by Jenni James
“You too, eh?” He turned to Eliza.
“You’d better believe it.” She snapped her seat belt in place. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”
“Then I have officially been outnumbered. On to get Joe.”
“Yes!” Eliza’s mom exclaimed. “Let’s do this thing.”
Will had the car parked at the back of the casino. Guards were waiting to escort them through the kitchens to the front. The private investigator and owner met them just before they made it to the main lounge. Both men were chatting excitedly.
“He’s at the craps table, and winning a good chunk of change. Two of the people he’s playing against are our guys. And he’s just picked up a girl who’s working with us too. We’re holding out until you see him. We’ve got cameras for documentation and anything you may need in court…”
Eliza listened for a second before noticing a collection of people also coming out of the woodwork, dressed as guests, but clearly they were with the owner.
Will caught Eliza’s eye and explained, “They’re private security. They’ve just showed up. This lounge is crawling with them, just in case he tries to bounce.”
It was one of the coolest things she’d ever witnessed, almost like they were in the movie Ocean’s Eleven or something. Her adrenaline began to accelerate the closer they got to the table.
“There he is.” The P.I. pointed to the back of a man in a dark suit.
“I see him.” Will’s face looked grim.
Eliza touched his elbow. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, I’ve never been better.” He turned around. “Now, I want you ladies to blend into the background. You can watch, but I don’t want any of you getting hurt. Do you understand?”
When no one nodded, he tossed his hands in the air. “Guys. Seriously. This is for real now. I have no idea if he’s armed or what—or what he’ll do once he realizes he’s been caught. Just promise me he won’t notice you. Okay?”
“Fine.” Eliza looped her arms through her mom’s and Georgia’s elbows. Together, they began to walk around the area, still heading toward Joe’s table, but situating themselves at another one to the left.
Then they watched as Will walked up to Joe, the men discreetly staying behind. He tapped Joe on the shoulder, and Eliza chuckled as the other man scrambled to his feet. He was as white as a ghost. His eyes darted from side to side, as Will was clearly telling him off.
Joe threw his dice on the ground, and several men stepped forward and held him by the arms. Over the roar of the casino, Eliza could barely hear Will’s threats as they handcuffed and searched Joe.
“I don’t care what he says,” Georgia grumbled as she stomped toward him. “I’m giving that moron a piece of my mind!”
“Georgia, wait!” Eliza ran after her.
“Will’s going to kill us!” Her mom giggled behind them both.
Eliza held Melissa back as Georgia walked right up to her ex and then punched him in the face. Hard. “Don’t you ever speak to me again!”
Eliza winced as the girl shook her hand in obvious pain.
“I wish I knew she was about to do that,” Mom sniggered. “I could’ve gotten her a crow bar and saved her the broken hand.”
But a broken hand wasn’t about to stop her. She wasn’t done yet. “My brother and I are going to make sure you rot in jail! Then you’ll know real pain!” Georgia slammed her foot into Joe’s groin before a few men grabbed her and pulled her back. “You’ll pay for everything you did to me!”
Joe went down with tears in his eyes while Georgia continued to shout at him.
The ruckus was beginning to draw a crowd. The owner nodded to a few of his men, and everyone moved to the back as soon as possible so the gaming could commence.
As Eliza followed behind, she could hear the chuckling respect of a couple of the undercover security—they were pretty impressed with Georgia.
“And then that girl just whacked him as hard as she could in the jewels. I thought I’d die of laughter right then.”
“I don’t know, man. When that ball of fury advanced, I knew the pretty boy wouldn’t have a face left.”
“Serves him right, the perv.”
Will approached as they entered into the large back room. “Hey, I’m going to have the car brought over. The cops are on their way. I want you and Melissa and Georgia to head back to the hotel. I’ve got a lot of stuff I have to go through with the police, and I really don’t want Georgia to see this junk. Can you keep an eye on her?”
They shared a look. She understood exactly what he couldn’t say out loud with so many people around—Georgia shouldn’t be left alone. No matter how brave she was now, this was going to hit, and it’d hit hard. He needed her as far away from Joe as she could get for the time being.
“Okay. She’ll be with us in our suite.”
A look of relief passed over his features. “Thank you.” He leaned forward and kissed her. “I know this isn’t how we planned to spend the evening, but I feel a ton better knowing he’s been caught.”
Eliza nodded. “Me too.”
“Oh, and here.” He reached into his suit pocket and pulled out money. “I’ll call and have the hotel doc look at her hand. If it’s bad, here’s the money you’ll need to take her to the ER. Hopefully, it’s just bruised.”
“Yeah.” She made a face. “That looked so painful for them both.”
He shook his head. “I didn’t see it coming, but it sure made me proud. I kind of think it was totally worth the pain—on her part.”
“She’s definitely feisty.”
He got a text. “Okay. The car’s waiting out back. I’ll see you in a few hours.”
She didn’t want to leave him. Every part of her begged to stay there. “I love you. Be safe.”
He grinned and kissed her again. “That’s four. I love you too. Now go. I’ll be there soon. Text me when you know about her hand.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT:
Way after Georgia’s hand was fixed and Eliza’s mom had fallen asleep in her bed and Georgia had tucked herself to sleep in Eliza’s bed, Eliza lay awake on the couch in the living room waiting for Will. Part of her problem was that she’d slept in so much earlier, but the other problem was this dang excitement coursing through her.
She felt alive and curious to see what was coming next, as if this chapter in her life was finally closing, and soon the buzz she felt in the air would belong to her. Could he really love her? Could they actually make this work?
She grinned and stretched and wiggled her toes and thought about the past year of her life with Will Darcy. Everything really did seem to come alive once he came into the picture. Even though she mistook the attraction for contention, her mom was probably right. She’d undoubtedly been steadily falling for the brat for months.
So this is what love was. This unbelievable urge to help when needed, to care for, and uplift, and worry over, and tease, and argue, and miss. It’d only been four or five hours, but she missed him.
As soon as she heard his knock on the door, she quickly got up to let him in. “Hi.” She smiled.
Will looked haunted and exhausted, but he grinned when he saw her. “Hello, beautiful.” He held his arms out as he walked in. “Come here.”
She wrapped him up in a hug. “How did it go?”
“He’s behind bars. Without bail. And will be there until the court date. It looks like Georgia and I will be back for court in a month or two, but I don’t have to think about another thing for now.”
“So do you know what damage he’s done? How much he stole from you?”
“Hundreds of thousands, it looks like. We won’t know until all the bills come in. Thankfully, he had a ton of cash stashed in his hotel room, so we’ll be able to divvy that up throughout some of his debts, but I’m still out so much money, I don’t even want to think about it.”
“I’m so sorry. But at least he’s behind bars and not hurting anyone else.”
He sighed and slowly
began to rub her back. “Oh, if only I could do this every single day.”
“What?” Capture criminals? Was he joking?
“Come home to a warm hug from you.”
“Oh.” She snuggled in closer. “It is pretty nice, I have to admit.” She stage-whispered, “Though I should probably let you know, we work together. And that means we’ll be able to hug whenever we want.”
“Every day. All day long.” He began to move them around in a circle as if they were dancing.
She chuckled. “Dork.”
“Come on—you don’t think we could hold meetings like this? See? If we just turn around a bit, then voila! Just like one of my presentations.”
“Let’s try it on Monday.” She reached up on tiptoes and kissed him. “What are they going to do, fire you?”
“That’s what I’m talking about. This is why we’re so perfect for each other.”
“And I thought it was because I put you in your place.”
He scrunched his nose. “Nah. That’s why you’re so good for me. But together, with these brilliant minds, we’re practically unstoppable with so much awesomeness.”
“All we need are capes.”
“Hmm… You are pretty much a superhero in my book.” He kissed along her cheek and jaw.
“That’s because I’m so super.”
“I’d rather think of it as magical.”
“Ooh, you’re right. I like that better. I’m magical.” She sighed as his kiss moved to just below her ear. He was sending zings all over her. “Actually, I think you’re more magical than me. I mean, these kisses—gah!”
He found her lips. “I love you, Ms. Elizabeth Bennet.”
“Mmm… I love you too.”
She felt him grin. “That’s six.”
“No, I didn’t say I love you earlier. You’re still at five.”
“Fine. Now that’s six.”
Smiling in return, he began to sway and rock her in their miniature personal dance again. “Are you ever going to tell me what these ten ‘I love you’s’ are about?”
“That’s seven.” He kissed her again.
“Will?”
“What?”
“Ugh. What does ‘I love you’ mean?”
“Eight.”
“Oh, for crying out loud! I love you. I love you. There. Now I’ve said ten. What’s my treat?”
“Ms. Elizabeth Bennet?”
“Yes? Are you going to tell me what my treat is?”
“I love you more than life itself. I would gladly die for you.”
“Okay? Thank you. But what does that have to do with what we’re talking about?”
“Woman, hush. I’m trying to tell you right now. Now stop interrupting me.”
“Did you just say ‘woman’? As if I’m some sort of—”
“Yes. Now be quiet.” He took a deep breath.
Her dad’s advice rang loud and clear. Perhaps now was another good time to put that to use. She laughed. “I promise to be good. Go ahead.”
“Actually, I’ve changed my mind.”
“What?”
“I almost forgot. I can’t give you your treat yet.”
“Will, what in the world are you talking about?”
He pulled her into her bedroom and looked around until he spotted her laptop. “Here. First, you have to read the rest of that email. Then, I’ll continue. That is, if you still want me to.”
She hadn’t thought of that email for at least a couple of days. “You’re so lucky I love you. You know that, right?”
He nodded toward the computer. “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”
She gave him a funny look as she crossed over to the dresser and picked up the laptop. Then she crawled up on the bed and leaned against the headboard as she opened it. It took a couple of seconds before the email was in front of her again.
“Do you mind?” Will gestured toward the bed.
Eliza patted the area next to her. “Only if you promise to be quiet while I read it.”
The bed shifted as he crawled over and joined her. He put one arm around her shoulder and tucked her back against his chest.
Together, they read.
CHAPTER TWENY-NINE:
Eliza quickly skimmed through the parts she’d already seen.
Elizabeth,
I’ve given it some thought, and I’d like to say you’re right. Don’t get me wrong—you’re not right about everything. You’re just right about a few things. Mainly my character. I was a jerk to you. I’ve treated you unkindly, and as I tried to explain earlier, unwisely. I felt from the beginning that having you come and help the company would look like I’d failed. How am I supposed to run such a large corporation when I’m not even qualified to know what’s best for it?
There you were, in all your five-foot-two no-nonsense glory, and I was mad, definitely not wanting to be in the situation I’d been forced into, and definitely not wanting to pretend to be nice to you. As far as I could tell, you were too young, too attractive, and too much trouble for your own good. You spoke out of turn, you had no concept of the way we ran things, and you continued to criticize everything that had been achieved and put into place before you came along.
Yes, we argued a lot. It’s something I came to respect about you—that you wouldn’t take trash from me. You’d give it back, sometimes hurtling the junk at my face, but always giving back. I loved that you weren’t afraid of me, like so many people are. You were smart, sharp, and just exactly what this company needed.
I admit, there were days when I wondered if I’d gotten under your skin and actually hurt you during our arguments. You have such a hard shell, I guess I’d convinced myself that you were fine and business was business. But I see now that I was wrong. And I’m sorry. Honestly, it really worries me that I made you believe we were enemies, that my childish actions caused you to doubt yourself and your worth (and don’t say they didn’t!) so much that you were confused when I proposed.
Well, honestly, I was confused too. I’d bought a ring on impulse about a week ago, and then on another whim, I found myself at your door tonight. Seriously, the words were out before I had a minute to realize what I was saying. And then you were angry, and it was just fail. From the moment I showed up at your door, it was all fail. You’re right. I don’t know you. I don’t know anything about you, really. I mean, I thought I did. I thought being so close to you all year had shown me so much, but it didn’t show me this side.
In my defense, I’ve never proposed before, and I doubt I will again for a long time. I feel like such a loser. Of course you’d deserve better than me. Of course you’d be wishing for a guy to come and sweep you off your feet, someone to say all those romantic things and give you flowers and all that. I’m shaking my head at my own narcissism in believing for ten seconds that you’d ever really fall for me, the awkward rich boy.
I know I’m rambling and not making much sense, but while I’m here, I have a confession to make. I guess I really don’t know what love is. Sure, I understand family love—like with my sister and friends—but I’m completely lost when it comes to expressing myself, or even finding someone to express those feelings to. My mom and dad’s relationship wasn’t the best. She tried, but even her gentleness couldn’t soften him. It didn’t help that my dad was a workaholic who spent his whole life attempting to gain a vast fortune. Once he’d done that, he only wanted more and more and more… it was disheartening to watch. To lose him to greed and power like that. It still hurts me.
After my mom passed away when I was a teen, I decided to try to reach my father—have or build whatever relationship I could with him. So I did the unthinkable. After college, I joined his company. Soon, I moved up the ranks and developed my own. I allowed him to oversee and add his input when we broke off, hoping for a mutual respect and bond to grow, a like father, like son type of thing. It was him who recommended the consulting firm you work for, and how I came to hire you, though I didn’t want to. I thought for sure my dad would become p
roud of me eventually, that this company would earn his respect, but it didn’t. Instead, he only saw enough flaws to deem it necessary that I receive outside help.
I honestly shouldn’t have treated you the way I did. And I certainly had no right falling for you, either. Forgive me, Eliza. I’m sorry to have you in the middle this crazy awkwardness.
Since writing the last part, I’ve taken a break and come back to the whole email. This is too long. I know it is. So I’ll end it now. However, I have a small favor to ask of you. If you manage to read all of this, could you please consider remaining my confidant? My friend? My sounding board when things go rough, and—I don’t know—I’m going to miss you. I’ve ruined everything, and I regret knowing that we’ll never be the same again.
I’m sorry.
Forgive me.
Will
Eliza took some time as she stared blankly at the letter. For a few minutes after it’d been read, she sat in Will’s arms and processed. Finally, she spoke. “You really are an introvert, aren’t you?”
It seemed as though it was the last thing Will had expected her to say. “What?”
“You’re shy. And not this debonair guy at all.”
He snorted. “No. I’ve never pretended to be, either.”
She bit her lip and nodded, her eyes blindly gazing at the white email before her. “You have no idea how to propose, do you? Have you ever had a real relationship before?”
“One where she wasn’t attempting to scam me or take my money or make her parents happy? You mean, something where someone actually loved me for me?”
“Yes. That.”
“No.” He took a deep breath. “Until now. I hope?”
“That’s another thing.” She turned slightly to look at him. “Why in the world would you believe that if I read the rest of that email, I’d never speak to you again? What was that all about?”
He adorably shrugged and looked sheepish. “I don’t know. I guess I thought if you knew more of the real me, you’d see the nerd that I am and wouldn’t like me.”
She rolled her eyes. “See? This is where we need to get our wires straightened out here. Vulnerability does not equal disgusting. Ever.”