Page 75 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

She couldn’t blame him. Carlotta had held him at arm’s length for years and that had been torture for him.

That’s why you ended up on his desk, remember? So do you really want to do the same thing Carlotta did, and push him into someone else’s arms?

Pain twisted inside her. She didn’t think he’d do that, but then again, who knew? How far could you push a man like Isandro?

She had no answer to that. All she could do was try her best to put some boundaries around herself and her heart, and try not to crack under the pressure as Carlotta had.

The maid who was helping her dress laid a collar of pale, icy blue diamonds around her neck. It was another family heirloom of Isandro’s that he’d insisted she wear tonight, and matched the engagement ring that he’d also insisted she wear. The collar felt cold and sharp against her skin, but Wren had to admit that she looked the part. Especially when the maid then placed a tiara on her carefully arranged pale curls, with yet more diamonds glittering.

She would be like the diamond, she thought, staring at the pale, sparkling woman in the mirror. Pretty and glittery on the outside, while remaining cold and hard inside. Untouchable and unbreakable. The perfect queen-to-be.

The maid helped her with the finishing touches, and then it was time to go. A guard arrived to escort her from her rooms to the little antechamber near the ballroom where she’d meet Isandro. He wanted them to enter the ballroom together, and she hadn’t protested. It was what a normally engaged royal couple would do, after all.

Isandro was already in the antechamber when she arrived, standing with his hands behind his back, staring down at the unlit hearth with grave intensity.

He looked up as she entered, and the minute his gaze met hers, something leapt in his dark blue eyes. Something hot and fierce, and something equally hot and equally fierce inside her responded.

It might have been at least a couple of weeks since he saw you, but he still wants you.

She took a sharp breath, realising all of a sudden that a small kernel of doubt had stuck inside her. He’d been keeping his distance and some part of her had wondered if it meant that he didn’t want her any more. If his desire had changed.

But it hadn’t, that seemed clear. She shouldn’t feel so relieved about it, since she wasn’t going to do anything about it anyway, yet still.

‘Wren,’ he said, an almost caressing note in his deep voice. ‘You look…beautiful.’

The appreciation was there in his eyes, too, and her cheeks heated. She was going to have to be careful about her own responses, she knew that already, especially when he looked like…that.

He was in formal black evening wear, and, since he hated ostentatiousness in any form, he wasn’t wearing a crown. He only did so for ceremonial occasions anyway. Tonight, the only sign of his position was the small gold de Monteveras crest.

It suited him, though, this lack of sparkle. He didn’t need it, not when his eyes glittered like dark sapphires and the lines of his face were so precise and pure. He was the jewel in his own crown, and he looked it.

Helplessly, her mouth dried at the sight of him, and her skin tightened, and she wondered, with a certain despair, if she wasn’t setting herself up for failure by determinedly acting the part of his loving fiancée. It was going to be so difficult to be close to him, to act as though she was in love with him, when none of it would be an act, not for her. It would all be real.

So why not take what you can? Enjoy it while it lasts?

Perhaps she should. God knew that hiding her feelings for the past few years had been awful. Pretending that she felt nothing for him, that she didn’t want him with her every breath, that all he was to her was her boss…

She didn’t have to do that tonight, did she? Tonight, in public, she could finally allow the truth of her feelings to come out in front of everyone. They’d all believe it, but him? He’d think it was an act, and she was, after all, so very good at acting.

It was pathetic, but a thrill of anticipation went through her. Yes, why not embrace her feelings for him tonight? Why not fully live the part? Especially when he’d never guess the actual truth.

The dread inside her relaxed at the thought, and she gave him a formal curtsy, as befitting his station, watching him from beneath her lashes as she did so. His expression tightened. ‘You don’t need to do that,’ he said roughly. ‘As you’ve pointed out many times, I’m not your king.’

‘I know,’ she said calmly, straightening again. ‘But you’re not my boss any longer, are you?’

The blue of his eyes darkened. ‘Wren.’

‘What?’ She lifted a brow. ‘You’ve been putting distance between us for the last two weeks. I’m just taking my cue from you.’

‘I’ve been busy.’

‘Yes, you always are.’ She hadn’t mean it to sound like an accusation, yet Isandro’s expression smoothed in response, becoming very fixed. Carlotta had complained about how he never had time for her, so this wouldn’t be the first time he’d heard it.

‘I suppose you’ve been trawling the news sites and gossip columns,’ he said, his tone neutral. ‘Everything is happening as predicted.’

‘Yes. Everyone thinks I’m either a simple idiot dazzled by your greatness, or a slut who ruined your marriage and slept her way to the top.’

Isandro’s dark blue gaze searched hers. ‘I’m sorry. I did try to make it clear that I was to blame.’