Page 23 of Unmasking Mr. Crown

Natalie: I’ll text you when I land. Promise.

Pop: Have a good flight, honey. I love you.

Natalie: Love you more.

Pop: Not possible.

Pop: PS: Your mom would be so proud of you! Even when London knocked you down, you got right back up. And now, Chicago! (My kind of town!). I’m proud of you too.

She pressed a hand to her heart.

Natalie:

She hit her hotel room like a gale force wind. Showering, packing, checking emails—all in record time. With her checklist complete, she stretched out across the bed and studied the last item destined for her carry-on: the boots. She tugged on the offending heel. Solid and secure.

I don’t know how you pulled this off, but you’re something else, Mr. Crown.

She snapped a pic and sent it to Kate with the caption: He took care of my boot! Natalie laughed when her sister sent back a snarky reply.

Kate: Among other things!

Natalie: Haha you’re not wrong. I’m all packed. Call me if you can.

Kate’s call came through in seconds.

“Good morning,” Natalie answered on speaker, trying her best to sound calm.

“Baby sister got laiddddd!” Kate shrieked.

“Stop!”

“Tell me everything—but make it the CliffsNotes version. I’ve got students coming in early.”

“Well, this guy sat down at the bar and bought me a drink before I ever said a word to him. Then he pulled out this stopwatch and that’s when I texted you our code.”

“A stopwatch? For what?”

“A little gimmick to strike up conversation—not that he needs one. He’s a walking rom-com script. Anyway, we talked for a while, then he invited me to go dancing at a club. That’s when I texted you about monitoring my location. Then we went back to his place, and well, you know the rest.”

“Nat. You haven’t told me anything. What’s his name? How old is he? What does he do? Eye color? Hair color? Other than being a Longhorn fan, I know nothing. I assume he’s from Texas?"

“You asked for CliffsNotes!” Natalie raised her voice.

“Screw it. I’ll be late to campus. You haven’t hooked up with anyone since Roman, so start talking. I want to know all the things.”

Natalie softened her tone and walked through the whole story of Thomas Crown, beginning to end, every heart-pounding, romantic moment. Mid-ramble, she remembered a very important detail.

“Oh my God! I took a picture of him last night. Hold on.”

She opened the photo gallery on her phone and clicked on the thumbnail image. When it filled her screen, her excitement fizzled, leaving only frustration.

“Damn it.”

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“You can’t even see his face. He’s all backlit. It’s just a silhouette. And my damn finger is in the way.”

“Send it to me anyway.”