Page 45 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

She waved this off with a grin that tugged at something deep within his chest. “You promised—no work talk at the celebration dinner.”

“I would never promise that, and you know it.”

Anna laughed again, sending a bolt of joy straight into the middle of Gabe’s chest. Making her laugh—he was going to miss that most of all. It was a low, sweet sound, and he’d heard it plenty over the past weeks, both over the phone and in person.

“Okay, fine.” She smoothed her napkin over her lap. “Can’t get anything by you.”

From the way she was looking at him now, all big eyes and pink cheeks, she didn’twantto get anything by him. Gabe wouldn’t mind taking her back to his penthouse. He wouldn’t mind it at all. The air heated between them. Dinner was only half-finished, but at the end of it, he had the feeling he wouldn’t be going home alone. Anna leaned forward, one hand beneath her chin, and watched him.

Yes.

Gabe’s phone buzzed again. Irritation quickly replaced the heady feeling of anticipation that had spilled over him like fine wine. Jonas really needed to stop being so damn impatient. He dipped a hand into his pocket and silenced the call.

But Anna had heard it, and her wide smile shifted to one of concern. “Your brother again?”

“He can wait.” His phone rang again, followed by another text message, and worry crept in at the edges. “All right—maybe it can’t. I’m so sorry. Let me take this.”

“Of course, but I’m not going to let my dinner get cold.” Anna shooed him away and picked up her fork. She’d ordered fillet mignon, medium rare, and grilled to perfection. He’d ordered the same, with roasted veggies and potato puree, reminding him of long-ago family dinners at Elk Lodge.

Nothing, however, reminded him of his home so much as the sight of his brother’s name on his phone screen. Again. Gabe headed for the restaurant’s lobby, bypassing a couple wrapped up in each other on the bench. He found the first available quiet spot near a window that looked out on the Strip.

“I’m at dinner, Jonas. Can I call you back?” He expected his brother to agree.

“No, I’m afraid not. You’ve been ignoring my calls and messages. This can’t wait.” His brother’s tone shook Gabe out of his rushing thoughts. “I need you to come home.”

“What? Now?” A hundred possibilities tumbled into his mind. An accident with one of his brothers. A fire at the lodge. Or worse, something about his grandmother. “Is everything all right?”

Jonas sighed, and Gabe felt that sigh in every bone in his body. “This would have been a lot easier if you’d come home for Thanksgiving.”

Gabe wasn’t interested in his brother guilt tripping him. “I told you, I was busy. If Gran wants to see me so bad, I can always video chat with her or arrange for her to fly out here for a visit.” His brother huffed out a breath and Gabe could hear him mumbling. He combed his fingers through his hair trying not to rub his head in irritation. “Out with it, Jonas. I have a dinner guest waiting for me.”

“You know it’s not even a two-hour flight to get out here and we could have had this discussion together, as a family.”

“Yes, yes.” Gabe hated how impatient he sounded, but his heart was beating fast and hard. If Jonas had something to tell him, then he should say itnow. Right now. “Did something happen?”

In the beat before Jonas’s answer, dread fanned out in the pit of Gabe’s gut and clenched hard.

“Gran wanted to tell you herself, and I don’t want to make it seem worse than it is,” Jonas told him.Shit! This was bad.“But she has lung cancer, and it’s progressed, and we don’t—” There was a pause, and Gabe held his breath. IfJonaswas struggling through this, then it was bad. “Look. If you were planning on skipping out on Christmas here, I need you to rethink that. She really wants you to come home and spend the time before Christmas with the family. She wants all of us to be together.”

“I’ll be there.” It surprised him how easily the words slipped from his mouth. His brother was right, Gabe had been planning on skipping Christmas. “Of course I’ll be there. I’ll fly out in the morning.”

He could hear his brother’s sigh. “Good. That’s good. She really wants to see you. We all do.”

Gabe didn’t believe that for a second. While his grandparents had been supportive of him going to college, they’d wanted him to choose an in-state school so he could come home on weekends. As much as he loved Elin and Richard Elkin, who’d so willingly taken the brothers in after their parents had passed away, growing up at Elk Lodge had felt constrictive. He’d wanted to live his own dreams and passions, and that meant moving away.

Gabe had long ago realized that nothing he did ever measured up to Elin Elkin’s expectations, no matter how much his accomplishments impressed the rest of the world. But if this was his grandmother’s last Christmas, he would be there, even if it was as the family disappointment.

“Thanks, Jonas,” he said finally. “I’ll text you when I have my schedule.”

Ending the call, Gabe stared out at the lights below him as he tried to gather himself. He’d wanted his grandmother’s 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. Being strong financially was never in question. His parents had left all three brothers incredibly well off and his business successes were a result of hard work. But what if he could at least prove to his grandmother he’d settled down and found someone to love, much like she had with his grandfather? 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 his 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 made one quick call to arrange for his private jet to be prepped for the morning, then he 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. Her huge brown eyes met his as he slid back into his seat.

“Something happened,” she said definitively.

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