only intensify.
“I always thought I’d like a summer wedding,” Tana mused, stealing a glance at Chase. “But winter weddings can be beautiful, too. All those warm wraps...”
“I can’t see us getting married before the summer. Right, Gabe?” Anna’s gaze landed on him, looking for confirmation, her eyes wide with panic. Gabe grabbed her hand.
They hadn’t come up with a fake wedding plan, but the conversation shouldn’t send her into a tailspin. Unless there was something else about wedding planning that he was missing completely. “That’s right. Not before summer at the earliest.”
The waiter stepped in with their salad course. He’d never seen Anna look so relieved. She seemed to be intently focused on dressing the salad, and he was grateful for the lull in conversation while everyone else did the same. Except for Jonas, who didn’t like dressing.
“What about your family, Anna?” Jonas asked.
Anna’s eyes snapped back up to meet Jonas’s, her fork freezing in midair over her salad. The smile flickered away from her face and then reappeared seconds later. But Gabe noticed the slip. “What about them?”
“I don’t think we’ve really had the chance to get to know you.” Jonas popped a cherry tomato into his mouth. “All of our gatherings have been pretty Elkin-focused. Where does your family come from?”
“Las Vegas. Born and raised.” Anna shrugged, with a light laugh. “It’s not a very interesting story.”
Gabe wasn’t buying it for a single minute. Everything Anna did took the form of an interesting story. That was why she was so good at arranging conferences—why she could make an inspiring narrative out of just about anything.
Gabe searched his memory for the true story of her family, but somehow, they’d never talked about it. If she’d revealed her past to him, he would know. And now all he could think about were the ways she shifted away from those kinds of questions, or changed the subject, leaving him to wonder about her childhood. Jonas nodded slowly, suspicion creeping into his eyes. “So, you grew up in Vegas then. That sounds exciting.”
“We lived in the eastern portion, in the suburbs,” Anna said. “But honestly, I don’t like to talk about my childhood. It was an uncomfortable time.”
Chase straightened up in his seat, looking down at his salad, and Tana’s expression shifted toward sympathy.
“But what’s important,” she continued brightly, “is that I’ve managed to make it on my own, and I’m happy where I am now. Very happy.”
Anna looked back at her salad and stabbed at a piece of lettuce resolutely with her fork.
Gabe could see that Jonas wanted to ask more questions. He could see it in the intense look on his brother’s face. “You’ll be the first to know when we’ve decided about the wedding,” he said pointedly, ending the conversation.
The brothers let it drop, talking about attendance on the slopes until the main course came. But Anna didn’t relax. She spoke up every so often, usually to agree with Tana or ask Chase about his new position at the resort. Tension wound its way up the back of Gabe’s neck until it was too tight to bear. When the waiter came to clear away the dinner plates, he took Anna’s hand and brushed a kiss across her knuckles. “I think we’re going to head out,” he announced to everyone else at the table.
Anna put on one more smile, and the two of them left. It wasn’t until they got off the elevator at their floor that her shoulders sagged. She leaned against him, trembling a little.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “Jonas doesn’t know when to stop sometimes. I think he missed the class on sensitivity.”
“I don’t understand why he’s so determined to find out more,” she said through gritted teeth. Her arm went around his waist, and she held tight while he opened the door and entered their suite. Anna brushed past him to push the door shut and slam the locks into place. “My family has nothing to do with the wedding, or with me, and—”
“He’s just trying to look out for me. My family doesn’t love that I live in Vegas, where they can’t keep an eye on everything I’m doing. It is Sin City afterall.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I know—but it’s out of love. I know it is.” It irritated him, too, all the questions. Anna clearly hadn’t wanted to talk about it, and Jonas had pressed on anyway. “That doesn’t excuse the way he kept pressing for answers.”
She let out a breath, some of the color receding from her face. “I get it. It’s nice you have someone who cares one way or the other.” Her gaze flicked down to the floor, and the corner of her mouth turned down. This time, he reached up to brush his thumb over that hint of a frown. Anna met his eyes again, and he was struck by the depth he found there, and the warmth, even when she was sad.
“Tell me what’s happening with you,” he coaxed. “You’ve been tense since you knew about this dinner with my brothers. Did something happen out on the ski hill?”
“No,” she said quickly. “No, I just—I found out more about how it was for you guys—growing up. It wasn’t anything like my childhood, and I felt...I felt like a puzzle piece that had fallen into the wrong box. Like I would never fit in here, even if I tried. And I know it doesn’t matter, but...I guess it does matter. To me.”
She bit her lip, and a rush of affection as clean and pure as mountain water hit him. She had the same worry he did. But how? Anna was the perfect woman. She’d been successful in everything she’d worked for, and all she needed now was a bit of an investment on his part to be an enormous success.
He swallowed, taking her face in his hands. If he asked this next question, it would change things between them. Gabe knew it would. But she’d danced around this issue for so long, and it seemed to be at the heart of all her worries. “I know you don’t want to talk about your family. At least not with my brothers—and I understand that. But I wish you would tell me.”
“You don’t want to know. I promise you don’t.”
“I do.” Gabe looked her square in the eye as he said it. “I want to know everything about you.” I want to kiss you, too. “But you don’t have to tell me if it’s something you’d rather keep to yourself. I’m only saying…” This was not the kind of conversation Gabe was used to having, and it was so uncomfortable it hurt, but he wasn’t going to give up on this now. Anna was worth it. “I’m only saying that I’m here, and I’d like to know because I care about you. That is if you’re willing to tell me.”