Page 23 of Modern Romance September 2026 Books 1-4

Axel couldn’t help smiling. Her reactions were so spontaneous and genuine.

When they’d finished the starters in a surprisingly easy silence, Hope asked, ‘So, do you come from a big family?’

Axel’s insides tightened as if to ward off an attack but Hope’s face was entirely innocent. She’s just making conversation like a normal person, a little voice told Axel.

He sat up as their mains were delivered and said brusquely, ‘I have a younger brother and two younger sisters.’

‘Oh, that’s so nice. I really missed having siblings. I’ve always wanted to have a big family so my children won’t feel alone.’

Axel was a little horrified by that easy admission, and also because he knew she meant ‘big family’ in the kind of way he’d never experienced. He and his siblings had been pushed apart from the moment they’d been born. The girls had gone to exclusive Swiss boarding schools and once it had become apparent Ares wasn’t able to keep up academically, he’d been sent to a school in Athens, and Axel had gone to a different, more academically inclined school.

Oblivious to Axel’s reacton, Hope speared a piece of steak and put it into her mouth and, after chewing and making more appreciative noises that had a direct effect on Axel’s blood supply to parts of his body that he was usually in far better control of, she asked, ‘So what was it like growing up with your brother and sisters? I bet you had fun together.’

Fun? The notion was slightly preposterous. Axel had a flash of memory to seeing his brother being returned to the family home in Athens by the police, white-faced. Thinner. Eyes huge in his head. Axel had reached out to touch him, not knowing what to do or say, and Ares had just flinched and looked at him as if to say, Where were you when I needed you?

Hope’s eyes widened and Axel realised he must be scowling. She asked, ‘What did I say?’

Axel forced his mind away from the past and pushed down the cauldron of emotions evoked by the mere mention of family.

‘There’s really nothing to tell. My parents live in New York. My sisters are married with young families and my brother and I…are not in touch.’

* * *

Hope could read the frosty vibes a mile away. As soon as she’d mentioned family. Axel was avoiding her eye, focusing on his food. Even making eating look sexy.

She said sympathetically, ‘That’s a shame you and your brother aren’t in touch.’

He made a sound like hmph.

‘Did you have a fight?’ Hope knew she should probably be reading the signals but she was just so endlessly curious about people who had brothers and sisters.

Axel put down his fork, wiped his mouth with his napkin and took a big sip of his wine. She fully expected him to tell her to mind her own business but then it was as if his shoulders dropped a notch and he sat back and said, ‘Ares had the misfortune of being my younger brother.’

Hope frowned. ‘What does that mean?’

‘He was the spare from the moment he was born. He had dyslexia so he always struggled at school and even though my parents invested in private tutors, he couldn’t keep up. They weren’t hired to help with his dyslexia—that was seen as an embarrassing handicap.’

Hope was outraged on his behalf. ‘Some of the most successful people in the world have dyslexia. That’s such an outdated way to view it.’

Axel shrugged. ‘My parents didn’t tolerate any kind of weakness. I was the eldest anyway and I didn’t present with any kind of complications…’

She shook her head. ‘I always think everyone who grew up with both parents were so lucky but I know that’s not always the case.’

‘Don’t feel sorry for me, Hope. That’s how it is in my world.’

She changed the subject. ‘So you were good at school?’

‘I got top marks, yes.’

Hope felt a little heat of embarrassment creep into her face. ‘I was never very academic. Too dreamy.’

‘That’s nothing to be ashamed of.’

‘I’m smart in other ways. And I work hard.’ Hope went on, not wanting Axel to think about the disparities in their mental abilities too much. ‘So, your brother, you were kept apart, then?’

‘Something like that.’

Hope waited. And then Axel said, ‘And something happened, when he was ten and I was twelve.’