Page 24 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8
‘Yes, well, as I said at the time, I’d reached the end of my tether.’
‘I could see that. You paced.’
‘I did,’ he agreed with a grimace.
‘You looked and sounded crazed.’
‘As if I need reminding.’
‘It was actually rather flattering,’ she admitted, shifting so she lay a bit more upright. ‘I’ve never had that effect on anyone.’
‘No one’s ever had that effect on me.’
‘Now I’m even more flattered.’
‘I’ve also never been married before or spent so much time with one woman in such intense circumstances,’ he said. ‘So don’t overthink it.’
Right. Of course. Good of him to set her feet back on the ground, because getting swept away by fancy was not part of the plan. But was that all it was? Would any old wife have driven him to such distraction? ‘So how longhaveyou wanted me?’ she asked, silently cursing her need to be told she was special despite her best efforts to kill it.
‘For about a month,’ he said, confirming what she’d known since the start—that she wasn’t special at all—which tanked her spirits even though it shouldn’t. ‘As my Communications Secretary you were automatically off-limits. I didn’t even go there until the moment I decided to take you as my wife. I’d summoned you into my office to instruct you to launch a marketing blitz that would broaden the country’s appeal, and mine. Then it struck me how suited to the role of Queen you’d be, and suddenly your hair reminded me of the cornfields in the north. Your eyes made me think of the sea where it meets the beach. The poetic nature of my observations came as quite a shock.’
‘I can imagine.’
‘And all you admired was my integrity.’
‘Don’t forget your sense of duty and responsibility and your equanimity.’
‘How could I?’ he observed dryly. ‘I never thought I suffered from vanity until you mentioned those.’
‘They’re valuable traits.’
‘I know. But they’re not all you admire about me, are they?’
No, they weren’t. Because, as she’d come to realise, they weren’t all he was, and her feelings were expanding to embrace every new glimpse into his character she got, despite the depressing fact that to him she merely remained convenient.
And then there was his body, to which no doubt he was referring. ‘I think I’ve made that abundantly clear,’ she said with a shiver as she thought of the many inventive ways she’d worshipped him with her hands and mouth. ‘If you could have read my mind when I joined you in the lobby yesterday evening before we went down to the ball, you’d have been shocked to the core. Or maybe you wouldn’t, given the past twelve hours.’
‘You said I lookednice.’
Had her understatement stung? Surely not. For that to happen he’d have to care what she thought of him, and he didn’t. He just desired her body. ‘I lied,’ she admitted, thinking back to the moment she’d laid eyes on him and almost forgotten her name. ‘You looked magnificent. You always do.’
His eyebrows lifted. ‘Always? How long haveyouwantedme?’
Damn. That was careless of her. The last thing she needed to do was admit the truth and invite questions it would be too risky to answer. So she’d better get that guard back up—and fast. ‘I’ll admit to having a crush on you when I was fifteen,’ she said, choosing her words with care. ‘But I can’t have been the only teenager in the world to have an image of you pinned up on my wall. The crush faded soon enough. As did the poster. And naturally I’ve been aware of your looks since we’ve been working together. I’m not dead. But it was never a problem until you proposed.’
Which was true. Sort of. Ithadn’tbeen a problem, at least not on a professional level. ‘The kiss at the altar threw me too. And you aren’t the only one who unintentionally lost control on our wedding night. It’s been a struggle getting it back.’
‘I’d never have guessed.’
‘That was the point. My self-respect was under attack. And anyway, you’re hardly one to talk. You’re just as good at concealment as I am.’
‘A lifetime in the spotlight can do that to a man,’ he said. ‘So much of me is public property, my head is the only space I have sole access to. But we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you. And I find I’m intrigued.’
‘By what?’ she asked with a frown, noting the way he was now regarding her, which sent a ripple of trepidation curling down her spine.
‘By you. You’re an interesting mix of hot and cold. One minute you’re all buttoned up, the next you’re erupting on the terrace of a ballroom. Last night in the lobby you stood there like a statue while I lost my head and then you burst into my room to whip up an inferno. All sorts of things are going on behind that ice-cool façade of yours, aren’t they?’
Sofia went still. Her heart lurched and then began to pound. ‘They really aren’t,’ she said, horrified at the thought of being so transparent.
