Page 180 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

ELODIEHADLITTLEchoice but to accompany Ramon Fernandez down the corridor, given he didn’t release her hand. Her pulse lifted, her breathing quickened and amazingly the pain in her head receded. She told herself it wasn’t from his touch but rather the rush of adrenaline that his appearance had induced.

Okay, it was his touch, and she was completely out of her depth. But if he knew how much he affected her that would give him power, and Elodie never wanted anyone to have power over her again. Not emotional. Not physical. Not financial. She’d worked too hard for too long to gain her independence and her confidence. So she’d pull on her cool.

Once more she regretted coming here alone, but she’d never imagined that he’d be so attractive. She had to shake off this sense of intimacy that had deepened by virtue of him catching her resting.Physicaldistance would help but the house made that difficult. The dark colour scheme flowed into the dining room where the silverware gleamed in flickering candlelight. It was atmospheric and something smelled so good her mouth watered.

He released her hand and held a chair for her. ‘Eat.’

Right now she was too hungry to think of a comeback to savage his tendency to command. Desperate to haul her scattered wits together, she did as he’d suggested and focused on the food. She would refuel her brain and then get it together.

Piotr presented the plates and then left. Salmon fillet, baby potatoes, a pretty salad—Elodie felt healthier just by looking at it. At the first mouthful she suppressed a moan. Exceptionally cooked, it wasn’t rich and decadent but light and refreshing and everything she needed. She basically inhaled it. Maybe she ought to make polite conversation, but it was too hard to keep her emotions contained. Fortunately, he too seemed intently focused on stabbing the food with jerky movements. They both drank water, steering clear of the wine. Slowly she felt fortified, and by the time they moved to the elegant and refined fruit and cheese platter with an exquisite assortment of petit fours that she simply couldn’t resist, she thought she might be able to handle anything.

‘Better?’ he asked quietly.

‘Yes.’ She finally dared to look at him directly and breathed in deep because it was a mistake.

He was appallingly handsome, but it was that combination of alert amusement and awareness in his eyes that minced her brain again.

‘When did you find out about Ashleigh’s engagement?’ he asked.

‘Last night.’

‘You’ve been kept out of the loop as much as I have,’ he noted softly. ‘Save your sister. Marry me.’

‘That’s crazy,’ she muttered.

The crazy thing was that she wastempted—purely because of her physical response to him. Her whole body was on high alert. Sex had never been a big part of her life before, so this desire was shocking and diabolical and extremely difficult to control.

‘Isn’t accosting someone in their own home also crazy?’ he said. ‘Especially when you got the wrong guy. Perhaps impulsive is a better word. Perhaps we could impulsively marry.’

‘Absolutely not.’

His smile flashed. ‘Are you not attracted to my brilliance? My billions? Not even my body?’

She squirmed like a fish on a hook. ‘None of the above.’

‘You lie a lot.’

‘Your ego is astronomical.’ She sipped more water. ‘I don’t need to create more problems for myself by entering a foolish and unnecessary marriage. Two wrongs do not make a right. And frankly, I don’t believe that you really feel forced into doing something so drastic.’

‘Unfortunately my aunt’s duplicity forces me into action of some kind,’ he said mildly. ‘Cristina wants assets. I imagine she wants Jose Ramon to produce the Fernandez heir for the next generation. As I’m pushing thirty and don’t have three offspring already, she hopes that I’m a lost cause and so—’

‘I’mneverhaving your baby.’ This talk of heirs and offspring shocked her into interrupting him.

He just laughed. ‘Indeed you are not. I have zero intention or desire to procreate.’

‘Right. Good.’

‘As we agree so easily on this, I’m confident we’ll find more common ground.’ He smiled, all smug confidence. ‘Our marriage may well be an oasis of emotional calm.’

She stared at him incredulously.

‘I will retain control of the Fernandez empire,’ he said.

That’s when she saw the glint of steel and realised he was lethally serious.

‘But if you’re without an heir—what happens then?’ she asked.

‘I’ll ensure the succession plan is in the best interests of the company but I need to buy a little time first. Getting married is the most expedient way of achieving that.’

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