Page 38 of Modern Romance June 2025 1-4

Yet the crashing of her heart was deafening as she walked into the reception hall and somehow it seemed incongruous to see Odysseus Diamides standing there. Against the cosy backdrop of squashy armchairs and fake houseplants, his masculinity had never seemed more defined. No beautifully cut charcoal suit could possibly disguise the musculature of his powerful body and, despite the lash of rain outside, he was completely dry. Of course he was. His driver would have leapt from the car as soon as it stopped, unfolding a giant umbrella to keep the billionaire protected from the elements. Because that was the sort of life he lived—in his precious bubble of wealth—protected from all the hardship and feelings which normal folk encountered every day of their lives.

She searched his face for disappointment when he registered her mundane appearance but she saw no such thing, only the glint of something in his sapphire eyes as if someone had suddenly shone a light at them. But as she grew closer she could see there were dark shadows beneath the inky lashes and she realised that his raven-dark hair was a tadtoolong, curling ever so slightly over the collar of his silk shirt. And wasn’t it insane that she was having to quell her stupid instinct, which was to rush over to him and ask if he was okay?

‘Odysseus,’ she said, giving him a polite nod. ‘Aren’t you supposed to be in Tuloranka?’

‘I told the King I was no longer available.’

‘You told him…what?’

‘That I was prepared to send one of my associates to do the work, but I could no longer commit to staying indefinitely in his country.’

‘Good heavens. How did he take it?’

He shrugged. ‘He wasn’t best pleased, but I haven’t come here to talk about King Kaliman, Grace!’

‘No,’ she said slowly, trying not to think about the implications of such an uncharacteristic gesture on the part of her workaholic husband and concentrating instead on something else. ‘How did you know where to find me?’

‘I made a few enquiries.’

‘So youdohave spies!’ Politeness now forgotten, she shot him an accusing look. ‘Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?’

‘Because I thought you might absent yourself.’

‘Yeah.’

Sapphire eyes bored into her. ‘So you would have done?’

Grace shrugged, until she forced herself to be straight with him. She might have been very foolish in the past where Odysseus Diamides was concerned, but she had always been honest and there was no reason to change that now. ‘No.’

He nodded, as if storing away this small concession before drawing in a deep breath. ‘Could we go somewhere more private to talk?’

It was that moment that Grace spotted one of the residents ambling past on her Zimmer frame, before coming to a halt to stare in awe at Odysseus. But then, that was the effect he had on women. Even ninety-year-olds, it seemed. ‘Like where?’

‘Don’t you have a room here?’

‘I’m not sure I’d call it that. Presumably your spies aren’t providing a gold-standard service, or they would have told you that I’m living in the equivalent of a shoebox.’

He gave a hollow laugh. ‘Ah, but I’m used to those, remember?’

And yes, she did remember but wished she didn’t. Inwardly, Grace cursed because she didn’t want to think of him as broken and lonely and abandoned. It was much easier if she concentrated on his arrogance and control. She thought about her alternatives. She could take him to the café in the nearby village but it was still tipping down with rain and no way was she going to set a foot inside his limousine. This had to be onherterritory.

‘Very well,’ she said woodenly. ‘You’d better follow me.’

Odysseus did as she asked, only vaguely aware of a series of brightly lit corridors and plenty of oversized chairs with footrests, because his attention was solely concentrated on the petite woman who marched before him, her head held high. Her hair was drawn back into the most restrictive style he’d ever seen and yet all he noticed was the fiery hint in the chestnut depths. Just like that ugly and rather voluminous uniform, which was managing to brush enticingly against her neat frame and do dangerous things to his blood pressure.

Eventually, they reached a rather gloomy corridor, along which were a row of similar doors, and as she drew a small bunch of keys from her pocket and unlocked one, he couldn’t help noticing that her hand was trembling.

‘Come in,’ she said peremptorily.

The room was indeed minuscule, and as she was shutting the door Odysseus took the opportunity to look around, because it was a long time since he’d been anywhere like this. There was a single bed and a functional locker, on which stood a photo of two women with a small child. A small sink adorned one corner and a suitcase he recognised had been placed on top of the modest wardrobe. It looked like a cell, he thought.

And this was what she had chosen in preference to a life with him.

He turned round to find her studying him, her face giving nothing away. But she wasn’t haranguing him, or asking him why he had turned up in the middle of the day, without warning, which surely anyone else in her position would have done.

But Grace wasn’tlikeanyone else.

Wasn’t that the reason he was here?

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