Page 100 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

A hint of darkness raced across his face.

“All the more reason to do it.”

CHAPTER NINE

THEYPILEDFOODon their plates and moved to the stern of the boat. Julius sat on one of the leather lounges while she stretched out on a towel, one leg dangling over the side.

“What do you like to do in your spare time?”

She paused in the middle of popping a piece of rosemary-and-ginger chocolate into her mouth.

“Do?”

“You’re obviously adept at handling a boat. And swimming. Do you spend all your time on the water?”

The chocolate turned bitter in her mouth. She tried to cover up her unease by taking a long drink of champagne.

“A decent bit,” she finally said. “That and reading. Although I didn’t get much time to myself when I worked for the palace.”

“For me.”

He lounged on the leather seat, his sunglasses back on, his body relaxed. Yet she knew better, knew what lurked beneath the surface. Not a relaxed wealthy vacationer, but a predator, a lion waiting to pounce.

“Yes.”

“I find it curious that the woman I just spent the past two hours with has completely disappeared.” He leaned forward. “As soon as I ask about you, you become tense.”

“I don’t like talking about myself.”

“Why not?”

Whether it was the champagne or the sun or just the sudden fatigue of presenting a face to the world, she opted for the truth.

“Because I don’t know that much about myself.”

She could feel his surprise.

“How so?”

“I’ve always done what was expected. What others wanted.” She pushed a strawberry around her plate, the fruit leaving a red smear of juice in its wake. “When I was five, that was wearing clothes I didn’t like to please my mother. When I was thirteen, it was crying alone in my room when my mother moved away because my father didn’t like tears.”

“And when you joined the academy?”

She looked up then, faced him head-on.

“I wanted my father to be proud of me. I wanted...something. Any kind of connection.” Her whole body grew tight, confusion spiraling through as questions she’d asked herself over and over again the past few weeks rose to the surface. “I went after a career I doubt I would have pursued had it not been for a childish wish.”

“I imagine many others do the same.”

Disappointment sliced through her. He didn’t understand. She got up and set her plate on the counter, pulled on her dress as she walked back to the terrace and dropped onto her towel. She turned her gaze to the ocean, to the islands covered in lush green and sweeping mountains that dotted the blue waves.

“I’m sure they do,” she finally said. “I love Rodina. I told myself when I first registered that loving my country would make up for picking a career that was my father’s dream and not mine.”

“Was it?”

“I don’t know.” She pulled her legs to her chest, rested her chin on her knees. “Even though I was good at it, I was never sure if it was something I wanted for myself or just because I was finally...”

She grasped for a word, a phrase, something that would give voice to the tumultuous storm that had been raging inside her for years, only recently brought to the surface when the one thing she’d been good at, the one thing she’d been recognized for, had been taken away.

---