Heiress on the Run (Harlequin Romance) (15 page)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

‘B
ETWEEN
YOU
AND
your sister, this is all starting to feel a little stalkery,’ Faith said, folding her arms over her chest as she reached the car.

‘My sister?’ Dominic asked, cursing Sylvia mentally in his head. This was all her fault, somehow. If it hadn’t been for her with her insinuations and questions the day before, he’d never have felt the strange compulsion that led him to check up on Faith. Just to make sure she was okay. And maybe, a little bit, to find out what was making her stay at Fowlmere. ‘What did she do?’

‘She called. Apparently to check I was still here.’

‘And you thought I’d asked her to do that?’ Dominic asked.

Faith raised her eyebrows and indicated his presence. ‘Not looking entirely far-fetched. Except that I’d have expected it to take you longer to get here.’

‘I didn’t ask her to call. I imagine she was just concerned for your wellbeing and wanted to see how you are. She’s nice like that.’ Which sounded much better than,
She’s overly invested in our non-existent relationship.

‘Which still doesn’t explain what you’re doing here.’

‘You wouldn’t believe the same?’ She raised her eyebrows at him. He got the message. ‘Fine. I heard you were still here at Fowlmere. And I didn’t want to leave things between us as they were. The papers seem to have lost interest, so—’

‘So it was safe to come see me. I get it.’ There didn’t seem much point denying that one.

‘I thought maybe you might need some help.’ He hadn’t been able to get the image of her, confined by evening wear, desperation in her eyes, out of his head. He needed to know she was still here because she wanted to be. Not because she didn’t have any other options. ‘Word is that you’re trying to renovate the Fowlmere estate. Open it for business, like Beresford.’

‘I’m not
trying
to do anything. I
am
doing.’

‘Right. I just...I didn’t expect you to stay this long.’ Not voluntarily, anyway.

‘You mean you didn’t expect me to stay at all.’ She looked away, staring out across the fields at some guy with a tape measure. ‘Maybe something of what you said stuck. Maybe I’m done with running away.’

‘Really.’ Stood to reason she wouldn’t decide to stay somewhere until
after
she’d run away from him.

‘You don’t believe me.’ She didn’t give him time to answer. ‘Well, it doesn’t matter what you believe. You, or your sister, or the papers, or my parents’ friends. I’m back and I’m staying.’

‘Why?’ Dominic asked, just like he had on the balcony. Would this woman ever stop making him question things?

‘Because I found something to stay for,’ she said simply, and Dominic stared at the open truth in her face.

She’d found a reason to stay. But it wasn’t him. It was never him.

‘You were right about one thing,’ Faith said. ‘Pretending to be someone else, living in hiding, that wasn’t being me. I’m Lady Faith Fowlmere, and nothing I do or say will change that. And nobody can take it away from me, either. So I’m here, where I belong. I’m making my own place in the world, not looking for it everywhere else.’

His heart weighed heavy in his chest. He wanted to be happy to see her so free, so alive again. But he couldn’t help wish she could have found that happiness with him.

‘That’s great,’ he said. ‘And really, I can...I can help. If you want. I’ve got contacts, been through a lot of the stuff you’re going to come up against...’

‘Thank you, but no.’ She smiled as she spoke, but the words still stung.

‘Why not? Because you’re too stubborn?’

She shook her head. ‘Because I can’t have someone in my life who is ashamed of me. I’m done being ashamed of myself. I’ve made mistakes, sure, but...’ She took a breath. ‘That’s not who I am any more. And I can’t have you reminding me at every turn what an embarrassment I am.’

He winced at the reminder. ‘When I said...I didn’t mean to...’

‘Yes. You did.’

‘You weren’t exactly complimentary to me, either,’ he pointed out, and she sighed.

‘Look, Dominic, it’s okay. Really. We knew each other for, what, a week? It’s crazy to think it was anything more than a flirtation. We barely even made it to fling status. It was a one-night stand. Yes, things ended badly, but it’s over. You don’t have to check up on me, try to help me. You don’t even have to feel guilty about the things you said. It’s over. We just...move on.’

It was all perfectly reasonable. Almost as if she did this sort of thing all the time. Rational, even. The sort of sensible argument he’d normally be the one putting forward, not her.

The only problem was, it was a lie.

Whatever had been between them in that week, it was more than a flirtation. More than a fling, even if they never made it past one night together before everything fell apart. And it meant more to him than she could possibly know.

But the most untrue part of all was something he’d been lying to himself about, right up until the moment he saw that tilted chin, the pride in her warm hazel eyes.

He couldn’t move on. He needed her in his life. No matter what her past, or who she was. No matter what the papers would say, or his mother’s friends, or anyone else.

He needed her. Even more than he wanted her.

Now he just had to convince her of that.

‘Dominic?’ she asked, and he realised he was staring at her.

‘Sorry. Just...thinking.’

She shook her head. ‘You think too much. Look, I mean it. You can go.’

He didn’t want to. But he needed time. He needed a plan.

Across the field, the burly guy with the tape measure beckoned to her.

‘That’s Jack,’ she said. ‘He’s helping me with the estate. I’ve got to go. Thanks, though. For coming and talking to me. It’s good to...’ she let out a breath ‘...I don’t know. Have closure, maybe.’

‘Closure is good,’ Dominic agreed. If she wanted to think that this was it, that this was the end for them, fine. It would make it all the more fun to prove her wrong.

Faith bit her lip, then jerked forward suddenly, wrapping her arms around him for a very brief moment. Her body felt stiff, unsure—so unlike the way she’d melted against him in the park at almost midnight, or the way she’d come apart in his arms in bed that night.

A clear sign that this was just not the way it was meant to be.

‘Take care of yourself,’ she said, stepping back. ‘And...I don’t know. Try not to overthink things. And loosen up, sometimes, yeah?’ She sounded as if she thought she’d never see him again.

‘I will,’ he promised, watching her walk backwards away from him. His heart hurt just to watch her go, but he held firm. He had to do this properly. He had to find a way to convince her that it didn’t matter who she was, where she’d been, what she’d done, or how she might ever embarrass or humiliate him in the future. He loved her. And none of the rest was worth anything, without her.

‘Faith?’

She paused. ‘Yeah?’

‘One more thing. What really happened? With you and that rock star?’

‘Jared?’ Her eyebrows shot up. ‘Didn’t you learn everything you needed to about that from the papers?’

He shook his head. ‘I don’t believe them. You wouldn’t do that.’

She bit her lip and he wanted to kiss her, so very badly. ‘You’re right,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t what it looked like. His wife had just walked out on him, taken the kids, and he’d got himself into a hell of a state at some club. He called me—we were friends, before everything that happened. I picked him up, got him back to his hotel and spent the night sobering him up and listening to him wail about his life. I was taking him home to call his wife and beg her for another chance when they took the photos.’ She looked up at him. ‘Satisfied?’

‘Yes,’ he said. He should have known. Should have trusted her. She thought she was a scandal, but really...she was just his Faith. And, for the first time, it didn’t matter what anyone else believed about her. ‘And thank you. For telling me the truth.’

She shrugged. ‘It’s a new thing I’m trying. And tell your sister to stop checking up on me, yeah?’ Faith added with a grin as she walked away. ‘I’m fine.’

Sylvia. She’d help him fix this. Of course she’d also tease and probably hit him, but he could take it.

‘Trust me,’ he said, smiling at Faith as he climbed back into his car. ‘I’m going to go have a long talk with my sister. Right now.’

* * *

Faith turned, halfway across the field, and watched his car as it pulled away, trying to ignore the emptiness that threatened to fill her. She’d see him again, she knew. If she was staying at Fowlmere, in society, it was inevitable. But they’d never be just Dominic and Faith again. She’d never get to take him to see the pelicans or eat at Lola’s. She’d never feel his lips against hers, or his body over her.

She’d never get to tell him that she loved him. And she’d given up any chance of ever hearing him say it back.

Loss coursed over her in waves, as if she’d lost her whole life, her whole future, instead of just one man.

It was for the best, she reminded herself, wiping away the tears that dampened her cheeks. She didn’t even know if he wanted more—certainly not after everything that had happened. How could she possibly work alongside him, day after day, without giving into the desperate desire for him? And how could she let him help her when she knew he’d be putting his professional and personal reputation on the line to do so?

There was a chance that her plan to save Fowlmere would fail. She wasn’t stupid; she knew that. And she couldn’t let everything that Dominic had worked for at Beresford be dragged down with it.

Besides, like she’d told him, she was done being ashamed. Done with seeking a place in a world that didn’t fit her. She was making her own place, and Dominic Beresford could never understand something like that.

No, this was the perfect ending. A little bittersweet, sure. But they both knew it was the right thing, they had closure, they’d said goodbye.

Now she could move on with her life.

Without the man she loved.

With a shuddering breath, Faith called out to Jack. ‘Okay. What’s next?’

* * *

‘You want to do what?’ Sylvia screeched to a halt in the middle of the pavement when Dominic announced his intention. He smiled apologetically at the irritated pedestrians who crashed into them.

‘Marry Faith,’ he said again, his voice calm. It was strange how, once you figured out what needed to be done, the doubt and the worry faded away. All that mattered now was the plan. The right steps he needed to take to make her say yes. ‘I’m pretty sure it was your suggestion, actually.’

‘I said you were in love with her! I figured you’d date her first. Like a sane person.’

Dominic shook his head. ‘It has to be all or nothing.’

‘Why?’

‘Because she won’t say yes to anything else. Actually, she probably won’t say yes to this. Which is why I have to get it exactly right.’

Sylvia stared at him, sighed, then started walking again. ‘You know, when you said we should go shopping, I was hoping for something more in a shoe line.’

‘You don’t want to help me choose a ring?’

That changed her mood. ‘Yes. Absolutely I do. You’re bound to get it wrong without me.’

‘So you are in favour of my plan.’

Sylvia lifted a hand and wobbled it from side to side. ‘Maybe.’

‘How can I convince you?’

Halting in front of the first jewellers shop on the row, Sylvia paused with her finger on the doorbell. ‘Tell me why you’re doing this.’

Dominic considered. It was one thing to know it was the right move in his head, another to articulate exactly why. Finally, when it became clear they weren’t going anywhere until he answered, he said, ‘I love her. I’m pretty sure she loves me. I know, in my heart, we belong together.’

‘So ask her out. Go for dinner. Take it slow.’

Dominic shook his head. ‘Won’t cut it. Slow means...it means her worrying I’m going to end things if she does something I find embarrassing. It means leaving an escape route, a way out if she leaves me. A way to pretend it didn’t matter. And it means leaving open the chance that we can walk away if things get hard. It means stories and rumours and whispers designed to try and split us up. And it doesn’t show her how I feel. That it doesn’t matter who she is, what she does, any of it. As long as she’s with me. I’ll take any risk—even the risk of her leaving—if she’ll give me a chance.’

‘A lot of those things can still happen, even if you’re married,’ Sylvia pointed out. ‘In fact, there’ll probably be more talk if you just rush in like this.’

‘I don’t care,’ Dominic said. ‘It won’t matter.’

‘Because you’ll have your ring on her finger.’

‘Because she’ll be my wife,’ Dominic amended. ‘Exactly.’

Sylvia rang the bell. ‘Then we’d better go choose you one.’

‘Thank you,’ Dominic said, grinning. ‘For helping.’

‘Oh, you’re going to need my help with a lot more than this,’ Sylvia said as the jeweller came and opened the door. ‘Have you even thought about how you’re going to propose?’

Dominic smiled. ‘Trust me. That part I’ve got covered.’

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

I
T
HAD
BEEN
a week. One whole
long, boring week since they said goodbye. Faith had tried to keep busy, knowing
that the only way she was going to get over Dominic was by stopping thinking
about him. When she was knee-deep in dusters, polish and tarnished brass, it was
harder to remember nights in luxury hotel suites, working together, both
watching for a sign of something more...

No. Work was the thing. She couldn’t daydream when she was
discussing the estate plans with Jack, or working with her parents to clear
decades’ worth of junk from the attics. Jack had the first round of potential
investors visiting at the end of the month—and she had tons of work to do before
then.

Work was the way forward. Not worrying about her parents, who
seemed a little saner every day. Not thinking about Dominic, who was gone. Not
even wondering why Sylvia kept ringing. Faith ignored the calls. She’d moved on.
She had closure. No point ruining all that now.

Except it seemed Sylvia wasn’t very good at taking a hint.

‘Sylvia!’ Faith said, hopping down the steps of Fowlmere Manor
to meet the car. ‘I wasn’t expecting you.’

‘That’s because you don’t answer your phone any more. I’ve come
to take you down to town for the day.’

Faith groaned inside. ‘That’s very kind of you, but I’ve got a
lot on here at the moment...’

‘Exactly why you need a day off! Come on, we can go shopping
again.’

Faith didn’t have especially fond memories of their last
shopping trip, but she did like Sylvia and she really didn’t want to hurt her
feelings. Besides, she did need a new suit for the investors meeting...

‘I’ve got Dominic’s credit card,’ Sylvia said, waving the card
temptingly.

‘I don’t need that.’ Faith was pretty sure there was a little
bit of room left on her own.

‘Just jump in,’ Sylvia urged, and Faith gave up the fight.

‘Okay. Let me just settle up a few things here...’

With hindsight, she should have been more suspicious from the
start. If not then, certainly when Sylvia drove them straight to the Greyfriars
Hotel for their lunch. But Sylvia kept chatting about nothing and keeping
everything light and unimportant, so Faith’s suspicions only really started to
grow when they stepped outside at the exact same moment a red double-decker tour
bus pulled up.

‘What fun! A tour!’ Even Sylvia didn’t manage to not sound fake
at that one.

‘What’s going on?’ Faith said, rounding on Dominic’s
sister.

‘I’ve always wanted to take a London bus tour,’ Sylvia said,
obviously lying. ‘Come on, you can be my tour guide! You can stand up front with
the microphone and everything.’

‘They normally hire someone in to do that,’ Faith said as
Sylvia dragged her up the bus steps and grabbed the microphone from its stand,
handing it to her. ‘Besides, it’s been years since I did a bus tour. I’ve
probably forgotten everything...’

She trailed off. She wasn’t suspicious any more. Because she
knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she’d been set up.

Lord Dominic Beresford sat in the bus driver’s seat.

‘What are you—’ The words echoed around the bus and she fumbled
for the off switch on the microphone. ‘What are you doing here?’ she
whispered.

Dominic grinned at her. ‘Sylvia’s always wanted to take one of
these tours. So I commandeered a tour bus. We figured you could do the guide bit
for old times’ sake.’ As if that were the most normal thing in the world.

Faith glanced back. A bus full of tourists stared at her,
cameras and guidebooks at the ready. ‘For the love of... You stole a tour bus?
You? Lord Beresford?’

‘Borrowed,’ Dominic corrected. Starting the engine, he checked
his mirrors and put the bus in gear. ‘You remember that night you showed me your
London?’

As if she could ever forget. ‘Yes.’

‘Well, today I’m going to show you mine.’ The bus pulled away
from the kerb. ‘Come on, tour guide, aren’t you supposed to be talking into that
thing?’

Faith stared at the microphone in her hand. ‘I don’t know where
we’re going.’

‘Yes you do,’ Dominic said, and started to drive.

* * *

Dominic wiped the palm of his hand against his trousers
before grabbing the steering wheel again. In his pocket, the hard lump of the
ring box dug into him, a sharp-edged reminder of exactly what craziness he was
pursuing. Oh, not the proposal, exactly. That, he was certain about. But the
method... How had he thought this was a good idea?

Maybe it wasn’t. But it was the only chance he had of
convincing Faith he was serious. If nothing else, she couldn’t worry about his
fear of embarrassment any longer. Nothing she could ever do could humiliate him
more than what he was about to do. Especially since he suspected his sister
would be secretly filming the whole thing to share with the Internet.

Beside him, Faith had begun her tour, talking in only a
slightly wobbly voice about the landmarks they passed. He’d decided to start off
with the usual tour route, down past St Paul’s and Fleet Street before he
detoured over the river after the Tower of London. Faith still knew this route
backwards, she’d told him on their tour of her London, and, for now, he was
happy to let her talk, feel comfortable. As if this really was an official tour
with an unusual driver.

‘The Tower of London has a long and varied history,’ Faith
said, and Dominic risked a glance out of his window at the landmark. Maybe he’d
take her there one day, just to listen to her get excited about the stories the
building could tell. ‘Most notably, of course, it’s known as the site of the
murder of the princes in the tower...’

Not romantic enough, Dominic decided. Time to start the plan
properly.

Swinging the bus over to the other lane, he headed for the
bridge over the Thames, ignoring Faith’s murmured protest. Then, as they crossed
over the water, she put her hand over the microphone. ‘You’re going the wrong
way.’

‘I’m really not.’

‘They usually go along to Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
next,’ she argued.

Dominic flashed her a smile. ‘Trust me. I know exactly where
we’re going. Now, give me the microphone.’

‘What?’ She grabbed it closer to her chest at his request.

‘Put it on the stand there so I can talk into it,’ he said,
nodding towards the steering wheel.

‘What are you going to say?’ she asked, but she did install the
microphone as he’d asked.

‘I’m not a hundred per cent sure yet,’ Dominic admitted. ‘But
I’m sure I’ll figure it out as I go along.’

* * *

Figure it out as he went
along.
Faith was pretty sure Dominic had never figured out anything
as he went along. The man liked to have a plan. A fixed, unchanging,
reputation-saving plan. So what on earth was he doing?

Sinking down into the guide’s chair at the front of the bus,
hands gripping the arm rests too tightly, she waited to find out.

‘Hello, everyone. I’m your driver, Dominic. I’m afraid that
today’s tour is going to be taking a little bit of a detour. You see, not very
long ago, your tour guide, Faith, introduced me to a side of London—and a side
of myself—I’d never seen before. Then, for reasons we really don’t need to get
into, but suffice to say it was mostly my fault, she left me here alone in this
big city. And now I want to show her my London, and how it looks without
her.’

Faith’s cheeks burned at his words. She couldn’t look at him,
couldn’t even acknowledge what he was saying. Was he trying to humiliate her?
Was this some sort of ridiculous revenge? No. This was Dominic. Whatever might
have happened between them, he wouldn’t do that to her.

‘And, Faith?’ he said. ‘Trust me, this is going to be far more
embarrassing for me than it is for you.’

Somehow, she wasn’t entirely convinced.

‘On your right, you can just about still see the River Thames.’
Dominic’s voice automatically took on the cadence she’d heard when he was
presenting at meetings, or holding court over debate at the dinner table. ‘We’re
now officially on the South Bank. Coming up, you’ll see the back of
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre, amongst other things. We can’t really get close
enough to the river in this big old thing, but that’s okay. All you really need
to know is that every single time I walk along this river, I think about Faith.
I remember walking along the South Bank with her, practically in the middle of
the night, looking out over the London skyline.’

Faith was pretty sure that wasn’t all he remembered. Whenever
she thought of it, her body remembered his arms around her, his chest under her
cheek, the way he’d kissed her as if she were the air he needed to
breathe...

‘As we swing around here,’ Dominic said as the bus lurched
around the corner, ‘we can head back over the river. From here you can see the
London Eye, and across the way the Houses of Parliament. But what really matters
is, if you look back along the river the way we came, you can see Tower Bridge
in the sunshine.’

Tower Bridge. The place they’d first had dinner with all his
clients. What on earth did he remember about that night? Behind her, the tour
group were all whispering, chatting and giggling. About her, Faith assumed.
Well, at least they were having fun. And it wasn’t as if she hadn’t had more
embarrassing moments in her life. Even if she wasn’t exactly sure what this one
was leading up to. Another way to convince her to let him help with Fowlmere? A
really weird first date?

‘Tower Bridge was where I first realised how incredibly smart,
intelligent, organised and good at her job Faith is. How she could take on my
job in a second if she wanted. Anything she sets her mind to, this woman can
do.’

Faith tilted her head to stare at the ceiling, trying to ignore
the blush burning her cheeks.

‘Is it working, love?’ the old woman sitting behind her asked.
‘Have you forgiven him?’

‘It’s not about forgiveness,’ Faith muttered, sitting up
straight again. ‘We agreed this was a bad idea, is all. I’m not going to work
with him.’

‘I don’t think that’s what he’s asking, dear,’ the woman said.
‘Besides, I don’t think he’s finished yet.’

As Dominic steered the bus back across the river, he pointed
out the spot where they first kissed, giving her a lingering look as he spoke
that nearly resulted in them crashing into a bollard.

‘Eyes on the road,’ Faith screeched.

Dominic laughed and, before they’d gone very much further,
pulled into a bus stop and pulled on the brake. ‘Okay, ladies and gentlemen.
This is where we need to continue our tour on foot, I’m afraid.’

‘Dominic!’ Faith said, even as the tourists started gathering
their bags and cameras. ‘These people have paid for a bus tour, not a walking
tour. That’s what they expect.’

‘They’ll like this more,’ Dominic promised her, planting a
swift kiss on her lips. ‘And I hope you will too. Come on!’

She couldn’t help but jump down off the bus after him, her lips
still tingling from his kiss. But then she stopped on the pavement.

‘Wait. Just... Dominic. Wait.’

Twenty paces up ahead, at the front of the gaggle of tourists
in their cagoules, cameras at the ready, Dominic stopped, turned and looked at
her.

‘I just...I don’t understand what’s going on. I don’t know what
you want.’ Tears burned at the back of her eyes, and Faith blinked them away.
‘Why are you doing this? We agreed...’

‘We were wrong.’ Dominic walked back towards her, and held out
his hand. ‘We were stupid to think we could just put this away in a box and
ignore it. I’m never going to be able to walk through St James’s Park without
thinking of you. Without wanting you in my life. It’s not possible.’

A small, sharp flare of hope burst into life in her chest. ‘So,
you want...’

‘I want you to come with me to see the pelicans,’ Dominic
said.

‘Okay.’ Faith nodded. She could do that.