Page 112 of Modern Romance September 2025 1-4
‘What do you think?’ he asked, staring at her with a tiny bit more intensity than the occasion called for.
She returned his intensity. ‘It’s the best office in the whole wide world.’
His brow furrowed and then he burst out laughing. ‘I’m not showing you this for the sake of it—I’m showing you it because it’s yours.’
Now it was Lydia’s turn to furrow her brow. ‘What do you mean by mine?’
‘Youroffice, to work on your designs or play solitaire or whatever you want to do in it. I’ve had it on good authority that these computers are the best for your line of work but if they don’t suit your needs or are not to your taste or liking we can change them…’
‘Wait,’ she interrupted. ‘Are you telling me you’ve created an office for me?’
‘And I thought you were quick on the uptake.’
‘Alexis, I only agreed to marry you on Friday.’ Although she supposed it would technically have been Saturday. ‘Today is Monday.’
‘Yes, it gave my staff plenty of time to arrange it all. Once we’ve broken the news of our marriage to the world we can get an interior designer in to discuss what else you’d like to do with it and colour schemes of how you’d like the rest of the place to look and feel.’
‘The rest of the place?’ she said faintly.
‘This is now your home and it needs to feel like yours too or you will never be comfortable here.’
But there was no time to digest any of this for, without any warning whatsoever, Alexis had scooped her into his arms and was marching her down the corridor.
‘What are you doing?’
He grinned. ‘What I would have done yesterday if I hadn’t thought you’d punch me—carrying you over the threshold.’
It was the brightness of the room that stopped Lydia from planting the intended kiss on his mouth.
In utter disbelief, she turned her head from left to right as far as her neck would extend.
The last time she’d been in this room it had been an unashamed bachelor’s bedroom with seduction unashamedly in mind, with luxurious charcoal panelling and black silk sheets on a waterbed so big that if it had burst they’d have had to swim to safety. Other than the layout, nothing remained. Now, the walls were painted a soft eggshell green and cream, the bed of equal size but with a wrought-iron frame and luxurious cream and gold bedding that matched the new drapes hanging on the windows and the new, lighter, hardwood flooring…
This was a different room, she realised with a sinking heart. She’d been so desperate to leave the last time she’d been here that she’d remembered the position of the room wrongly.
‘I thought I was going to be sharing your room,’ she said, trying not to let her dejection show as he carried her to the bed. Dejection over something that just a day ago had been what she’d wanted. If she hadn’t become so lust-struck she’d be celebrating this turn of events.
He laid her down and stretched on top of her. ‘You are. This is it. Do you like it?’
‘What, this is your room?’
‘Ourroom now,’ he corrected. ‘But formerly my room.’
She wriggled out from under him so she could take it all in again and wrap her head around what she was seeing…
He propped himself on an elbow. ‘Anything you don’t like, we can change.’
‘No, no, it’s lovely, it’s just…so different.’
Unsure from her expression and tone what she really meant, Alexis stared more closely at her and dubiously asked, ‘Did you prefer it as it was?’
She gave a bark of surprised laughter. ‘God, no! It was awful!’ Colour stained her cheeks and she quickly added, ‘I mean, it wasn’t particularly to my taste.’
He smiled wryly. ‘I didn’t imagine it was and that’s why I had it all changed.’
‘What? All this has changed since Saturday?’
He stroked her soft cheek and said words that told a version of the truth. ‘When I knew I would be marrying, I set things in motion.’ Putting his mouth to her ear, he seductively whispered, ‘How about we christen the bed before we shower?’
