His First Christmas: The Lonely Billionaire - A Heart-Warming Romance Novel by Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter Page A
Authors: Holly Rayner, Lara Hunter
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“And, you know, on some level, maybe staying in this business is a way for me to connect to my parents.”
Anna nodded thoughtfully. They looked at each other for a moment, then Anna took her eyes off him and onto the ceiling, searching for something to say. “So…what do you normally do when you’re up here?” she asked. “It’s not like there’s any TV, internet, or phone signals to distract yourself with.”
“There isn’t that much to do,” he said simply. “I guess I eat, hunt, and drink.”
The thought of spending the holidays in such profound solitude, without even the comfort of a book or a movie, made Anna feel melancholy. She looked at Jason, and placed her hand on top of his. She felt comfortable with the intimate gesture after they’d shared so much about themselves—and Jason’s expression indicated that he felt the same way. “Alright. I have a proposition for you: I help you have a proper Christmas this year, the way I know it.”
Jason frowned. “Err, I don’t know, Anna… I’m quite used to my old Scrooge routine. I basically invented it to avoid ever having a “proper Christmas”.”
“But how would you know if you’d enjoy it or not? You’ve never had one.”
“I just really don’t see the point of doing a bells-and-whistles Christmas. I don’t mind doing it the solitary way, honestly.”
“The point of Christmas is not bells and whistles. The point is… celebrating life, and community and…connectedness.” She was going to say and love , but thought that Jason might not be ready for such cheesiness—and she definitely didn’t want to insinuate anything.
Jason shrugged. “But I’m not going to die if I don’t make a fuss over celebrating those things, am I? It’s nice of you to offer, Anna, but I think I’ll manage how I always have.”
Anna groaned. I really am working with a bona fide Scrooge. “Look—you already tried my mom’s pancakes. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Well no…” he conceded.
“Okay, so all I’m proposing—is just a few more nice, random traditions like that. If you just give it a shot, you’ll see for yourself how fun it can be!”
“I don’t know about this…”
“C’mon Jason, what’s the worst that can happen? You overload on merry times and delicious food?” she teased.
He sighed, resigned. “Alright, alright. I’m still not convinced, though.”
“Yes!” Anna said, pumping her fists. Jason chuckled at her enthusiasm.
Anna finished her coffee, and got up. “After you finish that, we’re going to get started right away. First task for today is some good ol’ spring cleaning—and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Is this really what your family does for Christmas?” Jason asked, raising his voice over the sound of the vacuum cleaner.
“Yep. It’s kind of fun, right? Okay, maybe it’s not the most fun part, but it’s all about getting rid of the year’s dust and debris to prepare for a fresh start in the New Year.”
“Um. Sure,” Jason said hesitantly, as he spotted another giant dust ball.
Anna headed to the pantry to hunt down the ingredients for another one of her mother’s recipes: shortbread cookies.
Alright…Flour, baking soda, sugar… she thought, as she collected the items one by one.
As she focused on rolling out the dough on the kitchen counter, Anna sensed Jason approaching her.
“Okay, I’ve vacuumed, dusted, and wiped down all the windows. Anything else?”
“Of course—now you have to go through all your old junk and create a giveaway pile.”
Jason stared at her blankly. “For real?”
“Yep. You’ll see. It’s cathartic,” Anna said, plopping a ball of dough onto the baking pan.
Jason set to work begrudgingly. Every now and then he would check in with Anna about the merits of a particular item.
“Lava lamp
Anna nodded thoughtfully. They looked at each other for a moment, then Anna took her eyes off him and onto the ceiling, searching for something to say. “So…what do you normally do when you’re up here?” she asked. “It’s not like there’s any TV, internet, or phone signals to distract yourself with.”
“There isn’t that much to do,” he said simply. “I guess I eat, hunt, and drink.”
The thought of spending the holidays in such profound solitude, without even the comfort of a book or a movie, made Anna feel melancholy. She looked at Jason, and placed her hand on top of his. She felt comfortable with the intimate gesture after they’d shared so much about themselves—and Jason’s expression indicated that he felt the same way. “Alright. I have a proposition for you: I help you have a proper Christmas this year, the way I know it.”
Jason frowned. “Err, I don’t know, Anna… I’m quite used to my old Scrooge routine. I basically invented it to avoid ever having a “proper Christmas”.”
“But how would you know if you’d enjoy it or not? You’ve never had one.”
“I just really don’t see the point of doing a bells-and-whistles Christmas. I don’t mind doing it the solitary way, honestly.”
“The point of Christmas is not bells and whistles. The point is… celebrating life, and community and…connectedness.” She was going to say and love , but thought that Jason might not be ready for such cheesiness—and she definitely didn’t want to insinuate anything.
Jason shrugged. “But I’m not going to die if I don’t make a fuss over celebrating those things, am I? It’s nice of you to offer, Anna, but I think I’ll manage how I always have.”
Anna groaned. I really am working with a bona fide Scrooge. “Look—you already tried my mom’s pancakes. That wasn’t so bad, was it?”
“Well no…” he conceded.
“Okay, so all I’m proposing—is just a few more nice, random traditions like that. If you just give it a shot, you’ll see for yourself how fun it can be!”
“I don’t know about this…”
“C’mon Jason, what’s the worst that can happen? You overload on merry times and delicious food?” she teased.
He sighed, resigned. “Alright, alright. I’m still not convinced, though.”
“Yes!” Anna said, pumping her fists. Jason chuckled at her enthusiasm.
Anna finished her coffee, and got up. “After you finish that, we’re going to get started right away. First task for today is some good ol’ spring cleaning—and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“Is this really what your family does for Christmas?” Jason asked, raising his voice over the sound of the vacuum cleaner.
“Yep. It’s kind of fun, right? Okay, maybe it’s not the most fun part, but it’s all about getting rid of the year’s dust and debris to prepare for a fresh start in the New Year.”
“Um. Sure,” Jason said hesitantly, as he spotted another giant dust ball.
Anna headed to the pantry to hunt down the ingredients for another one of her mother’s recipes: shortbread cookies.
Alright…Flour, baking soda, sugar… she thought, as she collected the items one by one.
As she focused on rolling out the dough on the kitchen counter, Anna sensed Jason approaching her.
“Okay, I’ve vacuumed, dusted, and wiped down all the windows. Anything else?”
“Of course—now you have to go through all your old junk and create a giveaway pile.”
Jason stared at her blankly. “For real?”
“Yep. You’ll see. It’s cathartic,” Anna said, plopping a ball of dough onto the baking pan.
Jason set to work begrudgingly. Every now and then he would check in with Anna about the merits of a particular item.
“Lava lamp
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