Page 28 of Modern Romance September 2025 1-4
Sebastian was too restive to stay still and he was pacing the small room, swinging back abruptly to her to say, ‘You’d agree to that option?’
‘Why not?’
‘We’d have to live together,’ he told her without hesitation. ‘I want youwithme. That’s a priority. Becoming a father starts with looking after you.’
Disconcerted by how strongly he stressed that reality, Bunny was relieved when the server entered with their meals. If they lived together, he would soon find out whether he wanted that kind of relationship or whether he preferred his loner lifestyle. If he walked away, she got hurt. If she had him and then lost him again, she would be hurt. It didn’t seem to her that she had any true choice.
She sipped her water and then stuck out her left hand. ‘You can put the ring on now.’
Sebastian vented a pained groan. ‘All sentimental and soppy with bells on, right?’
‘Well, you’re the one who said he wanted to sign up for this,’ she dared.
‘Only because it’s the only way I get youandthe baby. I’m basic. I don’t need frills.’
‘I like frills…in the right place at the right time,’ she countered as he slid the ring onto her wedding finger, where it glittered in the firelight. It fitted her very well, which she chose to take as a positive sign. ‘It’s an antique ring, isn’t it?’
‘It belonged to my Pagonis grandmother, Loukia.’
‘She raised you, didn’t she?’ Bunny gathered while they ate.
‘No, I was passed like a parcel nobody wanted to keep around the Pagonis tribe. Six months to a year with each set. Let’s not talk about that now.’
Bunny had paled in dismay at the explanation but she smiled and his brilliant dark gaze lingered on her with approval.
‘We’ll have to find somewhere to live. I assume you’ll prefer to be within reach of your family?’
‘If it were possible, yes,’ she agreed.
‘And your current employment isn’t very suitable now that you’re pregnant,’ Sebastian pointed out. ‘I don’t want you out alone in some van at the back end of nowhere dealing with strangers.’
‘The budget wouldn’t stretch to an assistant. It’s not what I imagined I’d be doing but you have to start at the bottom and work your way up the ladder.’
‘Unless you’re a Pagonis or attached to one,’ Sebastian slotted in with amusement. Considering that he already had everything fully planned for their immediate future, he was relieved that he had very little left to do. ‘I believe I can come up with a library for you to work in.Thee mou… I own an enormous amount of property. I suppose you want to go home to your family tonight.’
Bunny went pink and flashed her ring. ‘Yes.’
‘All I want is a bed and you and no interruptions.’ That was a catchphrase for Sebastian, a mere soundbite. Everything was already organised, everything that would allow him to be the decent parent he himself had never had.
Bunny brushed her hair behind her ear and straightened her spine, a self-conscious smile playing with the corners of her mouth. ‘Basic, well, you did warn me.’
His wide sensual lips settled into a smile, the last remnants of his tension evaporating. He had got more or less what he wanted, he conceded, and the bottom line was that he wantedher. Engaged, married, what was the difference? As long as she was with him, those frills she mentioned didn’t matter. And possibly she was right. Maybe hewouldwake up in a few weeks and want his freedom back. He was as afraid of letting her down as he was of developing feelings for her. He wanted no part of the kind of dangerously possessive feelings his father had had for his mother.
‘We’ll wait until we’ve moved in together,’ Sebastian decreed, on a roll now that he had achieved his goal. ‘I want to take my time. When we get back together it won’t be a temporary thing that reminds me of a one-night stand.’
‘I want to take my time too,’ Bunny sighed as they left the table and headed back outside. No hurried, stolen moments of passion for Sebastian, she thought ruefully. He wanted itall. He wanted perfection.
‘You’ll need to resign from your job,’ he pointed out as he walked her back towards the car.
‘Right now… I mean,immediately?’ Bunny frowned in dismay and stopped dead in her tracks. ‘I’ll still have to work a month’s notice. I won’t let people down.’
‘The longer you wait to leave, the longer it will be until we’re living together.’
‘You’re the most shameless blackmailer!’ Bunny snapped furiously, ignoring the turned heads of his hovering security team as she stalked after him. ‘But it doesn’t mean I’ll abandon my principles.’
‘Principles have a cost,’ Sebastian informed her without hesitation. ‘I’m due in Germany to speak at an international conference next week and I also have a lengthy trip to Switzerland lined up.’
‘That’s perfect, then, isn’t it?’ Bunny dealt him a huge smile although she really wanted to slap him. He had expected her to fall into line because that was what people did for Sebastian Pagonis. He didn’t accept her point of view because it didn’t meet his wishes and expectations. ‘While you’re busy, I’ll be busy too.’
