CHAPTER FOUR

ERINCOULDSEE the heat shimmering over the brown landscape as they descended onto an island bathed in the golden light of the rising sun. It was one of the Cyclades chain, strung like jewels across the Aegean Sea.

There were darker patches of green, and bright splashes of blue and turquoise lakes emerging from the volcanic earth. Villages appeared in clusters on hills and closer to the coast, distinctive with their white and blue paint. And it was all surrounded by the sea in varying shades of green and blue.

Ashling was sleeping...a heavy weight in Erin's arms. Her first time on a plane and she'd been amazing. Erin could hear the low rumble of Ajax's voice behind her, talking on the phone or with his assistants, who'd accompanied him for this leg of the trip. Apparently the staff would be travelling on to Athens after this flight, while Erin and Ajax went to the Nikolau villa.

She'd tried to resist this dash across the planet to escape a brewing media storm, but when she'd seen the throng of media outside her apartment building she'd had to concede that Ajax had a point. And what had really swayed her was the thought that Ashling would become a target for media interest and, worse, the potential danger of kidnap.

She'd managed to get a weekend call with her boss and had explained that there was a family emergency and she wasn't sure how long she'd be away. If she was gone for longer than two weeks her pay would be docked, but as she was only part-time her absence shouldn't cause too much of a ripple.

Her father had helped her to pack and get Ashling ready for the journey, and then they'd been collected by Ajax's driver from the back of the apartment building, giving the media the slip. They'd been on a plane within hours of Ajax's dawn wake-up call.

Erin was glad she'd at least had a chance to change into something other than sweatpants. Now she was wearing soft faded jeans and a loose linen shirt. Slip-on sneakers. She'd no idea what she'd packed—she'd been more concerned with making sure she had all Ashling's things.

The flight attendant came down the aisle to prepare them for landing. Erin buckled Ashling in without waking her. She'd been fed and she was in her night clothes—hopefully she would sleep again once they'd got to the villa, as it was still their night-time.

Ajax had assured her that his team would have prepared their rooms before arrival and ensured she had all the necessary requirements for Ashling. Erin didn't doubt it. In Ajax's world, things materialised and happened as if by magic. She wouldn't be surprised to see an exact replica of the nursery from her own apartment recreated in his villa.

But, apart from making sure they were comfortable at the start of the flight, Ajax hadn't come near them. Erin was beginning to see how his ‘hands-off' approach might work, and it was as disconcerting as it was effective.

She hated to admit that she was still so aware of him.

The plane landed and Ashling woke with the thud. Predictably, after being so amenable, she was now cranky and tearful. It had been a long day.

Ajax appeared when the seatbelt sign went off. He was wearing his suit jacket again, and looked annoyingly fresh, as if he'd slept in the vast bedroom at the back of the plane. But Erin knew he hadn't. He'd worked the whole time.

She felt a little sorry for his team. But then, she'd once been one of them.

Not going there now.

She stood up, holding Ashling, who curled into her.

Ajax said, ‘Okay? How is she?'

Erin noticed that he barely glanced at Ashling.

‘She's been great, but she's still tired and I can sense a storm brewing. How long will it take to get to the villa?'

‘Only about fifteen minutes. Think she can last that long?'

‘She'll be fine.'

The heat hit Erin as soon as they stepped out of the plane, like a wall, even at this early hour. Ashling's head came up and she stopped whinging, as if she was sensing she was back in the land of her ancestors.

Erin could only imagine what it would be like later in the day. Insects were loud in the grass on the other side of the runway.

She was vaguely aware of officials greeting Ajax and documents being checked. The perks of travelling with a billionaire.

An assistant led her over to a sleek silver SUV and opened the back door. There was a car seat for Ashling. Erin secured her in the seat and gave her a teething toy to chew. Then she got in on the other side and sat beside the baby seat.

It was only when no driver appeared, and she saw Ajax peel away from the assistants and officials to stride towards the car, that she realised he was driving them himself. He shucked off his jacket before he got in, and Erin couldn't help her gaze moving over his broad shoulders.

She was sitting behind him, to his right, so she could see his eyes in the rear-view mirror.

Suddenly feeling a little light-headed at the speed with which they'd traversed the globe, she asked, ‘Is this villa your family home?'

Ajax shook his head, taking a road heading away from the airfield and small airport. ‘No, I bought it years ago—for myself.'

‘Where did you grow up?'

‘Athens, mainly, when I wasn't at boarding school in England and then Switzerland.'

‘How old were you when you were sent to boarding school?'

‘Eight.'

Erin gasped. ‘So young...' She couldn't imagine packing Ashling off at the age of eight to go anywhere.

Ajax shrugged lightly. ‘My older brother was there already.'

‘Were you close?'

Erin saw Ajax's eyes in the mirror, his gaze narrowed on the road in front of him. ‘Yes and no. Our parents encouraged us to compete more than collaborate.'

Erin absorbed that. ‘Your parents are still alive?'

‘Yes.' Terse. And then, as if conscious of Erin's silence, Ajax added, ‘They're in Athens. We also own some islands, and they pick and choose where to go for holidays or family events. Or they travel to their other homes around the world.'

‘Family events...? Are there many of those?'

‘There's one in a couple of weeks.'

He was avoiding meeting her eye in the mirror. Erin didn't have to ask him if his family knew about Ashling—it must have hit the papers here too by now. She wondered how the news had gone down. She was beginning to suspect a certain level of conservatism and snobbishness...

‘Ab-gab-bab-dada...'

Erin smiled at Ashling who was looking out the window and pointing to the sky.

A sensation on the back of Erin's neck made her look up to find Ajax looking at her through the mirror at last. Instantly she was warm and tingling. The hairs on her skin were standing up. She couldn't look away, and eventually he did.

He was a good driver—fast, but safe. Not showy. Erin was acutely aware of his hands on the wheel. Big and strong. Masculine. She remembered how they'd felt on her. Not soft. Firm. Possessive. A pulse throbbed between her legs. She cursed herself.

She could see they were approaching a village, with houses strung along the road. Bright red and pink bouganvillea spilled over walls and roofs. It was quiet at this hour of the morning. Fairy lights were strung over doors and between buildings. Erin could imagine them lit up at night. It was unbelievably pretty.

But Ajax kept going a short distance out through the other side of the village, until he turned abruptly down a narrow track which then opened out again revealing iron gates and a wall on either side.

A man emerged from a security hut.

‘Kalimera,'Ajax greeted the man, and they conversed for a moment before the gates opened and they drove up along a wide drive bordered by flowering plants on both sides.

Erin could see pristine green lawns. And then her breath was taken completely when they drove around a bend and the driveway opened out into a huge courtyard with a fountain centrepiece, and a two-storey villa appeared before them.

The rising sun bathed the building in a bright glow, the pale and weathered stones of the villa making it almost fade into the background. It looked majestic, but also warm and rustic. Erin wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but it had definitely been something more modern—perhaps stark white with sharp edges.

This was warm and inviting and beautiful, and it made something in her chest tighten. As if she'd had a dream of this image but hadn't realised it till now.

Ajax opened the car door and for a moment Erin felt almost superstitiously that once she stepped on this land her life would change for ever. She would change. But she was being ridiculous. She got out, avoiding Ajax's eye, not wanting him to see how this place was affecting her already.

There was a small breeze, bringing scents of the sea and wild herbs and plants.

Ashling emitted a cry from the car, a demand for attention, and Erin hurried around to take her out of the seat and hold her in her arms. A woman appeared in the massive front doorway, beaming. She was dressed in black, wiping her hands on an apron.

She greeted Ajax in rapid-fire Greek. He was smiling at her. The tightness in Erin's chest intensified. She hadn't seen him smile since their last night together. And she hated it that it mattered to her.

He looked at Erin. ‘This is Agatha, my housekeeper. She lives on the property with her husband, who is the caretaker.'

Erin nodded at her shyly, and to her surprise the older woman came over and immediately held her arms out for Ashling, who went quite willingly into them, as if she knew this woman.

‘We will have some milk, yes? And maybe a change of nappy?'

Erin was surprised to hear her speak English. She started to say, ‘I think she's okay, actually—' but the woman was already disappearing into the villa with the baby.

Erin felt a bit stunned. ‘She still needs the right milk—'

‘I ordered ahead for all your requirements. You gave my assistant a list.'

Erin looked at Ajax. ‘That was only on the plane.'

‘She called ahead. Agatha has had six children. She'll be fine.'

Erin felt impotent all of a sudden.

Ajax said, ‘Let me show you around.'

She felt that if she protested she'd be overreacting, so she followed Ajax around the side of the villa and up some steps to a terrace with a wall that overlooked a vast lawn. There was a swimming pool in the distance, just visible behind a wall of bushes, and just as she was thinking it was a potential hazard for a very curious baby who could crawl at the speed of light, Ajax pointed to the gate acting as a barrier between the terrace and the lawn.

‘She'll be quite safe...don't worry.'

The fact that he'd thought the same thing at the same time was some comfort.

French doors were open into a sumptuously decorated reception room which led into a formal living room and a dining room. The kitchen was on the level below, huge and gleaming. There was a home gym down here too.

Back upstairs, Ajax showed Erin another informal living room, complete with a massive screen for watching TV or movies and a sound system. Books on shelves... The latest magazines...

Then they went upstairs to the bedrooms. Ajax indicated to where the guestrooms were located—too many for Erin to count—and then moved down another corridor. He stopped outside a door and then pointed to the end of the corridor. ‘That's my room, down there. This is you and the baby.'

Erin was about to remind him of the baby's name, but he was opening the door and Erin stepped into the most beautiful room she'd ever seen with the softest carpet underfoot. A warm off-white on the walls with a gold trim. Simple but elegant furniture. A huge four-poster bed, muslin drapes held back by silk ties. White linen that looked so inviting it just reminded her how sticky and tired she was.

And hungry, she realised, just as Agatha appeared in the doorway with Ashling in her arms, who saw Erin and immediately leaned towards her mother, cribbing a little.

Erin took her and cuddled her close. She smelt fresh. ‘Thank you, Agatha, you didn't have to change her.'

‘No problem. Come and see the nursery—you let me know if you need anything.'

Erin followed her to an adjoining door. The nursery was a plain room, with one of those circular cots that Erin had always coveted but hadn't been able to afford.

Agatha was saying, ‘We didn't have time to decorate, but it'll be done by the end of the week.'

Erin noticed lots of things in boxes, but there was a changing table, and supplies of nappies and creams and wipes. A nappy bin. A chest of drawers stuffed full of more clothes than Ashling would ever be able to wear.

The suitcase Erin had packed with Ashling's things looked very shabby in this pristine space.

Agatha pointed to a monitor on the chest of drawers. ‘Yours is in the bedroom, beside the bed. Its range will cover the whole property, so you'll hear if she makes a squeak.'

Erin hadn't needed baby monitors up to now, as her apartment was so small.

Agatha said something to Ajax in Greek, and he nodded and said, ‘Efharisto.'

Agatha left and Ajax turned to Erin.

‘Please, make yourselves at home. Agatha has prepared some breakfast on the terrace downstairs for you, and then you'll probably need to sleep for a few hours. I noticed you didn't get much rest on the plane.'

He'd noticed? But at the mention of food, her stomach rumbled. Classy. She blushed.

‘Okay, that sounds good.'

‘I have some work to catch up on. I'll come for you before dinner this evening, after you've had a rest.'

Even though he'd worked all the way through the flight clearly Ajax wasn't at the mercy of such human failings as needing to rest.

He was still looking at her, and she said quickly, ‘Yes, of course, that's fine. You don't need to entertain us.'

‘It's no problem. I'll see you later.'

Ajax left and Erin let out a long breath. She looked around. The French doors were open onto a small balcony. She walked out and took in the view of lush rolling gardens. The sky was lighter now, losing the golden touch of dawn. The heat was rising too. She could hear the faint splash of waves in the distance. The air was scented with a mix of flowers and sea and grass.

It was paradise.

Ashling's head was tucked into Erin's neck. She was exhausted. Erin made her way downstairs to the terrace and put Ashling in a highchair, feeding her bits of fruit and pastries while she helped herself to the same.

Once she and Ashling had eaten, she thanked Agatha and made her way back upstairs, where Ashling went down with minimal fuss. A sign of her exhaustion.

Once the baby was fast asleep, Erin left the door to the nursery ajar and turned on the baby monitor, then checked the other one was on. It was so sensitive she could hear Ashling's breaths.

She explored further, to find a dressing room with all her things already unpacked. Were there other staff here apart from Agatha? Invisible? She wouldn't be surprised. It seemed all too magical.

Then there was the bathroom, with its footprint about the same size as her entire apartment. There were two sinks, a bath the size of a small pool, and a huge shower. Honey-coloured tiles... Exclusive beauty products and a large fluffy robe...

Erin couldn't resist washing the stickiness of the journey off her body and she stripped off on the spot, before stepping under the steaming spray of the shower. It was bliss.

After drying herself, she kept the towel wrapped around her and lay down on the soft bed. She fell into a dreamless sleep.

That evening, even though she was expecting it, Erin still jumped when there was a light knock on the bedroom door. Ajax. Her heart thumped at the thought of seeing him again. Pathetic.

Luckily she had packed appropriately, and she was wearing a plain shirt-dress, teaming it with a leather belt and flat sandals.

At the last moment she'd resisted reaching for any make-up apart from some tinted moisturiser. She'd left her hair to dry naturally. Dinner with Ajax wasn't a date.

She checked quickly that Ashling was still asleep and that both monitors were on, before taking hers with her. She took a breath and opened the door—and nearly melted on the spot.

Ajax was wearing faded jeans and a dark polo shirt. Short sleeves. All she could see was how his biceps bulged under the material. His skin was bronzed and gleaming. He made her feel very pale and washed out. She cursed herself for not making more of an effort. He must be wondering what he'd ever seen in her.

‘Ready?'

Erin nodded. She left the door open and fell into step beside Ajax.

He said, ‘She's asleep?'

Erin nodded. ‘It took a while—her body clock is all over the place. We slept for a few hours this morning, and then I kept her occupied for the afternoon in the garden. Hopefully she'll sleep through to dawn. I'm lucky—she's a good sleeper.'

Erin felt as if she was babbling.

She slid Ajax a glance as they went down the stairs. ‘Did your wife and son spend much time here?'

He shook his head, and when they reached the ground floor he put out a hand to indicate which way to go. ‘No, they were never here.'

Erin had a vague memory that the accident had happened in Athens.

They were walking out onto the terrace now. Night had fallen and candles were burning, imbuing the pretty space with a soft golden glow. A wrought-iron table was set with a white tablecloth, gold-trimmed crockery and silverware, sparkling crystal glasses.

Ajax pulled out a chair. Erin sat down. Ajax took his own seat. It suddenly felt very intimate.

A young girl Erin hadn't seen before appeared, smiling shyly as she filled their water glasses before disappearing again.

Ajax said, ‘This island isn't owned by my family, so it's a better place to stay off the radar.'

Erin tried not to gape. ‘You mentioned that your family do own islands?'

‘A few.'

She'd bet that that was an understatement. She said, ‘This is a beautiful place. It's a pity your wife and son didn't spend any time here.'

Ajax's expression was hard to read. ‘My wife preferred life in Athens and on islands like Santorini or Mykonos,' he said. ‘This would have been too quiet for her.'

Erin couldn't understand that. Who wouldn't want to come and relax in this idyll, away from the chaos of everyday life?

Before she could persuade him to talk more about his previous existence, the young girl appeared again, with two plates of simple Greek salad, crisp and delicious. The feta cheese was fresh and salty and creamy, the tomatoes ripe and juicy from the sun.

Ajax held up a bottle of chilled white wine and looked at her. She nodded her assent. He poured her a glass and she took a sip, letting it slip down her throat, zesty and perfectly dry.

She could feel it hitting her veins almost immediately, making her feel even more as if she must be hallucinating. She'd wake up soon, back in her apartment, with the sounds of Ashling waking up and the non-stop sirens outside.

She blinked.

Still here.

‘You enjoy your food?'

Erin looked at her clean plate, and then back up to Ajax. She arched a brow. ‘Not used to women clearing their plates?'

Totally unfazed by her jibe, he took a sip of wine, unhurried. Sexy... Erin pressed her thighs together. The delicate wine glass should have looked ridiculous in his hand, but it only made him look even more masculine.

The young girl took their plates and then returned a couple of minutes later with the main course. The smell was mouthwatering.

Ajax said, ‘Moussaka made with beef—one of our most traditional dishes.'

Erin took a few mouthfuls. She hadn't realised how hungry she was, but she hadn't eaten much since breakfast, when they'd arrived.

The moussaka was perfect and light, in spite of the rich tomato sauce.

‘Delicious,' she said to Agatha, when the woman came out to clear their plates.

The housekeeper smiled. ‘My grandmother's recipe. How is the little one?'

Erin nodded towards the monitor, with its light spiking intermittently when Ashling made a move or a snuffling sound. ‘She's fast asleep, thank you.'

When she'd left with their plates, Ajax leaned forward with the wine bottle, but Erin put her hand over her glass.

‘Not for me, thanks.'

Apart from wanting to keep her wits around this man, she also needed to have a clear head for Ashling, who might wake during the night.

He poured himself another half-glass. Erin found herself blurting out, ‘How long ago was it...? Your wife and son?'

Ajax put the bottle back down. His jaw was tight. Erin knew she was straying into territory he didn't welcome talking about, but she had a right to know. After all, Ashling was his son's half-sister.

‘Five years ago.'

‘I'm sorry. I can't imagine how devastating it was.'

He looked at her, and she almost gasped out loud at the pain in his eyes.

‘It was the worst.'

Erin's chest tightened and something dark prickled in her gut—something that spoke of jealousy, because he'd obviously loved his wife so much and he hadn't rejected his first-born child.

Sensing he wouldn't welcome any further platitudes, she said, ‘So what happens now?'

‘I'll work from here for the next couple of days, to make sure that you and the baby—'

‘Her name is Ashling,' Erin interjected. She was feeling prickly. This whole scene was too seductive, and she was so acutely aware of him, but they weren't here for a romantic interlude.

She was here under sufferance, because the press had found out about Ashling, and if that hadn't happened Erin had no doubt that Ajax would be in Athens, probably wining and dining another woman, not even thinking of her.

Here he was being civil. Yet not civil enough to refer to his own child by her name.

Ajax's expression was unreadable. A little stiffly, he said, ‘I hadn't ever planned on this again.'

Erin hesitated a second, then said, ‘But you planned it...before?'

Ajax looked at her. And then he took his wine glass and stood up. He went over to the stone wall, turned his back to her. Erin couldn't help her gaze moving over the width of his shoulders and then down to his narrow hips. Firm buttocks, lovingly outlined by the faded denim.

She looked away hurriedly, afraid he'd turn and catch her ogling him. But he didn't turn around. He said, ‘Actually, no, I didn't plan it.'

‘So...how...?' Erin trailed off, confused.

He turned around and rested his backside against the wall, looking at Erin. ‘My older brother was due to get married and start a family. He and Sofia were the ones who were engaged. But a few weeks before the wedding he was on board one of our ships and a storm blew up. He was trying to help the crew when he slipped and hit his head. He never recovered and he died a few days later.'

‘I'm sorry,' Erin said. To have the death of his brother and then his wife and son...it had to have been almost impossible to get over. But then she frowned, ‘You said your brother was engaged to Sofia?'

Ajax nodded.

‘How did you end up marrying her?'

‘It was a strategic marriage, designed to forge a strong union between my family and hers. When my brother died she was already pregnant with Theo. It was agreed that I would marry her—to protect the agreement between the families and to minimise the gossip about Theo. But it's a relatively open secret that he was actually my nephew.'

This was huge. Too much for Erin to take in all at once.

‘So you and she...?' Erin trailed off again.

Ajax arched a brow. ‘She and I...what?'

Erin felt foolish for asking, but some part of her needed to know. ‘You didn't marry for love?'

Ajax looked at her for a moment, and then to her shock he emitted a sharp laugh.

‘Love? No. She wasn't marrying my brother for love either—although they were better suited. Physically, at least.' He continued, ‘Sofia and my brother and I come from families where anything as frivolous as love was weeded out generations ago. Marriages are as strategic as business deals.'

So Theo hadn't been his son. His marriage hadn't been based on a love match, as Erin had assumed. For someone who considered herself to be healthily cynical, she felt exposed—and very gauche.

Of course men like Ajax Nikolau moved in very different circles. There was too much money and power at stake to merely fall in love. And yet she knew that losing Sofia and Theo had been devastating. Or at least losing Theo...

As if reading her mind, Ajax said, ‘I don't—' He stopped and amended his words. ‘I didn't consider Theo a nephew. He was my son. I was there for his birth. I had no idea what to expect, but when he was handed to me...'

‘You fell in love?' Erin said quietly.

He looked at her, and she could see even now the slightly bewildered expression on his face. ‘Yes, I did.'

No wonder he'd decided never to risk it again. Loving and losing... She could understand it now, even if it didn't make it any easier to accept.

She wasn't so different herself. The thought of loving someone enough to be hurt by them was terrifying to her. Witnessing her father's devastation had been almost worse than her abandonment by her mother.

After her one relationship at university she'd realised that focusing on her career brought her more satisfaction, and no man had come along to distract her from that or persuade her otherwise. Until Ajax. It wasn't that she wanted to emulate her mother's obsession with work above all else, but more that she didn't want to risk the devastation she'd witnessed growing up with a heartbroken and lonely father.

She forced her mind away from such concerns. There was no danger of that here.

Erin said, ‘Her name is Ashling and she exists—no matter how much you want to distance yourself from that fact.'

Ajax's mouth tilted on one side in a rueful half-smile. ‘I think that horse has bolted by now.'

It was something, and Erin clung to it. ‘Thank you for telling me what happened. So, what is the plan?'

Ajax said, ‘Like I said, I'll stay here for a couple of days, to make sure you and the—'

He stopped and Erin held her breath.

He continued, ‘To make sure you and Ashling settle in okay.'

Hearing him say his daughter's name was seismic. Erin wanted to thank him, but that would be weird.

She thought of what he'd said and then shook her head. ‘You don't need to stay—we'll be fine. We can walk down to the village if we need anything.'

‘No.'

Ajax's voice was sharp, and he'd straightened up. Erin could see his knuckles white around the glass. He seemed to notice his own tension and relaxed a little.

‘Sorry, but there's no need to leave the villa. I'll make sure you have everything you need.'

Erin frowned. ‘We're not allowed to leave?'

Ajax looked irritated now. ‘If you need anything you can ask Agatha to get it for you—or her husband.'

Erin stood up and said slowly, ‘I know you don't mean to keep us here as prisoners. And, while it is beautiful here at the villa, I like to go for walks. And Ashling will need stimulation. When we drove through the village I thought it would be a nice place to go for morning coffee, or lunch.'

His face was like stone.

Erin tried to push down a lurch of panic. After all she was half a world away from home, with a man who she really didn't know that well at all.

‘Ajax, what is it? Surely we're allowed to move around freely? We're not in danger here?'

His expression softened. ‘No, of course not. It's just...' He swept a hand through his hair, clearly agitated. ‘Sofia and Theo died because she insisted on driving into Athens. She wouldn't let a driver take her in spite of my requests.'

Her panic subsided. Ajax didn't strike her as a control freak, so perhaps there had been more to it. And his son—nephew—had died in that crash, so perhaps he had a right to feel a little paranoid. It clearly meant that he felt protective over Ashling, whether he wanted to admit it or not.

Carefully, Erin said, ‘Okay... Well, I can't drive. I never learned because it wasn't necessary. I grew up in one of the busiest cities in the world, so I think I can handle a sleepy Greek village, but if it makes you happier someone can drive us in and out and I will keep you informed as to our whereabouts.'

Ajax said, ‘That's...fair.' And then, ‘I didn't know you couldn't drive?'

Erin made a small face, ‘Well, actually, I can. But I just never got around to doing my test. A car is a burden in Manhattan.'

The night was soft and fragrant around them. Warm. No sounds from inside. Had Agatha and the young girl gone to bed?

A wave of weariness washed over Erin. She picked up the baby monitor. ‘I think I'll go to bed now. It's been a long day.'

As she was turning to go, Ajax said, ‘Thank you for trusting me enough to come with me.'

Erin stopped. She hadn't even considered that she'd trusted him enough to let him derail their lives within hours. Yet she had. More or less without question. She felt exposed now, even though she knew that all his reasons for leaving New York were very valid and compelling.

She faced Ajax. ‘How long do you think we'll have to stay here?'

‘A few weeks at least.'

Even though she'd cleared the absence with her boss, and she was still only part-time, she hoped for a more permanent position as Ashling got older. She didn't want to push the firm's generosity.

‘If it's any longer than that I'll have to clear it with work.'

‘I'm sure something else will have materialised in the news by then, and the vultures will have moved on. By the time you return to New York they'll no longer be interested.'

Erin was about to turn away again when Ajax spoke again.

‘But I think there is something that we can do to nip any further speculation in the bud for good.'

‘What's that?' she asked.

Erin already knew she wasn't going to like his answer.

‘Appear together.'

‘As in...where? How?'

‘In public. As if we're a couple.'