A Billionaire for Christmas

And even though I know every bit of this is fake, I believe it.

And Jesse… well, Jesse just grins like a man who just won a thirteen-year do-over.

“But wait,” Tony says, forcing our father to move aside so he can squeeze in. “You’re missing the best part.” He flips the book to the back and reveals a whole section of pictures that are not Photoshopped.

Because they had people photographing us for every single moment of our fantasy wedding day.

Jesse tasting wedding cake.

Me choosing a dress from the roller-skating fashion show.

Our screaming faces on the roller coaster.

Jesse swinging from the ropes on the pirate ship.

Our combined terror and excitement during the skydive.

The huge Italian wedding.

A picture of the ass-end-of-wedding-day getaway car, tin cans trailing behind us.

They even have a pic of our kidnapping!

And, of course, the real wedding at the aquarium.

I am stunned into silence as I look at all the memories we’ve collected.

Jesse leans in next to me and whispers in my ear. “This is just the beginning, Mrs. Boston. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

I lean back into the seat cushions, Tony on my right and Jesse on my left.

And I sigh.

Because even though it’s a fantasy, it’s still real.EpilogueI win.

That’s all there is to it.

But Emma did have another present for me inside the Santa Machine. She waited until all the festivities were over before she told me that. We opened up all the presents. We ate a huge dinner. Hell, we even watched Home Alone, which I had never bothered to watch before, but I totally relate to Kevin. And then, once all the locals went home and the Dumas family was tucked up tight on the Jesse and Joey floors, she took me over to the Santa Machine and handed me a lanyard with my name on it.

“Go on,” she said. “Scan it.”

And look, I’m not gonna play this cool. I was freaking excited about the Santa Machine. She did not have to tell me twice. So I scanned.

And then I got an email notification on my phone.

A letter from Santa!

And this is what it said:

Dear Jesse,

Santa Machine hears that you’ve been a very good boy this year. So Emma Elf wanted me to present you with the Emma’s Fantasy Christmas Pick Three Buffet.

But there’s a catch, of course. You don’t get to choose. She chooses for you.

I hope you’re ready.

Merry Christmas.

Love, Santa Machine and Emma Elf

And do you know what she chose for me?

Well, let me just say we live in the Bossy Building now. Family floor. That was number one and even though I was worried that Chek would object, since he’s the money-maker now, he was pretty cool about it. Anyway, he lives three floors up on Johnny’s old level, so we never even see him. I feel like the whole Bossy thing is gonna work itself out. Because if Johnny was worried about it, he would not have helped us move all our shit from Emma’s apartment. And he did. So. I kinda love living at the Bossy again now that Emma’s here to share it with me.

Unconventional as it is, I can’t deny that the Bossy is my true home.

Of course, you can’t call yourself Emma Elf and not show up for bed that night wearing a sexy elf costume. So that was fun. I made her ears blush with all the filthy hot things my tongue did to her that night.

But the third… well, let’s just say in seven months Zach will be the only Boston brother without a kid.

Yeah.

I know what Johnny said. I get it. We don’t need a do-over.

But if you get one, man… you gotta grab onto that shit with all you’ve got and never let go.

And that’s exactly what I plan to do.

Never let go.InfatuationWillow WintersI never stood a chance with this man. Not that I ever wanted to run. He made me want to stay; he made me want him just as much as he wanted me.

It’s easy to blame this on fate, isn’t it?

I knew deep down in the pit of my stomach there was something or someone on this island that would change my life forever.

If only I’d known, I wouldn’t have had to search for him.

He’s the man who brought me here.Maybe the chill that traveled down my spine when I first saw him was a warning.

A warning that once he laid eyes on me, I was his to keep.

A warning that this man would stop at nothing to have me.

A warning I wasn’t given until it was too late.PrologueLilaThe air is frigid and the land barren as I stare straight ahead at the quaint Alaskan island. More than that though, it’s hauntingly beautiful. I wrap my hands around the cold metal railing of the boat as it bobs in the water, bringing us closer to the shore.