Page 27 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

‘No one. I couldn’t afford to get close to anyone.’

‘Did you want to?’

Sadie shook her head. ‘No, there was no one.’

How could there have been?she wanted to say to him. All she’d thought about was him and Sol, going into internet cafés when she thought it safe enough and looking Quin up online, hoping for a glimpse of her son. Hoping for a glimpse of Quin. Hoping she wouldn’t see him with another woman.

Quietly, Sadie said, ‘If I’d felt I had a choice, of course I wouldn’t have walked away. But I knew Sol was in good hands...you’ve been an amazing father.’

Quin was pulling into a valet parking area outside a building on one side of a pretty leafy street. When the car had stopped he looked at her and said, ‘That’s probably because I had to become mother and father overnight. I had no choice but to step up.’

Because she’d stepped out.

He didn’t say it, but he obviously meant it. She was tempted to defend herself by pointing out that she hadn’t had a choice either, but she said nothing. Clearly her explanation had fallen into some space between them where Quin was not ready to believe her. Yet. She couldn’t necessarily blame him—it was a lot to take in.

He would have to believe her eventually, though, because there was no other explanation. But right now she couldn’t imagine that even then there’d be much of a thaw in the air.

CHAPTER SEVEN

ITBECAMEAPPARENTas soon as they walked into the restaurant—impossibly sophisticated, with soft music playing, big open spaces and tables arranged around a central open-air pond where exotic fish swam lazily, all overlooked by a wall of green foliage—that Sadie was woefully underdressed.

It was in the raised brow of the impeccable maître d’ and in the looks of the other diners as they were led to their table in a—thankfully—discreet corner. The clientele was sleek and beautiful, casual but elegant, the women in silk and linen, men in suits. By the time she was sitting down opposite Quin her face was burning with humiliation.

He glanced at her as he flicked out a linen napkin. ‘What’s wrong?’

‘What do you think?’ she hissed, wishing she could wrap her own napkin around her, to hide her tatty T-shirt. ‘I’m completely out of place here. I can’t believe they let me come in with you.’ She added, ‘If it was your intention to humiliate me then it’s worked beautifully.’

Quin put his napkin down and looked around, and then at Sadie, whose face was still burning. He had the grace to look guilty. He said, with genuine contrition, ‘That wasn’t my intention at all. I’m not so petty. It just didn’t occur to me... I should have given you time to change.’

Sadie looked at him. She believed him. Her anger fizzled out and she made a face. ‘I’m not sure I have anything smart to change into, except for that dress I wore the other night, and that’s not appropriate either.’ She seized the moment and pointed out, ‘Maybe it didn’t occur to you because you’re used to walking into places like this without a second thought.’

He looked at her sharply. ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘The fact is that you were born into this world. You take it for granted.’ She shook her head. ‘Why didn’t you tell me about your family? About where you came from? You never even mentioned your brother.’ She hoped the lingering hurt wasn’t apparent in her voice.

He looked at her. ‘You really want to talk about this now?’

‘Why not?’

She’d laid herself bare last night, but Sadie held her breath, not sure if Quin would comply.

But eventually he said, ‘Because I was escaping them—and that world. Being with someone who didn’t know who I was with all its accompanying noise was...a novelty. I liked being anonymous.’

Sadie absorbed that. ‘Why did you need to escape?’

A muscle pulsed in his jaw. He didn’t look at her now. He said, ‘Because I’d found out that everything I’d grown up taking for granted was a lie.’

‘Do you mean about your father not being your biological father?’

He nodded. ‘I only found out when we had an argument because I didn’t want to go into the family empire, like my brother did. It explained why I’d always felt like an outsider in my own family. He’d tolerated me for the sake of the family reputation.’

‘The articles I read said you were disinherited.’

He looked at her. Proud. ‘I disinherited myself, and that’s when I went to Sao Sebastiao to work on my own tech stuff.’ His gaze narrowed on her. ‘And then I met you.’

Back to her. Obviously his omission wasn’t as big a sin as her actions.

Sadie suddenly had so many questions, and was determined not to let him change the subject, but at that moment she registered a prickling sensation at the back of her neck. Someone appeared at her shoulder. She nearly jumped out of her skin, inadvertently knocking over an empty glass with her hand.

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