Page 228 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Wrote me what?’ He frowned. ‘I never got a letter. Was it a letter? When? Where did you send it to?’

Her legs emptied of strength. ‘I put it through your door.’

‘I didn’t get it. I swear.’ He cocked his head and stared hard at her as if trying to read her mind. ‘What did it say?’

‘That I’m regarding your purchase of the business as a loan. I’m going to pay you back.’ She locked her knees to stop herself from shaking.

‘Oh.’ His face fell.

‘I don’t want your help. Or your charity or anything. It might take me decades but I’m paying you back.’

‘You don’t want anything from me at all.’ He turned ashen.

‘I wantplenty. Just not that,’ she mumbled. ‘There was more in the letter.’

More than she wanted to have tosay. But she was going to. Just as soon as she got her thundering heart under control so she could hear herself think.

‘You know when you appeared at my home that afternoon, all fierce outrage, I seized whatever excuse I could to get close to you,’ he said. ‘And I ran with it—far further than I intended, further than maybe I should have. But I don’t regret it. I can’t. I only regret letting you go. Inevershould have let you go.’

She still couldn’t hear herself think. Because she couldn’t think. She could only stare at him.

‘It never occurred to me that you wouldn’t stand up to anyone else the way you stand up to me. You’ve never been afraid to challenge me, Elodie. It’s always been like that with us and I never want you to change. But when it came to it the other night, you backed off.’

Because she hadn’t always been bold. She hadn’t challenged any man the way she’d challenged Ramon. She’d not got close enough to any—all that was a facade. She’d built confidence in fronting the escape room and she’d taken that persona to confront him that day in London. But thenhe’dmade her spark even more. There’d been something about only him that night. Animal magnetism had made herrecklessand she’d reaped the rewards of their chemistry.

She ached for more of that now. But there was so much more tothemnow.

‘It took a lot to get out of your father’s control,’ Ramon said huskily. ‘Then Callum’s control. It took a lot for you to build an independent life. A good life. You were worried I’d be controlling too. Control is a thing for us both.’ He shook his head at her sadly. ‘But the only person I’ll ever try to control is myself. Never you. But I do want to be with you. Watch you—working, dancing, laughing, doing the things you love—going all in with full dramatic flair.’

‘I do want to be with you.’

That was the bit she heard. The bit she needed for that final notch of belief.

‘From the second I first saw you, you pushed all my buttons. I wanted to be a worthy adversary,’ she admitted softly. ‘I thought if I could hold my own against you, I could do anything. Handle anyone. That would mean that I was finallythere.’ She blinked rapidly to stop the tears that were rising. ‘You were the most powerful man I’d ever met and I wanted to get the better of you but the thing is, I’m betterbecauseof you. When you’re alongside me, I’m brave. I can even jump off a cliff. You made me believe I could do anything.’

‘Except trust me with your truth.’ He looked so sad.

‘I should have told you everything sooner, but I didn’t think you really wanted to know.’

‘Part of me didn’t.’ He spread his hands. ‘I wanted to pretend this was something so much smaller than what it is. I didn’t want to face the reality of how deeply I’d fallen—how much you meant to me.’

‘You deny yourself too much,’ she whispered. ‘The sweet things. The fun.’

‘I certainly tried to deny the truth of how I felt about you.’ He took another step towards her. ‘You’re a sweetheart, Elodie, and I know the choices you made always come from good intentions, but I hadn’t shown you—or told you—that I’m here for you. That I’m here for whenyou’reready to talk to me. I know you weren’t ready the other night and I reacted badly. I’m so deeply sorry about that.’

She bit her lip. ‘You wouldn’t have married me if you’d known from the start. I did what I thought I had to do.’

‘To protect Ashleigh,’ he said.

‘Not only that. But to get whatIwanted,’ she whispered. ‘I wanted an affair with you and that was the only way you’d let it happen. You wouldn’t have even suggested it if you’d known. You’d have thought I wasn’t up to it.’

‘I don’t think I could have resisted, actually. I can’t resist you at all.’ He reached out and brushed back a strand of her hair. ‘You teased me. You were vexing. And you were right. I’ve been locked away and you shocked a huge part of me back to life. You’re loyal, Elodie. Loyal and loving but you should also have fun. So should I.’ He smiled at her. ‘You’remy sweet thing. You’re my fun. You’re everything I want—’

‘Don’t—’

‘Be honest with you?’ He crowded in and cradled her face in his hands. ‘Be really, truly honest with you? Don’t you want to believe me?’ he whispered. ‘I’d get on my knees if I thought that’s what you wanted. But I think you want something else. So I’ll be at your side, I’ll have your six, and I’ll go toe to toe when you want me to challenge you head-on.’

It was what she wanted.Everythingshe wanted from him.

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