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Around the third glass of wine, he stopped even trying.
The servers, for all they looked as if they’d been yanked in off the streets, knew what they were doing. Dominic barely noticed when they topped up his glass or cleared away their empty plates. The food—incredible-tasting food on plates for sample-sized portions—just kept on coming, course after course. Antipasti, pastas—three kinds—fish, meat, and then, when they were almost fit to busting, a sorbet so sharp it almost cut the mouth. The tiramisu to finish would have been beyond him, but Faith grabbed her own spoon and dug into the shared plate, and the expression on her face as she tried it made him want to know what made her look like that. If he could replicate the experience for her in other ways...
‘Oh, that is good,’ he admitted, taking his own bite.
Faith gave him a smug smile. ‘I knew you’d enjoy letting go for once.’
Suddenly, his head was filled with all the ways he could make her let go. How she would look if he kissed her breathless. How he could touch her until she forgot who she was, never mind him.
He swallowed down the last of his wine. Too much, too soon. ‘So, what do you want to do next?’ he asked, as the waiter brought over two tiny glasses of Limoncello, along with the bill.
Faith picked up her glass, took a sip, then licked her sticky fingers. Dominic felt something tighten in his chest at the sight. ‘Well, that depends on you,’ she said.
‘On me? How?’
‘Do you think you’ve managed to suitably forget who you are for the night?’
Watching her across the table in the candlelight, Dominic thought he might actually be a whole new person, after all. ‘I think I’ve managed it, yes.’
‘In that case,’ she said, pushing his liquor glass towards him with two fingers, ‘drink up. Because I want to show you my London.’
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SHE STARTED ON the South Bank, because she loved the way it lit up and came to life at night. They crossed at Waterloo Bridge, with a crush of other people heading the same way, and walked west along the river, towards the London Eye.
‘I’ve been on that, at least,’ Dominic said, looping her hand through his arm. ‘Does that earn me any points?’
Faith considered. ‘Depends. Did you go on an ordinary day with ordinary people? Or were there champagne, strawberries and schmoozing involved?’
‘The latter,’ Dominic admitted. ‘Does that mean I have to go on it again?’
‘Probably. But not tonight.’
They walked further, staring back across the river at the lights of Westminster, watching Big Ben as it chimed the hour. It was already getting late, Faith realised. She wondered how Dominic would feel about getting the night bus back... She shook her head. A step too far for this trip, she decided. Besides, if the evening went the way she hoped, she didn’t want to waste time on buses.
‘You know, I don’t think I’ve ever done this,’ Dominic said as they paused at the railings, just taking in the skyline.
‘Done what?’
‘Just...wandered around the city with a beautiful girl on my arm.’ He tugged her a little closer at his words, and Faith felt the warmth of him seeping through her dress. He thought she was beautiful. No one had ever called her that before. Sexy, yes. Gorgeous, yes. Beautiful? No.
‘How long have you lived here?’ she asked, hoping to distract from her blush. ‘How is that even possible?’
Dominic shrugged, and shifted again, drawing her into the circle of his arms, making her feel warm and safe. ‘I grew up on the country estate. Trips to London were always for a purpose. I went from car to hotel to venue or event, back to hotel then car and home again. I wasn’t exactly encouraged to explore.’
Faith leant back against his chest, remembering how that felt, that being shuffled from one place to the next, more of an accessory than a person. Surely Dominic, of all people, could understand why she’d run?
‘What about when you grew up?’ she asked.
‘It didn’t occur to me,’ Dominic said, amused honesty in his voice. ‘I don’t know why. No, I do. There was just so much else to do. I had an entire family name to save. Every single thing I did, for years, was about building up the estate, making new connections, finding new ways to use the land, the influence, the money that started coming in. I didn’t have time for anything else.’
‘Not even people?’ He sounded so lonely. How could she leave him when he sounded so terribly alone?
‘Just Sylvia, really. Until Kat came along.’
Ah, of course. Maybe he had a reason for wanting to be alone. ‘I don’t like to pry...’
