Page 99 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

By the time they arrived, Ruben was waiting with an armload of toys and a stuffed elk that was as big as Scott. Jonas went inside pointing out where to put everything in the living room. He dropped the diaper bag on the floor, setting Scott down on his feet.

“Okay, kiddo. It’s playtime.”

Scott crouched down among the toys, content with the plan. “Okay. Okay. Okay.”

Maybe novel words weren’t so great. A few of the toys were wrapped in crinkly cellophane, which attracted Scott’s attention. Score. “You see that? It’s called cellophane,” Jonas explained.

It had been awkward out in the lobby, without a doubt, but now? He felt a thousand times more awkward. Out of his depth. What was he supposed todowith a two-year-old? Jonas settled in on the carpet next to the things from the gift shop to watch his son play.

An odd feeling settled in his chest, a sense of satisfaction. Scott seemed content, especially after Jonas discovered a cookie sealed in a plastic bag in the side pouch of the diaper bag. His son ate it contentedly, leaving half of it in the form of crumbs on the carpet. Once finished, he started running around the room in circles.

Scott stopped running around the room and burst into tears, throwing his upper body onto the sofa. Instinct drove Jonas to pick him up, and Scott dropped his head onto Jonas’s shoulder, his hand up by his face. Jonas decided he liked having him around. It was the unpredictability that made him nervous.

Scott fidgeted a little, then relaxed, his little body melting into Jonas’s chest. One thing he hadn’t thought of was a crib, and by the looks of things, he needed one. And he didn’t want to call over to the lodge and have one delivered, afraid it might wake Scott when they arrived to set it up.

Jonas stood by the window, swaying back and forth while Scott’s breathing evened out and got deeper, his hand dropping away from his face. Jonas briefly wished he’d thought to change out of his shirt and tie, but he hadn’t expected him to fall asleep so readily.

His arms started to go numb. Jonas eased himself toward the sofa, still swaying. Was Scott deeply asleep enough to stay sleeping if he laid him on the sofa? He had no way of knowing what to expect with his zero experience with children. The one thing he did know was that his son was safe in his arms and that it would have to do for now—numb arms or not.

Scott stayed sleeping as he lowered himself onto the sofa, shifting his body a little to readjust to Jonas’s new position.

Sitting there, Jonas started to drift off. He was tired. Had been for weeks. Months. Maybe years. It was all catching up to him now. Jonas put his legs up on the sofa, trying to stretch out a bit without waking his son. He couldn’t keep his eyes open.

It was peaceful here, with the faint sound of air moving through his heater and the rest of the resort blocked out by the walls. In his own home, nobody was calling him for help with reservations. No fires to put out. There might be work that needed doing in his office, but it would have to wait because he was busy holding a sleeping toddler. Surely that was the most important job he could do right now.

Just a few minutes, he’d rest his eyes. Then he’d wait for Scott to wake or Rachel to show up. The sunlight on his face told him it was late afternoon. Perhaps if Rachel finished the day, they could take another tour of the property, and she could get more photos. It sounded nice. Just the three of them.

He pictured her laughing, stretching out on the bed beneath him, whispering something in his ear that didn’t quite make sense. The image was from the past, and Jonas let himself drift into it. It was a warm and welcome memory as he drifted off to sleep, unable to fight the urge to give in any longer.

6

RACHEL

The candid photoshoot earlier today had slipped in and out of a posed session, with Rachel backing away as much as she could to capture the small moments between the family members. Portraits of Elin seemed especially important to everyone and she understood why.

After Elin had taken a break, they’d spent the next two hours visiting her favorite parts of the resort, and Rachel let herbein the places she loved. They would be priceless photos. She knew it already. Plus, anything she didn’t get today, she’d be able to get at the more formal session tomorrow. Traditional portraits—one of Rachel’s favorites.

The Elkin family had gradually gotten used to Rachel’s quiet presence at the edge of the room and settled in to enjoy each other’s company. She thanked her lucky stars that she’d invested early in her career in good camera lenses. Italsohelped that Elk Lodge was full of natural light, and the blue skies provided the rest.

Eventually, Elin had excused herself to rest, and they’d called it quits for the day. After putting away her equipment, she couldn’t resist scrolling through the photos. Glancing at her watch, she realized another hour had slipped away, and so had the day. There were still landscape shots that needed to be taken. Jonas hadn’t returned or called, and Rachel took it as a good sign.

She tamped down the temptation to go find him, knowing if he needed her, he’d find her. It gave her a sense of fulfillment to think of Jonas and Scott spending time together. She headed outside, taking advantage of her freedom.

Not surprisingly, she missed having Scott with her, watching and listening to him play in the snow. She made her way through the woods, and up one of the trails next to the ski hills. At the top, she turned back to take a photo of the lodge, lovely in the afternoon light, making it look like something from a vacation brochure. She hoped her photos would end up on their advertising and possibly even souvenir postcards, even if people wouldn’t pay much attention to the photographer’s name.

Don’t fall in love with the place.It’s just a job.She snapped a few more frames.Don’t fall in love with him, either.

It was one thing to let Jonas develop a relationship with Scott. It was another to let her feelings get away from her and start expecting life to suddenly go the happily-ever-after route. The holidays were always an emotional time. They reminded her of Christmases with her family before her parents arguing bled into what was supposed to be their happier moments.

Given the circumstances, it wouldn’t do them any good to get into an entanglement, especially now, when Jonas’s family was going through their own intense time.

Except Rachel wanted to be near him.

She took a deep breath and then let it out, before putting her lens cap back in place. Their relationship needed to remain professional. It was the only way.

She followed the instructions Jonas had texted earlier and made her way to his place. The brothers’ private residences looked like something out of a magazine layout. With snow on the peaked roof and large windows that she was sure brought in incredible natural light and provided amazing views of the mountainside.

Rachel patted her camera at her side and as she climbed the steps, her heart lightened. An oversized wreath graced the front door, and Rachel paused to take in the pine scent. Time to get her son, go back to the lodge, and grab some dinner. Then the evening would be hers to look through the photos more closely and get the photo album planned and assembled. She didn’t often get orders that included full albums like this one, and she loved creating physical memories that families could cherish.

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