A Highland Heist A Contemporary Highland Romance Book Three (23 page)

Something would need to be done, and he knew just the thing, even if it would be hard for him. Maggie had been curious about his guitar and had wanted him to play for her until she found out the reason he’d abandoned playing was because of Janet. He’d been in too dark a place back then, and though that was a long time ago, his guitar had remained in its corner, untouched.

Until now.

Chapter Twenty-Three

One scenario after the other played out in Maggie’s mind, keeping her from finding any peace and dragging out the minutes so each felt like an eternity. Poor Conall. He was doing everything he could think of to keep her mind off Aidan, short of taking her to his bed. That might be the one thing to distract her sufficiently. Except for the fact that she was now the one pushing him away.

It left her questioning why, especially when she still loved him. Part of it was that her stubborn streak had kicked in. She said it’d be his final chance before she moved on, and true to her word, part of her had indeed done just that. But there was more to it.

If he was skittish and distrusting enough to not be able to get over the lies she told to keep her brother safe, then she wasn’t sure she could trust him to not walk away the next time there was a bump in the road. And life was filled with bumps. No one got a smooth ride-not if they were actually living their life.

It wasn’t that she didn’t share in the blame. She should have been honest with him about her brother’s kidnapping, even if she’d been scared to do so. Of course he would have been there for her, and would’ve helped support her. She knew that from the start, yet she hadn’t trusted her gut. Hadn’t trusted him. And he had every right to wonder if she’d lie to him again in the future.

When it came down to it, they’d both been stupid fools. Lesson learned, if a little late.

Conall reached out and gave her hand a squeeze, his eyes shadowed with an emotion she couldn’t quite read. “Why don’t ye get us another whisky? I think I’m going to need it.”

“Sure.” Her gaze lingered on him for a moment, thinking there was a nervousness in his stance and gaze. But she did as he asked without questioning him, and wandered over to where he kept his spirits.

And then she heard it, the pluck of guitar strings being tuned. The guitar he wouldn’t touch, wouldn’t play. He hadn’t said much about it, but she knew he’d once been a different man, someone who’d been carefree enough to sing and make music. Before he’d been repeatedly hurt. Before his trust had been abused.

Her emotions rose to the surface. He knew she needed a distraction and so he was going to ignore his own wounds to heal hers. With a deep breath to steady herself, she grabbed their drinks and wandered back over to him, putting his glass down on the table near him.

“Ye don’t have to, you know.” By the gods, she loved him something fierce.

“I want to.” He looked up from what he was doing, his eyes soft and kind as they fell on her. A crooked smile then sprung to his lips. “Not that ye’ll get me to sing-unless ye’re in the mood for a bit of comedy.”

He strummed it experimentally and made some final adjustments. With a final bit of liquid courage, he took a long draw from his glass, set it aside, and took a deep breath.

With his head bent over the guitar, he cradled it against him like a long-lost lover returned to his arms and started to play. It was a tune of old, slow and haunting, belonging to this place, though of another time. The melody filled her like the ache of a love stolen, of a longing that would never die.

So filled with emotion, with honesty, the tune linked her heart to his. It joined their souls, for they belonged to each other and no one else.

She lost herself in the moment as he played, helpless to stop the tears that rolled down her cheeks, her throat tight. It was beautiful. So incredibly beautiful. And when he finished it was as if she was missing a part of herself.

“Och, love. I didn’t mean to make ye cry.” He set aside his guitar and closed the distance between. Cupping her cheek, he wiped her tears, his touch gentle as his eyes settled on hers, taking her in. “Whist,
mo chridhe
. Ye need not worry. I’m here for ye.”

“I love ye, Conall.” She leaned in and kissed him. Kissed him until the emptiness in her heart was filled. Kissed him until he made her whole once more.

He brushed the hair from her face, his gaze looking through to her very soul. “Marry me, Maggie. I love ye. With all that I am, I love ye and swear to do right by ye. Ye said life’s too short and we should live it to its fullest, but I can’t live my life without you in it.” He slipped down onto one knee, sending her heart pounding. “Please, say ye’ll marry me, love.”

She touched his face as her eyes searched his, her breath catching as she tried to slow her racing mind. She loved him like she’d loved no other. She’d never feel whole without him in her life-not when he was her all.

With a deep breath, she took that leap of faith, knowing he’d be there to catch her. “Aye, I’ll marry ye, love.”

He smiled as she wrapped her arms around his neck and he kissed her. Kissed her until the rest of the world fell away around them, and there was nothing but their love.

***

Pulled from her stolen sleep, Maggie’s heart pounded at the sound of Conall’s phone ringing. He gently shifted her out of his arms and quickly moved to answer it. It was late. Nearly four in the morning. It could only be Thorsen.

He said little as he listened on the other line, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze. She tried not to think the worst, but was so on edge she couldn’t push the thoughts out of her head. She held her breath as he hung up. “They have him, love. They’ve taken him to the hospital to make sure he’s all right, but Thorsen said other than looking a little worse for wear, he’s fine. Sean was also taken into custody and charged, and they’re questioning Andrew to see if he had any part in this.”

Relief overwhelmed her, the weight of worry and uncertainty finally lifting. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. “I can’t believe it’s over-and he’s safe. I can’t thank you enough, Conall. And Thorsen, too.”

He held her close, her head resting over his heart, the beat of it steady and strong. “Together, my love. Together we can get through anything.”

“Which is why we’ll never part.”

***

The lover’s stone. Barely a month had passed since Conall had proposed. Maggie now stood in the heather, surrounded by ancient stones in an ancient land, their family and friends at their sides, the wind catching the white lace of her dress, the Stewart tartan draped over her shoulder. She passed her hand through the hole in the stone, linking it with Conall’s, two souls, two hearts becoming one as they were married.

Conall pulled her into his arms, his eyes alight with love, with happiness, the rest of the world fading away so it was just the two of them. “I love ye, Maggie Stewart. Ye’re my very breath, the blood in my veins and the very beat of my heart.”

“And you, my love, are my very soul.”

The End

Thorsen’s story, the first book in the Mermaid Isle Series, will be available for purchase in the summer of 2013. For updates or to sign up for Cali’s newsletter, please check out
http://calimackay.com
.

Read ahead for a sample of Christina Tetreault’s newest romance,
A Billionaire Princess
.

A Billionaire Princess

Chapter 1

             
Outside the window, the runway rapidly approached as the family jet touched down. No matter how many times Sara Sherbrooke traveled by plane it never ceased to amaze her how something so large could take off and land with such ease. As the plane rolled to a stop, she released the death grip she had on the armrests and checked her smartphone for any text messages before tossing it into her Coach bag and then waited for the plane door to open.

             
“Do you require any assistance, Ms. Sherbrooke?” Michelle, the private flight attendant for the jet, asked.

             
Sara moved toward the exit. “I'm fine, Michelle. I'll let you and Peter know when I'm ready to leave. When you are both done here go ahead and check into your hotel and enjoy yourselves.”

             
Without waiting for an answer Sara walked down the stairs and out into the warm Hawaiian sun. As always it was a gorgeous day. It didn't seem like Hawaii ever had any other kind. At least every time she'd been here the weather was perfect and today seemed to be no different.

             
A few feet away Sara spotted the limo her brother Jake arranged and started toward it, her curiosity running rampant since yesterday when she’d received Jake's call insisting she come to Hawaii immediately with no explanation. She'd told him she had responsibilities and couldn't just up and leave without a good reason. All he said in response was to reschedule her meetings and then promised to have someone waiting for her at the airport.

             
“Once you’re seated, I'll put your luggage in the trunk; we can leave once Mr. Hall arrives,” the driver said opening the door for Sara.

             
At the mention of Jake's best friend and former college roommate, Sara's curiosity went into overdrive. Just what was her brother up to anyway?

             
Climbing into the car, Sara made herself comfortable and waited. The temptation to call Jake lurked in the back of her mind, but knowing her big brother the way she did, it would be pointless. When Jake was ready, he'd tell her what was going on and not a minute sooner.

             
As Sara sat sipping a bottle of sparkling water, the door opened again. Silently, she watched as Christopher Hall climbed in. If she hadn't seen him countless times on the web, she never would’ve recognized the man who'd climbed in the limo as her brother's Cal Tech roommate. She recalled meeting the tall skinny kid with shaggy light brown hair and glasses when her family moved Jake into his dorm freshman year. On the few occasions she had seen him back then he'd been dressed in jeans, Converse sneakers and t-shirts with hard-rock bands emblazoned on them. The man seated across from her now seemed to be someone else entirely.

             
Today his light brown hair was cut fashionably short and there was no sign of the glasses he used to wear. And those were not the only changes she noticed. There was no missing the way his broad shoulders filled out his dress shirt.

             
For a second Sara sat speechless and stared at the man, as her pulse kicked up a few notches. Before he noticed her staring, Sara regrouped and pasted on her best society smile. “Hi Christopher. Did Jake tell you what is going on?”

             
Christopher shook his head. “No. He just said to get out here, but I have a guess.”

             
Sara expected him to continue and let her in on his suspicions. Instead he grabbed a soda water for himself. When several minutes passed and he didn't say anything else, she couldn't keep herself from asking her next question, “So, what is your guess?”

             
Christopher paused with the bottle halfway to his mouth. “My money is on a wedding, but it's just a guess.”

             
“A wedding? No. Charlie and Jake wouldn't do that. Our parents would be furious.”

             
“Like I said it's just a guess, but I know Jake and an out-of-the-blue wedding wouldn't surprise me at all.”

             
Would her brother do that to their parents? Sure a sudden unexpected wedding might be something Jake would talk about, but not something he'd ever go through with. Jake Sherbrooke and Charlotte O'Brien's wedding would be a huge affair much like Dylan and Callie's the year before. Considering the size of the Sherbrooke family and the fact that the American public seemed so fascinated by them, how could it be anything less?

             
But if not a wedding like Christopher predicted, what other reason could Jake have for asking Christopher and her to Hawaii on such short notice? Other than an impromptu wedding like Christopher suggested nothing else made any sense.

             
“Have you meet Charlie?” Sara asked in an attempt to start a conversation. Over the years they'd had few conversations so Sara figured she could either ask him about his company or the one thing they had in common, her brother.

             
Christopher returned his water to the holder near the door and Sara's eyes watched the way the muscles in his upper arm flexed and moved. The sight sent her hand toward the air vent, which she redirected toward her face.

             
“I meet her last year at Jake's office and we've all gotten together several times since. I like her. She seems perfect for him.”

             
“I think so too.” Sara reached for more water. “She's definitely the right woman for my brother.” She took a sip from the bottle and then asked him about his company.

             
About twenty minutes after leaving the airport, the limo arrived at The Sherbrooke Resort and Spa, one of Sherbrooke Enterprises's finest hotels in Maui. Upon entering the resort Christopher and Sara crossed the lobby to the private elevator behind the hotel concierge’s desk and in silence they rode the elevator up to the penthouse apartment, which occupied the entire 21
st
floor. When the doors opened they walked directly into the living room.