Page 52 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Erin nearly melted into a puddle at his feet, but she managed to say nonchalantly, ‘I do feel a bit...dusty.’

Ajax reached for her hand and led her into the bathroom, ‘Well, then, let me help you feel less...dusty...’

Erin followed him on jelly legs, giving up any attempt to rationalise what was going on.

The sun beat against Erin’s closed eyelids. She could hear the sound of crashing waves. The air was scented with sea and sand and earth. Her body felt heavy and deliciously replete.

They’d had lunch at the villa not long ago, and afterwards Ajax had taken Erin and Ashling off to explore the island, bringing them to this secluded beach that was totally empty.

Erin was momentarily out of the shade, trying to get her skin to warm up to a shade of golden brown that she’d never attained before. She could hear splashes and squeals of delight, and she came up on one elbow and put her shades on. She couldn’t quite believe what she was seeing. Ajax, in snug swim-shorts, in the shallows of the sea, held Ashling in his arms, ducking her down into a wave as it crashed around them.

She was loving it. She’d never been to the sea before. She was covered in factor fifty—as was Erin—and she was wearing an adorable flowery onesie and a sun hat.

Ajax’s volte face with his daughter still unsettled Erin. She felt sure that this was just a phase, perhaps brought on by memories of Theo. Once they returned to the States and Manhattan, and the realities of co-parenting sank in, they’d see less and less of Ajax.

Erin bit her lip. She should be protecting Ashling now, from inevitable disappointment, but maybe she was young enough that when Ajax gradually disappeared she might not be devastated.

Erin had little doubt that this was how it would play out, because the alternative was something she couldn’t even grasp. The thought of Ajax being part of Ashling’s life but not Erin’s...of him moving on and marrying...as she might do herself some day. Blended families? He didn’t strike her as the kind of guy who would put up with that, so he would just excise Ashling from his life.

But the image in front of her now mocked that assertion. Father and daughter, playing in the surf, Ashling clinging on to Ajax like a monkey.

In the last couple of days he’d become her new favourite person. His ease with her and his tactility was unbelievably impressive, and seductive in a way that impacted on Erin deeply.

He beguiled everyone—even babies. When he looked at you, it was like the sun shining all around you.

It was what would happen when that sunbeam moved elsewhere that Erin needed to be ready for.

As if hearing her thoughts, Ajax turned around with Ashling and looked at her. The sea water was sluicing off his tall, broad body. Ashling put out a pudgy hand and gabbled something that sounded like‘Mama...mama...’

Erin levered herself up from the sand and walked down the beach towards them, very conscious of the green one-piece swimsuit she’d chosen. It was perfectly conservative, but under his devouring gaze it felt positively indecent.

Something was happening here that Erin hadn’t expected. A family was forming, in spite of every instinct screaming at her that it couldn’t possibly be real.

And yet as she neared Ajax and Ashling in the sea, and they both reached out for her, she told herself not to trust in the shimmering possibility that this might exist. This was fleeting and temporary. All of it. She couldn’t afford to forget that.

‘I feel a little overdressed for the village.’

Ajax slid her a look from the driver’s seat. ‘You look perfect.’

He was taking her to a local restaurant for dinner. She was wearing a dress that Damia had picked out. A cream silk sleeveless wrap dress that fell to her feet. She tucked a wayward lock of hair behind one ear.

‘Your hair is getting longer.’ Ajax observed.

Erin made a face, ‘I cut it because Ashling kept grabbing it when she was a tiny baby, and because—’

She stopped suddenly. She hadn’t been intending on elaborating.

But of course Ajax had noticed.

‘And because...?’

Reluctantly she divulged, ‘Because it reminded me of my mother. Her hair was long...and I used to be fascinated by it. One of my earliest memories is of lying in bed and wrapping it around my hand. Maybe even then I knew she was going to leave.’

‘So you cut it for practicality, but also maybe to send a message that you weren’t going anywhere?’

Erin looked at him. She wanted to scowl. Ajax was far too perceptive sometimes. ‘I hadn’t thought about it like that.’

Ajax parked the car on a quiet street and they got out. The evening air was warm and balmy. The sun had set, leaving the sky pink and rusty and golden.

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