Page 29 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Ajax looked at Erin, his head still full of unwelcome thoughts. He nodded quickly. ‘Of course—it’s your decision.’

‘Night, then.’

‘Goodnight, Erin.’

He watched her leave, with the understated elegance that had caught his eye the moment he’d seen her. Then he cursed and turned around, placing his wine glass down on the wall. It was a wonder he hadn’t snapped the delicate stem, he was so tense.

Bringing her and the baby here to this villa had been a bad idea. It was too full of memories of what he’d once wished for. Something that had been snatched from his grasp. The chance of a family—even with a wife who had been in name only.

Ajax hadn’t ever expected anything more with Sofia. But he’d wanted to create a family with Theo. Do it differently. Be a proper father. Not treat his child as a pawn, to be moved around for the benefit of the family name and business.

The thought of actually fostering a relationship with his son had been audacious, because it was so alien to what he’d grown up with. No affection, no tactility. Tight, cold expressions. No love. The almost unbearable weight of a legacy so embedded in Greek society and lore that Ajax and his brother’s lives had been mapped out before birth.

Clearly by buying this villa and making his dreams for a different existence concrete he’d angered the gods.

Ajax smiled mirthlessly.

He didn’t believe in the gods, even if some people joked that his family line was so old they were descended from them. But he did believe in not being foolish enough to think that he could try again. Erin, and Ashling would be better off with him at a distance. The sooner the news interest died down and they could get back back to their lives in New York, under the radar, the better.

Ashling was already down for her mid-morning nap by the time Erin saw Ajax again. She was having a coffee on the terrace, with the baby monitor beside her. She’d been up with Ashling since dawn and she was tired because she hadn’t slept well.

She’d taken in a lot of information the previous evening. All that stuff about the reality of Ajax’s marriage and the fact that his son was really his nephew.

She’d also Googled herself and Ajax and what she’d seen had made her blood run cold. Lots of speculation as to who she was and how they had eluded the press before now. Questions asking were they together, and if not, why not?

She’d had to grudgingly admit that Ajax and his PR team were probably right. Give the media a little of what they wanted to see and the heat would die down.

A sound made her look up.Ajax. The object of far too many of her thoughts. He was dressed formally, in dark trousers and a white shirt...top button open. He looked fresh and vital, and not as if he’d spent a sleepless night. She wanted to scowl, but she forced a smile and ignored her pulse tripping.

‘Morning.’

He looked at his watch. ‘Almost afternoon.’ Then he looked back at her. He noted the baby monitor. ‘Napping?’

Erin nodded. ‘She woke at dawn, so we had breakfast and explored the gardens a little.’ Erin hesitated for a moment and then said, ‘She’s almost walking. Any day now.’

Ajax’s expression didn’t change, but it was as if he was consciously not allowing any titbit about his daughter to impinge upon him. ‘That’s good. There’s lots of space for her to experiment here and not get hurt.’

‘Yes, it’s a big change from our apartment and the small park two blocks away. We could get used to this.’ Erin had only been joking, but the minute the words came out she wanted to swallow them back. She said, ‘I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.’

Ajax waved a hand and came over to sit down, helping himself to a cup of coffee. A little dryly he said, ‘I think you’ve proved that you’re not bent on fleecing me of my fortune.’

‘I wouldn’t know where to start,’ Erin admitted. She shrugged. ‘I wasn’t brought up to value money like that. We had enough to get by. I got a good education, went to university...that was enough.’

‘You and your father?’

Erin nodded. ‘As I said, my mother left when I was small.’

‘You said you were a toddler?’

Surprised he’d remembered, she said, ‘Pretty much, I’d just turned three.’

‘But she supported you?’

‘She sent an allowance that I put into a savings account. I wasn’t going to touch it...but then when I got pregnant...’

‘Your father is a professor?’

‘Yes, of mathematics. His head is always in the clouds obsessing over formulas and problems to be solved.’ Erin was smiling at the thought of her absent-minded father.

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