Page 136 of Modern Romance December 2025 5-8

Her brow puckered at the cynicism in his voice. ‘You and your grandfather?’ she asked cautiously.

‘We try, but the history makes it hard.’

The flicker of pained anguish in his eyes was there and gone, maybe even imagined on her part, but Amy’s tender heart clenched in her chest.

He turned his head and saw the empathy shining in her eyes. This woman wore her feelings so close to the surface she might as well wear a sign saying,I’m a soft touch—take advantage of me.

Which, of course, he was.

His jaw tightened as he experienced a fresh stab of guilt.

‘Maybe I could actually do with a rest,’ she murmured, sliding onto the bench. It was a simple repurposed slab of stone, worn smooth with age. While the area was now out of the sun, it retained the warmth of earlier in the day and she could feel the heat through the cotton of her skirt.

After a moment Leo joined her. He sat beside her but apart.

‘Sounds like you’ve both put some effort in,’ she observed softly.

‘There isn’t an ocean between us, but I still wouldn’t like to swim it.’ He stopped dead. She was wandering around in his head and the hell of it was that he had invited her into it—actually, he was giving her the guided tour.

What on earth was he doing?

‘Are you a good swimmer?’ She swivelled sideways to look at him, thinking he was definitely more handsome than any man had the right to be. He was certainly built for swimming and she could easily imagine him, streamlined and sleek, cutting through the water.

Leo turned his head and captured her gaze. ‘Better since I moved here. The sea, the pool, are perfect opportunities to improve technique and stamina. My technique has, I like to think, improved greatly over the years.’

She intercepted the challenging carnal gleam in his eyes and the message wasn’t exactly subtle. Subtle or not, she was helpless to resist, a sexual flush travelling over her skin until the rosy tide had suffused every tingling inch of her body.

Amy shook her head, willing her panicked heartbeat to slow as she pushed her hands into the deep pockets of her skirt to disguise the fact they were trembling.

‘That is a very obvious deflection,’ she managed coolly as she got to her feet and brushed down her skirt.

He arched a brow. ‘From where I’m standing—’

And he was standing now, the difference in their heights immediately putting her at a disadvantage.

‘It looks like it was a pretty good deflection. You going to blame that on the temperature?’ he wondered, looking directly at her breasts under the yellow top.

She didn’t need to look to know her treacherous body was betraying her, but at least not all of her giveaways were as prominent as her tight nipples.

‘Has it occurred to you, Amy, that you’re not exactly the best person to be handing out family advice?’

She flinched as his hit landed, her eyes widening in protest at the suggestion. ‘I am not handing out advice. I was trying to figure out why you are such a bastard.’

‘Oh, I’m a self-made man,’ he drawled through bared teeth. ‘Of course, I have had a little bit of help along the way.’

Her lips clamped tight. He never lost an opportunity to turn the knife, did he? But part of her didn’t blame him.

She shrugged, her eyes straying once more to the engraved name on the bench before she stepped out of the shaded area and into the warm evening sun. ‘You’d probably be happier if you let go of the past.’ She tossed the words over her shoulder and walked ahead of him, making her way down the rows of terraces, all the time aware of his footsteps behind her, though he made no attempt to join her.

He had spoilt her pleasure in the beauty of her surroundings.

She had reached the flat ground that led onto the copse of olives when he caught up with her.

‘That path leads to the beach, or do you want to go back?’

Amy was torn. She could have said something stinging, along the lines of her voluntarily spending more time in his company was about as likely as…well, something that was very unlikely.

On the other hand, she had really wanted to see the sea up close ever since her first glimpse of it. Now she could smell it and the draw was impossible to resist.