Page 125 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Francisco smiled. “Then what are you doing here? Go find her.”

So he’d done it. He’d jumped in headfirst, digging the black card he’d been presented with by a reclusive billionaire out of his desk and flying to London while a private detective from England had tracked Esmerelda down and provided her address in Grenada.

And now he was here, with his memories intact and Esmerelda sleeping in the room behind him. Anticipation filled him. When she awoke, he would tell her everything. Then he would present the ring to her properly. They could be engaged for as long as she wanted, have whatever sort of wedding she desired.

So long as she was by his side, nothing else mattered.

Esme awoke to rays of morning sun warming her face. The bed was empty, but a glance at the clock revealed it was after eight o’clock. Julius had always been an early riser.

So had she, she thought with a satisfied smile as she stretched. Until she indulged in a passionate affair with a lover who knew her body better than she did and spent hours worshipping it.

“You’re awake.”

Julius walked in. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her.

She sat up and raised her face to him. “Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

She frowned, trying to pinpoint his mood. There was an energy to his movements, bordering on uncontrolled, that seemed off. Yet there was also a touch of formalness in his face and tone that reminded her of the old Julius. A distance that couldn’t be bridged, not even by the intimacy of the bedroom.

“I remembered.”

She froze. “Remembered?”

“Everything.”

She sat for a moment, waiting. But when he didn’t look at her in disgust, when he still smiled at her, she smiled back, throwing back the covers to go to him.

“I’m happy for you, Julius.”

She hugged him. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands a comforting warmth on her bare back.

“Wait...does that mean you remember what happened in London?”

He nodded, the light in his eyes dimming a fraction. “I was on my way back to the hotel. I heard a scuffle coming from an alley. Two men fighting. I went to break it up. One ran off. The other turned on me and pointed a gun at my face.”

Her entire body tightened.

“What?”

“He fired.”

Fear clogged her throat.

“Julius...”

“Obviously something went wrong.” His lips twisted into a slight smile. “The gun jammed. I lunged for him and we got into a fistfight. I remember pain,” he said, touching the back of his neck, “and stumbling into the parking garage hotel. There was a private elevator entrance down there for the penthouse. The doors closed and that’s all I remember.”

“He must have mugged you.”

“I called Scotland Yard. They’re running searches on my credit cards to see if any have been used recently, and they’re pulling CCTV footage from the area. I remembered everything about the week after we spent the night together in Paris. I remember our conversation when I told you that you were being reassigned.”

Trepidation slithered up her spine. She had grown so much in just a few days. Could she handle what he had to tell her? Hear him, accept it and move on?

“Julius—”

“I was intentionally cruel.”

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