Page 80 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Don’t worry, Portia. You made it clear what you thought of my marriage proposal.’ That still smarted. He’d never suggested marriage to anyone else and her vehement rejection had been an unpleasant shock. He was only trying to do right by all of them. ‘My housekeeper has prepared a separate suite for you.’

Colour rose in Portia’s cheeks, yet she held his gaze steadily as she nodded.

Damn it! He didn’t need to be reminded that it washerchoice whether she slept with him. Or whether she accepted his proposal. Heknewthat. He’d just hoped she’d changed her mind.

Hoped or assumed?

Perhaps his business success had made him complacent. He was used to setting goals and achieving them. To winning over wary collaborators and investors. To getting his own way. Of course there’d been failures along the way. He’d learnt from them and built his business better as a result.

But he’d grown used to success.

‘I just don’t want there to be any misunderstanding between us, Lex.’

He heard it then, the exhaustion that had dogged her in London and that her enthusiasm for the flight had hidden.

The sound was like a bucket of ice water dumped on his head, or more precisely, his ego. What did anything matter besides her well-being and the baby’s? He had plenty of time to win her round.

Lex unlocked his jaw and made himself smile. ‘You’re right. It’s better to have these things out in the open.’ He turned and gestured for her to walk with him. ‘Now we’ve got that sorted, let me show you the house. I hope you like it. If there’s anything you want at any time, just ask.’

Portia heard a buzzing and drowsily opened her eyes. Nearby a bee emerged from a pink flower and flew unsteadily past her. Drunk on pollen and sunshine, she thought. Much like herself. She felt lazy and relaxed. Even the burgeoning nausea had evaporated. There’d been no more spotting either, which eased her stress levels enormously.

The book she’d been reading lay open beside her, pages riffling in the slight breeze. The old olive tree above her rustled, silver green leaves moving against the bright blue sky. The scents of nectar and some pungent herb, oregano maybe, filled her nostrils. And the sea too. She lifted her head, propping it on her arm, to survey the sickle of white sand against the clear water at the bottom of the slope.

This place really was paradise, incredibly beautiful and perfectly peaceful. How foolish she’d been to resist coming here. Every day she’d felt her tension ease, her worries erode under the Greek sun. Good food and lots of rest had worked magic this last week.

When Lex had announced he was staying on the island, Portia had assumed he’d try to press his case for marriage. Or tempt her into bed. She’d tensed, ready to repel him.

Her huff of laughter held a self-derisory note.

Clearly she’d overestimated her allure. He’d turned off his passion as easily as water in a tap.

Lex had told her he respected her decision and, instead of cajoling or pressing her, he’d treated her simply like a welcome guest. As if they’d never been intimate. As if his desire for her had died.

And as if it didn’t matter to him one way or another.

It was what you wanted.

But perversely his ability to regard her with easy friendship and no hint of attraction left her feeling flat. He seemed to find a platonic relationshipeasy. That unsettled her.

Portia had wanted not to be crowded. She’d needed space to think. She couldn’t do that when she and Lex were physically intimate because he clouded her thinking, and now more than ever she needed to think clearly. Their affair had been amazing, sexually fulfilling yet at the same time it had left her perpetually yearning for more.

She needed physical distance to keep her perspective.

What she hadn’t realised was thatnothaving Lex, yet sharing a house with him, even one as vast as this, would be so distracting.

Distracting! She thought of him all the time. Shefelthis presence. Her skin prickled whenever he was near, just waiting for him to reach out and caress her. A caress that never came.

He filled her days and nights, even though he spent most of his days working. He respected her privacy, usually seeing her only at mealtimes when he proved to be a perfect host, thoughtful, cheerful and engaging.

Portia enjoyed their conversations, loved the way he challenged her intellectually yet laughed easily. He made it easy to forget he was a now self-made billionaire. He’d done his best to help her enjoy her stay and put aside some of her anxieties about the future.

But there was a price to pay for all that.

She looked forward to being with him. The way his deep blue eyes lit with laughter. The occasional wordless understanding that she supposed came from sharing so much in the past. There was a lot they didn’t know about each other these days, yet she knew Lex better than she knew anybody else in the world.

Knew him and wanted him.

Abruptly she sat up, leaning back against the tree and wrapping her arms around her knees.

---