Hired a Gigolo Got a Billionaire (Zoey and Christian) novel Chapter 287

Chapter 287

Nathaniel’s POV

I wrapped up the call quickly, assuring the Turkish client I’d handle the issue once I was back in the office. As I approached the clinic door, I was just about to step inside when I heard Annie’s voice-soft, raw, and filled with an emotion that made my heart tighten.

“…I like Nate a lot. A lot. More than I ever thought I could like someone. But I’m scared I’m wasting time again… getting involved with someone who doesn’t want to build a real future. Someone who doesn’t want marriage or kids…”

`I froze in the doorway, her words echoing through my mind, mixing with a vivid memory of that first

conversation on the plane, when she’d mentioned wanting children. Back then, it hadn’t meant much to me. I never imagined that the panicked woman convinced she was dying in turbulence would become the love of my life. But now…

“I don’t want to wake up five years from now and realize I wasted the best years of my life with someone who

didn’t share the same dreams. I don’t want…”

My foot knocked against the doorframe, making a dull thud that broke the silence inside the clinic.

Annie turned quickly, her eyes meeting mine in the dim light. Even with just the glow of her phone, I could see the flush rising in her cheeks when she realized I’d arrived.

“What did you hear?” she asked, her voice smaller than usual.

I took a deep breath, bracing myself for a conversation I knew was inevitable. Kids. It was something I’d always filed under someday, a vague thought for a distant future. At least, until Annie.

“Annie, I…” I began, but footsteps pounded across the yard.

“Guys!” Sarah appeared in the doorway, breathless with excitement. “It’s snowing!”

The tension between Annie and me dissolved instantly. Sarah darted back toward the house, shouting about the snow, and moments later we heard excited voices inside.

“Snow?” Annie repeated, standing quickly. “Really?”

Before I could answer, she was already heading for the door. When we stepped outside, delicate flakes drifted from the dark sky, glowing under the lights that had come back on in the house. It wasn’t a heavy snowfall, just enough to coat the yard in a thin white layer that sparkled under the golden windows.

Oliver and Sarah were already in the middle of the yard, arms stretched wide, trying to catch snowflakes on their tongues like kids. My mom had come out the back door, smiling warmly, while my dad watched from the porch with that familiar look of quiet pride.

Tori had joined them too-though she tried very hard to stay elegant, stepping carefully so she wouldn’t ruin

her shoes.

“Oh my God,” Annie whispered beside me, holding out her hand to catch the flakes on her palm. “It’s… magical.

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“First time seeing snow?” I asked, watching the wonder on her face.

“First time,” she confirmed, spinning slowly with her arms open, letting the flakes land on her cheeks. “It’s different than I imagined. Softer. Quieter.”

There was something utterly captivating about the way she was soaking in the moment. Her joy was contagious and completely unfiltered-pure Annie, open and honest, living the emotions as she felt them.

“So this is what it feels like, touching snow for the first time?” I asked, stepping closer.

“It’s like… tiny cold kisses,” she said with a laugh at her own words. “Sounds ridiculous, I know.”

“It doesn’t,” I said, holding out my own hand to feel the flakes. “It sounds poetic.”

Annie crouched down and scooped up a handful of fresh snow that had gathered near the garden shrubs. She studied it for a moment, clearly fascinated by the texture, before beginning to shape it in her hands.

“Can I make a snowball?” she asked, as if requesting permission to do something mischievous.

“Of course you can,” I said, laughing at her excitement.

She started shaping the snow into a small ball, focused like a child working on an important project. When she finished, she looked up at me with a wicked little grin, one that immediately warned me of her intentions.

“You wouldn’t…” I began, but I didn’t even get the words out before she threw the snowball straight at my chest.

rst snowball of my life!” she declared, laughing when she saw my mock-surprised expression.

so now you want a war?” I asked, crouching to gather my own handful of snow.

I never said that!” she yelped, already sprinting across the yard as I shaped a snowball significantly bigger than hers.

I ran after her, laughing as she tried to hide behind the tree in the corner of the yard. When she reached it, I launched my snowball, hitting the trunk right beside her and sending a shower of snow into her hair.

“You missed!” she taunted, peeking out from behind the tree.

“I missed on purpose,” I said, slowly closing the distance. “But now you’re cornered.”

Annie tried to dart around the other side, but I caught her by the waist and spun her in the air. We were both laughing like teenagers, our breath forming little clouds in the cold night air.

“Okay! Surrender!” she cried between giggles. “I surrender!”

–

“Too late for that,” I said, still holding her but more gently now.

Oliver and Sarah watched us from a distance, clearly amused by our private snow war. Even Tori had stopped worrying about her shoes and was smiling-really smiling.

“You two look like children,” Elizabeth called from the porch, but her tone carried the unmistakable fondness of a mother watching her kids have fun.

I set Annie back on her feet, but kept my arms around her. We stood there for a few moments, catching our

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breath, gazing into each other’s eyes. Snowflakes clung to her lashes and hair, her cheeks flushed from the cold and all the laughter.

“Your hair is full of snow,” I said softly, brushing my fingers through the strands to shake the flakes loose.

“So is yours,” she replied, rising onto her toes to do the same for me.

The cold touch of her fingers against my scalp sent a shiver straight down my spine. There was something deeply intimate about standing there with her, surrounded by quiet snowfall, far from the noise and distractions of the world.

“Thank you,” she said suddenly, her hands still looped behind my neck.

“For what?”

“For making my first Christmas away from home perfect,” she said, her eyes glowing in the warm golden light spilling from the house. “The Jane Austen Centre, the baths, your family, even the golden retriever…” She laughed. “And now my first snow. It feels like you orchestrated every detail to be magical.”

I reached up and traced her jaw gently with my fingers. A few snowflakes still landed on her cheeks, melting instantly against her warm skin.

“You’re the one who makes my life perfect,” I said quietly, surprised by how true it felt.

Annie smiled that smile that always dismantled every defense I had. I adjusted her scarf gently, making sure she was warm, noticing how cold her hands were even through the gloves.

“Your hands are freezing,” I said, taking them between mine and blowing warm air over them.

“I don’t mind,” she said softly. “It’s worth it for the experience.’

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I leaned in and kissed her gently, savoring the contrast between the warmth of her lips and the cold air around

“Nathaniel? Annie?” my mother’s voice called from the porch. “Come inside! I’m serving dessert and hot

chocolate.”

We pulled apart slowly, still looking into each other’s eyes like we were trying to memorize the moment.

“Looks like our Christmas dinner isn’t over yet,” Annie said, threading her fingers through mine.

“Guess not,” I agreed, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead before leading us back toward the house.

As we walked together through the fresh snow, our footsteps side by side in the glowing yard, I felt a peace I hadn’t known in years. Annie was beside me, my family had welcomed her, and it was snowing in Bath on

Christmas.

It was a moment I wanted to freeze in my memory forever-us walking through the snow, her hand in mine, the soft sound of our steps in the quiet night, and the feeling that everything in the world was exactly as it should be.

I had no idea how quickly everything was about to change.

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