Page 98 of Modern Romance September 2025 1-4
Stepping out of the plane and onto the private airfield was like stepping into an inferno. From the time it took to walk from the door of the plane to the door of the shining black car waiting for them, a feat that took approximately twenty seconds, Lydia’s clothes were clinging to her skin and the hair at the nape of her neck had dampened, which also happened to be Alexis’s fault because it had been too dark to find the hairband he’d pulled out on the beach and she didn’t have a spare. It was all grossly unfair—she’d seen daisies that would envy his freshness.
Reaching into her handbag, she pulled out her phone. ‘Where are we staying?’ She would do a quick search to see if there was a hotel with a boutique close by that she could zip into.
‘At my villa.’
‘I didn’t know you had a villa here.’
‘I have many properties. This is but one of them.’
‘The address?’
He recited it to her. To her immense frustration, it was in an exclusive area with high-end restaurants and boutiques but no hotels.
‘We can shop in the morning, before we marry,’ he said, reading her thoughts.
‘Is it booked?’
‘Yes. We marry at the royal chapel at midday.’
It took a moment for that to sink in. ‘The royal chapel?’ she said in horror. ‘Are you being serious? I assumed we were having a civil ceremony?’
‘Then you assumed wrong. Prince Talos is an old friend and immensely trustworthy. He’s made the arrangements, and is going to act as a witness with his wife. No one will know we’ve married until we release the news.’
‘But a chapel? How am I supposed to make my vows in front of God knowing it’s a lie?’
His eyes narrowed a touch before he said in a silkily dangerous voice, ‘But it can’t be a lie when you’re committing to a real marriage with me, until death us do part…unless that in itself is a lie and you’re already planning your escape?’
‘I don’t need to plan anything because if anyone’s going to want to escape it, it’syou.’
The almost imperceptible flicker appeared in his eye. ‘And what makes you think that?’
‘Because you’re a serial seducer who’s slept with…’ Her stomach turned over. ‘I don’t want to think about how many women you’ve been with.’
‘Jealous?’
‘Don’t be ridiculous,’ she said before quickly adding, ‘It’s the reasons behind our marriage that make marrying in a house of God wrong, the vows to love and honour and everything…how can we pledge to love each other when the truth is that we despise each other?’ And why did her heart pang to say that?
The strength of his stare in the silence that followed acted like a magnet, forcing her to meet it.
‘Why have you never married before?’ he surprised her by asking.
‘I never wanted to.’
‘But if I’ve been led to believe correctly, you’ve had two long-term relationships—did you not want to marry those men?’
She turned her stare out of the window. This was her first visit to the island of Agon, a sovereign nation of Greek origin with the same language, currency, myths and legends. The architecture of the pristine town they were driving through reminded her strongly of Crete but with wider roads. She’d holidayed in Crete once, while in her second relationship. The forced proximity she’d assumed they would enjoy together had been the catalyst for their end. She’d been bored out of her mind. ‘No.’
‘Did you not love them?’
Not enough. ‘Of course I loved them.’
‘But not enough to marry them,’ he observed astutely, correctly reading her thoughts. ‘They asked you?’
She sighed. ‘Yes.’
‘Why say no?’
‘That’s none of your business.’
