Page 67 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

“But he’s skiing now.” Anna watched him make a wide arc.

“He is and he’s already set goals to work his way up to some of the more difficult slopes, but he’s trying to be realistic even if he is eager to get back on the black diamond slopes.” Tana waved at a little girl who skied by while shouting her name and cheering her on. “The guys had a rough childhood. Losing both parents is a blow even if you’re wealthy. But they all managed to compensate for that loss in their own way and Elin—and her husband—worked hard to give them the best childhood they could have.” She gave Anna a sheepish grin. “I shouldn’t be speaking for the guys, but I’ve never heard Chase complain about his younger years.”

“Their grandmother loves them,” Anna said softly. No matter how high her standards were, she could see that love in Elin’s eyes whenever she looked at her grandsons.

“She does.” Tana sounded a little choked up, but when she spoke again, it was in her regular voice. “You know, I think their grandparents tried to make up for the loss of their parents by being close.”

“Strict, though.”

“They had high standards,” Tana conceded. “But there was a lot of love, too. There still is. It’s what matters here.”

Tana’s words were a blow to her heart. Love was not what had mattered when she was growing up, and as for high standards…that was a fat zero. Her past was rife with poverty and criminal activity. Anna had worked hard to leave the stigma of that behind, but she still felt like it clung to her no matter where she went. It would mean that she was always the odd one out at a place like Elk Lodge, and maybe everywhere, if her ex had been any indication of her place in the world.

Anna came to a stop at the bottom of the hill, cheeks burning.

“Are you calling it quits?” Tana asked, coming to a stop next to her, a wide smile on her face. “You did an awesome job. First lesson, too.”

“It was wonderful.” Anna smiled back. “I just need a few minutes to warm up inside the lodge.”

Tana offered to take her skis back to the rental building. Anna unclipped them and handed them to her, more than ready for a break. “They’ll be waiting for you at the rental building if you want to come out again,” Tana said with a wink as she folded them under her arm. “Any time, okay?”

“Perfect.” Anna clomped inside the building, her ski boots making it awkward. They were so heavywhen she wasn’t actually in skis, dragging her down again and again. But she relished the struggle of picking up her feet every time. Her life had been like that once. She had fought for every step. Now, all she had to do was take off these boots...if she wanted. She was strong enough to make it back to the room.

It was good, in a way, because she had to walk slower and process her feelings about the ski hill conversation. Anna would never fit in at Elk Lodge. That was true. But that didn’t mean she had to feel bad about it. She could still hold her head up high.Lift your chin, lovely.She did.

Back in the suite, she found Gabe sitting on the sofa, one hand along the back. He’d gone completely still, but the air around him crackled with unreleased energy. It sent a shiver over her skin. He wasn’t in a good mood. Anna couldn’t describe how she knew, except that they’d worked closely together for weeks. It was the way he sat, she decided—it telegraphed everything.

Gabe turned his head to the side as she worked her ski boots off her feet and lined them up on the floor. “I’m glad you’re back from your lesson,” he said, sounding flat. The tone didn’t surprise her. She’d heard this one, too, and it was the tone he used when he was trying to hide his irritation. Better to get it out in the open now. The meeting—it had to do with the meeting. He’d been fine when they got out of the tub, and now he wasn’t.

“How was your meeting with Jonas?” Anna padded through the room and fell into the spot on the sofa next to him. She didn’t miss the way he inched closer, or the way his shoulders dropped a little. Gabe still wore an expression that was somewhere between anger and resignation. Anna followed his gaze out toward the slopes and traced the path of a figure in a purple coat coming down in a series of lazy curves. It looked good. She probably hadn’t looked that good, but at least she’d tried.

“My brother has other ideas about what I should be doing with my life.”

Anna blinked. Jonas seemed like the type to have lots of thoughts about what other people should do, but it had clearly gotten Gabe’s goat at this meeting. For a horrible moment, she thought Jonas might be talking about her—maybe he’d discovered the truth about the two of them. That would be bad. That was not something she wanted for Elin or Gabe. Any of them. “Really?” Her tongue felt dry. “He wanted you to—what, to do something else?” She should be straightforward—is this about me? But it felt wrong to ask. Selfish.

“Yes. Jonas’s expectations are as high as they ever were in my family, and now…” He let out a huff.“I thought if I showed them I was happy, they would realize that I’m in a good place and stop judging me for the choices I’ve made. Clearly, that’s not going to happen. I’m still a disappointment.”

Anna reached out and took his hand, and he squeezed tight. It kept her grounded, though the rest of her seemed unsettled. Unmoored. “I don’t think that’s true,” she finally managed. “Chase looks up to you. He spent a good chunk of our lesson talking about how smart you are.” She rolled her eyes. “You’re not the outsider. You just have a different outlook on life. They want to be here at the lodge, and you want something else. It doesn’t mean your family thinks less of you.”

He stiffened, cutting a glance at her out of the corner of his eye. “How can you be sure of that? You don’t really even know my family.” That hurt. It was true, yeah, but that was probably why it hurt so much. “My career has never been good enough because it’s not here. My girlfriends havenevermeasured up to my grandmother’s high standards.” Gabe stared straight ahead, and Anna’s heart threatened to break for him.

The comment stung because it lumped her in with all the other girlfriends Gabe had brought here. How could Anna ever begin to fit in here? She could barely ski. And she definitely couldn’t pretend to be from a wealthy, stable family. Okay—she could pretend that, but eventually, the truth would come out.

Or maybe it wouldn’t because they wouldn’t be together. They would return home and go back to being business associates. After they left Elk Lodge, he’d have no further use for her and all she would have is happy memories of a family she didn’t belong to and whole bunch of pictures.

The trick was to stay focused.

What shewoulddo was work extra hard to win the family over tonight. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d felt like a complete imposter while doing a job, but no matter what she felt, she’d do the job to the best of her ability.Beyondthe best of her ability. That was how she’d positioned herself for this moment, hadn’t she?

Anna took a deep breath and reached for Gabe. She held him close and kissed his cheek.

He laughed. “What’s that for?”

“I know what I know,” she told him. “You’re good enough for your family. More than good enough. If you want to do something different, then that’s up to you.” His muscular shoulders felt good in her arms. “But in the meantime, you know what we’re going to do?”

“What?”

“Be the best-engaged couple at this resort.”

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