Page 47 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

‘Are you saying you don’t really want to be an attorney?’

Erin’s stomach lurched at that audacious idea, but she felt something like a fizzing excitement. ‘I don’t know... I know that I’m not missing my job as much as I thought I might. And I know that working full-time and leaving Ashling with nannies is not something I want.’

‘You can do whatever you want, Erin. You’re qualified to choose from a myriad of roles.’

She hadn’t thought about it like that before. And she certainly wouldn’t have had Ajax Nikolau down as a careers advisor. But since he’d told her about the expectations his family had put on him and his brother she was realising that her experience hadn’t been that dissimilar.

Ajax came to a stop outside a boutique. In the window mannequins were dressed in jewel-coloured gowns.

Erin quipped, ‘Not quite your colours, but I’m sure you’d look great in them.’

‘Ha-ha.’ Ajax took her elbow in his hand. ‘Not for me—for you.’

Erin resisted. ‘But Georgiana has brought more clothes than I could wear in a lifetime.’

‘Indulge me,’ Ajax said. ‘There’s an event next week, hosted by my family, and it will require something...specific.’

‘What kind of event?’

‘An annual family gathering.’

Erin could feel her blood drain south. ‘Is it a good idea for me to meet them?’

‘You’re the mother of my child,’ Ajax pointed out.

‘A child you don’t intend having much to do with.’

Ajax’s jaw clenched. ‘Maybe I’m rethinking that.’

Alarm bells rang. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

He ran a hand through his hair. He obviously really didn’t like being questioned. Well, tough. He couldn’t flip-flop like this about something as important as his daughter.

‘Something you said about Theo’s death having a profound impact on me... It made me think. I realised that my motivations in staying out of Ashling’s life are based on fear. Blind, irrational fear. And that’s not good enough. For me or her. Or you. You both deserve more.’

Erin was speechless. She knew she should be welcoming this development but for some reason she felt unsettled. Maybe because she didn’t trust that he meant it? Or thought that he would change his mind? She was only protecting her daughter after all.

Ajax arched a dark brow over his glasses. ‘I thought you’d be happy.’

Erin flushed. ‘Of course I am. But if you make any connection with her now it will cause upset if you can’t continue.’

‘I’m aware of that. That’s the last thing I want to do.’

Erin knew instinctively that he would be a good father. His devotion to his nephew told her that. So why wasn’t she more happy about this change of heart?

‘Shall we?’ Ajax indicated the boutique.

She’d forgotten about it. Up to now Ajax hadn’t wanted to be involved and Erin had resigned herself to getting on with their lives without him. But now she felt as if she was on shifting sands, and suddenly she wasn’t sure where they were headed any more.

CHAPTER EIGHT

AJAXHADGIVENinstructions to the boutique owner and, after taking Erin’s measurements, she’d gone to pull out a selection of clothes.

‘What’s wrong with the clothes Georgiana has brought?’

Ajax made a face. ‘Nothing at all—for an Athens crowd. But I just want to make sure you feel comfortable. My family are conservative. And snobs.’

‘That sounds ominous.’

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