Page 36 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

Hope tugged on his hand when there was a lull and he looked down at her. She said, ‘I’m going outside for a minute to get some air. Is that OK?’

‘I’ll come with you.’

But before Hope could remonstrate someone had approached him and she took her hand out of his and said, ‘I’ll be fine.’ She needed a moment of respite, if she was being totally honest, to try and untangle the way her thoughts just seemed to congeal around him and not make sense.

She stared out over the cityscape with its soaring buildings and the dark smudge of Central Park in the distance. Helicopters with blinking lights traversed the clear night sky. No doubt transporting more billionaires to their destinations. She shook her head at her imagination and a small smile played around her mouth at the sheer magic of being here.

‘Excuse me, are you Hope Smith?’

Still smiling, Hope turned away from the view to see a tall, formidably elegant grey-haired woman addressing her. It was her eyes, though, that Hope noticed, a distinctive golden brown. And cold.

Hope’s smile faded.

A man was with her, silver-haired, striking. They both had golden skin. Amazing bone structure. The woman’s hand was through the man’s arm. She wore a long straight column of a cream dress. Pristine. Discreet jewellery. Hair to her shoulders and perfectly styled.

She frowned. How did they know her?

‘Yes, I am, can I help you?’

At that moment she felt her skin tingle and a presence by her side. She looked up. Axel. He slid an arm around her waist and pulled her into his side.

The man said, ‘Axel.’

Axel said, ‘Christos.’

The couple looked explicitly back to Hope and Axel turned to her and said, ‘Hope, I’d like you to meet Christos and Daphne.’

Hope smiled and held out her hand. ‘Nice to meet you.’

After a moment they both shook her hand, not smiling, barely lingering long enough to make contact, as if she might taint them. Hope’s smile faltered a little. The iciness emanating between them was palpable enough to make her shiver.

The man—Christos—looked at Axel. ‘Are you in town for long?’

‘Just a few days. I’ll be in Athens in a week or so.’

The man nodded. The woman leant forward and pressed a very brief kiss against Axel’s cheek and then they were gone, leaving behind that frosty atmosphere and a lingering overpowering perfume.

Hope watched them get swallowed up by the crowd. ‘Who were they?’

‘My parents.’

Hope’s gaze snapped back to Axel in shock and her eyes boggled as she realised he wasn’t joking. ‘Your parents?’

He looked down at her, a muscle twitching in his jaw. ‘Yes.’

‘Oh, wow…and I thought I was the unfortunate one.’

Axel didn’t react for a second and then he did, throwing his head back and letting out a spontaneous guffaw of laughter that kept going. As if he hadn’t laughed in a long time. Hope’s eyes widened even more. She’d never seen him like this. People were looking at them. Hope felt self-conscious. ‘Axel, it wasn’t that funny.’

He stopped laughing and looked down at her, eyes full of mirth. ‘Thank you for that.’

‘For what?’

He just shook his head. ‘Do you realise that they are considered to be at the very pinnacle of what success is in this life and yet you can see them exactly for what they are and pity them. They, who were born with everything, and—’

‘Me who was not,’ Hope finished for him. She pulled away from Axel’s side. ‘You’re laughing at me.’

She couldn’t believe how hurt she was. Before Axel could see it, she turned and put her hands on the wall to steady herself. She felt angry and it unnerved her because not much angered her.