“I know.” His eyes were suspiciously moist as he stared down at her. “It took me a long time to accept that but I know it now. Only love would keep you here even after everything I’ve done.”
“Or stupidity,” she retorted with a small laugh. “You really did go way too far to use Adam’s idiocy to get me back. You know that, right?”
He nodded. “It’s who I am. Do what it takes to get what you want. The motto of my life.” He shook his head ruefully. “Suffice it to say it did not serve me well on this occasion.”
“I don’t know,” she said softly. “You did in fact get what you wanted.”
“Did I?” He shrugged. “I don’t know if you can bully or leverage someone into loving you.”
“You didn’t have to. I already did, remember.”
“Then none of it mattered.”
“You saved Adam from going to prison.”
“Yes, but not because you asked me to.” His fingers formed a basket behind her back, holding her secure in the circle of his loving arms. “I had already dealt with his situation before you showed up in my office.”
“You did?”
“Uh huh.” His smile was a thing of incredible beauty, but she could see how haunted he was and ached to take away the pain. “I had it written down as an accounting glitch.”
“But I thought –,” The sentence drifted off into thin air as Annie tried to make sense of his confession. “I thought you were furious with him. I thought you hated him.”
Kyle nodded. “I am furious with him. Yet I understand that he has a strange compulsion and a defect in his character, that he needs help, not punishment.” He shrugged. “Were he not your brother, perhaps I would have been happy to leave it to the authorities. What he did, no matter how he tries to dress it up as selfless concern for Juanita and their future, was a criminal act. And I believe it was motivated by a need to game the system and win.” His expression was dark and he made an effort to soften it. “But perhaps with the right kind of help he can be made to see how wrong his actions were; to ensure he doesn’t go down this path again.”
“You don’t really believe that,” she surmised softly.
He stared at her for a long moment and then shook his head. “But for your sake, I hope I’m wrong with all my heart.”
Annie’s smile was shy suddenly. “I like your heart. I think your heart is good.”
Kyle grimaced. “That you think so is a sign of your goodness, not mine.”
“I wish I had been able to tell you sooner how unhappy I was. I felt like I lost you, Kyle. You were my husband but you were no longer the man I’d fallen in love with. Once we were married, you disappeared from me.” She shook her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the way beautiful women throw themselves at you. Nor at the habit you have of staying friends with all of your past lovers.”
“Like I have said, my dearest Annie, it never occurred to me that you would be bothered by this because you have no reason to be.” He pulled a face of frustration. “That was stupid of me. And it was disrespectful to you. I should have anticipated how my lifestyle would seem to you. I’m truly sorry.”
“I know.” She shrugged. “And maybe I’m the one who should be sorry. If I felt less insecure, perhaps the other women wouldn’t have bothered me.”
“There were no other women, ever.”
“You know what I mean. The women before me.”
He shook his head. “They meant nothing. Nothing meant anything until I met you. Never doubt the truth of this: I love you. Never doubt that you are the most important person in my world. I adore you, Annie. And I need you.” He pressed a kiss against her hair and she sighed against him. “Will you stay and let me show you, one day at a time, how different I can be?”
She stared at him, pretending that she was thinking hard about his request. Finally she nodded slowly. “Just don’t be too different,” she said with a slow-spreading smile. “You’re still the man I love, infuriatingly arrogant and overbearing as you are.”
EPILOGUE
A nnie stepped over the threshold and froze. Their apartment had been transformed into some kind of candle-lit wonderland. Roses were on every surface. Not red, but a soft-pink, with luscious blooms like the old-fashioned variety that grew rampant in the countryside rather than those neat little hothouse buds florists flavoured. And hundreds of little flames sparkled and twinkled in the bleak sunshine of the wintry afternoon. Some were tea-lights, flush against the furniture and others were elegantly tapered stems, arranged in clusters to cast pools of golden light.
He knows.
Annie shook her head, a small smile tingling at the corner of her lips. Of course he knew. What secrets didn’t Kyle have access to? Trying to keep anything from him was an exercise in futility.
She placed her shopping bags down by the door, thinking guiltily of the hundreds of dollars she’d spent simply because she ‘couldn’t resist’.
“Kyle?” She strolled through the apartment thoughtfully, peering through doorways, until she found him on the enormous balcony. It was freezing.
He had his back to her but she could already tell he was wearing her favourite tuxedo, with the crisp black detailing. He turned slowly, showing that she was right, and that he’d paired it with an equally perfect white shirt and bow-tie.
Annie’s heart turned over in her chest. He was so beautiful. She would never tire of staring at him.
“Hey.” The single word was a gravelly invitation. She padded across to him, her ballet slippers scuffing a little on the tiles of the balcony space.
“Hey yourself. What’s all this?” She gestured with a nod towards the apartment.
“Do you know what today is?”
A frown crossed her features. “No.” She wracked her brain for the dates and still drew a blank.
“It’s been a year since you came home.”
“A year?” She shook her head. “It can’t be.” She stared out at the snowy streetscape and nodded. “That’s gone fast.”
“Much faster than the six months it was preceded by.”
Her eyes met his and her heart thumped with love. He didn’t know.
“Kyle?”
He lifted his hands and cupped her cheeks. “You are so perfect for me.”
She bit down on her lip. “Right back at you.
“I have a surprise for you.”
Annie stared at him in confusion. Those were the words she’d been about to say.
“You do?”
“It’s in our room. Or at least, it starts in our room.”
“Kyle!” She laughed with exasperation, wondering distractedly if they’d ever lose the spark of desire that seemed to ignite when they were together.
“Oh, if only there was time,” he grinned, tapping his palm against her rear. He followed her into their bedroom and his smile widened when he heard her exclamation.
Hanging in the wardrobe was the most beautiful dress she’d ever seen. It was a silken sheathe, and a silver colour. She lifted her fingers to touch it and shook her head. “It’s gorgeous.” She spun to face him. “Would you help me into it?”
“I’d be honoured.” He slipped her clothes from her body with reverence, admiring her return to normal. Over the year, Annie had gradually changed before his eyes. Not to the woman she’d been when they were first married. To perhaps her true self. This Annie had a quiet confidence that shone brightly from her heart. Her curves were back, and he adored them.
“No bra,” he said, unclipping it and running his hands over her rounded breasts. He could have buried himself in her all night, and not for the first time he regretted having organised this night. Just the two of them would have been perfect. But they had a lifetime to be selfish. Tonight was about Annie, and the people who loved her most. He was just lucky to be a part of that group.
He slipped the dress over her head, revelling in the feeling of the silk against her skin. She spun slowly as it fell into place, then lifted the single stra
p over her left shoulder.
“I love it,” she promised, wondering if it was a little tight over her breasts and bottom.
“It’s perfect.” He reached for a cashmere shawl and placed it over her shoulders.
“Perfect for what?”
The doorbell chimed at the precise moment and he smiled. “Your evening awaits, madam.”
“Huh?”
She blinked up at him in confusion and then shrugged, lacing her fingers through his so that he could lead her to towards the front door. Elegant jazz music was playing from somewhere and she let out a sound of surprise when her eyes alighted on a quartet in the corner of the lounge. “Were they there all along?”
He nodded, pulling the door inwards.
“Mum? Dad?” Annie stared at her parents in complete shock. “What are you …”
“I invited them,” Kyle whispered softly. “I wanted them to see your life here.”
Annie shook her head then threw her arms around her parents. “I have missed you both so much.”
“Not so much as to fly home,” her mother said a little sniffily and then turned her face into an expression of tolerance. “Thank you for the invitation, Kyle. And for sending the jet.”
“Any time.” He gripped Sylvia Smith’s hands in his and addressed her earnestly. “I mean it, Sylvia. Any time you and Grahame want to come and visit, the jet is at your disposal. As is the penthouse suite you’re in now.”
“Kyle!” Annie spun around. “How long have you been planning this?”
“Not long,” he assured her. They moved into the apartment but they were not alone for long. Juanita and Adam followed soon after, with a delicious little bundle of eight-month-old perfection.
Annie was unused to competition, but she had to fight Sylvia most of the night for cuddles with the divine Jackson Smith.
“How are you?” She asked Juanita quietly, in an interlude when the baby was being doted on by its grandparents and the two women were alone.
“We’re doing better,” she said simply. “Jackson helps.”
“I’m so sorry,” Annie shook her head, cupping her hand over Juanita’s where it rested on the bench.
“Whatever for? Dearest Annie, without you and Kyle, I hate to think what would have happened. He was on such a downward spiral.”
“But he isn’t now.” Annie smiled reassuringly. “He’s going to meetings every day?”
“Every day,” Juanita nodded. “He’s a changed man. I loved him before, but now? I admire and respect him so much for conquering those demons.”
Annie felt tears sparkle on her lashes and she blinked them away. “I’m pleased for you.”
“Annie? Your parents don’t know a thing about it and Adam would prefer …”
“Oh, of course. Say no more. Sylvie and Gray would have perfectly timed side-by-side heart attacks.”
Annie cradled her champagne in her hand, staring across the room. Adam and Kyle were deep in conversation, but they were smiling, and her parents were hunched over the swaddled figure of baby Jackson. It was a perfect moment. A perfect birth of something new and special.
“We’re a family,” she said with a shake of her head, wondering at the man who had never known such a thing and yet who had been so skilled at holding hers together. “Excuse me a moment.”
She grabbed the shopping bags from beside the door, where she’d deposited them earlier, and took them into the bedroom. Then, just as Kyle had done, she placed the garments onto hangers and displayed them at the front of her wardrobe.
It was perfect.
With a small smile, she moved back into the lounge room and put a hand on Kyle’s arm. “Sorry, Adam. I need my husband for a moment.”
Adam nodded. “Sure. I’ll see if Win needs a hand.”
“Annie?” Kyle studied her face. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes. But I’m bursting out of my skin with impatience. You’re not the only who had a surprise planned for today, you know.”
“Oh?” He walked behind her into the bedroom. “Well, Mrs Anderson? What is it?”
She didn’t say anything, but simply watched as his eyes lifted to the wardrobe and realisation began to slowly dawn. It was followed by disbelief. “Annie? What are you …?”
She bit down on her lip. “What do you think?”
“You’re … you’re pregnant?”
She nodded, a sense of excitement bursting through her.
“Since when? Since … what?”
“I found out ages ago. Or at least it feels like it. But Kyle? I didn’t want to tell you until it was safer. I mean, given my past, we’re still not …”
“Don’t think about it. You know the doctors told you there’s no reason to think that will happen again.”
“I know.” She smiled brightly. “That’s what I keep telling myself.”
“Annie, I can’t believe this is true.”
“It is.”
“But you don’t look any different,” he laughed sceptically.
“I do too! You just love me too much to see the rapidly expanding waistline.”
“You’re perfect,” he shook his head. “We’re really going to have a baby?”
“A little summer baby.” She wrapped her hands over her stomach. “Our own little love.”
“Do you want to tell them?”
She bit down on her lip and nodded slowly. “But not just yet.” She looked up at him and put her arms around his waist. “I just want to savour this moment a little bit longer.”
“Sounds good to me, Mrs Anderson.”
And he held her tight and he loved her, as he knew he would for the rest of his life.
THE END
BOOKS BY CLARE CONNELLY
HARLEQUIN TITLES
Bought for the Billionaire’s Revenge
Innocent in the Billionaire’s Bed
Off Limits
Her Wedding Night Surrender
Burn Me Once
Bound by the Billionaire’s Vows
The Season to Sin
His Innocent Seduction
Bound by their Christmas Baby
Her Guilty Secret
Shock Heir for the King
The Greek’s Billion-Dollar Baby
Spaniard’s Baby of Revenge
The Bride Behind the Billion-Dollar Veil
The Deal
Cross my Hart (Notorious Harts Book 1)
SINGLE TITLES
Her Guardian’s Christmas Seduction
Stolen by the Desert King
In the Hands of the Sheikh
His Nine Month Seduction
The Sheikh’s Contract Bride
Seduced by the Vengeful Tycoon
The Sheikh’s Stolen Bride
The Sheikh’s Secret Baby
The Sheikh’s Million Dollar Bride
The Tycoon’s Virgin Mistress
The Sheikh’s Virgin Hostage
Bartered to the Sheikh
The Sheikh’s Arranged Marriage
Marrying for his Royal Heir
The Greek’s Marriage Revenge
The Velasco Love Child
The Sultan’s Virgin Bride
Bound to the Sheikh
The Medici Mistress
His Loving Deception
The Sheikh’s Convenient Mistress
The Princess’s Forbidden Lover
Marrying her Enemy
Rakanti’s Indecent Proposition
Seducing the Spaniard
The Italian’s Innocent Bride
The Greek Tycoon’s Forbidden Affair
The Terms of their Affair
A Second Chance at Love
The Sheikh’s Christmas Mistress
At the Sheikh’s Command
The Billionaire’s Christmas Revenge
Seduced by the Italian Tycoon
Raising the Soldier’s Son
Warming the Sheikh’s Bed
The Tycoon’s Christmas Captive
The Brazilian’s Forgotten
Lover
Betrayed by the CEO
The Billionaire’s Ruthless Revenge
The Italian Billionaire’s Betrayal
The Sultan’s Reluctant Princess
Love in the Fast Lane
Bought by the Sheikh
The Tycoon’s Summer Seduction
All She Wants for Christmas
One Night with the Sheikh
A Bed of Broken Promises
Tempted by the Billionaire
The Sheikh’s Christmas Wish
To the Highest Bidder
The Tycoon’s Secret Baby
Bedding His Innocent Mistress
The Sheikh’s Baby Bargain
The Greek’s Virgin Captive
The Sheikh’s Inherited Bride
Claiming His Secret Baby
Blackmailed by the Spaniard
Her Surprise Baby Christmas
The Billionaire’s Untouched Bride
COMPENDIUMS
Casacelli Brides
Mediterranean Tycoons
Desert Rulers
Billionaire Bad Boys
Too Hot to Handle
Desert Kings
Happily Ever After
The Darling Buds of May Café
Royal Weddings
The Evermore Series
Table of Contents
Pairs VI
THE SHEIKH’S MILLION DOLLAR BRIDE
Copyright
Contents
Preface
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Epilogue
THE BILLIONAIRE’S RUTHLESS REVENGE
Copyright
Preface
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
The Sheikh's Million Dollar Bride & The Billionaire's Ruthless Revenge (Clare Connelly Pairs Book 6) Page 26