Page 170 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

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Dido’s heart stopped. They stood so near they only needed to whisper. So close it was clear they weren’t strangers.

There was only one other possibility. That Panos Diamandis was Chiara’s mystery fiancé.

Dido grabbed the edge of the table in a death grip as the world turned upside down. She felt herself sway in her seat as Chiara glanced towards the building. Panos shook his head and said something that claimed the other woman’s attention again.

He couldn’t be Chiara’s fiancé! It was impossible.

Her mind boggled at the implications.

Dido shoved her chair back and rose, head spinning and knees wobbling. Sheer desperation kept her upright.

She couldn’t sit here. She needed to pull herself together and think.

Keeping her spine erect, Dido hurried to the restroom, then every muscle and sinew liquefied. She stumbled to a cubicle, locked herself in and slumped down, head in her hands.

Deep slow breaths, in through her nose and out through her mouth. They didn’t help.

The whole situation was…she didn’t have words. Appalling. Unbelievable.

She shook her head. That went nowhere near it.

How long she sat there, she didn’t know. But finally she realised she had to move. She staggered out to wash her hands and wet a hand towel to dampen her neck, barely noticing the water stains dripping down her shirt.

She caught sight of her ravaged expression in the mirror, eyes huge and mouth slack, and looked away.

What to do?

There’s no choice. You have to tell her. Horrible as it will be, there’s no other way.

Not letting herself think about what would happen after she spoke to Chiara, and the implications for her job, Dido finally opened the door and stepped out into the hushed corridor.

A shadow moved in her peripheral vision, a long, lean body straightening from against the wall.

She should have known he wouldn’t let her be.

Dido knew he was an arrogant sod but surely he didn’t think he could get away with this? Beneath her shock and dismay a tiny kernel of bright anger burst into flickering heat. She welcomed it for she felt cold to the bone.

‘What the hell possessed you to come here and try meddling in my affairs?’ he snarled in a dark undertone. ‘No, don’t tell me, the fee was too good to resist, wasn’t it? It’s all about the money. You’re nothing if not predictable.’

Dido swung around and met his hostile stare. Despite his chilling sarcasm, his eyes burned and for a stupefied moment she recalled another sort of heat in his gaze. A glowing heat that bathed her in delicious warmth and happiness.

‘You’re green around the gills and you look like the slightest breeze would flatten you. What’s wrong?’ He scowled. ‘Are you pregnant?’

That snapped her out of her nausea. The irony of him questioning her about that! Her stomach still churned but she felt stronger by the moment. This was his fault, not hers. Even so, her throat was so tight it was hard to form a riposte.

‘Who is he, the unlucky guy?’ He loomed closer, his contemptuous expression too close for comfort. ‘Another rich man? Or have you set your sights lower? Have you stopped playing out of your league—’

His head jerked as her palm connected with his cheek.

Dido had never slapped anyone and was surprised how much it hurt. She cradled her burning hand against her chest and watched his cheek turn a dull red. She wished the sight made her feel better but it didn’t.

He didn’t move, just stood there, eyes narrowed as if daring her to do it again. He was so close she saw the sprinkling of gold dust in his dark eyes that had once so fascinated her.

Her pulse throbbed through her palm and she had the crazy notion, as she saw the tic of his pulse at his temple, that their hearts thrummed in sync.

Danger, danger, danger!