Free Risking It All: London Calling Book Three by Kat Faitour Page B

finally subsided into low gurgles. Taking a deep breath, she dabbed at her eyes with a linen handkerchief from Bennett. “You, Dommie. I never thought I’d see the day, but Natalie’s got you tied up in knots, doesn’t she?”
    He knew exactly what she was saying but coached his face into blank disregard. No way in hell was he laying his heart out for these two to laugh at him.
    “I’ll take your silence as agreement.”  
    Dominic glared, but she only grinned in return.  
    “Honestly, though, you should hear yourself. Suspicious of a stranger because he seems secretive. It’s the pot calling the kettle black.” Shaking with laughter, she laid her hand over his on the table.
    Put that way, Dominic couldn’t help but smile in return.  
    But inside, deep in his gut, he knew he was right. Something was off about Sebastian Payne. And he was going to find out what it was.
    ***
    Natalie perched herself on the stone sides of Hyde Park’s Princess Diana Memorial Fountain to wait for her mother. It was a beautiful, peaceful place. When the weather cooperated, it was often loaded with children and parents, many shedding shoes and sandals to wade in the water. Today, with the sky overcast and rain threatening, it was far less busy. The sedate atmosphere suited Natalie.  
    Her mother was running behind, as usual. Natalie sometimes wondered what her father must be like for her to have turned out so differently than the woman who raised her. Mostly, though, she refused to think of him. He deserved no credit for any of the positive traits she carried. As much as her mother frustrated and baffled Natalie, at least she’d stuck with the job of being a mother. Unlike her father, who never married the mother of his first child and only visited when it suited his schedule, until he dropped out completely.
    Natalie wished with all her heart she’d never visited him that one time, only to learn he’d left them to marry another woman and start a new family. One that met his social expectations and whatever else he’d thought he needed.
    She pushed the thought away. Thinking of her father would spoil the time with her mother. On one hand, she credited her mother for being a present and loving parent. But on the other, Natalie blamed her for so much. Rebecca Enfeld wasted her life on a man who didn’t love her, let alone respect her.
    Her mother’s inability to stand up for herself and demand better still smarted Natalie’s pride. Years ago, she’d sworn never to be like her—dependent and needy for a man’s affection.
    Footsteps approached. Recognizing the slapping leather sound of her mother’s favorite sandals, she looked up. Today, Rebecca wore a tiered maxi skirt in indigo blue cotton. A button-down tunic in white hung down over her hips but was cinched in by a brown suede vest she’d fastened over it. Rather than her usual pin-straight bob, her hair waved in a sexy, tousled style. Another woman might have looked artificial, or as if she were trying too hard. A too-old bohemian gypsy that refused to grow up.
    Not so with her mum. She looked utterly fantastic.
    Natalie stood and smoothed her hands down her tweed pencil skirt, straightening it. Stepping closer, she allowed her mother’s outstretched arms to envelop her in a hug.
    “Hi Mum.”
    “Natalie,” her mother pushed her back to arm’s length to eye her over. She’d been performing the same maneuver as long as Nat could remember. “You look beautiful.”
    Pleased despite herself, she smiled back. “So do you. Shall we walk?”
    They were having late afternoon tea together, but first they’d tour parts of Kensington Gardens. Sticking to nature outings tended to ease the tension between them. Her mother loved flowers and plants, and especially the royal parks. Growing up, Natalie could recall endless trips and picnics. Her mother enjoyed perfectly tended grassy lawns as well as the flowers and topiaries of formal landscapes.  
    Once, they’d gotten lost in