His First Christmas: The Lonely Billionaire - A Heart-Warming Romance Novel (6 page)

“Jason, I’m really sorry about this, but I’m going to have to leave,” she said suddenly. “I have to make it to my parents’ before this storm gets any worse,” she explained, getting up from the table.

“Anna, wait,” Jason said, getting to his feet. “I understand you want to spend time with your family…but, based on experience, I can tell you that the storm will get worse quicker than you think. Driving out on the mountain now will be risky,” he cautioned. “I think it would be safer for you to stay until the storm
passes.”

Anna was torn. Her cautious, and generally dominant, side urged her to listen to Jason and stay put—but she was so desperate to finally spend quality time with her family, and already so late to the celebrations. In an unusual move, Anna decided to override her cautious side.

“Thanks for your advice, Jason,” she said, “but I think I’ll brave the roads.”

Anna moved to put on her jacket, and Jason protested again. “I think that’s really unadvisable, Anna.”

The fact that Jason seemed so vehemently against her going brought out Anna’s stubborn side. “I appreciate your concern, Jason,” she said diplomatically, “but I really have to get back to my family now.” Anna could see that Jason looked anxious, but she was already halfway to the door. “Thanks so much for making dinner, I wish I could have stayed to try it. And thank you for the donation, again,” she called out, before opening the door. Jason’s “Wait!” was drowned out by the howl of the wind, which reverberated throughout the cabin, as if the door were the lid to Pandora’s box and Anna had just let chaos inside.

CHAPTER TWELVE

After struggling to close the door against the wind, Anna stood outside, fully immersed in the winter chaos. As soon as she stepped out from the shelter of the cabin, she felt blindsided as the wind slapped her face and the snow tackled her. Her car was barely detectable, with walls of pouring snow blocking the view.
Still think you can “brave the roads”, Anna?
her cautious side asked, pointedly.

I’m not going to back down easily,
Anna thought grumpily.
I’ve already been delayed so much by catching up on work and driving up here…
She cursed her curiosity for leading her to accept the dinner invitation.
Why didn’t I just politely decline and go on my merry way? What happened to ‘get in, get out’?

Having somehow made it to her car, Anna sat in the driver’s seat as she calculated her next move.
So…if I attempt to move my car, I basically won’t know where I’m going because everything looks like the same endless expanse of white.
She twiddled her fingers on her steering wheel, frowning.
Crap,
she thought, sighing.
I have to admit defeat and go back inside. This is going to be so embarrassing…

As she slowly opened her car door, Anna saw that just as quickly as the onslaught had gotten going, it had let up. She could now more or less tell where she was.

She exhaled in relief, and closed the door she’d just opened.
Okay, great,
she thought.
Let’s do this.
She prayed that the weather would stay calm and not quickly change its mood again during her descent.

She made it out of the driveway and onto the windy mountain highway without too much difficulty.
I wonder if it will be weird between me and Jason when we get back to work. Almost having dinner, and then me bailing…
she mused, after a mile of slow, careful driving.
Why was he so desperate for me to stay, anyway?

The visibility started to worsen, and Anna tensed up in her seat.
Just need to make it out of this treacherous stretch and onto the highway,
she thought nervously.
Then I can have a relatively normal drive home, and finally celebrate Christmas…

Her nerves compounded as the weather turned again, the snow falling harder with every mile.
I wonder what everyone will think of their gifts,
Anna thought, trying to distract herself.

Eventually, she found herself in the same hazardous conditions she’d left the cabin in.
Oh my God. It’s that endless expanse of white again. I can’t see ANYTHING,
she thought, gripping the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles showed through her skin.
I could be driving straight off the edge right now,
she thought, starting to panic. As soon as she located a spot where she could pull over, she brought her car over.

I think this is the shoulder…but for all I know, I could be in the middle of the goddamn road!
Anna thought, her face contorting with worry. She took deep breaths.
Don’t panic, don’t panic,
she instructed herself.
A glance out the passenger window showed a rocky slab of mountain peeking out from the snow, thankfully confirming that she was not parked in the middle of the road.

Anna’s frantic mind flicked through the possible doom scenarios:
An oncoming car could lose track of where it is and collide right into me; the wind could send boulders rolling down the mountainside to crush me.

The snow began to smother Anna’s car, and soon all of her windows were entirely covered.
Okay, calm down,
she thought, attempting to be rational.
I can wait it out. It changed quickly before, so it might again, right?
She slumped back into her seat, resigned to the fact that she was stuck waiting at least for the meantime.

Scarcely five minutes later, Anna’s mind started up again.
Oh my God, I’m going to be waiting here forever! That is, if a boulder doesn’t crush me first.
She reached for her phone only to find, as expected, an icon telling her she had no service. She started breathing heavily.
Shit, shit, shit.

Anna took stock of what was in her car. All she had was the gifts she’d bought for her family and a few extra clothes she’d packed for her stay at her parents’.
So I have no food or water, but at least I can hide in a freaking pile of clothes if worst comes to worst! I’m sure that cocktail dress I bought for Cathy will be very insulating!

Anna groaned loudly and buried her face in the steering wheel, emitting a light honk as she did so.
Why am I such an idiot? I just had to stay for fancy billionaire dinner, and then I just had to ignore Jason’s advice and brave the goddamn roads. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

She berated herself for a few more moments, but there was only so much beating herself up that Anna could take before tears took over.
What if I die out here on this lonely road?
My legacy will be one of idiocy; a dumb, reckless person who ignored all the reasonable warnings…

She jumped when she heard someone tapping at the passenger window. She looked up to see someone was brushing the snow off to try and see inside.

Anna quickly wiped her tears and rolled down the passenger window.

“Oh my God,” she said, as the snow from the window piled into her car. “Jason, is that you?”

He was covered head-to-toe in winter gear, but his piercing blue eyes were visible under his balaclava. He gestured for her to get out of the car. Anna rolled the window back up and opened her door.
Wow. Has he…come to rescue me?

Anna met Jason on the other side of her car. Before she could say anything, he shouted over the roaring wind, “I just came out to see if you’d made it down—I’m glad I checked!” He picked up a pair of skis that were on the ground beside him. “We can ski back to the cabin,” he yelled.

Anna couldn’t believe he had skied down the treacherous road while carrying another pair of skis and poles just to check that she was okay.

“But I don’t know how to ski!” Anna replied.

“It’s okay,” Jason shouted. “It’s easy.” He took off the backpack he was carrying and pulled out a pair of ski boots. “Put these on and then step into the skis.”

She obliged. The boots weren’t a perfect fit, but they would suffice. She had a bit of trouble figuring out how to fasten herself into the skis, but eventually she heard the satisfying “click” of the boots slotting into the bindings.

“What do I do now?” she yelled.

“Propel yourself forward with these,” he said, handing her the poles.

Anna tentatively stabbed the poles into the ground and pushed off. Jason nodded approvingly. “There, you’ve got the hang of it. But at that pace, we’re gonna be here all night,” he chuckled. “Let me give you a hand and we can practice your technique later,” he said, taking Anna’s hand and dragging her with his own momentum.

Jeez. Who knew he was secretly a body builder.
  “Jason?” she asked, as he propelled her up the mountainside. “Thanks for doing this. Rescuing me, I mean,” she shouted, realizing the magnitude of what Jason was doing for her. Jason nodded in response, not saying anything as he focused on the physical task at hand.

Anna looked back at her car, as it faded into the distance.
I’ll come back to rescue you too, old steed,
she thought with a sigh.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

By the time they reached the cabin, Anna’s face was numb, red, and sore. The fact that they had made it back was almost entirely thanks to Jason’s efforts, although Anna had done her best to propel herself using her free hand.

Once she stepped inside the now familiar cabin, her joy at surviving was suddenly marred by doubt. While she was grateful to Jason, she was uncomfortable with the feeling that she owed him a great debt. And she couldn’t help but be disappointed at the realization that she was now stuck in the middle of nowhere instead of celebrating Christmas back at home.

Anna turned to Jason, whose face was only slightly red in contrast to her frozen tomato look. She wanted to articulate how she weird felt about the whole scenario, and pinpoint the doubt that was nagging at her, but couldn’t find the words. “Thanks again,” she said, hesitantly.

“I’ll go warm up the food,” Jason said amiably. Anna made her way over to the dining table and sat down in the same ornate chair. She fidgeted, trying to regain the feeling in her face, hands, toes and everywhere else.

“I can’t say I’m not embarrassed that I didn't listen to your advice,” she said sheepishly, when Jason returned with the food.

“It’s okay, Anna, I understand. You just wanted to get back to your family.”

Anna nodded. “Can I ask you something?” she blurted out. “It’s amazing that you were able to find me out there. It seems kind of…
coincidental
, don’t you think?”

Jason blinked. “Um…not really?”

Anna sighed, looking down at her plate of salmon and vegetables. She brought a forkful to her mouth and ruminated on what her family must be thinking with her not being there by now.
Cathy will definitely give me a firm talking to…

As soon as she took the first bite, her stress thoughts came to a halt. She was blown away by how good it was. Her first instinct would be to exclaim how delicious the food was, but she held her tongue, not wanting to compliment him just yet. She knew it may be irrational, but she resented Jason for the fact that she was stuck in this cabin.
They’re probably cooking the experimental dish without me right now,
she thought sadly.

“Wine?” he offered, holding up a bottle she didn’t recognize.
That bottle probably cost more than my car,
she thought.

“Um, I’m okay, thanks,” she said, smiling politely to mask how she was really feeling. Through the window the snow continued falling in huge clumps. Anna could see it piling up rapidly, as if trying to choke the house.
I’m going to be stuck here forever,
she thought dejectedly.

They ate in near-silence. Anna sensed Jason sneaking a few glances at her, but he didn’t say anything. Finally, he asked, hesitantly, “Uh…is something wrong, Anna? Have I done something to upset you?”

She tore her eyes from her food and looked at Jason.
Am I really going to say this?

Anna exhaled slowly. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You just
happened
to forget to sign the most important part of the document of one of our biggest deals this year. Which
happens
to lead to me driving all the way up here, instead of you driving back down—but you say you can’t do that, even though you can’t tell me why,” Anna said, frostily.

Jason stared back at her, unsure of where she was going with this.

“You insist that I stay for dinner, and when I decide to leave, I just
happen
to get stuck in the snow, and you just
happen
to turn up at the right place at the right time, and rescue me. It all just seems…a little too convenient,” Anna finished.

Jason looked at Anna, wide-eyed. “Are you suggesting that I…somehow manufactured this situation? That I got you stuck here on purpose?” Jason asked, confused.

Anna frowned, unsure what to make of Jason’s response. She sensed that what she was accusing Jason of was extreme, but at the same time, things weren’t adding up and she wanted to know why.

Jason shook his head. “Um,” he said, blinking, looking away and then back at Anna. “Look, I know it’s weird that I didn’t just drive down to the office and sign the contract,” he said. “It’s a difficult situation to explain, but just believe me when I say it wasn’t manufactured just to…trap you in here,” he said, an expression of distaste forming at the word “trap”. He looked at her earnestly.  “I advised you to wait out the storm because I
know
the weather here. And I can recognize when it’s particularly dangerous because…” he seemed to struggle through his next words. “Because, years ago, during a bad bout of weather, I lost people who were close to me on this road here.”

The news stopped Anna’s suspicious thoughts in their tracks. She felt a pang of guilt for accusing him of trying to trap her in the cabin.

Jason continued, “I wasn’t sure if I was going to find you stuck there on the mountainside, but I had to double-check. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if something happened to you just because of
my
issues with Christmas; just because I shut myself away in such an isolated, dangerous place; just because I need to avoid people…”

Anna nodded, sympathetically. “If you don’t mind me asking,” she said softly, “who was it that you lost?”

Jason exhaled sharply. He turned and walked to the liquor cabinet, selecting a bottle of whiskey and two crystal tumblers. Sitting back down at the table, he poured himself a large shot. He downed the whole thing before pouring another round and passing a glass to Anna.

“The people who died in the car crash were my parents. I was with them when it happened… I was twelve years old.”

Anna shook her head as she tried to process what she was hearing.
Oh my God.
“I’m so sorry that you had to experience that,” she said, meeting his eyes.

They sat in silence for a few moments, then Jason tried to changed the subject. “You should try it,” he said, gesturing at Anna’s glass. “It’s pretty good whiskey.”

“I’m okay, thank you,” she said politely. She knew it was probably ridiculous after everything that had transpired, but she was still secretly hoping the snow would let up and that she could make the drive back. She wouldn’t be able to do that if she was drunk.

Jason looked at her sternly, his brow furrowed. “Are you still hoping to get back behind the wheel tonight? Are you going to ski back to your car in the middle of the night?”

“What? Of course not,” Anna said, embarrassed at being found out so easily.

A glance out the window revealed only a massive wall of white. Maybe it was time for her to accept that there was no way she was going to make it to her parents’ this evening. Anna shivered, crossing her arms, having still not fully warmed up from their trek through the snow.

Jason leapt up. “Here,” he said. “Have my jacket,” he said, taking it off and offering it to her.

“Oh no, that’s okay. Thank you, though,” she said, feeling embarrassed. She was beginning to realize that her default response was
no
whenever she was offered help. Owing a debt to Jason was really bothering Anna. She’d always prided herself on being a self-made woman, and the situation was hurting her ego.

“Ah, okay. Well, I’m feeling a little chilly myself anyway… I’ll get a fire going,” Jason said. He collected the dishes and took them over to the sink before proceeding to the fire pit. Anna watched from her chair as he started a fire, the crackling noises filling the silence.

Jason returned to the table and poured himself another drink. “Look at me, yapping on and on about myself,” he laughed nervously. He picked up his glass and the bottle and made his way back to the living room. Anna followed, and they settled on the floor, next to the fire.

Jason cleared his throat. “So, Anna, tell me something about yourself.”

His question caught Anna off guard. “Ah…well you know… I guess I had a pretty normal childhood, a sibling, a dog and the rest of it. I majored in business in college and now I’m working for you…but you knew that already…” she said, suddenly bashful. “But, I’m interested in hearing more about your backstory, Jason.” She hesitated on the cusp of veering into personal territory. “For example, why is it that you choose to spend the holidays here, alone?” Anna asked gently.

Jason sighed. “It’s kind of a long story, but if you want to know, Anna, I’ll tell you.” Anna nodded encouragingly, sensing she may be among a very small group of people to have heard this story—possibly the only one.

“My parents were driven businesspeople, but their success came at the expense of their free time. They were always working, and my childhood Christmases were always spent with my nanny, Lucy. That changed the year I was twelve…”