Page 137 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

“We’re coming,” Jonas shouted back as they laughed. He tugged on Rachel’s hand. They jogged the rest of the way to the double doors and walked inside to loud talking and laughter.

He was immediately surrounded by the Dentons, each one reaching out to with greetings and congratulations. Mitch and Jules were there with their three children, and Jonas couldn’t resist commenting on Mitch’svery shorthaircut.

“Just you wait. You keep expanding the resort like you are, and you’ll have thinning hair too,” Mitch declared, and everyone laughed.

Josh and Amelia were next, and Amelia and Rachel embraced like old friends as Jonas reached out to shake Josh’s hand. “Good to see you. Looks like the baby is coming soon.”

“Yeah, I was going to cancel, but—” Josh started to say before Amelia interrupted him.

“But nothing.” She leaned sideways to give Jonas a kiss. “I’m fine. We’re fine. Thank you for having us.”

“I did the same thing until Rachel yelled at me. I was driving everyone up the wall.” Jonas smirked and shook his head.

Chris said something, and there was a loud chorus of laughs, and Mara reached out to hug the both of them. “Our cookbook just got featured in theNew York Timesand he’s been asked to do a bunch of guest appearances. He’s been flying high since he found out,” Mara told them.

“That’s fantastic. Congratulations,” Jonas told her.

Lindsey came running over and tugged on Jonas’s sleeve. “Mom and Dad say it’s time.”

“Thanks, kiddo. Ask them to have the drinks brought out.”

“Okay.” At ten, Lindsey still tended to have a bit of a limp if she was overtired or did too much, but she had become an amazing skier. Tana had even allowed her to enter a couple competitions, and she was excited to compete in a local slalom in December.

Jonas finally pulled off his coat and walked to the center of the room. Scott and Elin were clustered next to Lindsey and Trevor. “If I could have everyone’s attention.”

He waited while they settled down and turned toward him. “Servers are coming around with drinks. The drinks with the blue ribbons are all nonalcoholic and the ones with silver ribbons have alcohol.”

He waited again, as everyone reached for drinks. Amelia had grabbed blue, Josh silver. Both Mitch and Jules had grabbed silver as did Chris, Gabe, Chase and Tana. Anna reached for blue as did MaraandRachel.

“I want to thank everyone for coming out. It means it lot to all of us that you would be here on this day.” Rachel was playing with the blue ribbon on her glass and Jonas couldn’t think of what he’d planned to say next. “I, uh…just a second.”

He went over to Rachel, Anna and Mara stepping to the side, and took her hand. “Does this mean what I think it means?”

She grinned back at him and gave a small nod. “Just found out.” Jonas gave a shout and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tight. “So does that mean you’re happy?” she asked him, stretching up to kiss his cheek.

“I’m very happy. Thank you for everything,” he murmured while everyone congratulated them. Finally lifting his head, he gestured to Mara. “Hey, Chris, how good’s your family leave policy?”

“My what?” Chris looked around and Jonas pointed to Mara’s glass. Chris’s eyes widened when he realized what he was looking at. “Mara? Do you have a bun in the oven?”

Mara laughed as everyone let out a collective groan. “Yeah, Babe, I’ve got a bun in the oven.” Chris let out a whoop and hugged her, lifting her off the ground.

Everyone talked over each other, the excitement flowing around the room. More drinks were poured, and eventually everyone quieted. Jonas cleared his throat to get their attention.

“So, I had this whole speech planned out, and I think I’ve forgotten most of it.” There were chuckles. “Our grandparents always talked about why they built this place. They wanted it to be a place for families to make memories. Looking around at all of you—my family and friends who knew Elin Elkin well—she would have been delighted to see all of us so happy andprolific.” He dragged that last word out, making everyone laugh.

He held his hand out to Rachel, who joined him, twining her fingers with his. He lifted their hands, kissing her knuckles. “Have I told you yet today that I love you?”

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. “At least a dozen times, and I love you too. Now finish the speech already, I’m hungry.”

Jonas laughed again. His heart was so full, he didn’t think he could hold it in. Five years ago, he never could have imagined a life like this, filled with the happy sounds of children, the sweet noises Rachel made when she didn’t think anyone was paying attention, and the absolute love and joy he felt every single day.

“My wife tells me I have to hurry up because she’s hungry.” He blew out a breath, needing to get serious. “Chase, Gabe, come here.” When his brothers joined him, he shifted, so they were standing in a line. Raising his glass, he waited for them to do the same. “As we celebrate the opening of the new resort, we also wanted to take this moment to celebrate the woman who raised us. I don’t think we would have become the men we are today if it wasn’t for her. To Elin Elkin.”

Everyone raised their glasses, answering the toast. “To Elin.”

A small toddler voice piped up. “To me?”

Jonas reached down to scoop up his three-year-old daughter and hugged her tight, and then joined the others as they headed into the restaurant.

---