Page 112 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

‘In words not remotely suited to this beautiful room and this beautiful woman.’

Her heart turned over in her chest. She recognised the familiar strains of the song and knew it would shortly end. Every part of her decried that fact, even though moments earlier she’d acknowledged that the sooner she walked away from this man, the better. For her emotional safety and for the sake of what was right for the kingdom.

‘I’ve enjoyed dancing with you, Javier.’

‘Have you, Your Majesty?’

‘Tsk, tsk. Your job is to repay the compliment.’

His hand moved subtly higher and pressed subtly harder so she had no choice but to move closer towards him, leaving only an inch or so of air between them.

‘Would you like to dance with me again?’

Yes, every cell in her body cried. ‘I can’t.’ Her voice was so familiar, so cold and dismissive. ‘One dance is enough to set the gossip in motion. Two would be tantamount to a wedding proposal.’ She said it with a roll of her eyes and a flicker of her lips, but the truth sat heavily in her chest. Had it been only them, she would indeed have liked to keep dancing.

‘And here I thought you needed a husband.’

She tamped down her body’s immediate reaction to that. This man was not the kind of husband she sought. He was the exact opposite, in fact. Let me find someone I won’t care about losing. How could she make that promise to herself when she already didn’t want a dance to finish?

‘I do and you know you don’t want the job.’

‘Don’t I?’

She laughed then. ‘I’ve known you ten minutes and I can tell you’re not the kind of man who’s yearning to settle down and have a family. And you are definitely not the kind of man who’s power hungry in the sense of wanting to marry royalty.’

The song came to a close and they stopped dancing, but his hands remained where they were, around her in a way that was intimate and warm. ‘I’ve enjoyed dancing with you, too, Your Majesty.’ He dropped his hands away and her whole body reacted. ‘I suspect it’s not the done thing to offer you unsolicited advice, but don’t marry Otto.’

Her eyes widened.

‘He would never make you happy.’

‘My happiness is only a part of the consideration.’

He nodded slowly then said, with more intensity, ‘He would make you unhappy.’

She frowned, the distinction an important one. ‘What do you mean?’

But at that moment, Prime Minister Skarsgard appeared to her right, all red-cheeked from the mulled wine and intelligently assessing eyes, asking to be introduced to one of Norvenheim’s most successful exports. She slipped back into the role of Ice Queen and performed the exchange of names. Then, with a last pensive smile in Javier’s direction, she turned and left.

* * *

‘What the hell are you doing here?’

Naturally, Javier had expected the confrontation with his stepmother. He’d come here in search of it. His plan had been to throw his acquisition in her face, enjoy the shock, the anger, the impotence, and then leave, aware that finally he’d righted a wrong he should never have had to live with.

‘I’m a guest of the finance minister’s.’

‘You?’

‘Perhaps you’ve read, Stepmother, that I am now worth more than most people can conceive. That buys me entry into almost any event.’

‘You are such an arrogant piece of shit.’

His lips curled in derision. He was enjoying even this. Going toe to toe with her, knowing she no longer had any power over him. As a boy, he’d yearned for her love. Stupidly, he’d cared about such things back then. As a teenager, he’d wanted at least her approval, and some of the warmth she so readily fawned on Otto. But after his father’s death, he’d wanted—needed—only financial security. She’d withdrawn it, had cast him out completely, sending him to a Spanish boarding school even though he spoke none of the language. She’d pulled strings to delay his inheritance so that instead of coming into the large sum his father had willed to him, Javier had been left with nothing until he’d turned twenty-five. By then, he’d already made his own fortune and the amount had held no power to change his life, as it once might have.

‘Success, such as I have, does breed arrogance I’m told.’

Her lips parted in surprise. ‘You’ve changed.’