Page 19 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

She responded, ‘I... Yes, I guess so. I’ll let you know if there’s—’

But Ajax had terminated the call. Erin looked at her phone in astonishment.

How rude.

An hour later her father was pushing Ashling out through the main door of the building in her pram. Erin said a hurried goodbye and went to the blacked-out SUV waiting for her by the kerb. The driver was holding open the back door, and as she approached he said, ‘Good morning, Miss Murphy. I’m to take you straight to Mr Nikolau.’

The streets of Manhattan at this hour were still relatively quiet. Erin wondered what on earth was going on to make Ajax behave in such an urgent manner.

She wouldn’t have to wait long to find out.

The car pulled up outside his building and she got out. An assistant led her into the elevator. The same elevator where she and he had combusted. Her cheeks started to burn, but luckily the serious assistant wasn’t looking at her.

The elevator opened straight into Ajax’s apartment, as it had done both times she’d been there. Morning light flooded the luxurious space. It still looked unlived-in. She couldn’t imagine letting Ashling crawl around on these undoubtedly priceless carpets, leaving sticky handprints everywhere.

And then suddenly he was there. In dark trousers and a light shirt. Top button open. Hair a little messy, as if he’d been running a hand through it. Jaw dark with stubble. He hadn’t shaved yet.

It made Erin think of that last morning, when she’d woken to find him dressed and looking at her with a grim expression. Shaved jaw. Making her feel very disheveled.

‘I’m sorry I couldn’t come to you. I’ve been tied up here with calls and I had to speak to you as soon as possible to get ahead of everything.’

Erin’s brain still felt a little sluggish. ‘Ahead of...what?’

‘Come with me,’ Ajax said as he turned around again, and then he asked, ‘Do you want coffee? Anything to eat?’

‘Coffee would be great.’

It might help her wake up and not feel as if she was dreaming. Another assistant said she’d bring it through, and Erin barely had time to say how she liked it before Ajax was disappearing down a corridor.

She hurried after him, deliberately ignoring the door that she knew led into his bedroom.

She found herself following him into a large corner room that turned out to be a home office. There were books on shelves, multiple computers, screens showing various images and information. A TV built into the wooden panelling was showing a news channel on mute.

The assistant materialised with Erin’s coffee. She took it gratefully and noticed that she closed the door behind her.

Ajax’s scent had caught at her as soon as she’d seen him. Woody and earthy, with something that was deeper...spicy. Uniquely him. Very male. Every nerve-ending in her body was humming with awareness, in spite of her best efforts to remain immune.

Erin took a quick gulp of coffee in a bid to be more alert. Even though she knew any desire he’d had for her had died, she wasn’t sure she could trust that she wouldn’t betray herself, alone in a room with him. Their history in that regard hadn’t exactly been without incident.

She took a moment to acknowledge that she felt very underdressed. Ajax and his assistants looked as if they’d been up for hours. She’d just thrown on a pair of sweatpants and a matching top after a quick shower before she’d woken Ashling. She’d let her hair dry naturally, and could imagine it was sticking out all over the place.

Ajax was looking at a screen, and then he stood up straight. ‘You need to see this,’ he said.

Erin felt a clench of trepidation at the expression on his face. She put her cup down on the table and went around the other side of the desk to stand beside him.

It took her a moment to take in what she was seeing. A slew of lurid headlines and...

She bent to look closer and put her hand up to her mouth. There was a picture of her, with Ashling in her buggy, and it looked as if it had been taken yesterday, when they’d been coming back from the park. There was even a picture of her kissing her father goodbye.

The headlines were all a variation onWho is Nikolau’s mystery baby-mama? Baby joy for tragic Nikolau! Second chance for happiness! Will Nikolau put a ring on it?

Erin stood up straight again. For a moment she felt dizzy. ‘What...what is this?’

‘This,’ said Ajax, sounding as grim as he looked, ‘is the result of someone on my team leaking news for personal gain.’

Erin backed away until she came up against a hard surface. She went around the desk again, wanting to get away from the pictures and the headlines. For someone who’d never merited so much as a blip of a mention anywhere outside of academic notices, and who had no social media, this evidence of invasion into her privacy felt like a physical violation.

She could almost feel the colour leaching from her face.

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