Page 106 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

Jonas had gone to bed feeling positive about the evening. The dinner went well, with her taking formal portraits of the family together. They’d been a good team. He’d taken nice photos of her with Scott, and she hadn’t seemed uncomfortable while taking the family portraits. The only problem had been that he’d missed Scott. Jonas half-regretted not inviting him to the dinner, but he was positive it was for the best. With everyone there, including his brothers’ girlfriends and Lindsey, his grandmother had been exhausted by the time they’d called it a night.

He’d been the last to leave and Jonas had half-hoped that Rachel had waited for him, but she was already gone. So rather than go to her suite and risk disturbing them, he headed home. Their kiss the other night still weighed heavily on him, especially since they hadn’t talked about it. Even though Rachel had been the one to initiate it, he worried that he’d gone too far or maybe not far enough. He couldn’t stand not knowing.

Today was a new day and another photoshoot. One that started with a holiday lunch for no other reason than it was winter, and they were all living in limbo between Christmas and New Year’s. Nobody had plans, and everyone was on board with the lunch he suggested. He’d also let it slip that the photographer and her son would be invited just to pave the way. Rachel could take more photos, and he felt like he needed to make up for not inviting Scott to dinner.

Jonas knocked lightly before entering Rachel’s suite fifteen minutes before they were due at his grandmother’s apartment.

“Hi,” she said, looking flustered and beautiful as she patted at her hair, which was in an elegant knot at the back of her neck. “Are you sure about this? Come in a minute. I’m almost ready.”

He stepped farther inside, taking in the scene—the photo album neatly perched on the desk, and Scott playing with a set of blocks in the center of the rug in the living area. The door swung shut behind them. “Am I sure about what?”

“Having us at lunch. Scott stayed with Lisa last night, and it worked out well. What changed?”

Jonas took a deep breath. “What changed is that I think you should both be there. You’ve been taking photos for days now, and you’ll be taking them through the New Year, and there’s no use pretending that you don’t have Scott with you.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes, searching his. “They’re going to ask questions.”

“Nobody’s going to ask questions,” he insisted, wanting so much to take her in his arms that it hurt. “They already know he’s here. The formal portraits are done. Do you have other plans to eat?”

“No,” she admitted, smiling a little. “I just want to besure—”

“I’m sure.” He caught her hand in his and tugged her closer before pulling her into a hug. He could feel her tense shoulders relax slightly before she stepped back.

Rachel’s gaze snapped up to his, her cheeks flushing.

A beat passed.

Then she stepped back close to him, her lips lightly brushing his. “Okay,” she said, before whirling around. “Scott, look who’s here!”

He twisted around from his blocks, saw Jonas, and came running so quickly he stumbled over a stray toy and tumbled onto the carpet. Scott popped right back up, a grin in place.

“Hi, kiddo,” Jonas said.

“Hi. Hi.” Scott was a bundle of energy, jumping into his arms with such force, it surprised Jonas.

“Want to go have some lunch?” Jonas loved watching the different faces his son made, some serious and some comical, but they all made him laugh.

“Yep.” Scott pointed to the door.

Rachel stepped to his side, patting her son warmly on the elbow. “Let’s go, buddy.”

“Yay!” Scott squealed but stayed put in Jonas’s arms, something that made his heart swell with love.

Fifteen minutes later, they stepped inside his grandmother’s apartment, which was teeming with activity. The rest of the family were already gathered around the big table in the dining room. The tension went out of Jonas’s shoulders. Oddly, he liked these kinds of meals, the ones that happened in the space between planned events. There was something more relaxing about them. Not so much pressure. And as much as his brothers frustrated him at times, he really did miss having them around and hoped they’d both agree to stay.

He introduced Scott to the group, and then the three of them sat at one end of the table near Tana and Lindsey. Tana immediately struck up a conversation with Rachel, hoping she’d get some action shots of Lindsey on the hills.

“I could try.” Rachel laughed. “I haven’t done much sports photography, but if we get a chance, I’ll take some photos. I’m sure we can get a few decent ones.”

The conversation flowed smoothly through the lunch. His brothers reminisced about Christmases past. Gabe told a story about the year he got his first game system and stayed up all night playing it, only to feel so sick from lack of sleep the next morning that he didn’t play again for two weeks. Chase talked about sneaking out early to ski before it was light and falling over a divot in the snow.

Through it all, Jonas caught a few thoughtful looks from his brothers, and his grandmother propped her chin on her hand, watching Scott with interest as he ate.

Rachel held Scott on her lap and listened, a soft smile on her face, not seeming to notice any of the interest she was garnering.

“What do you normally do for Christmas when you’re not on last-minute jobs?” he asked her in a low voice while the others chattered on about favorite gifts and Christmastime treats.

“Oh.” Rachel snuggled Scott in close. “We keep it pretty low-key. This year Scott opened a gift early and then we headed here.”

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