Page 31 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 5-8

She smiles slightly. “I know, I just…” Her gaze slants to Dominic. “I wasn’t sure whether he would prefer—”

“I most definitely would not.” Dominic smiles, and I blink. The smile transforms his entire face, emphasizing his handsomeness as the shadows slip away. “I would prefer to be called by my title as little as possible.”

Josephine nods. “I’ll do my best, sir.”

I ask after her sister, who’s studying at the university on Siravelle’s eastern coast, and her parents. A few minutes later she departs, leaving Dominic and me alone.

“You know her very well.”

“I try to get to know the staff, especially the ones I interact with regularly. They’re like family.” More like family than my parents ever have been. I gesture toward the open door. “After you.”

Dominic walks in. I hesitate on the threshold. I’m not sure how he’s going to react to what I’ve done to his suite. But hopefully he likes it, or at least can live with it.

Slowly, I follow him in. The suite is stunning, done in dark wood and navy accents. Dominic takes in the custom shelves installed fresh yesterday, the plush rug ordered from Italy, the private bar counter with his favorite whiskey. I called in some favors on my flight home, scanned articles and pictures of the Hawke Security office and Dominic’s private office in particular to recreate some of his space.

My heart surges into my throat as he stays quiet. “You can always redo it.”

“No.” He shakes his head. “No, this is nice. Really nice.” He looks at me then, appreciation gleaming in his eyes and filling me with warmth. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” I reach into my pocket and pull out a black badge rimmed in gold. “Your all-access pass to the palace until we get you your own security codes.”

He takes it before moving to the balcony doors. Calm washes over me as he opens them and the distant sound of the ocean meets my ears. I follow him out, smiling as I take in the soaring pines in front of us, the walnut groves to the left and the sea to the right.

“It’s nice here.”

The approval in his voice makes me smile. “It is.”

He glances back at his room. “Where’s your room?”

“Next door. The nursery will be just past that.”

His eyes latch onto mine. My chest tightens.

“And after the wedding?”

My throat constricts. We need to have this conversation, to get it out of the way. I had just hoped we might have a little more time to get to know each other, to enjoy these moments of camaraderie first. “My parents keep separate rooms, and I assumed we would, too. It will make it easier when…” My voice trails off as unexpected pain hits me square in the chest. “When we move on.”

“Move on?” His voice has turned bland, almost disinterested.

“I know you didn’t want marriage. Certainly not to someone who’s constantly in the spotlight. You wouldn’t be marrying me if I wasn’t pregnant.”

My voice nearly cracks on that last statement. I really need my hormones to get back under control. I hate being this raw, this vulnerable. I have to remind myself that I had only planned for us to have one night in Venice, too, not a lifetime.

“I don’t expect you to be monogamous, Dominic, just discreet—”

“Enough.”

That one word echoes through the room, a furious command that makes my next words die on my lips.

“Are you planning on sleeping with someone else?” He nods toward the wall separating our suites. “Having another man in there while I’m right next door?”

“No, of course not.”

He steps into the room, the forest and the sea at his back and disgust in his eyes. “Then why the hell do you think I would break my marriage vows before I’ve even said them?”

“Because I’m not going to do what my parents did to each other!” My breathing comes too fast, shuddering breaths as the dam breaks and my pain pours out. “My grandfather pushed my father to marry for a political alliance even though my father was in love with someone else. Grandfather told me it was the biggest mistake he ever made. My father retaliated by shutting down and taking a lover before the ink was dry on his marriage license.”

Dominic blurs as tears cloud my eyes. I blink them away.