Page 25 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

Ajax’s expression was hard to read. ‘My wife preferred life in Athens and on islands like Santorini or Mykonos,’ he said. ‘This would have been too quiet for her.’

Erin couldn’t understand that. Who wouldn’t want to come and relax in this idyll, away from the chaos of everyday life?

Before she could persuade him to talk more about his previous existence, the young girl appeared again, with two plates of simple Greek salad, crisp and delicious. The feta cheese was fresh and salty and creamy, the tomatoes ripe and juicy from the sun.

Ajax held up a bottle of chilled white wine and looked at her. She nodded her assent. He poured her a glass and she took a sip, letting it slip down her throat, zesty and perfectly dry.

She could feel it hitting her veins almost immediately, making her feel even more as if she must be hallucinating. She’d wake up soon, back in her apartment, with the sounds of Ashling waking up and the non-stop sirens outside.

She blinked.

Still here.

‘You enjoy your food?’

Erin looked at her clean plate, and then back up to Ajax. She arched a brow. ‘Not used to women clearing their plates?’

Totally unfazed by her jibe, he took a sip of wine, unhurried.Sexy...Erin pressed her thighs together. The delicate wine glass should have looked ridiculous in his hand, but it only made him look even more masculine.

The young girl took their plates and then returned a couple of minutes later with the main course. The smell was mouthwatering.

Ajax said, ‘Moussaka made with beef—one of our most traditional dishes.’

Erin took a few mouthfuls. She hadn’t realised how hungry she was, but she hadn’t eaten much since breakfast, when they’d arrived.

The moussaka was perfect and light, in spite of the rich tomato sauce.

‘Delicious,’ she said to Agatha, when the woman came out to clear their plates.

The housekeeper smiled. ‘My grandmother’s recipe. How is the little one?’

Erin nodded towards the monitor, with its light spiking intermittently when Ashling made a move or a snuffling sound. ‘She’s fast asleep, thank you.’

When she’d left with their plates, Ajax leaned forward with the wine bottle, but Erin put her hand over her glass.

‘Not for me, thanks.’

Apart from wanting to keep her wits around this man, she also needed to have a clear head for Ashling, who might wake during the night.

He poured himself another half-glass. Erin found herself blurting out, ‘How long ago was it...? Your wife and son?’

Ajax put the bottle back down. His jaw was tight. Erin knew she was straying into territory he didn’t welcome talking about, but she had a right to know. After all, Ashling was his son’s half-sister.

‘Five years ago.’

‘I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how devastating it was.’

He looked at her, and she almost gasped out loud at the pain in his eyes.

‘It was the worst.’

Erin’s chest tightened and something dark prickled in her gut—something that spoke of jealousy, because he’d obviously loved his wife so much and he hadn’t rejected his first-born child.

Sensing he wouldn’t welcome any further platitudes, she said, ‘So what happens now?’

‘I’ll work from here for the next couple of days, to make sure that you and the baby—’

‘Her name is Ashling,’ Erin interjected. She was feeling prickly. This whole scene was too seductive, and she was so acutely aware of him, but they weren’t here for a romantic interlude.

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