Читать книгу Heiress on the Run - Sophie Pembroke, Sophie Pembroke - Страница 11

CHAPTER FIVE

HER HOTEL ROOM was bigger than most of the apartments she’d lived in since leaving home, but somehow Faith still found herself down in the hotel coffee bar, just off the lobby, as she planned out the week’s entertainment. She told herself it was because the Wi-Fi connection was faster, or because she’d be able to see the clients and Dominic arriving back at the hotel after their meetings. But actually, it was just a whole lot less lonely than sitting upstairs on her own.

She missed Antonio. Well, actually, that wasn’t true. She didn’t miss him exactly. More the idea of him. What she’d thought he was. A future, a family, a proper place in the world. A life that revolved around who she really was, who she wanted to be—not what other people expected of her.

Well, now she’d just have to find her own new place to belong. Wasn’t as if she hadn’t done it before. Maybe, if she did a good enough job, Dominic would take her on full-time, replacing the infamous Katarina on a more long-term basis.

Except that would put her closer to her old life than she was comfortable with. No, better to get the job done then move on. Again.

Faith’s finger hovered over the touch screen of her tablet, ready to type in her search for availability at London tourist hot spots that evening. But instead she found herself typing in the name Dominic Beresford.

She shouldn’t feel guilty about this, she told herself, as page after page of results scrolled up. She was researching a new employer—standard procedure. Dominic would probably have done the same to her, although hopefully using the name Faith Fowler, one she’d made her own on the Continent. The only stories of interest about her were tall tales of the Italian landscape, and reviews of popular tourist destinations. Nothing to alarm him, and absolutely no photos.

There were lots of photos of Dominic, though. Photos of him glowering at the camera, as flashbulbs went off around him. Photos of him with an icy-cool blonde on his arm, almost as tall as he was, perfect pout in place for the paparazzi. That must be Katarina, she supposed.

Lady Katarina Forrester, in fact, according to the caption. Faith didn’t know her, she didn’t think, but that wasn’t hugely surprising. She’d never been particularly enthusiastic about socialising with the aristocratic set—at least, not the respectable ones—whatever her mother’s dreams of her finding a perfect, financially supportive match amongst them. There hadn’t been a space for her there. Her place at boarding school hadn’t been the only thing she lost when the money was gone.

Her finger paused over another link. This one was harder to justify. This one, if she was honest, was just Faith being incurably nosy. As usual. It really wasn’t any of her business what Katarina Forrester got up to, or why she’d split up with Dominic.

Of course, she pressed it anyway.

And was instantly glad that she’d turned off the sound on the tablet. The video that sprang to life was really not one to be watching in public. Eyes wide, she paused it, then stared for a moment longer before closing the window down. That had to be Katarina, with that long blonde hair let loose from the chignon it had been contained by in every other photo. But the naked guy there with her? Definitely not Dominic.

Well, she supposed that answered the question of why they’d broken up. And it kind of made her wonder exactly what she’d find if she Googled her own name. Possibly best not to know.

Except...she was back in Britain, working the kind of job that might get her spotted at any minute. Wasn’t it better to know what was out there waiting for her if she was recognised?

Before she could change her mind, Faith tapped out her real name in the search bar and waited to see what popped up, apprehension stirring in her chest.

At the top of the page, a row of photos loaded. Two of her looking bleary-eyed in a too-short dress, blinking at the camera as she left some nightclub. The rest...all from that night. Or, rather, the morning after.

God, was it really even her? She barely recognised the woman she was now in the girl on the screen. She’d thrown away the clothes she wore in the photos—the tight black jeans and the corset top, moulding her curves and pushing up her breasts. Her hair was shorter than it was now, just curling around her jawbone. The hotel name, high end and far more expensive than she’d have been able to afford on her own, was clearly visible in the back of the shots.

And on her arm, Jared Hawkes, a little too pale and scowling, but otherwise giving no indication of the hellish night before. Or that he was about to go home and beg his wife for another chance.

No, the photo looked exactly like what everyone had believed it was—a money-grabbing girl stealing a famous, and famously troubled, rock star away from his patient, wonderful wife and adoring kids.

The guilt had faded over the years. She’d made a lot of mistakes when she was younger, sure, but who hadn’t? And this one, that one time, she really hadn’t done anything wrong, as much as the world’s media had tried to convince her—and everyone else—otherwise. It had taken her a while to accept that and forgive herself, after she dropped out of the public eye. But she was done with guilt. All she had left now was the resentment, and the pain of the injustice.

Faith clicked the browser closed. She didn’t need to see any more.

She took a large gulp of coffee and tried to clear her head. Time to get back to the matter at hand—finding somewhere to take the Americans that evening.

She took her time perusing the usual websites, and also reading the best London blogs, to get some more unusual ideas. She’d forgotten how much there was to do and see in London, how much she loved being there. Sure, Rome was romantic as hell and had plenty to offer, but London...it was more of a patchwork. More bits and pieces and scraps from all across history, and across humanity. She liked that in a city.