Under the Millionaire's Mistletoe by Maureen Child

“Nothing like that. But you remember when I told you to break up with Anna Cameron?”
    Garret rolled his eyes. “You mean when you ordered me to stop seeing the man-hunting gold digger? Yeah, Sam. I remember.”
    Sam bristled, hearing his own words tossed at him. God, he’d been an idiot. “She’s not, you know. A gold digger.”
    One of Garret’s eyebrows lifted and he took a swig of his beer. “Interesting. I seem to recall trying to convince you of that.”
    â€œYeah, well. Things have changed.”
    â€œI’m getting that. So let’s hear it.” He sat back, kicked his legs out in front of him and crossed his feet.
    Sam couldn’t sit still. He jumped up and paced to the wide front window where the Christmas tree lights were reflected on the glass. Staring out at the night, he started talking.
    â€œI was going to get her back for you,” he admitted.
    â€œWhat?” Garret jolted upright. “Just a minute—”
    â€œ Was, ” Sam repeated, turning now to look at hisbrother. “Look, I didn’t mean for this to happen, to go around you like this, but the truth is, I’m in love with Anna.”
    He waited, letting his words sink in. Watching his brother’s face, Sam didn’t miss the wide smile or the relieved sigh.
    â€œThank God.”
    â€œExcuse me?” Sam said.
    â€œI don’t want Anna back, Sam.” Garret blew out a breath.
    Now Sam was confused. He’d thought his brother had real feelings for Anna. “But I thought—”
    â€œIs this what’s been bugging you since I got home?” Garret asked, standing up to walk to his brother’s side.
    â€œWell, yeah.” Sam hadn’t expected their little chat to go so well and damned if he could figure out why it was. But he was grateful, as well as surprised.
    â€œThen relax, brother,” Garret said and clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m entirely over Anna. I mean, I knew she wasn’t after the family money, but she wasn’t for me anyway. That’s the only reason I went along with you telling me what to do. I mean, come on, what am I? Twelve?”
    Sam scowled at him, but realized he should have considered that before. Garret never had done anything he didn’t want to.
    â€œI’m glad for you, Sam. You’re a way better fit with her than I ever could have been. She’s nice and everything, but she’s too traditional for me.”
    â€œTraditional.” Sam laughed, still stunned by his brother’s reaction. “And you told her I thought she was flaky and immature.”
    Garret laughed, too, then shrugged. “Well, I wasn’t going to tell her that you had called me that.”
    Sam looked at his younger brother and felt a rush of love for him. Didn’t matter if Garret hadn’t found his way yet, Sam was suddenly sure that he would. Now all that was left was for Sam himself to find a way back to Anna.
    â€œIs it just me?” Garret wondered aloud. “I thought love was supposed to make you feel good and you still look crappy. What’s going on?”
    He scrubbed one hand across the back of his neck and stared out at the night again. “Anna’s not real happy with me right now.”
    â€œAh, that explains it.”
    Sam shot a look at his brother. “What?”
    Garret grinned. “Why the snake Anna painted on your wall has your face.”
    â€œYeah, that’s a long story.”
    â€œWhy don’t you tell me about it?” Garret said. “We’ll have another drink. And then I’ll tell you all about the professional snowboarder I met in Aspen.”
    Sam shook his head and smiled. “What’s her name?”
    Garret winked. “Shania. She’s gorgeous. And amazing—brilliant, talented. She’s really something special. And in two days, we’re flying to Geneva for a couple of weeks to do some serious