Page 97 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

He had to let her do her job. “I hate being micromanaged. And you’re micromanaging. I’ve got this, Jonas. Everybody in there is having a fun time, but you’re too focused on where Scott is in the room to enjoy yourself. It’s coming across in every picture with you in it.”

Jonas let out a short breath, then ran his hands over his face. For a split second, it looked as though he was going to argue, but then the look vanished “I’m sorry. I know I was over the top in there.”

She let out a burst of laughter, her own tension untwisting. “Yeah, you totally were. Is it just their reaction you’re afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid of it.” His eyes focused on a point far away, then came back to hers. “Not exactly. I wasn’t planning to tell them the news while we’re taking photos. If they’re not happy about it, then do you really want to be snapping pictures ofthat?”

“Yeesh.” She grimaced. Fine. He did have half of a point. Rachel didn’t necessarily want to be the one capturing the moment when he told his family that he’d had a child he hadn’t known about, that the child was hers, and that the child wasin the room.There had to be a better way.

“I missed you,” Jonas’s admission startled her.

“What?” she asked, sure she’d heard him wrong.

“I missed you after you were gone. My job can be stressful on a good day and we’d had such a rough year. You were totally unexpected and amazing and then you were gone and I had no idea who you were or how to reach you. So I pretended it was no big deal and went back to work. But it was a big deal, and I never forgot you.”

Heat sprinted up to her cheeks. Red wasn’t her best look. “I was only here for the party.”

It was one of Rachel’s deep, secret fears—that he would never be interested in her, not that way, because they’d only spent a few hours together. She’d been trying not to have feelings for him, trying not to think about him. Surely, a man like Jonas Elkin would never give a one-night stand a second thought. But his words said differently.

“I remembered you for a lot longer than that.” His voice was low, genuine. He leaned toward her a little and put his hands in his pockets. She’d like to think it was to restrain himself from touching her. Not because she didn’t want him to, because she did. More from the standpoint of a man trying to resist the attraction—to do the right thing. “I’ve been fixated on things at the resort. I’m used to being in control, and with you, I seem to be out of control.”

Rachel was used to being in control, too, but hearing it come from Jonas’s mouth made it seem unbearably sexy. Three years later, and she’d make the same choice and give him control behind closed doors. Let him take her to the stars once again. Just not now. Not when there were people watching, and she had a job to do. She shoved down her desire and her irritation, which had become confusingly close to one another, placing her hands on the camera to help ground her.

“Okay. Here’s the plan.”Take me back to your place.“If you want to be helpful, and you want to keep Scott a little farther from your family while I do the portraits of your grandmother and some of the others, then you can take him somewhere else and watch him.”

One blink, then two. “Really?”

“Yes. Let him explore while I work, and then I can get your portrait when we’re done or another day. I’m sure we can get a similar light if you want them to match. How does that sound?”

“Candid portraits,” Jonas reminded her, eyes searching hers. It was like he wanted an excuse to keep talking to her. She knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t keep the others waiting for long, even if he wanted to.

She laughed. “You know that’s not really a thing, right? Everybody knows I’m taking the photos.”

“I just want to have a photo of her laughing,” he admitted. It squeezed at her heart. Oh, this family. This man. They were trying so hard to hold on to their grandmother.

“Got it. Hey, Scott,” she called out. Her son perked up, eyes delighted. “I’ve got a surprise for you. Jonas is going to take you exploring.”

The smile on her son’s face matched the one on Jonas exactly.

5

JONAS

Today was another first for Jonas. Babysitting.

His. Son.

Talk about weird and wonderful at the same time. He wished he had someone he could share this moment with instead of hiding.

Scott held his fingertips while they walked down the hall together, stopping to check out the thousands of small details that only a two-year-old would notice. He wanted to see the trim on the doorways. Touch the hinges. Pick at something invisible on the carpet. It took them several minutes to make it to the elevator, and once they were inside, Scott didn’t want to get off. He just wanted to push the buttons. Jonas’s one advantage was that he could scoop him up and make him laugh, and then the buttons were forgotten.

What were they going to do?

“Door,” Scott pointed out as they left the elevator. “Nuffer door.”

Doors fascinated him.

“Hi,” Scott said, clear as day, catching Jonas’s attention with a devilish grin. Scott giggled, and the sound made Jonas’s heart swell. Rachel had done a wonderful job. He was obviously happy and smart, not to mention curious and active.

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