Page 151 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

She laughed a little unevenly; her line jerked again.

‘But you don’t?’ he prompted.

‘I don’t know. What about our marriage?’

‘What about it?’

‘Surely you must regret it?’

‘It was the only way to bring my mother home. I’m comfortable with that decision.’

Her eyes fluttered closed for the briefest of moments, while she processed a strange, tightening pain in her chest accompanied shortly after by a swooping of her stomach.

‘Do you regret it?’

A week ago, she might have said yes, but even then, she’d been comfortable with the deal she’d made.

‘No,’ she answered, simply. ‘I suppose there are times when I wish things were different, but we each got what we needed out of this deal. I can make my peace with it, by reconceptualising our marriage as a partnership—more of a business arrangement.’

‘How sensible,’ he drawled, and she wondered at the slight inflection of anger in his tone.

‘Why does that bother you?’ The time for obfuscation and pretence had passed. They had shared too much with one another, understood too much.

‘How do you know it does?’

She rolled her eyes. ‘Because I know you, way better now than I did even forty-eight hours ago. You’re annoyed with me.’

‘I’m annoyed with the sentiment.’

His eyes narrowed.

‘I’m annoyed with your father, for demonstrating again and again all the reasons for avoiding relationships.’

‘We’re not in a relationship,’ she said, her voice breathy and rushed.

‘That’s my point. Would you have willingly married a virtual stranger if it weren’t for the fact your father has made you completely set against the idea of a real relationship?’

Her lips parted in surprise. ‘I was engaged before you.’

‘Yes, to someone else with whom you could have a loveless, transactional marriage.’

‘How dare you?’ she asked, but the words lacked fire, because he was right.

‘You deserve more than this, Rosalind. You should never have agreed to marry me.’

‘I told you—’ she jutted her chin defiantly ‘—there is more than enough in our marriage to make it worthwhile. And before you start banging on about the money, you know that’s not what I mean.’

‘I know,’ he said, surprising her by readily agreeing. ‘I was wrong about you.’

Again, her lips parted, and her line trembled, hard enough now for it to finally get Rosie’s attention. She was glad for the excuse to look away from Sebastian, to focus on pulling the fish from the water. She reeled the fish in but the more she reeled, the more the rod bent.

‘It’s big,’ she said, over her shoulder, but it was unnecessary; Sebastian had seen and was moving to stand behind her, his bigger body and stronger arms working with hers, easily, seamlessly, like a well-oiled machine, combining their efforts to remove from the water an enormous black rucksack.

‘Oh my God.’ Despite the tension Rosie had been feeling only moments ago, she burst out laughing. ‘Catch of the day?’

‘You never know, it could have hidden treasure.’

‘Or some poor kid’s holiday kit.’

---