Liam's Perfect Woman (Home to Harbor Town 2) - Page 58

A few seconds later, Liam ended the conversation and hung up the phone.

“Your father’s assistant at Langford?” Natalie asked.

“Yes. I would have talked to her sooner, but she’s been on vacation in Italy. She told me that Dad was definitely preoccupied and withdrawn at work the week of the crash. First thing on Tuesday morning, he’d insisted she try to locate an old friend of his—Evan Mulonovic. I kind of remember Mulonovic. He was one of those old friends of my father’s whose name popped up once in a while,” Liam explained in a distracted manner as he tapped his fingers rapidly on the keyboard of the computer. He paused for a second, his face sober and his blue eyes intent on the screen, before he resumed. “Ellen said she was able to locate Mulonovic and book a lunch meeting for them on that Tuesday.”

“That was the day of the crash,” Natalie said in a hushed tone.

“Yeah. According to Ellen, my dad went straight to Harbor Town after that lunch. It says here that Dr. Mulonovic was a pediatrician—a pediatric geneticist, to be exact. He worked at Children’s Memorial Hospital.”

“What, Liam?” Natalie asked when he suddenly cursed under his breath.

“So much for questioning Mulonovic about anything significant during that lunch meeting. It says here he died of a heart attack a year ago.”

Chapter Twelve

They discussed the phone call with Ellen on the way to the fundraiser. By the time he pulled into the field designated for parking next to the Family Center, neither of them had made any sense of the puzzling information.

Most of the regular parking lot was being used for other activities for the fundraiser. The sounds of a party reached his ears: music from a small band, children’s hoots of laughter, the buzz of conversation. As they got out of the car, Liam saw information booths, an inflatable bounce house, and ring toss and bottle throw for prizes. Colleen had bribed Tony Tejada, Harbor Town’s mayor, with the use of her boat for a week in order to get him into the dunking machine. He noticed his nephew, Brendan, wearing swim trunks running fleetly through the grass, only to go down on one hip. Natalie gasped in alarm, but then Brendan glided like a hockey puck on ice for twenty-five feet.

Liam laughed and took her hand. “That was Marc’s idea. You can’t lose with the kids when you’ve got a Slip ’N Slide.”

Natalie’s smile looked a little shaky as she surveyed the crowd. He paused in the parking area and squeezed her hand.

“Do you really want to do this?” he asked her quietly while he examined her reaction.

She looked amazing in a pair of form-fitting jeans and a turquoise tunic that highlighted both her dancer’s lithe figure and healthy tan. The breeze blew a tendril of hair on to her cheek. He hooked it with his finger and drew it back. He’d asked her to wear it down earlier when he’d seen her start to twist it into a bun. She’d complied readily enough, but now he was feeling a little guilty for asking. She should have the right to go out into public any way she damn well felt comfortable.

“I’m fine,” Natalie replied, sounding a little breathless.

Liam suddenly had an urge to hustle her back in the car and take her back to the cottage, where they could resume th

eir idyllic weekend. He still had about a million things he wanted to discover about her, and he was sure he’d have another million by the time the weekend was through. Every new discovery was magic—like that she loved John Wayne movies, and cheese curls, and that she made the sweetest sigh when he kissed the side of her left knee. When he’d asked her half teasingly, half in total earnest what her best dance move was, she’d laughed and rolled her eyes. When he’d persisted in getting an answer, she’d told him an arabesque, which meant absolutely nothing to him. Upon more wheedling, she’d shown him the position—her body supported on one leg, the other extended behind her as if she did a split in midair.

The woman was amazing.

He was about to suggest they ditch the fundraiser when Mari Kavanaugh approached, looking beautiful in a pink dress and sandals.

“Liam! There you are. I was just telling Tony Tejada you’d be here. He said next year the citizens of Harbor Town could line up and act out their aggression on the new police chief instead of the mayor. He was a bit tetchy when he said it,” Mari said.

“A bit wet, you mean,” Liam replied with a grin.

Mari stopped dead in her tracks, her brandy-colored eyes going wide when she saw who stood next to him. “Natalie. Oh my God!” Mari rushed her for a hug. “I can’t believe you came. Oh, I’m so glad.”

It both pleased him and made feel a little sad to see how surprised Mari was that Natalie had attended the public event. He realized Natalie hadn’t been at the opening ceremony for the Family Center last year. If she had, he would have noticed her.

Simple as that.

Mari backed out of the hug and glanced dubiously between Natalie and Liam.

“What is going on here?” she asked, half mock-stern and half pleased as punch.

“Come on, Mari. I’ve never known you to be so slow on the uptake,” Liam said as he gave his sister-in-law a kiss on the cheek. He noticed Eric Reyes next to the dunking booth, talking to his seven-year-old niece, Jenny, of all people. Eric had noticed Liam and Natalie’s arrival. Liam hoped at the very least that he kept his expression as neutral as Eric’s. He didn’t want to ruin this for Natalie, especially when she was so nervous about making a public appearance.

“Where’s that husband of yours? Already campaigning to be senator?” Liam asked Mari.

Mari looked surprised. “Did Marc tell you about that?”

“No. I have my sources of information,” Liam said mysteriously. He noticed Mari’s bemused expression, and admitted, “I actually read about the party showing interest in making Marc their candidate for senator in the Chicago Tribune.”

Tags: Beth Kery Home to Harbor Town Billionaire Romance
Source: readsnovelonline.net
readsnovelonline.net Copyright 2016 - 2024