Page 75 of Unmasking Mr. Crown

“And now to lighten the mood … I saw Roman.”

Kate’s head snapped up. "What? Where?"

"At the party thing I had to go to last night, to spy for my boss."

"You have to spy for your boss?" Kate asked with a chuckle.

"It’s less fun than it sounds. And I don’t have much to report, unless you count Roman low-key hitting on me in front of his pregnant wife.”

“What? That SOB is married … and his wife’s pregnant?!

Kate’s horror was instant and satisfying. Natalie brought her up to speed, describing the scene with the spilled drink, Roman’s overall ick, and his pregnant new wife.

“God, what a snake. I feel for his wife and their future kid. She’s gonna need a good attorney.”

“There’s more. The ironic cherry on top.”

Deep breath, Nat. Just spit it out.

"I saw Mr. Crown, my London one-nighter."

Kate’s mouth fell open. "What?!”

“At least, I think it was him. Maybe it wasn’t, I don’t know. Maybe I hallucinated the whole damn thing. Roman had me pretty flustered, so⁠—”

The sound of Duke’s booming bark coming from downstairs cut her off.

Kate stood. “Pop must be sawing logs. I’ll go let him out one last time.”

“No, I got it. Then I’ve got to get in bed asap.”

Natalie was almost out the door when Kate said, “You know, Dash has a stepbrother. Interesting guy from what Dash has told me about him. We could keep it all in the family."

"No, thank you. I'm looking for something casual. Nothing to distract me, and definitely nothing long distance."

Natalie quickly tended to the dog, then headed straight back up to her room. She set her alarm then reviewed her to-do list one last time. Everything at Terrace Oak was in place. Every vendor confirmed. Every detail, airtight.

And yet …

Everything was letter-perfect for the London gala too.

She scanned her list again.

Stop.

This event is nothing like London.

It will be flawless.

By this time tomorrow, you’ll have your investor. Maybe investors—plural.

She texted Hart again. With a yawn, she scrolled through her Threads feed for a few minutes, thinking that maybe he'd respond before she silenced her phone for the night.

You know what? You've never stalked Hart’s social media. Noah would be so disappointed in you.

With a smirk she typed Hart's name into the Threads search bar. His name popped up at the top of the list, complete with the verified checkmark. His bio was brief but made her laugh.

@hartlockwoodwrites