Page 91 of Modern Romance Collection December 2024 Books 1-4

And she’d thought that the case all the way over from New York, on the interminable flight to Athens, where he’d spent the majority of time either staring fiercely at his laptop or reading one of the hard science magazines he’d brought with him.

Then he’d showed her into the bedroom of this admittedly very pretty villa, on this admittedly very beautiful Greek island, and she’d thought he’d show her to the bedroom then leave immediately, yet he hadn’t. He’d asked inane questions instead, wanting her opinion on the villa, wanting to know if she needed anything to eat, or if she needed rest. And even when she’d said no, he’d continued to stand there, looking incredibly annoyed yet resolutely not leaving.

She had to admit it was slightly amusing that such a self-proclaimed genius could be so inarticulate, and it made the bleak feeling in her heart feel a little less bleak. He was just a man, after all. As flawed as any other.

‘You can’t call me Bear,’ he growled.

‘Why not? You do growl a lot.’

He looked typically thunderous. ‘I do not.’

She expected him to simply turn around and leave then, yet he didn’t. He only stood there, glaring at her accusingly. And she had the odd impression that he didn’t actually want to go. He was lingering here because he wanted to talk to her.

Nell studied him a moment. Was that what he wanted? And he just didn’t know how? Seemed strange for a man who’d repeatedly told her that he liked having conversations with women. Then again, those women were also very smart, weren’t they? And perhaps their conversations were smart also? Perhaps he didn’t have normal, casual conversations. Perhaps he didn’t know how.

‘Didn’t you ever have a nickname when you were a little boy?’ she asked, after a moment. ‘Or did everyone go around calling you Aristophanes?’

‘No one called me anything as a little boy.’

‘No one? Not even your parents?’

‘I was raised in foster care,’ he said. ‘I was never with a family long enough to be called anything but “boy”.’

Shock prickled over her skin. She hadn’t expected him to reveal anything personal about himself, still less something so sad. Or so relatable. Because if he’d been in foster care, that meant something had happened to his parents and she knew all about that.

‘Oh, I’m sorry,’ she said impulsively. ‘I lost my parents, too. I didn’t go into foster care though. I was raised by my aunt and uncle.’

His gaze sharpened. ‘You were lucky.’

Nell shook her head. ‘No, I wasn’t. I already had four cousins and my aunt and uncle didn’t want another kid. I don’t know why they took me in. My uncle only said it was because he owed my dad, but he made it clear it wasn’t somethinghewanted. My aunt wasn’t happy either. They just kind of ignored me.’

There was a steely glint in Aristophanes’ eyes. ‘Ignored you? How the hell did they ignore you?’

She shrugged. ‘They just did. All my cousins were six feet tall and blonde. Sporty. Academically gifted. And I was...none of the above.’

‘So, what happened?’

‘What do you mean what happened?’

‘I mean, how did it affect you? What did you do?’

It seemed a genuine question and, since he still hadn’t left, and the sharp intensity of his gaze hadn’t moved from hers, she had to assume it was.

‘I...decided to carve out my own identity and my own existence, I guess,’ she replied. ‘I wanted to be a doctor, or maybe a nurse, but I wasn’t academically gifted. I wanted to care for people, especially kids, because of my own experience, I suppose. So, I moved from Perth to Melbourne, and eventually decided on preschool care. I got a few certificates, found myself a job...and the rest, as they say, is history.’

He was still staring at her as if he’d never heard of anything more mystifying in his entire life yet was determined to understand. It made that horrible, bleak feeling inside her start to fade a little. ‘Why?’ he demanded. ‘Why did you think you weren’t academically gifted? Why did you want to care for children?’

‘Are we having a proper conversation now?’ The words slipped from her without her thinking, the urge she had to tease him irresistible. ‘Is that what’s happening?’

His eyes narrowed. ‘Why is that amusing? I want to know.’

‘As an aside, do you ever find anything funny?’

‘I haven’t found anything in life to be particularly amusing, no.’

Her throat tightened abruptly. He looked quite serious. ‘Well, that’s a tragedy.’

Something glittered in his eyes for a moment, then it was gone. ‘Tell me why,’ he insisted.

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