Page 27 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 5-8

“Dominic.”

I freeze. She hasn’t called me by my first name since Venice, since we were in her bed wrapped around each other in a heated, naked embrace. I turn back as Sophaya is starting to ease off the bed. “What do you need?”

She gestures toward her purse on the floor next to the nightstand.

I pick it up and hand it to her.

She reaches in and pulls out a square white envelope. “For you.”

I take it, flip open the flap and pull out a single photo. The world fades away, my gaze centering on the little white figure with an arrow pointing to it.

My child. Our child.

I won’t let you down.

“Thank you.”

I walk back to the door as I slide the photo back in its envelope and tuck it inside my jacket. I pause in the doorway and glance back.

Sophaya is already lying down, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling with deep, even breaths. A long strand of dark hair lies across her cheek.

I close the door behind me before I do something stupid like walk back in and brush the hair out of her face. I never saw myself as a father or husband. I never imagined giving operational control of Hawke Security over to someone else. If someone had told me I’d do just that a few hours ago, I’d have laughed. If they’d told me I’d be getting married, I’d have laughed even harder.

I pull the photo out again, lay a finger on the tiny being. I always told myself the only two people I’d let in would be Aiden and Cassian. But as I gaze down at the photograph, I know I’ve found the one exception.

Sophaya’s face flashes in my mind, but I push the image away. I do like her and respect her. Once we settle into our new normal, we might even be able to enjoy the incredible physical chemistry that’s still pulsing between us.

Chemistry or not, we now have a connection that will never be severed. But I can still protect myself, keep a mental buffer between Sophaya and me, limit what I share with her, to maintain the status quo.

No matter how attractive I find her, I will not fall for my future wife.

Chapter Ten

Sophaya

“Out of everyone in this family, you are the last one I expected to bring scandal to our name.”

I don’t respond to my mother’s insults. I simply lean back in my chair and sip my water. We’re in the private family room off the gardens, a large square room with a fireplace, antique sofas and huge chairs you can sink into. She’s delivered plenty of stinging speeches in this room over the years. Once upon a time, her words would have hurt, especially in my earlier years when I still craved her attention and affection.

Now the words bounce off my shield. Unimportant and insignificant.

“Well?”

I glance up. My mother is the spitting image of me, the same delicate features and long dark hair. Except for the eyes. Mine are the same deep blue as my father’s, whereas my mother and brother’s are piercing green. Maybe that’s why my mother gravitated toward my brother more than me. Hard to look your child in the face when you see the spouse you loathe staring back at you.

“Well, what?”

Mother’s finely crafted eyebrows arch up. “Did you not hear a word I said?”

“I did.”

“And?”

“I didn’t hear a question.”

Her eyes narrow. “An acknowledgment that you heard me would be polite.”

“Lay off her,” my father snaps from the other side of the room.