Page 106 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

He spun around, surveying the dressing room. In one corner hung the long bag containing her wedding dress. The box with her bridal shoes was beside it. But there was a gap where her favourite flat shoes normally rested and a few other empty spaces here and there.

He swallowed a knot of fear.

Portia wasn’t answering her phone. She’d taken a bag and some of her clothes and left without a message.

Lex sprinted from the room and down the stairs. Maybe she’d left a note and he’d missed it.

But the search proved fruitless.

Sweat beaded his hairline as fear gripped him. Two horrible options lodged in his brain, curdling his stomach. That she or the baby had taken ill and Portia had gone to the hospital. Or she’d decided not to go through with the wedding. Maybe she’d left him. Both ideas were untenable.

He pulled out his phone to begin ringing hospitals.

Fatigue bowed Portia’s shoulders as she trudged up the steps, her small case in her hand. It had been a long day and she couldn’t wait to put her feet up.

She fumbled with the key in the front door, finally fitting it properly, only to have it jerk open so quickly she teetered on the brink of falling over the threshold.

A huge figure loomed before her, backlit by the hall light. Her heart thudded high in her throat but in an instant relief rushed in. She’d know that sexy, tousled hair anywhere, the silhouette of a powerful, familiar figure.

‘Chrysi mou.’

His arms encircled her, hauling her in against his tall frame, his mouth brushing her hair as he murmured a stream of incoherent words.

Portia dropped her bag and slid her arms around his waist. It felt so good to be in his arms again.Thiswas the homecoming she wanted, not returning to the empty house as she’d envisaged.

‘What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in America.’

Not that she minded. This fervent embrace had her heart skipping and her silly brain reading more into his welcome than it should.

‘I came back early to surprise you. Where have youbeen?’

There was a discordant note in his deep voice and she finally registered the tremor running through his big frame.

‘Lex, are you all right? Is something wrong?’

A huff of laughter brushed warm air across her forehead then he turned, one arm still around her back, and drew her inside, grabbing her bag on the way. It was only then that she saw the blaze of light inside. She’d been so tired she hadn’t even noticed from the street.

‘You disappear for at least twenty-four hours and ask if something’s wrong? I’ve been out of my mind with worry.’

The door shut behind them and in the spill of light she saw his face properly for the first time. He looked strung too tight, the planes of his face more pronounced. Lines furrowed his brow and grooved deep beside his mouth. The pulse at his temple hammered.

She’d seen Lex annoyed, thrilled by the news of their child, lost to a world of sexual pleasure, or warmly smiling, but never like this. Instantly she knew what he’d feared.

She grabbed his upper arms, holding his gaze. ‘It’s okay, Lex. Nothing’s happened to the baby. It’s perfectly fine.’

He sucked in a deep breath that made his chest rise. He nodded then exhaled. Yet instead of looking relieved, his features remained tense, like a man on the edge.

That didn’t make sense. She was here now and he knew the baby was okay.

‘Why did you go away, Portia? And why didn’t you tell me?’

‘It’s a long story.’ And it had been a trying twenty-four hours. She felt completely done in. ‘I had no idea you were worried about me. But right now I need the bathroom and a cup of tea in that order. I’ll tell you all about it in the kitchen.’

Instead of stepping back, his grip on her remained firm, almost as if he didn’t want to release her. ‘I’ll carry your case upstairs while you freshen up. Then I’ll make tea and some supper for you while you talk.’

He kept his arm around her all the way up the stairs into the bedroom. Was it fanciful to think him reluctant to let her go? Of course it was. He’d had a fright, thinking something had happened to the baby, that was all.

Yet she was aware of him watching her every step of the way as she walked into the bathroom. Her skin prickled, heating under that intense stare.

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