Page 91 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

“I’m glad you’re staying.” He cleared his throat. “I have to head back upstairs—my family will have wondered why I disappeared—but will you meet me in my office later to talk? It’s on the fourth floor.” She was willowy and gorgeous, and he felt a certain desperation rise in him:don’t let her get away.And a competing pull:don’t let this holiday become a disaster.

Rachel took a deep breath. “If you’re sure.”

“I’mverysure,” Jonas said. “Meet me there in an hour.”

She searched his eyes one more time, then gave a small nod. “We will.”

2

RACHEL

Rachel pressed her forehead to the picture window in the guest suite and tried to cool down her feverish skin. It had been an endless morning of holding it together. She had beenso closeto getting away, too, and then, no. The awkwardness had descended. The father of her child hadn’t been just another guest—he owned the place.

Rachel had fallen in love with Elk Lodge as a little girl when she came here with her parents—the glittering snow on the hills, the hot cocoa and cider they kept in ready supply for guests along with the most amazing sweet treats. There was a certain magic to it, and for a child, eager to enjoy the Christmas holidays, walking into the lodge felt like stepping into a winter wonderland.

Her most recent trip had been three years ago, right after she caught her fiancé cheating on her. Her best friend, Annabeth, had invited her to come to the party with her, and Rachel had readily accepted. She’d never anticipated meeting anyone, much less sleeping with them. But her night with Jonas had been amazing. He’d been an incredible lover and made her feel cherished, something she could never say about Daniel. They’d fallen asleep wrapped around each other, but when she’d woken to a text from Annabeth, asking where she was, she’d skulked out of his suite as if she’d done something wrong instead of having experienced a few hours of absolute bliss.

Six weeks later, she was staring at a positive pregnancy test having no idea who the father was or how to reach him. Then eight months later, her greatest joy was placed into her arms.

When she was offered the chance to come back here to stay for a week, she’d jumped on the job offer. The room rates were too high for a photographer with a business one couldn’t describe as successful by any stretch of the imagination. The opportunity to work here was like a Christmas gift for her and Scott—and with what Jonas was paying for the job, the money would see them through the first quarter of the following year, and there was no way she could turn that down. Especially with a toddler who was continually outgrowing his clothes.

Now there was Jonas to contend with. Rachel had never expected to come across the father of her child again, and why would she have? He could have been from anywhere. Instead, he was an hour away from the town she’d made her home and lived at the resort she’d fallen in love with as a child.

“Okay.” She straightened up and checked her watch. They were set to meet in fifteen minutes and Rachel always left extra time. Those were the rules when you had a two-year-old. Scott was busily tugging at the blankets on the king-size bed. “Come on, buddy. Let’s ride the elevator.”

“Evator!” he squealed, rushing to pull on his shoes. Rachel tucked a toy truck under her arm and helped him with his shoes, one after the other.

They headed down the hall toward the elevator. The alpine theme was understated here, with polished trim that gleamed and snow-white walls. Plush, blue carpet boasted a silvery pattern that reminded her of winter, but that would look equally good in the summer.

Less than a minute later, she passed through the lobby area and headed to the private elevator that would give her access to the family suites and offices, something off-limits to guests.

Elk Lodge was a massive building, and it had space fortwo family suites—one for Elin, their grandmother, and one for visiting family when they preferred to use the penthouse rather than their own homes situated around the property. Jonas’s offices were on the same floor next to his grandmother’s suite.

He opened the door before she could knock, ushering them in and shutting it tightly behind them. Scott’s non-stop chatter had more than likely alerted him to their arrival.

“Hi,” Scott said, using one of the few words he’d learned early on.

“Hi, there.” Jonas’s face softened. He pushed a hand through his hair and blew out a breath, meeting Rachel’s eyes. “I was hoping we could talk about our situation.”

“Okay. Do you have a room that’s safe for Scott to play in where we can keep an eye on him?”

“The sitting room should be good. We’ll both be in there with him and I don’t think there’s anything dangerous. The fireplace has a grate on it.” Jonas led the way from the reception area to the sitting room attached to his actual office.

Rachel loved the panoramic view of the ski hills, the afternoon light golden on the snow. Her hands itched for a camera, except now wasn’t the time for photographs.

“How’s this?”

“It’s good.” She let go of Scott’s hand, and he made a beeline for a leather sofa, squeezing one of the arms to test it before crawling up to investigate.

Jonas hadn’t acted this flustered the first time she’d met him. He’d been in control in a way that soothed her. Rachel’s life had felt veryoutof control at the time, what with the called-off wedding and her mother’s response to everything. That party at Elk Lodge was supposed to help her get out of her head and have some fun. And it’d worked.

Rachel edged closer, sitting down on the sofa so she could be close to Scott. She also wanted to be close to Jonas. It was hard keeping her eyes off his tall, muscular frame, dressed impeccably in charcoal pants and a button-down with the neck open enough for her to see a hint of flesh. A shiver of desire moved down her spine, as she remembered more than the hint.

With his breathtaking blue eyes and model-handsome face, no wonder she was still attracted to him. No wonder she still felt like she might catch fire. Rachel hadn’t been with anyone since Jonas. Not out of a sense of obligation, but more because no one could compare to the memory of a time she considered perfection.

Moredeep breaths. Now wasn’t the time to develop a massive crush on the father of her child—or admit that the crush had existed all this time, in an abstract way. She’d thought about him often at night. But that didn’t mean this visit changed anything. Scott was her priority in life, and she wasn’t going to get distracted by a relationship. Period.

No one has said anything about a relationship,a small voice warned. “So,” she said, doing her best to bat the thoughts away. “Let’s talk.”

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