Page 34 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Ajax was about to knock on the door to announce his presence when Erin asked, ‘Did you...er...work with Mr Nikolau’s wife?’

‘Sofia?’

Erin nodded. Georgiana shook her head, ‘No, Sofia had her own ideas about style. She favoured a more modern aesthetic.’

That was a diplomatic understatement, thought Ajax. The two women couldn’t have been more different. Sofia could have danced naked in front of him and he’d have felt nothing. Erin, on the other hand...

He slammed a lid on the surge of fire in his blood.

He knocked on the door and opened it, still not prepared when Erin turned around and his gaze met hers, gold and tawny. He was wearing a classic black tuxedo and he saw how her gaze swept down and up again, how a little flare of colour came into her cheeks.

He gritted his jaw.

Ajax forced himself to look at the stylist. ‘Thank you, Georgiana.’

‘My pleasure, Ajax. I’ll be back when you need me again.’

Georgiana handed Erin a sleek black clutch bag and said, ‘Good luck this evening—not that you’ll need it. You’re going to knock everyone out.’

Ajax was soon standing in front of Erin. She looked nervous.

‘Is it...? Am I okay?’

He might not have believed it if he hadn’t known better. He wanted to turn her around and put her in front of the mirror again. Say,How can you not see how beautiful you are?But he was genuinely afraid he might not be able to stop himself from tearing down that zip and undoing the exquisite picture she made.

Instead, he just said, ‘You look...beautiful.’

‘I feel strange. This isn’t really me.’

‘It is...for now.’

Until they were done with this charade and living separate lives again.

He said, ‘My driver is waiting...we should go.’

As they walked downstairs, Erin tried to steady herself after seeing Ajax in his tuxedo. He oozed sophistication, but with an edge of sexy, brooding darkness that made her a little weak.

She wondered what he’d meant when he’d saidfor now. Did he mean just for this period of time, while they were acting out this charade of togetherness? And then, like Cinderella, she’d go back to her much less glamorous reality? She felt that was what he’d meant.

But Cinderella got her prince in the end.

Erin shook her head mentally. She’d never believed in fairy tales and she wasn’t about to start.

In the hall, he asked, ‘Do you need to see Ashling?’

Erin shook her head. ‘Damia is feeding her, and then she’ll bath her and put her down. It’s probably best for me to go without drawing attention to the fact.’

‘If we need to return at all we can, so don’t worry about that.’

The little clutch of anxiety in Erin’s chest eased. ‘I think she’ll be fine, but thank you.’

Ajax let her precede him out through the front door and Erin still felt wobbly in the delicate high heels. Her bare upper back prickled, as if she could feel Ajax’s gaze on her.

The driver was holding the car door open. She got in, feeling awkward in the dress and shoes.

Ajax got in on the other side. The car moved down the hill and into the streets of Athens. It was early evening and the sun was starting to set, bathing everything in a golden glow. Tourists strolled easily, choosing somewhere to eat among the tables spilling onto the streets from cafés and restaurants. There was a youthful, vibrant atmosphere, a contrast against the ancient backdrop.

The car wound through the streets and then back up into the hills again. They joined a queue of cars entering gates like Ajax’s villa’s gates. Erin wondered if they’d gone in a big circle...

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