“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 as 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?”
He held up the ring, and Anna burst out in delighted laughter, tears streaming down her face. The pictures would be priceless—something to remember and tell about for generations to come. “And I know,” he went on, “that this is our fake engagement ring, but we picked it out together. I’d like it to be a real one now.”
“I love it,” she cried. “It’s my dream ring.” She dissolved into happy laughter again, and someone started clapping, the others joining in just as he slid the ring onto Anna’s finger.
Back where it belonged.
She bent down to kiss him, her hands on either side of his face. He stood, taking her in his arms to deepen the kiss. “We don’t have to do this until you’re ready,” he said so only she could hear. “There’s no rush.”
“But there is,” she whispered, a hand stroking down the back of his neck. “I want your grandmother to see us get married. And I don’t want to wait. If we could do it right now, I would.”
“Me too,” he answered. “Me too.”
Excitement hummed through him as Chase and Tana took their photos with Lindsey, and then Jonas and their grandmother. And finally, his grandmother posed for a portrait in her favorite seat in the house—the left-hand corner of one of her leather sofas. Happiness and grief tightened Gabe’s throat as he watched. He was going to miss her. They were all going to miss her, but they’d have this photo. That was more than some people got.
And they didn’t have to miss her yet.
The photographer spoke with Jonas and then disappeared. There were more rounds of family portraits scheduled for later this afternoon, but they had enough for one session. Now it was time for some good old-fashioned Christmas fun.
His grandmother rose from the couch, holding her hands up high. “Who’s ready for presents?”
Lindsey whooped, and then there was a rush for seats around the tree, and Gabe settled back into their spot on the sofa with Anna tucked under his arm.
Anna’s my gift and all I need.
“Merry Christmas,” he told her, kissing her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Let’s always make Christmas special.”
He drew her in, savoring the feeling of her body close to his. “Deal. But only if I can unwrap you every year. I’ll never need another present.”
End of The Billionaire’s Fake Christmas Engagement
Elkin Brothers Christmas Book Two
The Billionaire Athlete’s Christmas Fling, December 3rd, 2020
The Billionaire’s Fake Christmas Engagement, December 10th, 2020
The Billionaire’s Christmas Son, December 17th, 2020
PS: Do you want to be swept off your feet? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Billionaire’s Christmas Son and The Sheikh’s Christmas Fling.
Thank you!
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