Page 188 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

Turning around felt as difficult as facing a firing squad. Except her daughter was here and there was no way she’d leave her child to the mercies of a man like Panos Diamandis.

Setting her shoulders, she spun on her heel to find him watching her, one solid shoulder leaning negligently against the door-jamb of the bedroom. But there was nothing negligent about that penetrating stare. It was so sharp it scored her flesh.

Heat bloomed across her breasts and throat even as shards of ice settled along her spine.

And to her horror there was something else. A betraying twist of excitement in the feminine, hollow place that had known his possession. A twist of awareness. Of eagerness.

Furious with herself and him, she marched forward only to have him raise his finger to his lips.

Amazed, she looked into the bedroom where Athena… Theeny, lay spreadeagled. Usually it took much longer for her to fall asleep, at least a second bedtime story. Dido had left Panos reading aloud and sneaked the chance for a quick chat with Flavia, expecting to return to cries for yet another story.

For some reason the fact she’d fallen asleep easily in the presence of a stranger, when Dido often had trouble getting her down, felt like a betrayal.

She pushed the unworthy thought aside. It had been an exciting, stimulating day for her daughter. Dido should be glad she’d fallen asleep easily.

‘Shall we?’ Panos nodded towards the living room as she ground her teeth rather than make some snarky response. She needed to save her energy for the battle to come.

Silently they sat, she on the desk chair she used when she worked from home and he on the sofa, legs casually crossed and arms spread wide along its top as if he owned the world.

‘At least you gave her a Greek name.’

It was tempting to say she’d just followed family tradition, looking for noteworthy women from the ancient world. But that was only part of the truth. She’d chosen a Greek name as a nod to her daughter’s heritage. Not for his sake but Athena’s. It might be important to her when she was older.

‘How do you know she’s yours? You’re guessing.’

‘Apart from the fact she’s the spitting image of my mother at that age? Or that she has my eyes?’

She did. How often had Dido looked at her darling daughter and found herself remembering his deep brown eyes, alight with laughter or glowing with approval?

There weren’t glowing now. His expression was fierce but she met his glare with her chin up.

‘Then there’s the fact you didn’t object to me spending time with her.’

A snort of derision escaped. ‘That just proves you’re physically bigger than me. It seemed best to humour you.’

Even to her ears it was a feeble argument. She’d protect her baby no matter what. But she knew physically barring him was impossible. She had to find another way.

He dragged his arms from across the back of the sofa, setting his elbows on his splayed knees as he leaned towards her. ‘She’s mine. We both know it so don’t waste your breath. Besides…’ His mouth curled in a smile that made her think of a ravenous wolf sighting an injured deer. ‘I’ve organised a paternity test for first thing tomorrow morning, just to make it official.’

Dido shot to her feet and stalked over to stand in front of him. ‘You had no right! Not without my permission.’

Slowly he rose to his full height, giving her ample time to regret her impulsive approach. But it was too late now. She couldn’t retreat without appearing weak and instinct warned he’d take advantage of any weakness.

His expression didn’t change but his soft voice made her imagine claws sinking into unprotected flesh. ‘Do you really want to take this to court? After what you’ve done?’

Her breath came in short bursts, insufficient to fill her lungs. Spots dotted the edge of her vision. If she didn’t get control of herself she might faint, something she’d never done, even when pregnant.

The idea of collapsing in a heap at his feet was enough to drag her back from the brink.

‘She’s only tiny. I don’t want her having an invasive procedure.’

‘It’s a cheek swab. Not painful or stressful, unless you make it so.’

Dido frowned. She’d thought a paternity test would require a blood sample. ‘Are you sure? How do you know?’ As his expression remained unchanging, understanding hit. She jerked back a step, lip curling. ‘You’ve had paternity tests done before, haven’t you?’

She already knew him to be proud, quick to blame and totally intransigent. Was he also such a playboy he had to check which children were really his? The thought of her little girl having half-siblings by a host of different women made her feel sick.

‘There’s no need to look at me like that,’ he growled. ‘Yes, there have been paternity claims, all I might add by women with whom I’ve never had sex.’ He paused, his smile showing too many teeth. ‘I find a DNA test the fastest, simplest way of proving them to be liars.’