Page 53 of Modern Romance May 2026 Books 1-4
‘No.’ She stayed still on the tarmac. ‘You owe me an immediate explanation.’
‘I’ll give you that.Inside,’ he repeated tightly.
She locked her muscles, refusing to fall in line, but as she glared at him, the pilots passed behind them with a deliberately wide swerve. She glanced to the side and saw the ground crew watching—waiting—to unload the plane. She turned and moved forward, furious at having to concede. She would get her answers the second they were alone.
But the brief wait for customs processing gave her enough breathing space to realise she didn’t actuallywanta conversation. There was nothing that could be said to fix this. It was simply catastrophic.
He’d not told her who he was. But she’d not told him things, too.
Massimo might basically be aristocracy, but Lily came from a wannabe criminal dynasty. Where he was notoriously private, her family was small-time notorious. No one at P1 Global knew because Jones was a blessedly common name. She hid in plain sight—kept her head down and let her work speak for her—not only because she was one of the few females on the garage floor, but also because she didn’t want anyone to become too curious about her or her background. She’d been so focused for so long and she’d worked too hard to allow anything to threaten her work ethic or her reputation, because her career was literally all she had left.
But what had just happened on that plane threatened her actualjob. She had to fight for it. Somehow, she needed to shut this down and somehow, she needed to swerve past the intense disappointment that while it would be impossible toforget, it couldneverhappen again. She was completely unsuitable for him to be connected to.
But Massimo Hearnshawe still had her duffel bag and he didn’t relinquish it.
The customs officer smiled at them as if they were a couple. ‘Nothing to declare?’
Speechless, she shook her head.
Massimo had barely answered before the customs officer waved them through and she strode towards the exit. He could keep her bloody bag. She probably wasn’t going to need her team uniform anymore anyway—he wouldn’t want her to work for his team now. Questions flooded her mind. Why was he even on that plane? How did he know who she was? What had he really wanted? Would he offer to pay her off now?
Her father would advise her to extract every penny she could, but he was callous enough to get whatever he could from whomever he could and didn’t give a damn about the damage he left behind. He certainly didn’t give a damn about Lily. She’d been cut off when she’d not complied with hisfamily orders. Maybe that was the only answer to this situation as well—complete distance.
‘I’ll give you a lift.’
Lily’s rage mounted as Massimo had the temerity to put her bag into the car waiting for him before she’d even agreed. Because he wasthataccustomed to getting everything he wanted. ‘No, thank you.’
‘Get in the car.’
‘Absolutely not, and you cannot force me to.’ She bitterly smiled at the prospect of him trying to manhandle her into it. ‘Do you know I actually thought you were ex-Special Forces?’
‘You thoughtwhat?’ A quizzical expression lit his face.
‘I thought you were some kind of high-security courier.’
‘Why on earth would you think that?’
‘Because you’re built like one.’ She waved a hand at his towering physique. ‘Tough and lean and you didn’t have baggage. I thought there was important paperwork in the fancy leather satchel.’
Plus, he’d admittedpaperworktook a lot of his time. But now, in the cold light of day, now she could see him properly, she realised how fully far-fetched her assumption had been. She glanced down and clocked his shoes. He wasn’t wearing worn trainers like her, but leather loafers. Soft-looking, probably hand stitched, definitely expensive. Then she noticed the watch on his wrist. She didn’t really know high-end watches, but the drivers wore them as part of their sponsorship deals, and this looked like one of those—expensive.
She was the biggest idiot on the planet. ‘I thought you were someone who knew something of sacrifice. Of service. Of putting someone else first.’
‘Didn’t I do exactly that?’ he murmured softly.
She hadn’t meantsex. And while he’d seemed generous then, he was selfish as hell underneath.
‘Sorry that I’m not the hero you wanted.’ Bitterness darkened his eyes.
She didn’t want or need a hero.
‘You were only supposed to be thecherryon top of my perfect weekend,’ she said stiffly. ‘Instead, you’ve poisoned everything.’
All future possibility of her brand-new career. Because she hadn’t hit the apex of a thrilling corner; she’d hit the apex predator himself. The most powerful guy in her world, who would kill her career with a blink.
He sighed. ‘It’s not that big of a deal—’
‘No?’ She flinched, stung by the dismissal even though she desperately wished she could agree. ‘Then why didn’t you tell me who you were before we…we…’
