Page 134 of Modern Romance October 2025 5-8

It had been a test of sorts. To see how far she would go to draw him in. Which, presumably, included her losing all her brain cells and agreeing to something that would clearly make her miserable.

He didn’t know whether to be infuriated or impressed.

He slipped into the pilot’s seat and donned the headphones that would allow him to talk to Rin through the microphone, as well as connect him to the control tower in charge of the airspace above and around Capri.

She glared at him in alarm. ‘You’re flying this thing?’ she demanded.

‘What self-respecting billionaire doesn’t know how to fly a helicopter?’ he shot back with what many around the world considered to be a winning smile.

He explained to Rin what he was doing as he went through the pre-flight checks, wondering just how far her dislike of heights went. He had no intention of scaring her to death, he wasn’t a monster. Surely if it was a genuine phobia she would have told him—she’d only said she wasn’t a fan.

He frowned, casting a glance at the white-knuckled grip she had on her handbag.

‘Rin, are you sure you’re okay?’ he asked.

‘Absolutely,’ she insisted, even as she paled.

He’d given her all the opportunities he could to let her back out and she had taken none of them.

‘Va bene,’ he proclaimed, and lifted them into the air, nearly jumping when she thrust a hand out to the window beside her.

‘Rin—’

He was fully willing to put the bird back down on the ground, when she said, ‘No, it’s okay. Keep going.’

If he didn’t have his hands full of controls, he would have scratched his head in confusion, now most definitely frustratedandimpressed with her.

By the time he got them into the air properly, she had prised her eyes open about a centimetre and then shut them again and he almost felt sorry for her. Almost, because clearly she was prepared to doanythingto get her hands on his money.

‘You can open your eyes,cara,’ he said into the headset, his voice in her ear apparently shocking her from the way she jumped in her seat.

‘I will,’ she said and he couldn’t help but smile. ‘How long have you been flying?’

‘Oh, my licence just came through the other day.’

This time her eyesdidopen, along with her mouth, and he let loose his laugh. ‘I’m joking,amore mio. I’ve been flying for nearly eight years now.’

‘That wasn’t funny,’ Erin chided.

‘It was alittlefunny,’ he prodded. ‘You should have said something,’ he said.

‘I did. Yesterday.’

‘No, I mean today.’

‘But you’ve clearly gone to so much trouble.’

Oh. He hadn’t considered the fact that she might have agreed because she hadn’t wanted to disappoint him. Had he misread things?

No. He was sure of himself and what he’d heard yesterday. Erin Carter wanted to marry him, to get her hands on something. His money, probably.

It had been confirmed when last night he’d called Marcus to ask about whether he put her on the list. Marcus hadn’t even heard of her before and had no idea how she’d managed to get in to the party.

‘Shall I take her back down?’ he offered, and she shook her head.

‘No, it’s okay, really. It’s not as bad as I thought it would be now that we’re...’ she took a breath ‘...up here.’

‘Okay. Well then, if you’re sure, let me give you the tour.’