Modern Romance February Books 5-8. Jane Porter
beach and an extremely happy Dinos. Instead of being sandy, the beach was pebbled and the sea was a deep nautical blue.
The light was soft through the olive trees, but as the path climbed upwards she soon started to feel breathless.
‘Sorry!’ Slowing his pace, he glanced down at her, his expression contrite.
Frowning, she stared at the olive grove. ‘It didn’t seem like a hill from down there.’
He grinned. ‘It’s not far now.’
She could hardly believe it was the first time she had left the villa since arriving. But it was hard to keep track of time on the island, and the days had blurred in a haze of eating, swimming and sleeping.
Although neither of them had slept much last night.
The thought popped into her head and this time the heat on her face had nothing to do with the sun.
‘This is it.’
Aristo had stopped beside her and, turning with relief to where he was looking, she felt her heartbeat skip backwards as she stared down at the ruins of some kind of monument.
She breathed out softly.
‘It’s actually why I bought the island.’
He spoke quietly but she could hear the emotion in his voice.
‘It’s incredible.’
She shook her head, hardly able to take in what she was seeing. Juxtaposed against an impossibly turquoise sky, the pale stone columns looked fantastical, so that she half expected a centaur to step out from behind one.
‘Can we get any closer?’
Nodding, he drew her against him, his hand sliding up her back as his mouth covered hers.
Heat flooded her and she could feel herself melting, her body softening against the hard breadth of his chest.
Breathing out unsteadily, he lifted his mouth, and stared down at her, his dark eyes gleaming. ‘Is that close enough?’
Heart thudding, she gave him what she hoped was a casual smile and lightened her voice. ‘I was talking about the ruins.’
‘Come on, then.’
He caught her hand in his and they followed the sage-scented track down the hillside, past clumps of almost violently pink cistus.
Up close, the ruins were breathtaking. Standing in the shadow of the columns, it was impossible for her not to be impressed by their size—and the fact that they were still standing. But it wasn’t just about size or age, she thought, gazing at them in silence. It was about the human cost of building it. How had they got the stone there? And how long had it taken for them to carve it with such precision?
His hand closed around hers and, turning to him, she smiled. ‘Is it a temple?’
He nodded. ‘To Ananke,’ he said softly. ‘Goddess of destiny and necessity. She’s very important because she directed the fate of gods and mortals.’
He was kissing her as he spoke, feather-light but feverish kisses against her mouth and throat. She was losing concentration, losing herself in the feel of his lips on her skin.
Drawing back slightly, she frowned. ‘I’ve never heard of her.’
‘Shh!’ He held up his finger to his lips, but he was smiling. ‘I need to keep in her good books until after I’ve floated the business.’
Teddie glanced at him uncertainly. Why was he bringing up work now—here? It seemed almost sacrilegious, not to say out of place, but the hazy sunshine was touching his dark eyes with gold and she felt dizzy with a longing that was almost like vertigo.
‘I thought it was hard work and a go-getting attitude that built your empire,’ she said teasingly.
His mouth curled upwards and he took a step closer, so that suddenly she was breathless with his nearness.
To hide the tangle of desire and excitement twisting inside her, she slipped free of his grip, stepping sideways and behind a pillar, darting out of reach as he followed her.
‘You’re not telling me you really believe in all that stuff about destiny?’ she said, as he caught her wrist and spun her against him. Her pulse butterflied forward as she felt his muscles tighten.
‘I used to not,’ he said slowly.
She swallowed. There was a tension in the air, a stillness and a silence, as if a storm was about to break, and she had to count the beats of her heart to steady herself.
‘So what changed your mind?’
He lifted his head, and their gazes locked. ‘You did. When you decided to meet Edward Claiborne in my hotel.’
She looked startled—and confused, Aristo thought as her green eyes widened.
‘I don’t understand.’
‘That’s okay. I didn’t either. Not until we got here.’
He stared past her at the ruined temple, his pulse oscillating inside his head, wanting, needing to find the words that would make her change her mind—
‘That first evening, when you and George went to bed, I was so tense I couldn’t sleep. So I went out for a walk and I ended up here.’ He frowned, remembering how he’d felt suddenly calm and resolute as he’d wandered between the columns. ‘I couldn’t stop thinking about everything that’s happened. You being at the Kildare. Me going to your apartment. All of it so nearly didn’t happen—and yet it did.’
Her hand tightened in his. ‘I wasn’t even supposed to be there. Elliot was. But he’d double-booked himself so I had to go instead,’ she said quietly.
‘That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Don’t you see, Teddie? You and me meeting again—it’s fate. Every single thing that’s happened could have gone a thousand different ways, but each time fate’s pushed us closer. We’re meant to be together…we belong to each other.’
Teddie blinked. She wanted to believe him, and he made it sound so compelling, so plausible, so certain. It was why she’d fallen in love with him.
Remembering those long late-night phone calls, she felt her pulse jump in her throat. But then Aristo had always been able been a good storyteller. Only, she already knew how their story would end.
Something of her thoughts must have shown on her face. Dropping her hand, he took a step closer and captured both her arms, tightening his hands around her shoulders.
‘Are you happy?’
She looked up at him in confusion. ‘What do you mean?’
‘Are you happy? Here? With me?’
His words sent her stomach plunging, but even as she considered lying, she was nodding slowly. ‘Yes, but—’
‘But what?’
She frowned. ‘But it’s not that simple.’
‘It could be,’ he said fiercely. ‘And I want it to be. I just need you to give our relationship a second chance. To give me a second chance so I can be the husband you deserve and the father George needs. I want you to marry me.’
She couldn’t speak. She was too scared that she would agree to what he was asking—just as she’d done four years ago.
Her heart gave a thump.
She was scared too, of what would happen if she said yes. Their marriage might have lasted six months on paper, but even before their honeymoon had ended she had taken second place to his work. And now his empire was even bigger, his workload more demanding. How was he going to find the time for a wife and a child?
Wyatt had certainly never managed it, and she and her mother had just learned how to live with his absences. But she didn’t