was probably the most important thing he’d ever do. The significance of it settled over his shoulders and made his heart beat hard, and Anna bit at her lip, smiling through her own surprise.
He didn’t have a new ring—but he did have the old one in his pocket. Anna had handed the old engagement ring back to him when she left, and he hadn’t been able to leave it behind. Gabe had carried it with him all the way to Vegas and never went anywhere without it. It was a testament to his love and kept him close to her even when they were apart.
Gabe sank down onto one knee and put his hand into his pocket. The room went silent, all eyes on him. For one heart-stopping instant, he couldn’t find the ring. Relief filled him when his fingers closed over it, Gabe eager to ask the biggest question of his life. “Anna, you’ve changed everything about my life for the better,” he told her. The click of the camera’s shutter was the only sound that could be heard. “I want you to be by my side forever, and I want to be by yours. Will you marry me?”
He held up the ring, and Anna burst out in delighted laughter, tears streaming down her face. The pictures would be priceless—something to remember and tell about for generations to come. “And I know,” he went on, “that this is our fake engagement ring, but we picked it out together. I’d like it to be a real one now.”
“I love it,” she cried. “It’s my dream ring.” She dissolved into happy laughter again, and someone started clapping, the others joining in just as he slid the ring onto Anna’s finger.
Back where it belonged.
She bent down to kiss him, her hands on either side of his face. He stood, taking her in his arms to deepen the kiss. “We don’t have to do this until you’re ready,” he said so only she could hear. “There’s no rush.”
“But there is,” she whispered, a hand stroking down the back of his neck. “I want your grandmother to see us get married. And I don’t want to wait. If we could do it right now, I would.”
“Me too,” he answered. “Me too.”
Excitement hummed through him as Chase and Tana took their photos with Lindsey, and then Jonas and their grandmother. And finally, his grandmother posed for a portrait in her favorite seat in the house—the left-hand corner of one of her leather sofas. Happiness and grief tightened Gabe’s throat as he watched. He was going to miss her. They were all going to miss her, but they’d have this photo. That was more than some people got.
And they didn’t have to miss her yet.
The photographer spoke with Jonas and then disappeared. There were more rounds of family portraits scheduled for later this afternoon, but they had enough for one session. Now it was time for some good old-fashioned Christmas fun.
His grandmother rose from the couch, holding her hands up high. “Who’s ready for presents?”
Lindsey whooped, and then there was a rush for seats around the tree, and Gabe settled back into their spot on the sofa with Anna tucked under his arm.
Anna’s my gift and all I need.
“Merry Christmas,” he told her, kissing her hair. “I love you.”
“I love you, too. Let’s always make Christmas special.”
He drew her in, savoring the feeling of her body close to his. “Deal. But only if I can unwrap you every year. I’ll never need another present.”
End of The Billionaire’s Fake Christmas Engagement
Elkin Brothers Christmas Book Two
The Billionaire Athlete’s Christmas Fling, December 3rd, 2020
The Billionaire’s Fake Christmas Engagement, December 10th, 2020
The Billionaire’s Christmas Son, December 17th, 2020
PS: Do you want to be swept off your feet? Then keep reading for exclusive extracts from The Billionaire’s Christmas Son and The Sheikh’s Christmas Fling.
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About Leslie
Leslie North is the USA Today Bestselling pen name for a critically-acclaimed author of women's contemporary romance and fiction. The anonymity gives her the perfect opportunity to paint with her full artistic palette, especially in the romance and erotic fantasy genres.
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