Page 203 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

Guilt knifed his chest but he ignored it. His need to know was reasonable. He wanted to know everything to do with his little girl.

Yet it wasn’t only that. Since learning he was a father, his mind had worked overtime, imagining Dido carrying his baby, their baby. Despite every negative feeling aroused by her keeping Athena from him, he was fascinated by the thought of Dido’s supple body changing to carry that precious new life.

He’d missed two years of his daughter’s life. But he also felt bereft at not being there to see the changes in Dido. To witness what seemed to him utterly miraculous.

He’d once considered their sexual relationship the most intimate thing he’d ever shared. Even after discovering the emotions had been only on his side, he hadn’t been able to shake that feeling completely. How much more intimate to witness their baby growing inside her? To feel it move? To share the thrill of expectation?

He’d have given so much to be part of that.

Ancient feelings stirred. That sense of being separate from everyone else. Other. Different. Alone.

He slammed a barrier down. Self-pity was a useless emotion. One he’d conquered years ago.

Dido was staring as if he’d grown two heads. Couldn’t she understand his feelings for Athena?

Then there was that overheard conversation about Dido being ill while pregnant. Despite everything, the thought of her needing hospitalisation had hit like a gut punch. She was fine now. Yet he felt edgy, needing to know more.

She’s the mother of your child. Her well-being is important to Athena. It’s natural to be concerned.

Yet his disquiet was more. How did that make sense?

Because you’ve decided to draw a line in the sand and move on from the past. She’s borne you a child and no woman could be more protective of her baby than Dido.

For some reason that made him recall his hopes three years ago. A relationship based on stellar sex and a shared desire to raise children. How quickly that had fallen apart.

When he was younger he’d imagined having even more than that. A partner who really cared for him, maybe even…loved him. Except the longer he lived the more he realised romantic love was an ephemeral ideal he’d never experience.

Don’t expect too much from anyone and you won’t be disappointed. He should have that branded on his heart by now.

But Dido was more than Athena’s mother. At one point he’d believed her to be his wife.

His skin prickled as he remembered he hadn’t yet heard from his lawyers after texting them from London to check again that the marriage was invalid. No, it couldn’t be. They were simply taking their time, being meticulous.

For whatever reason, something about Dido still got to him. Made him look when he shouldn’t. Made him want. Made him care.

He sat back abruptly, disturbed by this thoughts.

‘You really want to know about my pregnancy?’

He nodded, his throat tight as he sifted the implications of his revelation. He not only wanted Dido. Knowing she’d been ill made him unsettled. Concerned. In the instant when he’d realised she had a child, jealousy had smote him—at the idea of her with another man. Now he discovered a protective streak, for a woman he couldn’t trust!

What did that say about his judgement?

For the first time he had a genuine weakness for a woman. Infuriatingly, nothing he’d discovered about her had conquered that.

She looked at her plate. ‘The pregnancy was long.’

‘Long?’ Surely pregnancies were all roughly the same length. ‘You mean you grew bored with being pregnant?’

Her mouth twisted as she pushed food around her plate. ‘Bored is a word that never occurred to me.’ Finally she looked up, not meeting his eyes. ‘It was scary and tiring, no, make that exhausting. Exciting too, but never boring.’

Her gaze shifted and he felt that frisson of energy course through him as olive-green eyes met his. How was it he’d only experienced that with Dido, no one else?

‘You didn’t enjoy being pregnant?’

It was stupid to feel disappointed, but he was so enraptured by his daughter he’d assumed Dido had felt the same.

‘To start with I was in shock. We’d spoken of starting a family but I’d never expected it to happen so fast. I hadn’t stopped taking the pill. By the time I found out, we’d been separated for over a month and you’d made it clear you didn’t want any contact.’