Elliot

"How generous of you," she retorts, smacking me with the end of her scarf.

"Come on, we're almost there. It's the next street."

When we reach Rockefeller Center, a crowd surrounds the gigantic tree sparkling with multicolored lights. Mira tips her head back to admire the seventy-five-foot tree.

"Incredible! The one at Wondervale is nothing compared to this."

I'm tempted to replace the park's tree with one as enormous as this just to please her.

"What do you think?" I ask, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her against me.

"It's the closest thing we have to magic. Seriously, how do they find a tree that big? Do they go to the North Pole?"

I choke on a laugh.

"More like somewhere in Connecticut."

"Thanks for ruining my dream!" she replies sarcastically.

I watch her gaze at the lights. Stupid traditions like seeing the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree never mattered to me until today. Watching Mira smile as she experiences new things brings a forgotten part of my soul back to life. I want to find more things that would dazzle her, if only to see that look of wonder on her face again.

I'm completely losing my mind…

When Mira discovers the skating rink behind us, her eyes light up like the strings of lights on that damn tree.

"So, how hard would it be to convince you to go skating?"

Even if it were a matter of life and death, I couldn't ice-skate. As a teenager, while my brothers triumphed on their hockey teams, I preferred more creative hobbies. And yet, even though I'm more likely to break a tooth than get laid tonight, I don't care.

"Name your terms."

"With you, everything is always a deal," she says, rolling her eyes.

I tap her red nose.

"You're learning fast."

Her smile is as bright as the star at the top of the tree.

Yes, I'm truly screwed.

"I'd like to do one last thing."

Mira clings to my hand. Snowflakes fall around us, dusting our coats and hats.

"Skating wasn't enough for you?"

She shakes her head.

"Can we walk through Central Park? Please?"

"I lost all feeling below my knees about thirty minutes ago."

I breathe out just to prove my point: the misty air vanishes into the night.

"That's because you spent more time on all fours than skating."

I laugh, and my lungs burn, but the warmth spreading through my chest helps me fight the icy air.

She pulls me in the wrong direction.

"Come on. Just one quick little walk. I looked up a route on my phone."

"No."

"Don't be such a killjoy."

Her pout, though adorable, doesn't move me.

"Your little performance doesn't work on me."

"Please! There's one last little thing I want to do."

Her lower lip trembles and her eyelashes flutter, catching snowflakes as they do.

My resolve melts. I place my hand on her wind-reddened cheek. Her smile widens as I stroke her icy skin with my thumb.

Good God, my balls are officially prisoners of war.

"Fine. But only fifteen minutes. Your nose is ready to fall off your body," I add, flicking its reddened tip.

Mira beams. I'd do anything for her smile.

Why did I think fifteen minutes would be enough? There was no way I could drag Mira out of the park without her kicking and screaming. That one last thing she wanted to do turned into two things, then three. So now I'm building a snowman in the middle of Central Park after taking a ridiculous sleigh ride.

"Did you find the buttons?"

Mira lets out an uneven breath as she drops three branches beside my boots. I arrange the three small stones I found while clearing several inches of snow.

"Yes!" she exclaims, admiring them as if they were diamonds. "It's perfect!"

Never in my life would I have thought this activity could be so much fun. Watching Mira experience snow for the first time is like being with a small child on Christmas morning. I've never felt joy like this. Or at least, not since childhood.

I want to give Mira even more firsts. I would do anything to recreate the smile on her face at this moment as she looks at a pile of stones and a crooked snowman. I want to possess that smile, just as I want to possess every part of her.

Mira rolls the snowman's head in a circle across the ground, making it grow as she goes.

"You're sure you're twenty-three?" I tease.

"Oh, come on! The closest I ever got was trying it with sand. Let me live a little."

"Remember this moment when you're stuck in bed with a bowl of chicken soup in a few days."

"I don't care. I'm living in the moment."

"That's great… unless I lose nine of my ten fingers to frostbite."

"Oh, poor baby."

She takes my gloved hand and kisses each finger.

"I know something a little lower down that could use a warming kiss too."

Mira bursts out laughing. Too tempted by the skin she reveals, I place a soft kiss on her neck.

"Come on, Jack Frost," she says, her gaze burning. "We're almost done!"

She runs a mitten over my fly, bringing my cock back to life.

Mira has that kind of power over me. A few touches from her are enough to make my dick fully operational.

"Where the fuck have you been? You've been ignoring me for a while," Adrian snaps the moment I answer his call.

"I was busy."

I close the door to my office in case Mira gets out of the shower sooner than I expect.

"Busy doing what, exactly? Arranging book signings in New York for no reason? Are you losing it?"

My hand tightens around the phone.

"How did you find out?"

"I know everything that happens in the company, including the fact that you took a vacation for the first time in years. For God's sake, what's wrong with you?"

"It's a long story."

"Give me the short version."

"Is that why you're calling?" I ask, slumping into my leather chair.

"No, but I want to know why you're acting like an idiot only a few weeks before the vote."

"I decided to spend a weekend doing whatever I pleased."

"Spare me your bullshit excuses."

"I don't owe you any excuses. I'm not a child, and you're not my father."

"No, but I'm the one who's going to knock some sense into you. You've clearly lost your head over a woman."

What the hell? He knows about Mira!

"Who told you?"

"I have eyes and ears everywhere, Elliot."

"Stop sticking your nose into my business. If I wanted you to know what I was doing, I'd tell you."

"No, you wouldn't. You never tell me anything."

A short laugh escapes me. Adrian sighs as if he carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"I'm worried about you."

I roll my eyes.

"Don't be."

I have the feeling telling him is utterly pointless. Although my older brother is harsh, I know he means well. His protective instinct was rooted in him from a very young age.

"I don't like the idea of a woman manipulating you into taking time off this close to the vote. It's suspicious."

"This weekend was my idea, so I don't see how that's possible."

"You really like her?" he asks with a mocking little laugh.

"Is that so hard to believe?"

"And to think I considered you the smartest of my brothers. What a disappointment…"

I clench my teeth, irritated.

"Adrian, I'm busy, so either tell me why you called or I'm hanging up."

"The letters have been sent to the voting committee Grandfather selected."

Shit. I didn't need another reason to stress.

"Any idea who he chose?"

"No, but you need to pull yourself together because we're all depending on your presentation."

"I've been preparing for months. I'm going to succeed. I'm certain of it."

"Good. Once you've secured those approval votes, you'll spend a month preparing the new director for the role, and he'll take over the project from there."

"I was thinking that while you take care of everything on your end, I could stay here and oversee the project myself."

The idea comes to me all at once. If I stay in Wondervale, it will give me time to sort out my feelings for Mira without sacrificing anything. If our relationship fizzles out, I'll return to Chicago as planned.

And if it doesn't fizzle out?

The silence on the other end of the line makes me uncomfortable.

"I thought you were joking," he finally says after a moment.

"No. Why would I come back if you aren't married yet?"

"You're going to shadow me every day and take over part of the CFO role so I can focus on finding my future wife."

"Give me another six months as director of Wondervale. It'll be less confusing for the employees if I stay for a full year."

"Since when do you care about confusing the employees?"

"It's my job to care."

My brother lets out a short laugh.

"No. Your job is to finish that presentation and return to Chicago after the vote."

"Grandfather said I had to be director for at least six months, but he never specified when I had to leave."

"I'm well aware of what he said, and it changes nothing. I've already chosen the next director. He'll contact your secretary after the vote."

"You aren't CEO yet. You can't force me to return to Chicago with a snap of your fingers."

"Let's be honest. The only reason you want to stay is this woman. You don't like Wondervale, so cut the bullshit."

"No, that isn't true," I reply, digging my nails into my palm. "I genuinely like this job."

His sigh reminds me of our childhood, when I used to beg him for dessert after dinner.

"Elliot, if you truly care about being director of Wondervale, you can go back once I've secured my place at the head of the company. In the meantime, let's deal with these letters first."

I switch to speakerphone and run my hands through my hair, tormented.

How am I supposed to choose between my brother and Mira? My distress over the matter is ridiculous, given everything Adrian has done for me throughout my life.

I hate that he's right. Despite my feelings for Mira, I owe him this much, and I know it. Adrian was always there for me when my father was drunk or absent. He was the one who taught me to ride a bike, just as he was the one who stayed up late to help me with my homework even though he had his own. For God's sake, he sacrificed an Ivy League education so he could stay in Chicago and take care of Nico and me! In a way, he became a parental figure to me because I didn't have one.

All I feel is immense distress at the thought of choosing him over Mira. Moving to Chicago really wouldn't be easy for us, especially now.

You were the one who didn't want a serious relationship with her. Pull yourself together.

I let out a heavy sigh.

"All right."

I expect to feel relieved when I agree to his plan, but instead, it feels as though a heavy weight is pressing down on my chest. To please my brother, I'm going to hurt the only woman I care about.