Page 31 of Modern Romance Collection May 2024 Books 1-4

‘But who’ll look after her? It’s only ever been me or my father or the crèche.’

‘We’ll hire a nanny.’

‘Like the ones you had?’ Erin knew that wasn’t fair, but suddenly she had visions of a woman in uniform looking at Ashling disapprovingly.

A shadow crossed Ajax’s face. ‘No. Not like that. Agatha has family in Athens. I can ask her if she knows someone.’

Erin’s fears subsided. She liked the woman—she was normal. Maternal. ‘Okay, that sounds good. I trust her.’

‘You only just met her.’ He looked at her curiously.

Erin looked back at him. ‘I’m a pretty good judge of character and she’s kind.’

Before Erin could consider the fact that she was more or less telling Ajax that she’d judged his character and liked it enough to jump into bed with him—twice—she thought of something else.

‘Is the event going to be very fancy?’

‘It’ll be black-tie.’

‘I don’t have anything formal with me.’

Ajax waved a hand. ‘Don’t worry about that. I’ll have a stylist put together some choices.’

‘I... Okay.’

Erin could hardly protest. And it wasn’t as if she was going with him for romantic reasons. It was practically a job. Maybe if she looked at it like that it wouldn’t feel so loaded?

At that moment there was a squawk from the baby monitor. Ashling was waking up. Erin stood up, glad her legs stayed steady. ‘I should go. She’ll be hungry for lunch.’

Ajax didn’t say anything, but Erin felt his eyes on her back and wished she was wearing something more exciting than her thin top and linen trousers. She usually prided herself on feeling pretty well put-together, but under Ajax’s gaze she felt dishevelled. Unkempt.

The prospect of him seeing her in something other than casual or work clothes made her heart beat far too fast. She had to remember that these public appearances were purely a means to an end. An end where their lives parted again so he could carry on not engaging with fatherhood and she could continue being a single parent.

A few days later, being driven through the streets of Athens after the relative idyllic peace of the island was a little jarring, but Ashling was fascinated, staring out through the windows in the back of the car as if she’d never seen buildings before.

Erin felt a pang of regret that she hadn’t made more of an effort to tell Ajax about his daughter before.

The man in question turned to her from where he sat in the front passenger seat. ‘Not long now.’

Erin forced a smile, but her gut was churning at the thought of what was ahead. She’d always been on the periphery of worlds like this—in the background, doing the paperwork for titans of industry. Not front and centre under the spotlight.

They were headed to Ajax’s villa, in the hills overlooking the ancient city. The Acropolis came into view, high on its own hill in the distance. It humbled her. Yet another reminder of Ashling’s ancestry.

Athens was teeming with people—tourists and locals. They’d passed through majestic Syntagma Square, and Erin had caught glimpses of the narrow, cobbled streets of the Plaka area. It was a beguiling city even as it baked under the sun.

But soon they were climbing up out of the city and into the hills. It became greener. The car stopped outside ornate gates that had appeared as if from nowhere, and a security guard in uniform opened up to let them in.

The driveway was long and winding, uphill, bordered by lush bushes until it opened out into a large courtyard area, revealing a sleek and modern split-level house. Sunlight glinted off the massive windows. It was in stark contrast to the more traditional villa on the island, but Erin liked it.

An attractive woman with glossy brown hair tied back into a ponytail, dressed in black trousers and a short-sleeved shirt, met them at the door. Ajax introduced her as his house manager, Marta. The woman was friendly, but serious...efficient. Clearly here in Athens things ran on a different schedule.

Then a younger woman appeared, pretty and shy, but smiling. She looked familiar, and it became clear why when Ajax said, ‘This is Damia—Agatha’s great-niece. She’s going to help us with Ashling. She’s studying English at college, and has plenty of experience in looking after babies as she has four younger brothers and sisters.’

Erin smiled at her and the girl immediately connected with Ashling, who smiled too, showing her emerging teeth. Erin felt a sharp pain near her heart to see how Ajax resolutely kept his gaze off his daughter.

Damia offered to take Ashling at once, so that Ajax could show Erin around. The little girl went happily, and Erin was simultaneously proud of how content she was and also piqued that she wasn’t more clingy. But she knew to take advantage of these moments.

The villa was as sleek and modern on the inside as outside, but Erin was heartened to see that baby-proofing had already been undertaken, with the sharp corners of tables softened with pads. And the open-plan nature meant that Ashling would be able to roam pretty freely.

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