Her Christmas Billionaire (The Joy of Christmas Series Book 1) Page 11

  He chose to fly.

  Minutes later, Blake hit the ground, rolling as he did. He unclipped his parachute and goggles and let them fall behind him as he marched across the square towards Hannah.

  She was walking away and he whistled, calling out her name as loud as he could. She looked so beautiful when she turned around, standing there in shock in her Christmas red coat, her dark curls glistening as the light snow fell against them.

  She put her hand up to cover her mouth as she stared at him walking towards her. “What are you doing?” she finally whispered as her hands fell to her side. She set down the satchel with Elsa inside.

  He was about four feet away from her when he stopped. Snow fell around them, as if framing them for the perfect Christmas card photo. He looked Hannah deep in her eyes, which were wide with surprise.

  “I’m not going to celebrate Christmas ever again,” he said gravely.

  She stood still watching him, certainly wondering what madness had driven him to jump out of a plane onto Main Street square during Christmas Eve Festival after leaving so abruptly.

  “Unless it is with you.”

  Hannah’s mouth dropped open. “What?” she whispered.

  “It’s time I lived again. It’s time I enjoyed hikes in the mountains and walks in the forest. It’s time I laughed again and felt joy in my heart. And this Christmas, I did all those things, without even knowing it. I finally felt love again, all because of you. I love you Hannah Carter, with all of my heart.”

  He knelt down in front of her and pulled out a small, velvet box. He opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring, surrounded by small rubies and emeralds. A Christmas engagement ring. She laughed with tears through her eyes.

  “I know this sounds crazy, but I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. Say you’ll spend Christmas with me, for the rest of your life.”

  “I will. Yes!” she whispered.

  Blake stood as he pushed the ring onto her bare finger. Then, Hannah jumped into his arms and he twirled her around as the Love Valley townspeople gathered around them and clapped. Her lips met his in a sweet kiss, a delicious moment of Christmas perfection.

  “I can’t believe you,” she whispered in his ear as her arms came around his neck.

  “And I love you too, you silly old grinch.”

  Epilogue

  One year later.

  “Thank goodness the kitchen and family room were finished before Christmas,” Hannah said as she put a plate of gingerbread cookies on the kitchen counter. “I can’t imagine having Christmas without Christmas cookies.”

  Blake came from behind Hannah and hugged her around her growing stomach. “Nor can I,” he said. “Our child is going to grow up with the most wonderful Christmas memories any child could ever have. Just like Elsa is now. Right Elsa?” Blake said.

  Elsa, now a healthy thirty pounds sat up and barked.

  “That’s right, girl. No one does Christmas like the Bradleys.”

  Hannah turned around and put her arms around Blake’s neck. “I think I must be the luckiest girl in the world. I’ve got a beautiful home, a now famous Inn thanks to my parachuting husband, the best dog in the world, and a new restaurant opening in the Spring. What more could a girl ask for?”

  Blake furrowed his eyebrows together and frowned deeply. He counted out on his fingers. “Remodeled house? Check. Famous Clearview Inn? Check. Best dog Elsa? Check. Garden to table restaurant? Check. Mm-mm, I’ve got one finger on this hand left. Something or some people are clearly missing.”

  Hannah laughed out loud. “I didn’t forget anything. I saved the best for last. My baby boy, waiting to be born and my wonderful, doting husband, who happens to be the love of my life,” she said.

  “Merry Christmas, darling,” Blake said as he hugged her tightly.

  The Mystic Mountain Ranch was full of Christmas music, happy dog barking and a crackling fire as they kissed under the mistletoe for the third time that evening.

  “Merry Christmas, my love,” Hannah said as she stepped back looked into Blake’s beautiful Christmas green eyes.

  The tree lights twinkled in the night, the angel Blake had gifted her last year shimmered from the top of the tree, Gram and hers mended angel had a place of honor on the mantel, and the holiday songs played in the background while the kitchen was filled of the scent of cinnamon and ginger. She knew in that moment she was finally, truly home for Christmas.

  She looked over at the purple flowers that adorned the vase on the dining table. Her home, her marriage, her life was as magical as the legendary Violet Bliss of Love Valley. She gave the flowers a secretive wink. “Thanks,” she whispered to them.

  It was a magical Christmas indeed.

  -

  Dear Wonderful Reader,

  Thanks so much for sharing Hannah and Blake’s journey to finding true love. I hope you enjoyed reading their love story as much as I enjoyed writing it. If you have a minute, I’d appreciate it so much if you could leave a review on Amazon so others can enjoy their story too. Thanks!

  Lots of Love,

  Genevieve Goodwin

  Sneak Peek!

  How to Wed a Billionaire

  Chapter One

  Danielle Williams sat at her best friend’s baby shower with a tense smile plastered on her face. Although she was ecstatic about Bailey’s third baby girl, she couldn’t help the stab of pain in her heart as a group of women oohed and ahhed over all the adorable clothes, knowing she would never have her own baby shower, much less a baby.

  She was still plenty young and healthy. But after a string of bad boyfriends, she had given up on love and marriage and realized she would end up a spinster the rest of her life. Okay. She was being dramatic. No one called a single woman a spinster these days, and plenty of women made a choice not to have children or even marry. These were modern times with modern women. And she was a modern woman with a successful career she enjoyed here in San Francisco. She’d also been blessed with a lot of great friends. She couldn’t complain. Then why was she sitting here among all these young mothers criticizing her life? The truth was she wanted a family, had wanted one her whole life. Being an only child had instilled that desire in her even stronger. And it was the one thing that seemed to evade her at despite her every effort.

  “Aren’t these just adorable?” Bailey asked her, holding up a cute pair of pink booties. All the women cooed, like a harmonized church choir on Sunday morning.

  “Absolutely gorgeous,” she agreed.

  “When are you going to find yourself a man and start making your own babies, Danielle?” Bailey’s snotty cousin, Rebecca had never had anything nice come out of her mouth since the day she was born.

  Danielle was silent, unable to think of a comeback that wouldn’t go over as rude at Bailey’s baby shower. A few choice words came to mind, but she didn’t want to upset the cheerful atmosphere of her best friend’s baby shower.

  “Who says you need a man?” she finally retorted. An audible gasp filled the suddenly quiet room. She found it hard to believe that women who lived in San Francisco, the center of some of the most modern IT companies out there, could not know about the medical advances in baby-making.

  Bailey raised her eyebrows at her, a ‘what?’ forming silently on her lips.

  “There are other ways. Just saying,” Danielle said with a shrug.

  “I think adoption is a wonderful choice,” offered one of the mothers Danielle didn’t know.

  She thought so too. Unfortunately, it was nearly impossible to adopt as a single woman.

  “Now, let’s look at this next one. This one is from Patsy. What lovely wrapping!” Bailey squealed, unwrapping a sparkly pink flower tied to a yellow bow. She knew Bailey was trying to save her any more grief by changing the subject. There was a reason Bailey had been her bestie since the third grade.

  Danielle appreciated her friend’s understanding. She was tired of the questions she got regarding marriage and kids. Like it was anyone’s
business. It was rude to ask such personal questions, and it seemed the less acquainted she was with someone, the nosier and more brazen they were with such questions.

  No one understood how painful it was to be put on the spot. She wondered about it herself every single day. What was wrong with her? Why couldn’t she meet a nice guy and settle down like all her friends had years ago? She’d just dated loser after loser until finally, a year ago she had given up. One had no ambition and lived in his parent’s attic; the next one had commitment issues. He couldn’t commit to which movie to go see, much less a relationship. Another was a serial cheater with an ego the size of Texas. Another guy was angry at the world. Ugh. After that one she’d given up.

  But this baby shower, the fifth one she’d attended this spring, had brought back those feelings of longing for a family of her own. And just like that she decided. She would have a family on her own. Like she’d said to all the women sitting around here with the comfort of their husbands back at home, she didn’t need a man. All she needed was a little something from a man and she’d be a mama.

  ~

  Mason Rutherford the third was about to lose his cool. These weekly calls never failed to rile him. His father was at it again. Always complaining about something, no matter how hard he worked. No matter how successful their companies were; no matter how hard he tried. Mason couldn’t please his father if he’d found a way to turn pennies into gold.

  “You need an heir. Someone who will continue the line of Rutherford. You need to get married, son. No more playing around.”

  “No more playing around? All I do is work. The one who plays is Derek. He lives a sweet life off of my hard work, surfing all day and partying all night. He has never worked a day in his life. And now you’re going to hand our company over to him? Your step son? Over my dead body,” Mason muttered.

  “Derek has my name. And he has a son.”

  “A child he hasn’t seen in three years. I know. I’m the one who writes the checks to his ex-wife.”

  “He is still your brother, and he is still a Rutherford,” his father said.

  “Step brother. And he is only a Rutherford in name, not blood. I only hear from him when he wants me to pay the rent for his beachfront apartment, which happens precisely once every month.”

  “He has an heir,” his father insisted.

  “He would run this company into the ground,” Mason warned. “In fact, I doubt he’d ever show up to work at all.”

  “Then get married. Have a family. Give me an heir, son. Make me proud.”

  Make him proud? After all he had done? He’d taken his grandfather’s company from the brink of bankruptcy and made it into a Corporation worth billions. What more would it take?

  “I can’t believe you are saying this,” Mason said, his voice wrought with anger. “After all I have done.”

  “All you have done won’t mean anything if you don’t have a family. Who are you doing it for, anyway? You don’t even enjoy the wealth you’ve made now. Trust me, you need a family.”

  “Coming from a man with three ex-wives who raised none of his children?” Mason asked.

  His father let out a hoarse chuckle. “Now, son. I think I’ve done right by you.”

  The same old line he’d heard countless times that was always accompanied with an awkward silence and a major eye roll from Mason.

  “Find a wife, give me an heir and you can stay in charge. That’s my final offer.”

  Mason hung up the phone, fighting the urge to throw it across the room. There was no way he was going to turn over the family business to his surfer dude step brother. He spent the last decade working day and night to build the family’s fortunes after his father had run them into the ground. How dare he tell Mason he suddenly had to have an heir to stay in charge. If it wasn’t for him, it wouldn’t matter if there was a family name or not. There would be nothing to inherit without Mason.

  He shoved away from his desk. He needed some air. He needed to think. He needed to calm down before speaking to his father again. Mason took the elevator down from the 16th floor of the company offices and was hit by a crisp May breeze as he walked outside towards Union Square. Then he just kept walking, turning his father’s words around in his mind again and again until he’d built himself into a near frenzy.

  After he exhausted his anger, he stopped and looked around, realizing nothing looked familiar. He studied the surrounding area. He’d walked a long way from Union Square out to the outskirts of the city. A chilly breeze swept over him, and he realized he hadn’t brought his coat. Or his phone. He glanced down the street to see a young woman standing outside of a building, as if she was waiting for someone. Maybe she had a phone, and she could call a cab for him. He dashed down the street after her before she disappeared.

  “Excuse me, Miss,” he yelled out as he approached her.

  She turned around, her expression confused for a moment. She scrutinized him as he drew near, covertly glancing around the empty street they were standing on. It was an odd neighborhood not to be bustling at this time of day when everyone was heading home from the work day, but as he scanned the buildings he noticed it was more of a warehouse district. He’d walked a lot farther than he’d realized.

  “I wonder if you could help me out. I’ve forgotten my phone and need to call a cab,” he started. She glared at him with suspicion. He gave her a sheepish grin. “Would you mind?”

  She put her hand out as if stopping traffic. “Keep your distance, pal,” she said as she dug into her purse with one hand while as she eyed him. She pulled out an object and shook it at him. “I’ve got a handful of extra-strength mace and I’m not afraid to use it!”

  “I didn’t know they made extra-strength mace. Interesting,” Mason mused. “Look, I’m not trying to rob you. I’m embarrassed to say, but I’d not planned to walk so far. I’ve lived in San Francisco for over a decade, but I’ve never been in this neighborhood before. I just want to call a cab.”

  She gave him a once over, sniffing disapprovingly at his appearance. He looked down and noticed his mud splattered pants and wrinkled shirt. After a long walk his hair was probably standing on its end. He must look pretty disheveled.

  She tilted her head to one side as she studied his face. “Despite your appearance, something in the way you talk tells me you don’t belong anywhere outside of Nob Hill,” she said.

  He stared at her, observing her closely. She was petite with long dark hair and a pretty heart shaped face. She was dressed in a red suit that complimented her fair skin and brought out the freckles across her nose. What in the world was he doing thinking about her freckles? He gave her another once over.

  “Nor do you,” he said. “Are you lost too?”

  She shook her head and took a sly glance at the building in front of them. He squinted at its sign, picking up on the ‘bank’ part of the sign. A bank, in this area? He blinked and read it again. There was no money in this type of bank.

  “Were you going in there?” he asked, pointing to the sign that read: San Francisco Cryobank- For all your Fertility needs.

  Her face turned the most beautiful shade of pink. “Of course not,” she said. “And it’s none of your business anyway,” she huffed. She took a step away from him, but then twirled around, as if she didn’t trust turning her back on him.

  “Will you leave me alone, please. I’m meeting my husband here.” She appeared to glance at an imaginary watch on her wrist. “Any minute now.”

  Mason made no attempt to hide his narrow gaze on her fingers. “Husband?”

  She shoved her hands into the pockets of her coat.

  “I don’t see a wedding ring,” he said. “What kind of husband would leave his wife waiting alone on a street like this?”

  Her lips bent into an endearing frown. “I told you to mind your own business. Please go away.”

  “I’m sorry to bother you, but I forgot my phone at the office. Could you be so kind as to call me a cab?” He gave her the sam
e sad, pleading face his childhood dog had given him when he left for school. “Please?”

  “Oh, alright!” She didn’t take her eyes off of him as she fumbled through her purse with her free hand, the other remained tightly enclosed around her extra-strength mace. She scrolled through her phone and hit a button. Everyone in San Francisco had a cab company programed into their phone. Walking those steep hills got pretty tiring after a while. She called the cab and hung up, throwing a glare his way as she did.

  “Thank you so much,” he said cheerfully. He graced her with his most suave smile.

  She did not return the smile. “Now, will you please leave me alone?”

  Wow. He must be really out of practice. Guess it had been a while since he’d tried to impress the fairer gender. “Sure. If that’s what you want. But, I’m concerned about you standing out here by yourself. Especially as it is getting darker, and I don’t know how safe this neighborhood is at night. It’s pretty deserted. Why don’t you go inside and wait for your husband?” he said, with special emphasis on the word husband.

  She gave him a haughty little grin. “Thanks, but I can take care of myself.”

  Her body language said otherwise. She fidgeted with her phone and kept glancing up and down the street. A second later a cab pulled up. He turned to her. “Would you like to share a ride? I’m going back downtown to The Garden Room restaurant.”

  She looked down at her phone and he heard a beep. “Looks like my husband is caught late at the office. I guess it would be okay to share a cab ride, if you can drop me off on the way.”

  “No problem,” he said as he opened the door for her.

  She climbed into the cab, and he sat next to her. After a long, difficult day full of anger at his father, it was a relief to share a cab ride with a beautiful woman.