Page 28 of Billionaire's Surprise

My concern notched up when I ushered her through the door ahead of me. As if I hadn’t worried enough, Emerson eyed the gifts under the tree warily before turning a glare to me. Hell, she was pissed. Not good.

“What’s all this?” she demanded.

“It’s Christmas.” I shrugged.

“It’s ChristmasEve,” she huffed as she took in the room.

I led her farther inside. “Love, I intend to spoil you. This is just the beginning.”

“I don’t need anything,” she insisted. “I…have you. Don’t I?”

Her anger disappeared, her gaze filling with an apprehension that nearly broke my heart. It was almost enough to make me fall to my knee and propose in that instant, but I held myself in check.

“Of course, you do. Forever,” I vowed before brushing a kiss across her lips.

“It’s not fair. I haven’t gotten you anything,” she said, glancing at the pile of wrapped presents. How long it had been since she’d been spoiled with gifts or had she ever been? Knowing her background as I did now, I wondered. She’d be showered with gifts and love from now on.

“You’re all I require,” I said. I took her hand and led her to the tree. “Open them.”

“It’s not Christmas,” she argued again, though she allowed me to sit and pull her to the floor with me.

“Tomorrow will be busy,” I reminded her.

“Yes,” she agreed, frowning. “I still have to pack. What time are we leaving?”

The sadness in her tone confused me. I knew she wasn’t completely happy on the ship, so I’d thought she’d be relieved to disembark.

“The ship docks at eleven.”

“I’ve gotten so used to the warmth out here,” she said, toying with a ribbon on the box closest to her. I hated the hollowness of her tone. “I’m not looking forward to returning to the bitter cold of Chicago in December.”

Anger burned through me when she talked of returning to that place. She belonged with me in New York. I almost said something then remembered we hadn’t discussed the future yet. Again, the urge to slide the ring on her finger, to prove once and for all that she’d never leave my side, grasped my heart.

“Open your gifts,” I said, some of my agitation coming through in my tone.

“Fray, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I assured her. “I’m just excited to see your face when you see what I’ve chosen for you. I hope I’ve done alright. When I selected things, I didn’t know you as well as I know you now.”

“I’m sure you did fine,” she said. “It’s already too much.”

I grabbed a package and dropped it into her lap, eager to move along. She was probably right. I’d gone a little overboard. But I’d wanted to ensure her Christmas was special. Initially, because I wasn’t sure I could convince her to marry me. But now, I wanted her to always look back at the first Christmas with me as nothing more than a drop in the bucket of excess I was prepared to shower on her.

She glared at me again, but she still chuckled as she turned back to the present and tore the paper off the laptop I’d gotten her.

“You’re insane,” she said, running a hand over the box. “What is this? I’ve never heard of this model.”

“It’s a prototype,” I answered dismissively. “They promised if there are any bugs, they’ll replace it once it’s fully released to the public in the spring. I wanted to be sure you have what you’d need for your coding. But honestly, you’re a million times smarter than I am, so I have no idea what that entails. If it’s not right, we can send it back and get you something more properly suited.”

I took the box from her and set it aside then grabbed the next package off the pile. She shook her head but ripped it open.

We repeated the process for twenty minutes. She opened jewelry, electronics, shoes—thankfully in the right the size—and argued with me about the necessity of all of it. I ignored her protests and insisted she continue.

She never got in the spirit as I’d hoped, but she seemed pleased overall by the gesture. When everything from under the tree had been opened, she sat back and looked around with clear amazement.

“Are we done?” she teased.

I glanced around, making a show of inspecting the tree.

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