Page 11 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8
Apart from the kiss, of course. But she was hardly going to raise that when it had been such a disaster. Nor, it seemed, was he, thank God. ‘The reception was certainly productive.’
‘I particularly enjoyed the quail.’
‘You dance well.’
‘So do you.’
‘Lessons as a teenager,’ he said with a wry twist of his mouth. ‘Loathed at the time, but it’s turned out to be a surprisingly useful skill to have.’
‘All those balls, I imagine. Dangerous for the toes of the unprepared.’
‘Quite.’
‘For me, it was a coping mechanism,’ she said. ‘I spent a lot of time in my bedroom as a teenager listening to music with my headphones in, the volume turned up to max to blot out my parents’ arguments. Dancing became an outlet for the stress of it.’
‘Did they argue a lot?’
‘All the time. They called it passion but really it was hate. Especially towards the end.’
‘The end?’
‘Their car went over a cliff when I was nineteen. They were on their way to consult a divorce lawyer.’
He frowned. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said gruffly. ‘I didn’t know that.’
‘You never asked.’
‘That seems remiss.’
‘Yes, well, we have decades to catch up on each other’s life story.’
‘It’ll have to wait until the morning.’
‘Because the moment has come to consummate the marriage,’ she said with a nod of acknowledgement, a surge of heat and a fresh twist of nerves. ‘As required by the constitution and stated in the contract.’
‘Right.’
‘I must say, though, once again, you’re cutting it fine.’ She cast a pointed glance at the clock on the mantelpiece, which was striking a quarter to midnight.
‘Perhaps I like living on the edge.’
Him?Was he serious? ‘I’ve never met anyone who likes living on the edge less,’ she said, aiming for lightness and absolutely nailing it. ‘If youdid, however, I might be tempted to point out that if we didn’t actually go through with it, who would ever know? I mean, it’s not as if it’s witnessed these days, is it?’
A moment of stunned silence followed that. Shock rippled across the strong planes of his handsome face. ‘Iwould know,’ he said, his obvious consternation indicating that he could not be further from the edge if he tried. ‘I’m surprised you’d eventhinkit, let alone suggest it.’
‘I was joking.’
‘It’s not a laughing matter.’
‘I apologise. I’m a little nervous.’
‘Why?’ His brows snapped together. ‘Haven’t you done this before?’
‘I’ve done this several times before,’ she assured him, thinking for a moment of the few unmemorable experiences she’d had in the past. ‘But not for a while, not as a wife and never with you.’
Some unidentifiable emotion flitted across his face and his jaw clenched. ‘I’ll do my best to minimise the ordeal.’
‘I know you will.’
