Page 104 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Please don’t look like that, Portia. I’ve learnt my lesson. I promise I’ll never give you reason to regret being with me. I’ll do everything I can to make you happy. You and our child. I’ll look after you both.’

There it was. Their child. His real priority.

Yet how could she fault him for caring about their baby? He was going to make a wonderful, dedicated father.

So what that she didn’t need someone to look after her? That what she wanted was a partner. An equal. Someone to share with. Someone who felt for her what she did for him.

She was going to be sensible and pragmatic.

‘Let me make it up to you, Portia.’

She inclined her head. It might be a lopsided relationship but they’d make it work. She’d learnt not to reach for the stars, expecting love. She’d settle for an imperfect marriage because she’d be with the man she loved. And their child would have a secure, supportive family.

‘Yes,’ she said, striving for a smile. ‘You can start by putting that meal in the oven.’

His crack of laughter wound like a golden thread around her heart.

‘Yes, ma’am. Meanwhile how about I run you a bath? Let me pamper you a little.’

His smile was teasing but she read concern in those denim blue eyes.

See, he really does care.

‘That sounds perfect.’

But she steadfastly turned her thoughts away from what would really be perfect. To have Lex love her.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

PORTIALETHERSELFinto the Mayfair house, dropping her keys on a table in the entrance and toeing off her shoes.

That was better. She rolled her shoulders, stiff after a day at work. Lex was right, reducing her hours from next week would make a welcome change.

He’d been as good as his word since that day two months ago when she’d shared her fears for the baby. Nothing had been too much trouble for him. He’d changed his plans so they could stay in London through the pregnancy because the city was familiar to her and she trusted her doctor.

They’d agreed to move to Greece after the baby was born and though she had some trepidation about moving to a new country and learning the language fluently, she knew it was the right thing. In Greece their child would have family, more than just Portia and Lex. She wanted their baby to grow up as part of a large, loving network.

She padded down the black-and-white-tiled hallway to the vast kitchen and family room that looked out onto the garden. Flicking on the kettle, she got out the tea, settling on a stool while the water boiled.

To her surprise Lex hadn’t tried to persuade her to stop work as the weeks passed and her fears of miscarriage abated.

Portia couldn’t fully explain why she clung to her job. It wasn’t as if her modest wage made a difference to their income and she didn’t plan to return to the job after the birth. She still hoped, one day, to pursue her studies.

Maybe it was just a way to keep her mind off those occasional doubts.

She shook her head and got up to make the tea.

Surely it was ungrateful, that niggle of disappointment she still felt as the date for their wedding approached.

Lex’s family was flying out from Greece next week. She had the dress. They had a venue. Marrying Lex was the right thing. Solicitous, he’d even suggested they wait a couple of extra months before marrying so she didn’t feel rushed.

Her husband-to-be was considerate, generous and thoughtful. Their sex life was phenomenal. Any impartial observer would declare her a lucky woman. And she was. The fact that he didn’t love her shouldn’t matter.

She remembered his heartfelt declaration at nineteen, and how easy it had been to tell him she loved him too.

But that man had gone. Despite Lex’s physical passion and solicitude, it was love for theirchildthat motivated him. He’d made it clear that was his priority, agreeing more than once that they’d moved beyond romance.

That had stopped her blurting out her own feelings. She didn’t want his pity.

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