The Billionaire's Christmas Son - Leslie North Page 0,56

stands.”

“You want me to live with you?”

“Desperately,” he whispered. “I want you to wake up in my bed every morning. I want you to go to sleep next to me every night. If you need to live an hour away, then I’ll find a way to make that work, but being apart—for me, that can only be temporary. I love you too much to be apart for long.”

“And I love you,” she said, sinking into the warmth of that truth. “I love you so much.” What did it matter if she worked in Denver or worked here? Her most loyal clients would work with her, and she’d find new clients. Right here at the resort was an entire market at her disposal.

Most of all, there was Jonas. Jonas’s smile. Jonas’s laugh. Jonas’s body next to hers in bed. “I’ll live here with you. I want that, too. And a little storefront in town where I can keep all my photography gear.”

He kissed her then, and she felt his happiness through that kiss. It encompassed her and sent a thrill through her all over again. “Oh,” she groaned. “When you kiss me like that, it makes me want you so much.”

“You have me,” Jonas said, climbing over her, pressing kisses to her skin. “For now, and always. Are you sure you’re not too tired?”

“I’m exhausted,” she admitted, running her hands over his shoulders, his chest, and his abs. “So tired, I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“Close your eyes, darling,” he murmured into her ear. “You won’t need them for this.”

Epilogue

“I thought this would get easier,” Jonas told his brothers as they stood near the fireplace in their grandmother’s apartment. Rachel’s voice filtered over from the sofa. She and Scott, now three, were having an animated conversation about dogs, and Jonas thought his heart would give out at any moment. He patted the ring box in his pocket one more time. It was still there. “I don’t know if I can do this.”

“You can,” Gabe reassured him. “You’ve done everything right.”

“I know,” he said quickly. “I know. What if she says no?” he asked, no longer afraid to let his fear show. Jonas had wanted to propose to Rachel for the past year, ever since she’d come back to the lodge for New Year’s Eve. But he’d waited, not wanting to pressure her.

“She’s going to say yes,” Chase chimed in. “I know it. Just ask her. It’ll be perfect. And just think, our grandmother could be here for the wedding.” Chase cleared his throat, suddenly seeming choked up. “We could all be there.”

“Okay.” Jonas took a deep breath. “Hang out with the others for a few minutes, would you?”

“Of course.” The two brothers wandered back into the living area, and Jonas went to where Rachel stood in a clutch with Tana and Anna. “Hi,” he said into her ear. “Could I steal you away for a minute?”

“As many minutes as you want,” she whispered back, giving her friends a little wave.

The two of them went down the hall to a large study nearby. Jonas instantly felt relaxed walking into it. His grandmother had kept their grandfather’s collection of books intact, and it was like she’d gathered the whole family here to support him. The past was all around him, in the books on the shelves and the voices filtering in from down the hall. Jonas drew Rachel over to an enormous picture window near the fireplace that looked out over the ski hill, lit up for the night, and watched over by the stars.

Rachel took his hand. They looked at the scene together until Jonas’s breathing settled into a regular pattern. “What was it you wanted to talk about?” she murmured.

He got down on one knee, still holding her hand. Rachel gasped, her eyes instantly filling with tears. “I wanted to tell you that I’ve never loved anyone like I love you.” Emotion threatened to overwhelm him, but he swallowed it back. “You’re everything to me. You’re the sun and the moon and—the entire universe, really.”

She giggled, squeezing his hand.

“I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?”

Rachel stared, her eyes wide with wonder. Jonas remembered this look—it was the way she’d looked at him from across the restaurant on the first night they met.

“The engagement can be as long as you want,” he said quickly. “If you feel any pressure at all, you can say no, and we can leave this behind us—”

“Yes,” Rachel