Page 23 of Modern Romance December 2025 1-4

Although there was nothing physical to distract her, she still sought a means to occupy herself. Draco’s plane was as big as the family jet her father used to pile the Tsaliki brood into whenever they travelled, Athena and her siblings all having their own private space with a bed. While there wasn’t much real private space on Draco’s plane, the interior designed around business rather than pleasure, the ten seats in the main section all reclined into beds and all had their own privacy screens.

With Draco and his entourage busy discussing business in the conference area and none of them bothering with the charade that her presence was required, Athena swiped a notepad and pen from the stack on the table and settled on the reclining seat she’d taken for her own. Draco had taken the space across the aisle from hers. He’d placed his overnight case on the seat that reclined into a bed closest to hers before his gaze had glanced across hers, a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment that had sent her pulses haywire.

Drawing with a pen was good practice, she decided after she’d been scribbling away for an hour. Being unable to erase and refine made her decisive about each stroke. And being decisive meant concentrating harder than ever, which meant no time for seeking out eyes of blue so bright they made the summer sky seem dull. It meant, too, that she didn’t have to think about the significance of Draco placing his overnight case on the seat that reclined into a bed closest to hers.

Dinner was shared with the others at the oval dining table, a five-course feast she struggled to finish.

‘Are you not going to eat your baklava?’ Grace asked when Athena pushed her dessert plate to one side.

It was right on the tip of Athena’s tongue to say,And you shouldn’t either, not with your acne, but there was only hungry interest in Grace’s voice and no snideness, and so she bit the rudeness back and pushed the plate Grace’s way. ‘It’s all yours.’

Grace smiled. ‘Thank you.’

She had a pretty smile, Athena realised, having never been on the receiving end of one before. ‘You’re welcome.’

She only just resisted seeking Draco’s gaze. He was seated opposite her, a huge contributory factor in her lack of appetite. One kiss, the first kiss of her whole life she’d felt in the whole of her body and not just in her lips. She’d wanted it to go on for ever. And now she was all knotted and coiled, half in fear of it happening again and half in fear of it never happening again.

Draco had never struggled to concentrate before. Not like this. Although Athena had disappeared to her seat, leaving them to finish their work, he was as aware of her presence as he’d been when they’d been eating, and when he sensed movement he was unable to stop his head from turning. He caught a sweep of her blonde hair before she slipped into one of the bathrooms.

Stav said something to him. Draco asked him to repeat it.

The discussion continued, Draco present but not there, his antennae on alert for the bathroom door opening.

After what felt like an eternity, she reappeared.

Her eyes found his.

His chest expanded.

God, she was beautiful. He could still taste her kisses. Still feel the compression of her mouth against his. And now here she was, dressed in another pair of those disgustingly awful grandmother pyjamas, her face scrubbed of make-up, and he allowed himself to see what he’d never allowed all those early mornings—that even in those disgustingly awful grandmother pyjamas he wanted her more than he’d ever wanted anyone.

He watched her raise her pretty heart-shaped face and fix the smile to her face he knew was the smile she wore as armour. ‘I’m going to get some sleep,’ she called over to them. ‘Don’t miss me too much and don’t work too hard!’

‘Goodnight, Athena,’ Grace called back, and then Stav and Theodore followed suit.

Draco, his throat suddenly too tight for words, inclined his head.

Her gaze locked on his one last time before she returned to her seat and raised her privacy screen.

The reclined seat made such a comfortable bed that even people with back problems would wake up refreshed. There was no reason Athena couldn’t fall asleep. She was a master of sleeping on planes. Master of tuning out noise and falling into slumber at will. It was waking up she’d always struggled with!

The noise from Draco and the others was so low as to be hardly audible. She had to strain to hear them.

It was only when she heard footsteps coming towards her and her breath caught in her throat that she understood that this was why she’d not yet fallen asleep.

The footsteps passed her. More footsteps came and went.

Snuggling tighter under the duvet, she rolled over and squeezed her eyes shut.

There were ten reclining seats on the plane in pairs of two. Enough for them to have two beds each. Just because Draco had put his overnight case on the seat closest to hers didn’t mean he’d settle in on it, and even if he did, the aisle would separate them. And besides, her privacy screen was up.

Movement close by had her eyes springing open and her heart jumping into her throat.

Sitting up, she heard the low buzz of the privacy screen closest to hers rising.

Nothing more. Once her heart rate had reduced from a Speedy Gonzales level to a mere canter, she lay back down.

Her eyes refused to close. However hard she willed them and however stern a talk she gave them, they stayed stubbornly open.