Page 149 of Modern Romance September 2025 5-8

And there she was now, in the undergrowth beneath the window he was looking out of.Real.

He wanted air—wanted to breathe her air.His fist clenched, demanding he smash through the foot-thick glass and reach for her.

Her black hair hung loose on her shoulders, whispered across her bare arms. With one hand splayed forward in case she needed it for balance, her other hand held the swell of her beneath her thin cotton dress. And it was barely there. The dress. Its burnt amber tones sat on her brown skin as if it were part of her. A perfect colour match.

She took a step. Lifted her bare foot, and he saw what was on the ground beneath her.

Instinctually he reached into his back pocket. Gripped his mobile, opened the camera app and aimed it at her.

Her toes made contact first. Softly they pressed down on the dandelion. The only one in a field of green. The white feathered wishes separated from the flower. They flew up all around her. And he couldn’t stop. He took shot after shot. Programmed to capture bursts of inspiration where he saw it.

And he saw it now.

He saw her.

Her hands lifted and played with a hundred wishes surrounding her. Her hands were delicate. Smooth.

She was young. Too young for him. He knew that. And yet he had risked everything for her. Now everything had changed.Shechanged daily with the consequences of his choice to let his guard down.

He never should have done so.

But how could he regret it when she bloomed so vibrantly with the life inside her?

The life he had put there. Inside her body.

She caught a wish. Closed her fingers gently around it and brought it to her lips. They moved, whispering words he couldn’t hear, and then she let it go. Allowed her wish to fly.

He could not make her wishes come true.

He could not be the man she wanted.

He was not ready to try. He didn’t want to try. He didn’t know how to do as she asked and not let himself get attached.

Brown eyes framed by long lashes looked up.

And she saw him, too.

Everything tightened. Every muscle jerked under the restraint of his will to not move. To not break through the glass.

He dipped his head. Acknowledged her. And then stepped back. Away from her. Until the shadows hid him from her. Hid her from him. He turned his back to the view, the only view his eyes wanted to see, and pushed his phone into his pocket.

He walked into the centre of the room. Far away from temptation. From the window. He closed his eyes and stood there. Paralysed. For only the gods knew for how long. Minutes. Hours.

His skin hummed and tingled.His mind reeled with incoherent thoughts. His body felt empty, malnourished. Deprived of her.

He’d missed her, he knew. Missed having her close. He thought of her every minute of every day…

He thrust his hands into his hair and dragged it back away from his face.

What the hell was happening to him?

He closed his eyes more tightly. Commanded his brain to tell his body to breathe deeply. In and out. But still his heart hammered. Still his body ached.

‘So this is where you’ve been hiding?’

His eyes flew open. Found the source of the question. Of the voice.

‘Aurora.’