Page 70 of Modern Romance Collection February 2025, 5-8

‘I haveplentyof stories.’

He’d like to make more with her. He had his diving certification. They could swim with dolphins or whale sharks any time she wanted.

‘Stories... What mountains have you climbed?’

Some days he thought too many, both physically and emotionally. He had many more to go. He wasn’t sure why that thought exhausted him, when once standing on top of a mountain had only filled him with exhilaration.

‘Those you may know? The Matterhorn, Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro...’ There’d been others, difficult climbs, all leading to his quest for Everest.

‘Is there a next mountain?’

‘There’s always another,’ he said, deliberately vaguely. She didn’t need to know, not now. He wasn’t sure what he’d do if she expressed any concern about his intentions.

‘I just thought, with all the training... I wondered what you had planned.’

Ana’s phone buzzed an alert. She bit her lower lip, grabbed it and checked the notification, seeming satisfied. She put it back down. He hadn’t missed that a notification in the maze seemed to have been the catalyst for her leaving with him...

Time—that was all she needed.

‘All I have plans for is today.’

Aston checked the time, his heartbeat kicking up in his chest in anticipation. His car would be coming round the corner soon. Today would be their first public outing together, and by the end of it he felt assured things between them would have changed for the better. He needed them to, if he was to take Ana to meet his parents. He couldn’t have her looking like a terrified rabbit in a snare. What would that say to his mother and father about him? He wanted a woman, if not in love, then in lust. Though why he should care, he wasn’t sure. It wasn’t as if he’d sought out a relationship based on love at first sight, like his parents.

A kind of dull ache settled in his chest, almost like regret. He ignored it.

‘Time to go?’ she asked.

‘Oui.’He stood and helped her from her chair, and she gifted him one of her rare and precious smiles. Had she been freer with them before her accident? He wasn’t sure. He hoped by the end of today he’d be granted more of them. When he’d gone through the catalogue after it had been delivered to his office, he’d known this was an event he wouldn’t miss. He’d registered immediately.

Aston held out his arm, as Ana wore heels and the footpath was a little uneven. She took it, walking down a side street as their car eased into place. His driver opened the door for them, and Ana got in.

Aston took a long, slow breath. He had his own journey to take, mapped out years before, but he could give Ana beginnings—a life of her own, a fresh start. Reasons for her to agree to this marriage, her future. It all began with success this afternoon, and he was not a man to fail.

Whenhe succeeded, everything would fall into place.

Their car pulled up at gleaming white building with blue awnings. A uniformed man opened the door and Aston exited the vehicle, holding out his hand. Without thinking, Ana placed hers in his. Aston’s warmth engulfed her. His fingers gripped hers gently, yet she could feel the strength in him, his solidity. She looked up at him, his eyes the same glorious blue as the sky on this bright autumn day. The faintest of smiles hovered on his too-tempting lips. She could sit and simply gaze at him, like her favourite piece of artwork.

He raised an eyebrow and his smile deepened. His masculine features seeming to soften. Ana came to her senses. She couldn’t sit here in the car all day. She got out and stood. His height and breadth and all that banked strength somehow made her feel safe.

The man was temptation personified.Why not simply give in?

Her stomach twisted in uncomfortable knots. He wasn’t horrified by the red, still angry-looking scar on her temple. After the initial questions, he’d been happy to give her space, to divulge what she wanted to in her own time. It had been considerate. He’d placed no pressure on her at all, letting her set the pace. Yet, she held herself so tightly, she wasn’t sure she knew how to undo herself and let go.

Convenient doesn’t have to mean cold...

The man would have warmth enough for both of them.

Aston led her into the building through a magnificent foyer. A floor of black-and-cream marble polished to a mirror shine. Huge vases of opulent blooms dotted through the space.

‘What are we doing here?’ Ana asked. Aston seemed to know where he was going as he led her down a corridor.

‘We’re going to an auction.’

‘Why?’

‘You’ll see.’ He gave her another blinding grin, one that seemed full of self-satisfaction and...mischief. A smile that set her heart thumping. Being around this man was an adventure in itself.

Everyone seemed to know him here; he was acknowledged with knowing nods by staff. They were directed to a room at the top of a winding marble staircase, and Aston led her through the assembled crowd of people, his hand gently resting on her lower back. The atmosphere was a rarefied one yet bristling with energy and excitement. Just the place that Aston would enjoy... She didn’t know why she thought that, whilstknowingit with certainty.

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