Page 14 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

She countered, ‘I didn’t know you hadn’t received the letter. I assumed you had, and that you weren’t interested in your daughter.’Or me, she didn’t say.

‘Of course I would have wanted to know. I’m not made of stone.’

A flash of heat went through Erin’s body. She knew very well that he wasn’t made of stone.

She brutally slammed down on that reminder.

‘Look,’ she said, ‘I’m sorry again that I didn’t get to let you know before now. I could have tried harder. But the truth is...it wasn’t just because you were hard to contact.’

Ajax frowned. ‘What are you talking about?’

Erin swallowed before divulging, ‘My mother left me and my father when I was still a toddler. Just walked out. I’ve only seen her since then sporadically. When I believed you’d got my letter and had ignored it I thought you were rejecting Ashling. It made me less inclined to pursue telling you. Obviously I would have... But I didn’t want her to be rejected the way I’d been. And then,’ she said, ‘there’s what happened to your family.’

There was instant tension in the air. Ajax said, ‘What are you talking about?’

‘Your wife and son who died. I thought maybe that was the reason why you mightn’t want anything to do with another child.’

Ajax looked incredulous. ‘I had a right to know, in spite of what happened in the past. There’s a difference between choosing to have a family again and an unplanned pregnancy.’

Oof. That landed in Erin’s gut like a punch. And it shouldn’t. Their passion had burned bright and hot for a very brief moment. That was all it had been. A moment. An aberration. A man like this would never have chosen a woman like her to have his child. He came from a Greek dynasty. She came from second-generation immigrants. Her father and mother had been the first in both their families to go to university.

Erin lifted her chin. ‘Yes, you did have a right to know, and I’ve explained my side of it. You might remember what it’s like with a newborn? I’m sorry to mention it but—’

Ajax put up a hand, every line in his body tense. ‘Then don’t.’

Erin closed her mouth. She’d been right about his son, but it was no comfort.

Ajax was still rigid with reaction at the mention of his son. Her words‘You might remember what it’s like with a newborn’had precipitated a slew of images and memories of holding the soft weight of Theo in his arms as he’d walked him up and down, getting him back to sleep. The wonder of that small form and the immensity of awe he’d felt. Like nothing he’d ever experienced.

He shook his head, as if that might dislodge the painful images. He had to focus on the present moment.His daughter.And how it had happened and what they were going to do next.

‘We used protection.’ He couldn’t help but sound accusing.

‘I know...it obviously failed. I hadn’t expected this either—believe me.’

‘Who takes care of her while you work?’

Erin’s eyes flashed, as if she resented being asked the question.Well, tough.

She said, ‘My father sometimes—he had her today. Or I leave her in a crèche that is right across the street from where I work.’

‘How old is your father?’

‘Sixty-eight.’

At Ajax’s obviously sceptical look, Erin said defensively, ‘He’s physically and mentally very sprightly.’

‘It’s not ideal.’

‘No, it’s not. But it’s all I can afford right now, as I’m only working part-time.’

Ajax’s mouth was tight. ‘I could have been supporting you.’

She lifted her chin. ‘You once accused me of playing games to get your attention. I support myself and I can support my child.’

‘Who is alsomychild,’ Ajax pointed out.

Erin suddenly blanched, as if she was fully realising that Ajax was now here and knew that he had a daughter. He might have almost felt sorry for her if he hadn’t still been reeling with the full extent of this news himself.

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