Elkin Brothers Christmas The Complete Series - Leslie North Page 0,64

to say that he was only kidding, that this was a joke, a family joke, but Anna’s soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

“I know it probably seems shocking. We got engaged a few months ago, but we wanted to spend some time settling into the idea before we announced it.” She shyly held up her ring for everyone to see. “It felt right to come here and be with his family while we celebrate.”

Grandmother’s face softened, but she still hesitated. “Won’t your family be expecting a visit?”

“They’re very supportive of our plans, Mrs. Elkin,” Anna said smoothly. “I just had to see where Gabe came from.” She looked all around the lobby, her eyes shining with excitement. “Can you blame me?”

That earned her a smile from his grandmother. “No, I can’t. We have a lovely home. Though our real home isn’t in the lobby, naturally.” She laughed.

“I can’t wait to see it,” Anna said. “Do you live on the grounds, Mrs. Elkin?”

“In the lodge,” his grandmother confirmed. “We have space on one of the upper floors, and please, call me Elin.”

“Which we can see at dinner,” Gabe put in. He needed time—time to make a better plan. “We were about to take a tour of the grounds.”

“With no coats?” Jonas put his hands in his pockets and frowned.

Why? Why did you have to say that?

Anna laughed. “Too excited to come down and meet everyone. We’ll grab them, and then head out. It was so nice to meet you all.” She slipped her arm through his and tugged him back toward the elevators, smooth as could be, waving behind them at his family.

The moment the elevator doors shut, she whirled toward him, a laugh on her lips. “We need a way better plan before dinner.”

“Yes.” Relief swept through him. “That was my fault. We should have come up with a story on the plane.”

“Well, it was an exciting night. Okay, what about this?” The elevator dinged and let them off at their floor. “We’ve been seeing each other for months. Almost a year.”

“Why would we have hidden it?” He led her into the room, where they grabbed their brand-new outdoor coats. Anna slipped into a gray parka with faux fur around the hood. With the hood on, she looked like she’d just stepped out of a winter sports magazine. Why would he have hidden a woman like this from his family?

“Maybe you wanted to see if it would last before telling your family.” Anna glanced away, looking down at the floor. What’s that about? Gabe didn’t ask. It wasn’t his business.

“Makes me seem like a jerk, though. Who would do something like that?” They went back into the hallway, wrapped up in winter coats and boots. “What about this—we both wanted to keep it a secret because we were working together, or something.”

At that moment, he knew that simply saying they were engaged wouldn’t be enough. They’d have to sell it physically. “Before we go back down, we should practice.”

“Practice what?” She fiddled with her hood, making it look even better than it had moments before.

“Kissing. You know—being a couple. We can’t just hold hands with stone faces the whole time.”

She laughed, skepticism shining in her eyes.

Fine. He did want to kiss Anna, and not just because they were pretending to be engaged. He just wanted it. Gabe wasn’t about to say that now, not when they were firmly stuck in the plans they’d made. They entered the elevator, and the door slid shut behind them. “Now’s a perfect time. No audience.”

“Do your worst,” she said, hand on her hip, and Gabe leaned down to kiss her.

Their lips brushed together, then connected. Wow. She was soft, her lips parting like they were meant to be kissing, and Gabe couldn’t help pushing forward to explore her mouth. Anna tipped her face toward his, her fingertips brushing against the back of his neck. It lit up all the nerves in his body with a strange heat. Where had they been headed again? He stepped back suddenly, remembering that this was supposed to be practice, not an end-all, be-all kiss.

Anna stepped back against the opposite wall of the elevator, cheeks pink, breathing hard. “Okay. That was a kiss.”

The doors to the elevator opened again, letting them out into a lobby blessedly free of his family. He still felt the heat of her on his mouth, and the hairs on the back of his neck rose in expectation of having her touch him there again. “I