Rachel lifted her chin. “No, I do need to do the photos,” she said, her voice tight. “I need the money, and I signed a contract.”
“I’ll pay you anyway. Name the amount. It’s no object, Rachel.”
She blinked, and Scott stood up from the floor. Crouched down. Stood up again. He toddled toward the tree and plopped himself down in front of one of the wrapped boxes, patting gently at the gold ribbon wrapped around it.
Rachel moved toward him, taking her eyes off Jonas at the last moment. She bent down close to Scott, not touching him, just ready, he realized, to stop the boy from ripping open the “gift”.
Jonas wouldn’t mind if he did. At this moment, he wouldn’t mind if the little boy opened every one of the decorated boxes. Rachel’s shoulders were tense, but it couldn’t be because of Scott—she was used to this, she was prepared.
It could only be because of him. Maybe she thought his offer was a bribe. It might have come off as an offer to keep her quiet about Scott, and once he thought that, he knew it was true by the set of her jaw and the thin line of her lips.
“Forget I said that. You’re right,” Jonas said, trying to backtrack a bit.
Rachel’s eyes met his, wary still. She put one hand down on Scott’s chubby one, guiding him away from the edges of the wrapping paper. “Am I?”
“I hired you to do a job. And, in fact, I want the photos. We just need to focus on getting it done right.”
She let out a visible breath. “Right.” She scooped Scott up into her arms, and he put his arms around her neck, burying his face in her shoulder. “About that tour...”
“How about a sleigh ride? With horses?” Scott perked up at that. Jonas got a thrill from his excitement, something he’d never experienced before. Some of the tension in the air dissipated as Rachel smiled, sending a wave of heat through his body and his heart racing. Jonas tried to ignore it as he put his coat on and told Scott about the horses, leading them both outside to a spot near the ski shed.
While Jonas held Scott in his lap for the ride, the sleigh took them down the trails near the resort. Rachel marveled at the decorations on the trees and leaned forward to get photo after photo. Jonas found himself at the opposite end of the lens more than once, and the thought of the photos squeezed at his heart. His first memories with his son.
By the time they returned to the lodge, Rachel was breathless and pink-cheeked, excited about her photos, and Scott was more than ready for a nap. But Jonas didn’t want to watch them walk away.
He escorted them up to her suite and held Scott while Rachel put away her gear and got herself settled. “Are you comfortable here?” He kept his voice low because at some point between the lobby and here, Scott had fallen asleep on his shoulder. “Do you have everything you need?” he added.
She put a hand on his elbow. “I’m sure I do.”
“All your meals are on the house,” Jonas said. “Room service—anything. Don’t hesitate.”
Rachel cracked a smile, and he felt like punching a fist in the air and cheering. “I love room service fries.”
“I think this guy might be out for a while.” He transferred Scott over to her arms, managing the fine art of not waking the child. “You could have quite the dinner with lots of fries.” And you could ask me to stay, and then, and then— “Get some time to yourself.”
“I’ll do that.” Rachel leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. “We’ll see you tomorrow for the candid shots, right?”
Tomorrow seemed like a thousand years away.
“Of course.” Jonas left, closing the door behind him, wishing he could stay. Tomorrow. He would do better tomorrow. No mistakes. No tension. Only family photos in his grandmother’s den. He laughed to himself on the way back to his office. A man could dream.
4
Jonas fell asleep thinking that the next day would be a breeze, but when he woke up, there was a pit in his stomach and a weight across his shoulders he couldn’t shake off. An hour in the gym didn’t cure it.
The fact was, today could bring everything down around him. The longer Rachel stayed at the lodge and near his family, the more opportunities there would be for them to find out about Scott. But what other choice did he have? Burst in before the gathering began and spill the news? That would make for great pictures. They just had to get through another day, and then they’d be in a better position to sit down and figure out what to do.
He showered and changed. With several hours available before the designated meeting time for portraits, he planned to take advantage of the time by working in the office. The short distance to the lodge didn’t make up for the cold, crisp air chilling him as he made his way to his office, choosing to use the stairs for the exercise.
Once there, it wasn’t easy to focus on paperwork. It almost worked, but Rachel was always at the corner of his mind, never far away. The hours dragged but time didn’t stop.
His phone alerted him to a new text.
Gabe: In the fireplace lounge instead of Grandmother’s apartment. Wants photos there, too.
Jonas gritted his teeth, but he had to admit it made sense—they had photos from her apartment on Christmas Day, and the lounge had an abundance of natural light. That would make it easier for Rachel.
Although nothing would make it easy if his family started asking questions. He had to hurry if he didn’t want her to face the rest of the Elkin family alone. He shoved the paperwork away from him and headed downstairs.
Walking into the room, he realized his grandmother had a good instinct for what would look good for the photo shoot. The lounge had two walls of windows, the morning light shining through and cascading a pretty glow over the room. It gave the whole scene a magazine layout vibe, something he needed to take note of for future advertising campaigns. Rachel stood in one corner, adjusting the settings on her camera. Scott was nowhere to be seen. More than likely with the in-house nanny, which was the best possible solution.
Seeing as everyone had arrived, it was time to get this over with.
“Brothers first,” Jonas announced, loud enough for Rachel to hear. Her head snapped up, her gaze seeking him out. Her surprise quickly turned into a smile, making his heart beat faster.
One by one, they each took turns in separate groups, sitting by the window and pretending to have conversations. Jonas laughed at Gabe’s jokes, the knot in his chest loosening with every moment that passed. Maybe it would all be fine.
No sooner had he started to relax than two figures appeared in the doorway. No one else noticed the new additions as they worked on rearranging themselves, his grandmother sitting down, and everyone falling in beside her.
Except for Jonas, that is. He noticed.
Lisa had arrived, Scott in her arms. The moment he saw his mother, his son brightened, pushing away from the nanny and trying to get down. Rachel went over and had a hushed conversation with her. The words no big deal drifted his way as he listened intently.
Except it was a big deal.
Lisa put Scott down, and he clung to Rachel’s leg. Tana, Lindsey, and Anna made an awww noise at the side of the room, finding Scott’s antic cute.
Rachel shook her head and laughed, waving them into the next group shot. “If you all sit down,” she said, “we’ll get a few more shots, and then we’ll move to more group standing poses. Remember, this is what I call planned candid, so ignore me and be as comfortable as you can. You could tell a funny story from the boys’ childhood, Elin.”
His grandmother’s smile lit up the room, and she launched into a story about the time Chase belly flopped off the high dive at a campground they’d gone to out west. It had been the first of many antics on the trip.
Jonas wanted to lose himself in the story, wanted to focus on the past, when things had been less complicated, but he couldn’t. They were going to notice. Any second now, they were going to notice that the little boy in the room looked exactly like him. Or they were going to notice that Jonas couldn’t stop stealing glances at Ra
chel.
Rachel, on the other hand, showed no sign of nervousness. No fear of discovery. It was up to him to keep them distracted. Jonas had a few stories himself that would serve the purpose. “What, nobody’s going to mention the cake?”
“Why would we do that?” Gabe laughed. “You’ve been telling us not to talk about that for years.”
“Now seems like an opportune time, if the object is to laugh and be natural.”
Chase cocked his head to the side. “You can’t be serious.”
“Tell us about the cake,” Tana insisted. “I’ve never heard this story.”
“I haven’t either,” put in Anna, still slightly nervous, but with a genuine smile on her face. She and Gabe had only gotten together over the holiday, but it had looked so easy. Well—not exactly easy. There had been the matter of her ex showing up at the resort and skeletons from her past getting dragged into the light, but they’d moved beyond all that. Gabe reached for her hand.
“I wanted to ask a girl to the prom,” Jonas said, and everyone turned to focus their attention on him. He didn’t like the story, but it was for a worthy cause. “And I thought I would be clever and make her a cake. I spent hours on it, but it turned out lopsided and weird. And this poor girl thought she was going to be getting a cake from the Elk Lodge kitchens.”
“Oh, Jonas,” Anna groaned. “Did she still go to the dance with you?”
“Yes,” he said. “But she told everybody about that cake, and for years, these guys repeated the story just to embarrass me.” Jonas stood up. “What about some photos with just the women?” he said, dragging his brothers with him to the side of the room. He felt Rachel’s eyes on him all the way.
“You don’t have to worry,” she called out. “I’ll get all the shots you need.”
Don’t worry. Well, he was worried. Scott made his way over to them, and Jonas met the boy halfway across the floor, waving his brothers to make their way to the windows. “I’ll join you all in a second.”
He took Scott by the hand and led him back toward Rachel. “Hey, kiddo, let’s go over here, by your mom. Rachel, why don’t we move on to portraits of—”
“Let’s take five,” Rachel called. “Everybody get comfortable, and I’ll be back in a few. Jonas, come with me—I need your help.” The tone of her voice didn’t bode well.
* * *
Rachel snapped her lens cap back into place and took Scott from Jonas.
He glanced back, the lines of tension on his face deepening as he noticed his family watching them with an unbelievable amount of suspicion.
“Now would be good,” she told him, keeping her smile in place.
Jonas followed her out to the hall. She set Scott down, letting him wander over to a nearby alcove he was intent on exploring. After double-checking to make sure everything was safe, she turned to Jonas, taking a deep, cleansing breath.
His eyes met hers, but then slipped away, glancing back toward the door. How could he look so strong, so powerful, and so worried at the same time?
“You’re driving me insane,” she declared. Shock filled his blue eyes, causing her heart to thump harder despite her irritation.
“I’m trying to help. There’s a lot on the line right now.”
“Okay, but—” she tempered her response, realizing Jonas was nervous. For that matter, she was nervous too. This was obviously a big deal for him—his son, mingling with his family. But he had to let go and trust her if it was going to work—both the photography gig and any kind of relationship between them. It didn’t necessarily have to be romantic, but he seemed like he wanted to get to know his son. But she wasn’t backing down.
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 just 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 of that?”
“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 didn’t know about, that the child was hers, and that the child was in 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. It’s just…my job. But then, you were totally unexpected. It was confusing at best, and in the end, I did nothing.”
Heat sprinted up to her cheeks. Red wasn’t her best look. “I was only here for a couple of nights.” One night with you.
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 in the grand scheme of things. 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 apartment. “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 them 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 had never been much of a babysitter. His grandparents took care of his brothers, leaving Jonas to focus on learning the ins and outs of the resort, head off to college, and then come right back to the lodge where he’d worked ever since. And now he was hanging out with his son, completely solo.
&nbs
p; His son.
This wasn’t babysitting.
Talk about weird.
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 in the carpet. It took them five 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 proud. He was obviously happy and smart, not to mention curious and active.
“Hi,” Jonas repeated, earning him a leg hug.
They made their way to the lobby, the hall opening into the central room with vaulted ceilings, Christmas music drifting down from hidden speakers. Yesterday, Scott had wanted to play with the presents by the tree, but they were real gifts to be given to local people in need. The gift shop would be a much better place to take his son. He scooped Scott up just to be on the safe side.
“Mr. Elkin?” His receptionist’s voice held a note of panic, and he turned to see what was wrong. “What can I do for you, Elsie?” She was one of their newer employees. He was excruciatingly aware of Scott on his hip as he made his way to the desk. “Problem with reservations?” he asked.
“Well, I—yeah. There is.” Elsie clicked around on her computer, going through window after window. “It’s one of the VIP reservations. They just called and wanted to change their booking dates to five days later in February. I said they could, but another VIP party has the Presidential Suite on one of those days,” she said, her voice rising. “I don’t know why it let me do that. Something in the system didn’t work right, and now—” Poor woman was close to tears.
The Billionaire’s Christmas Son: Elkin Brothers Christmas Book Three Page 3
