The first picture had been taken when we’d first entered the ballroom. With our heads close together, Ax’s masculine cheek almost touching mine, it hinted at an edgy intimacy between us that was almost too private.

From the look on Axios’s face, he didn’t feel the same.

He turned the page and my insides churned faster. There were more pictures, including some of us on the balcony, his hand splayed on my back, right before he pulled me in for that toe-curling kiss.

Axios stared at the pictures with something close to smug satisfaction.

‘Did you know we were being photographed?’ I asked, biting into a piece of ham-layered toast and concentrating on stirring my tea so I wouldn’t have to look at the picture. At how the sight of Axios in a tuxedo continued to wreak havoc with my equilibrium. Nor face the fact that a very large part of me was wondering what true intimacy with this man whose name I’d taken would feel like.

He shrugged. ‘I suspected we might be.’

That he was very much okay with it—had perhaps even wanted us to be photographed—was evident.

‘And has it achieved what you meant it to?’ I needed the reminder that this was all for a reason. For a definitive purpose which didn’t include getting carried away with fairy tales.

With a flick of his fingers he folded the paper and picked up his coffee. ‘If you mean are my business partners back on board, then, yes. But let’s not rest on our laurels just yet,’ he said.

Did that mean more socialising? More moments like those on the balcony? And why didn’t that fill me with horror? Why was my belly tingling with thrilling anticipation?

Questions and sensations stayed with me through a quick shower and lingered while I chose a bikini set, pulled a floaty spaghetti-strap sundress over it and slipped my feet into stylish wedge shoes.

Stepping out to join Axios and Andreos two hours later, on the landscaped lawn that led to the helipad, I noticed we were flying in a different, larger chopper.

Axios caught my questioning look. ‘This one is more insulated. To better protect Andreos’s delicate eardrums,’ he said, casting an indulgent glance at the baby nestled high in the crook of his arm.

Of course he would have a special helicopter that catered for babies!

With the sensation of having woken up in an alternative universe from which I couldn’t escape, I walked beside him to the aircraft.

The trip, unlike last time, flew by, and before I knew it we were skimming the beaches of Agistros, the azure waters of the island sparkling in the sunlight.

The villa was just as breathtaking as it had been a year ago, and this time, without deep trepidation blinding me, I was better able to appreciate it. Granted, there were other equally precarious emotions simmering beneath my skin, but just for today I let the dazed dream wash over me, revelling in simply being as Axios stepped out of the helicopter, reached to help me out and took control of Andreos’s travel seat.