Page 178 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

Weirdly, walking away from the man made her shiver. She pulled her blazer together, annoyed by the absurdly certain feeling he would sort the situation. He was the capable kind who could sort anything and everything. Even more annoying was her attraction to him. For a moment she imagined sweeping along in this velvet atmosphere wearing some gorgeous dress. Imagined being alone with Ramon Fernandez any time she felt like it. Imagined the confidence to do anything she wanted. With him.Tohim...

The effort to redirectthosethoughts came at a cost. With every step away from him an almost blinding headache came on swiftly and strongly. Thankfully the immaculately efficient Piotr opened a door, then stood back to let her through.

‘I’ll be back in about twenty minutes to escort you to the dining room,’ he said.

‘Thank you.’

She leaned back against the door the second she closed it. Ashleigh’s safety was the most important thing—theonlything to focus on right now.

She stared at the enormous bed—more luxurious than any hotel perfection. Not that she’d ever stayed in one of the hotels in the Fernandez empire though. Another fantasy engulfed her—of being in his room. That shocking comment had been pure temptation. Her face flamed and she chastised her wayward imagination. Her head pounded, exacerbated by not eating in hours because she’d been too nervous about her mission. And now the riot of her wholly unexpected and inappropriate response to him caused even more inner tension, resulting in a fierce pounding at her temples. She staggered into the stunning bathroom, dampened a cloth and went back to sink into the large armchair beside the bed. Closing her eyes, she pressed it to her face, desperate to relax.

Ramon tensed, his gaze narrowing on the screens in front of him that were mirroring those of two of his highly paid personal assistants who were working late in the city office. He was juggling calls with both.

‘I want to see everything that’s there. Go back further.’

His assistant immediately obliged, knowing better than to question, no matter how exceptional or unusual these particular instructions were.

He’d already skimmed the plans for the island that Cristina and Jose Ramon had commissioned and planned to submit for local government approval the second Jose Ramon had occupancy. Yet instead of prioritising that imminent disaster he’d fallen down the rabbit hole that was Elodie Wallace’s social media profile. Somanyparty pictures—not yachts and private beaches and the like—this was all clubs and bars in the city.

‘There’s nothing earlier,’ his assistant said.

Nothing prior to the sudden rush of pictures starting about three years ago. Furthermore, the flurry of party girl activity had been updated only sporadically in the past year. Her profile picture showed her standing between two other women who looked to be a similar age. Her squad? A curvy brunette and an arctic-looking blonde. They made a stunning trio, but it was the flame-haired vixen in the centre who he couldn’t help staring at. Who he felt absurdly angry about.

It didn’t bother him that she’d mistaken him for his cousin. He wasn’t insulted by her assumption that he would marry someone so young and who he barely knew. No, that wasn’t the problem.Shewas. Specifically, his reaction to her. Her wild red hair, striking blue eyes and temperamental sass sharpened his senses. The strength with which she drew him was beyond irritating. It was her unexpected appearance, right? She’d stormed into his home—dressed to thrill—and demanded what she wanted.

So yeah, she’d got his attention. That was all. Because for years now he’d proven to himself that he was not his father. That hedidn’thave that bastard’s age-old weakness for a beautiful woman. That he wouldn’t ever be controlled by base urges in the way his repellent old man had been.

Ramon was better than that. Only now, in mere moments, that belief was destroyed. One look at her and he’d been stupefied. One conversation and he was almost tongue-tied. His animal instinct urged him to capture and claim. He’d been unable to resist the desire to touch her.

‘She works for an escape room company,’ the other assistant informed him. ‘She’s a hostess there.’

‘Hostess?’

‘You know, the one who reads the rules and then locks people in.’

And watches them try to worm their way out? Yeah. That made sense. He had the feeling she would enjoy that power trip. She liked to be in control.

‘She was married.’ His first assistant coughed. ‘And is now divorced.’

His blood iced as the certificates appeared on the screen in front of him. ‘Can you find anything about the ex?’

‘Same town addresses. Presumably someone local. Looking at him now.’

There was a pause while his assistant typed.

‘They went to the same school,’ she said.

She’d married her high school sweetheart? Had she outgrown him? Broken his heart?

Ramon clicked the certificates away. Now he knew what she’d meant with her dramatic declaration—

‘I lied. I cheated. I abandoned my responsibilities.’

He gritted his teeth. The details didn’t matter. He didn’t need to know anything more than the bare fact that she’d betrayed her husband. Leopards didn’t change their spots.

His father had cheated on his mother many times and lied about it for years before making Ramon complicit in betrayal too. His father had tried to convince him that it was ‘normal’—that Ramon would understand as he grew older. That they were very alike. And yes, Ramon looked like his father, worked like his father and had now long been stained by his father’s sins.

He’d tried to protect his mother from the truth. Not only had he failed in that, she’d never forgiven him for his silence, assuming he’d known about the one betrayal that had been so much worse than Ramon could have ever imagined. His parents’ marriage had been such a travesty, Ramon was never entering one of his own. At least not for real and not for long. Fortunately, Elodie had already proven that vows didn’t signify to her. Which meant the impulsive solution aired earlier might actually have legs. She’d offered herself, had she not? She would do anything for her sister. What was a little agreement—a signature here and there?

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