Page 21 of Single Dad Christmas

Noah let out a low whistle. “Why don’t you start at the top, so I understand this a little better?”

She sipped her wine. Fair enough, but she had no intention of getting into all the nitty gritty details. A brief overview would suffice.

“Ares and I—that would be King Ares Christou Diamantis of Moricosia—were dating, and everything was fine in the beginning. I suppose it was even a little exciting. And definitely flattering. We were a good couple, good friends, well-matched in lots of ways.”

“You’re talking about the King of Moricosia,” he said, brows lifting towards his hairline. “That’s your ex?”

She nodded. “He’s really a great guy,” she said as if she needed to defend Ares. “I adore him, I really do.”

Noah’s brows knit together. “So why did you dump him?”

“That’s complicated. But basically, I couldn’t live like that,” she shook her head. “We were dating for two years, this summer. There was a heap of speculation that we would get engaged and married this year, and it sort of reached a fever pitch, so that I couldn’t go anywhere outside the palace walls without being mobbed. By people, photographers, you name it, I was followed.My car was chased when I drove anywhere, which was genuinely scary.”

“You didn’t get engaged?”

“No, I think Ares probably knew that it wasn’t right, as well. We really did love each other, but more as friends. It might have been enough, in a way, if it weren’t for the whole living your life in the public eye thing.”

He let out a low whistle. “That’s not what I expected you to say, at all.”

She winced. “I’m sorry.”

He frowned. “Why are you apologizing.”

“I probably should have told you before,” she gestured towards the bedroom.

“Why? It doesn’t change anything.”

“It doesn’t?”

“Louisa, of course not. I mean, I understand you better, but if I’d known you had dated King Ares six hours ago, I still wouldn’t have been able to get you out of my mind.”

“Okay,” she said with a breath of relief. “But you have a daughter, and I don’t want to complicate your situation, you know? Plus, as you pointed out, you have your own high-profile scenario, which I would dearly love not to get mixed up in. So, this whole thing should probably happen behind closed doors. If anything else happens, I mean.”

“Well, I wasn’t going to suggest having sex with you on the street,” he said, grinning lopsidedly.

“I meant dinners,” she rolled her eyes. “Are you saying I’m just sex to you?” She demanded with mock hauteur, the effect ruined by a twitching in one side of her mouth.

“Totally. In fact, now we’ve done that, I’ve been trying to work out how quickly I can leave.”

She grabbed her fork and threatened to slingshot some food at him, so he held his hands up in mock surrender.

“We’ll keep it private,” he agreed. “There’s no need to complicate this. Taylor’s my priority, and you know that from the outset. And you’re clearly not in the headspace for mess, so it’s easy. We’re just two people who are hanging out. Cool?”

“Cool,” she repeated, unable to stop smiling.

“What?”

“Aren’t you a little old to be using words like ‘cool’?”

Now it was his turn to grab for a fork and attempt to slingshot it at her, but she jumped out of the way at the last moment, dashing to the side. The side, closer to Noah, who stood quickly and caught her around the waist. Rather than flinging food, he tickled her hip instead and she squealed. How did he know that was her weakness? It was the one spot on her body guaranteed to make her lose her mind.

“Stop, stop,” she said through tears of laughter. “You win!”

He stopped then, staring down at her with intensity. “What do I win, Miss Petrakis?”

She was breathless. Not from laughing so much she cried, but from how close he was standing. “Anything you want, Mr Fox.”

“Well, in that case…” and he lifted her up once more, carrying her back to the bedroom, and the promise of more pleasure and heaven than Louisa almost knew what to do with. Almost…

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