Page 208 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

What did she hear in his voice? Not precisely surprise… ‘It was fun. They were just the right age because they knew some English so we could communicate a little.’

It had turned into an uproarious game, with them teaching her Greek words, though not always the ones she wanted to know, and her helping with their English. She’d been laughing when she looked up to see him in the doorway, eyes fixed on her with a look she couldn’t decipher, but which had made her heart thrum fast and her breath snare.

There it was again. That same sensation, as Panos removed his sunglasses as if to view her better. ‘You’re a surprising woman, Dido.’

‘Really?’ She sat straighter. ‘Why? Don’t gold-diggers like children?’

She stiffened, mentally cursing her unguarded words. Did she want a flaming row with him? But she couldn’t bear the label he’d put on her.

Yet instead of flaring up in fury, Panos tilted his head. ‘No.’

‘Sorry?’

‘In my experience, and I’m an expert on the subject, gold-diggers aren’t generally interested in anyone but themselves. Unless it’s someone they can leech off.’

Dido felt her pulse stutter. ‘Are you saying…?’

He couldn’t have changed his mind about her! He hadn’t even given her the chance to set the record straight about Charles’ lies.

‘It means you’ve given me a lot to think about.’

It wasn’t enough. She needed far more than that. She opened her mouth then snapped it shut. Pushing Panos wouldn’t work. He was incredibly stubborn.

She made herself look away, breathing slowly. This was positive, that he was questioning his view of her as a fortune-hunter.

Just as she could no longer think of him as pure villain. He was too complex for that.

And so were her increasingly confused feelings.

Dido snatched in a breath that, despite the salty air, was redolent of bergamot, exotic spices and man. Heat eddied through her body to settle in her pelvis. She shivered, thighs clenching as a rush of lust engulfed her.

This was the man with whom she’d once tumbled into love. The man, she admitted now, who’d broken her heart.

Her distress through the past three years hadn’t just been upset at being maligned and dumped without a hearing. It had been as much about loss. The man she’d known so briefly had been everything she wanted, everything she needed. She’d believed in him, in them.

For three years she’d told herself she was well shot of Panos. Then when he behaved outrageously with his demands, it was easy to hate him, or tell herself she hated him.

But now… Now those visceral feelings, that need was back. And from the look in his glittering eyes, he felt the same.

CHAPTER TEN

DIDO FELT JITTERY as she set out the platters Evadne had prepared for a shared dinner. The housekeeper had left for the mainland and would be gone for forty-eight hours.

Which meant Dido was alone on the island with Theeny and Panos.

The thought of him made that syrupy heat flood her veins and the steady pulse of desire beat at the juncture of her thighs.

They’d barely spoken since coming back from Filos earlier today. A business call had distracted him as soon as they returned, and kept him closeted in his study until early evening.

Dido had spent the afternoon unsettled by her new perspective on the man she’d told herself she despised. Determination alone wasn’t enough to maintain that hatred. Not now she understood him better. Given his experience, she could understand, though not forgive, his readiness to think the worst of her three years before.

Then there was seeing him as a father and as a benefactor to those children.

That’s not why you’re distracted. It’s the thought of being alone with him. Sitting at the same table, wanting him so badly you can taste him on your tongue, even feel him moving inside you.

How can you? After how he treated you.

‘Do you need help?’