All Or Nothing (The Alpha Brotherhood #2)(40)
Author: Catherine Mann

And clearly that was tearing him apart now.

“Not nothing. You’re being too tough on yourself. You always are.” She sketched her fingers along his unshaven jaw. Apparently he hadn’t wasted a second getting to her, between arranging to pick up Mimi and flying to the Bahamas. He hadn’t even stolen a second to shave.

“Then you’ll help me work through that.” He pressed a kiss into her palm. “Jayne, I’ve faced down criminals. Made and given away fortunes. But the thought of losing you nearly drives me to my knees. I see you with all that unconditional love in your eyes, a total openness I never gave back. You knew the truth about me and my crooked family, and you loved me anyway. I’d put us in an all-or-nothing life. Well, the past three years of ‘nothing’ has been hell.”

“I completely agree with you there.” Her eyes burned, but with happy tears and hope.

“But back to my compromise. And if it’s not good enough, tell me and I promise you, I will listen to you this time. After you left, I realized I can’t go through this again. I let you go once, and it almost killed me.”

“Conrad? I don’t know what to say.” How funny that she was the one speechless now. She’d hoped for a moment like this, prayed that Conrad could find the peace to embrace a life together, but the reality of it sent joy sparkling through her.

“If you want me to quit the Interpol work, I will.”

“Shh!” She touched her fingertips to his mouth, moved that he would offer, hopeful that he truly was willing this time to make the compromises needed to build a life together. “You don’t have to do that. I just need reassurances that you’re all right.”

He nipped her fingers lightly, smiling his appreciation. “I can do that. I will tell you everything I’m cleared to share about my work with Salvatore. I can promise you I’ll check in every twenty-four hours so you won’t worry.”

“And that’s safe for you?”

“We have the best of the best technology. And I intend to make use of it to keep you reassured—and to keep you well protected. I kept pushing you away to keep you safe, but all it did was tear us both apart. I will do better. And if you change your mind about the job with Interpol, say the word, I’m out. I would give up anything to keep you. I honest to God love you that much, Jayne.”

Unable to hold back any longer, she leaned forward into his arms and kissed him, pouring all the love, hope and dreams out and feeling them flow right back to her, from him. There was something different in him now; the restlessness was gone. And while it had shredded her heart to walk away from him again, maybe that’s what it had taken to make him see what she’d already realized—they needed each other. Two pieces of the same whole. Conrad seemed to understand that now. He’d found a new peace and maybe even some forgiveness for himself.

Mimi squirmed to get free, squished between them. Laughing, they eased apart and her dog—their dog—jumped from Jayne’s lap to sniff the balcony furniture and potted plants.

Jayne looked back at Conrad, still kneeling in front of her. “Is it all right to have a dog here?”

“I bought the place two years ago. I can have a whole damn pack of dogs inside if I want.”

“And is that what you want? A pack?” She toyed with the open V of his collar, the fire rekindling inside her.

“Actually I was thinking more like a soccer team of kids. Our kids, babies first, of course.”

Shock froze her. She stared into his eyes and found one hundred percent sincerity.

“I’d like that, too,” she whispered.

She’d learned to leave the past behind and step outside her safety zone without losing the essence of herself. Life wasn’t an all-or-nothing game. It was a blending of the best of both sides. A marriage.

Her marriage.

Just as she started to reach for her husband, the French doors opened and Hillary stuck her head out, cell phone in hand. “Folks, you’re going to want to hear this update from Salvatore.”

Jayne’s stomach knotted. Was it bad news? Could their newfound peace be so short-lived? She felt Conrad take her hand and squeeze reassuringly. She looked into his eyes and realized she wasn’t alone—and neither was he. They truly were a team now and whatever happened, they would face it together.

She turned back to Hillary, and realized the woman was smiling so brightly the news couldn’t be that bad.

Conrad said, “We’re ready. What’s the update?”

Hillary tapped speakerphone and Salvatore’s voice rumbled over the airwaves, “Authorities apprehended Zhutov’s hired assassin and given his confession and the photos he had on his cell phone, we’re certain you two were not the targets. You’re in the clear. Your cover is secure.”

Grinning, Conrad grabbed Jayne around the waist, lifted her from the chair and spun her around. Mimi barked, dancing around their feet. Laughing, Hillary put the phone to her ear and stepped back into the hotel suite.

Jayne grasped Conrad’s shoulders as he lowered her back to the ground again. “Oh, my God, that is amazing news.”

“Damn straight it is.” He hauled her to his chest, a sigh of relief rattling through him. “And Lord willing, the day’s about to get even better.”

Stepping back again, he pulled his hand out of his pocket, their wedding rings rested in his palm. “Jayne, I’ve loved you from the first time I saw you and will love you until I draw my last breath. Will you please do me the honor of wearing this ring?”

She placed her hand over his, their rings together in their clasped hands. “I’m all in. I want to be a part of your big, bold plans for the future, to help others in the clinic in Africa and build more clinics in other parts of the world. I accept you, as you are… I love you as you are.”

His hand slid into her hair, and he guided her mouth to his with a fierce tenderness that reached all the way to her soul.

The stakes had been high, but she knew a winning hand when she saw one.

Smoothly, Conrad slid on his wedding band and then he slipped hers back on her finger. Where it would stay put this time.

Because one pair, the two of them, had won it all.

Epilogue

Two months later

Coming home to his wife was one of life’s greatest pleasures.

Conrad parked the Land Cruiser beside the clinic where his wife worked. Their clinic, in Africa. He’d offered Jayne diamonds and a splashy jet-set lifestyle, but his wife had chosen a starkly majestic home in Africa, caring for the ill and orphaned in the area villages.