by Krista Lakes
The young woman smiled and blushed. “Thank you.”
“You should be playing in there,” I said, motioning to the party room. “I think they’d all appreciate your playing.”
The woman smiled again. She was thin and delicate with big green eyes that looked tired. Her dark hair was trimmed to a short pixie cut that accentuated her petite frame and thin features. She couldn’t have been more than eighteen or so, but there was something in her eyes that made me think she was older than her years.
“Thanks,” the young woman replied. She sat at the piano and gave me a conspiratorial grin. “I’m actually supposed to be at that party, but I don’t know anyone there.”
“So you’re hiding in here?” I asked, taking another step closer. She seemed familiar to me, but I couldn’t place from where. She had a soft British accent that fit well with her playing piano. It all seemed very smart.
“Yup. I am totally hiding,” she admitted. “Don’t tell my brother.”
“Not a word,” I promised, crossing the small room. “Will you keep playing?”
“Sure,” she said with an easy shrug. “Do you play? I know a couple of duets.”
She scooted over on the bench to give me room to sit. I paused as she smiled at me.
“I haven’t played since I was a kid,” I told her. “I’m not very good.”
“Come sit with me anyway,” she replied. “It makes me feel less lonely.”
I couldn’t say no to a request like that, so I sat beside her as she began to run her fingers over the keys in a simple, yet beautiful song I didn’t recognize. I loved watching her fingers make music right before my eyes. It was like magic.
“Well, at least you know someone at the party now,” I told her as she slowed her fingers and ended the song. “You know me.”
She grinned, her green eyes sparkling. “You work at St. Austen’s?”
“I do,” I said with a grin. “I’m a nurse there.”
“Do you know anyone in the Cardiac ICU?” the young woman asked, her voice excited.
“That’s the floor I work on,” I replied with a grin. “There’s a lot of good people on my floor.”
Her fingers picked a new melody, this one light and bright. It made me happy just listening to it.
“I’m Georgiana, by the way,” she told me, adding a small flourish to the end of the musical phrase.
I nearly fell off the bench. I should have known.
“Georgiana Darcy?” I asked.
The universe hated me.
“Yeah, how’d you know?” she asked, giving me a friendly grin. She paused, the music stopping suddenly as her grin somehow grew wider. “You must be Elizabeth!”
She turned on the bench and wrapped her arms around me in a giant hug. She was stronger than she looked. Mr. Darcy’s younger sister was sitting next to me and knew my name. This couldn’t end well.
“Oh. You know me,” I said lamely, unsure of what to do next.
“Only by what my brother has told me,” she confessed. “He doesn’t say nice things about a lot of people, but he always speaks very highly of you.”
I nearly fell off my chair again. “He does?”
She nodded. “I’m so glad to meet you. It’s actually one of the reasons I agreed to come to the party in the first place.”
“Really?” I still couldn’t get over the fact that her brother said nice things about me, not just to one person, but two. Fritz and Georgiana both had heard nice things from me.
“My brother always has to go to these parties,” she explained. “I don’t like going to them all, but I wanted to meet you. So, when he offered, I came.”
“I’m flattered,” I told her. I had no idea what I was supposed to say next. I knew I should get up and run as fast as my heels could take me. If she were waiting for her brother, he would be here any moment. The idea of seeing him made my stomach do strange things.
“Is your brother here?” I asked, glancing around the empty room like he might appear in a puff of smoke and surprise me.
“He will be. They expect it, between the presents he has donated and other money. Did you know that he even bid up all the items that nobody was bidding on at the silent auction a couple weeks ago?”
How could I forget the antique journal that he snatched away from me? “You don’t say,” I said through gritted teeth. “What a gentleman.”
She beamed. “He sure is. Right now, he’s upstairs on a phone call,” she explained. “Something with the merger going on. Catherine has been on him nonstop to make this thing happen.”
I seemed to remember Charles mentioning the name Catherine as well.
“Catherine?” I asked. “Who is she?”
“The COO of the company,” Georgiana explained. She made a sour face. “She’s a terrible human being, but an excellent businesswoman. She has run the company since before Will inherited it.”
“Oh,” I replied.
She’s just here to meet a rich husband, so she doesn’t have to work her meaningless job, I remembered Charles repeating, but in a high-pitched old-lady voice that first night at the gala. I had a pretty good idea I didn’t like Catherine.
“Sometimes, I think Will spends too much time with her,” Georgiana whispered to me. “All she cares about is growing the business even bigger and making sure that no one takes advantage of her or Will. She doesn’t care about anyone but her own ego.”
“That certainly explains some of the things he’s said,” I replied with a dry chuckle.
“Did he parrot her to you?” Georgiana shook her head. “I’m working on making him behave more human. He forgets that business isn’t all there is to life. Sometimes life should be about dancing and playing the piano.”
“Cheers to that,” I told her, even though I didn’t have a drink. For being as young as she was, she was full of wisdom.
“Have you eaten yet?” Georgiana asked, changing the subject.
“Not yet,” I admitted. “Why? Can you hear my stomach growling?”
Georgiana laughed. “No, but they have the best dinner rolls here. Come on. I’ll show you where they keep the good stuff.”
She grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me away from the piano. I could have said no to a tornado with more ease. I had a feeling that Georgiana had the unique talent of being able to get whatever she wanted while making people feel good at the same time.
We made it halfway across the room when the door opened and in walked a gorgeous man in a suit. My heart suddenly dropped and soared at the same time.
“I know you’re in here hiding with the piano, Geo,” Mr. Darcy said, stepping into the room. He had that same smile from the picture on his face. It quickly faded as soon as he saw me. His feet even stumbled a little bit.
I know mine did.
“Will! Look who I found,” Georgiana announced, presenting me with her hands like I was a long-lost treasure. “She’s wonderful. I wish you would have introduced us earlier.”
I just stood there, unable to form English words. Nothing seemed adequate. Nothing seemed to sound right in my head, so I just stood there, looking up into those blue eyes that loved to give toys to kids with cancer.
“I, um...” Mr. Darcy cleared his throat, and I felt a little better that he didn’t know what to say either.
“We were just about to get some food,” Georgiana continued, completely oblivious to the strange tension between her brother and me.
“If you two have other plans, I can go,” I said quickly. “I’m fine. I don’t want to interrupt.”
I couldn’t help but meet those blue eyes again. I couldn’t read if he was angry or sad. He just stared at me, keeping me in the tractor beam of his gaze. I felt so stupid. I wanted to be mad at him, but I couldn’t. Not after the letter. Not after seeing the pictures on the wall.
If anything, I felt like the biggest stupid-head in the state.
“No, no other plans,” he stammered. A slight pink came into his cheeks. He couldn’t seem to look away from me e
ither.
“Okay then, let’s go. I’m hungry,” Georgiana took my arm and started walking to the door.“I love the rolls they make here. They’re amazing. Even when I have my treatments, Will just has an order of them ready because they’re the only thing I can keep down. You have to try them.”
“Okay,” I agreed, nodding along to her easy conversation.
“Keep up, Will,” she called back, flashing him a smile as we left the room. I looked back to see him following us. His eyes were only on me.
Chapter 17
Two drinks, some food, and the most amazing dinner rolls I’d ever eaten, and I was having a wonderful evening. It was the most surprising thing to me.
Georgiana never stopped talking, it seemed. She always had something sweet and funny to say, and I was glad. It filled in the awkward silences whenever Mr. Darcy and I didn’t know what to say. She kept the conversation smooth and flowing.
He kept watching me, those blue eyes taking in my every movement. To be fair, I kept watching him from the corner of my eye. He looked so handsome sitting with us. His dark hair was combed back, and his suit displayed the strength of his shoulders and trim of his waist.
It helped that I knew exactly what was under that suit, but I knew I would never have that again. Still, every time he glanced over at me, my heart did flip-flops. I had slept with the man, so there was no reason to be nervous around him, yet there I was. I felt like a schoolgirl next to the captain of the football team.
I laughed too hard at his jokes. I smiled too much when he looked over at me. I tried to come up with something witty or clever to say at every chance, which meant that I sounded like an idiot most every time I opened my mouth. I was giving serious thought to calling Lydia just to get some flirting tips because I was sucking so badly at it.
“I’m going to go get some more of those chocolate strawberries,” Georgiana announced, standing up from her seat. She swayed slightly, her thin body struggling with the sudden movement. She wasn’t completely healthy yet, and I suspected that her adorable pixie cut was less choice and more about using what hair she had left.
“I’ll come with you,” I told her, rising up myself.
She shooed me back down. “No, no,” she said, shaking her head. “I’ll be right back. You stay here.”
She flashed me a grin that told me she knew exactly what she was doing leaving the two of us alone.
Unfortunately, I had no idea what to do. And given the awkward silence, neither did Mr. Darcy.
“She’s adorable,” I finally blurted out. “Your sister, I mean. I mean...” I took a deep breath. How did he fluster me without even saying a word? I smiled at him and tried again. “I’m having a very nice evening. Thank you for letting me join you and your sister.”
He smiled, and my heart went into double time.
“Likewise,” he replied.
I needed something smart to say. Something that would make him smile at me like that again.
“So, how’s the buyout going?” I asked, trying to sound casual. “I saw something about it proceeding as planned in the news the other day.”
I suddenly found myself wishing I’d paid more attention to the news story. A patient had been watching it when I came in to check vitals, so I didn’t really have that option, but that didn’t change me from wishing I had.
“It’s going well,” he replied. He sounded so calm and smooth. “I’m very pleased with it. We have a meeting tomorrow to finalize everything. I wish everything in my life would work out as well as this did.”
The way he looked at me told me he meant me. I swallowed hard and looked down at my hands. This would be a great time to apologize. I knew that I should, yet somehow I couldn’t get the words out. My pride was too big.
“I’m glad it’s working out for you,” I instead told him. It was lame as hell. “I wish you all the success in the world.”
“Thank you.” A small ghost of a smile flickered across his face. It made me ache to see him smile again.
“Will you be staying in New York after the deal is complete?” I asked, holding my breath. I hoped he was.
“Just until the end of the year,” he replied. “Geo loves New York this time of year. Plus, I think she likes getting away from Catherine.”
“Your COO?” I asked, making sure I had the right one.
He nodded. “Yes. Our Aunt Catherine looks after Geo when I’m out on business,” Mr. Darcy said. “Catherine prefers to stay in London, so Geo takes any opportunity to come with me to New York she can.”
“I’m glad she came.” I smiled, meaning it. If she hadn’t come to the party, I would never have had this wonderful time with her and Mr. Darcy.
I racked my brain, trying to come up with something that we could have a real discussion on. I wanted to keep talking with him all night. I was about to ask him about his flying when Georgiana reappeared.
It was perfect and yet terrible timing.
“I managed to get the last three strawberries,” she announced. “Everything is shutting down. Apparently, the party is ending.”
“What?” I looked down in shock at my watch. “It’s supposed to go until eleven.”
“And it’s eleven fifteen,” Georgiana informed me. My watch backed her up. How in the world had so many hours gone by without me noticing?
“Oh dear.” I quickly pulled out my phone and saw several missed messages. Three were from my ride home. The first said it was time to leave, the second where she was, and then the third that she was leaving without me. There was even a message from Jane asking when I’d be home. I hadn’t even noticed them.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Darcy asked, his face concerned.
“My ride home left. She has to work tomorrow, so she left earlier,” I explained. I put my phone away and shrugged. “It’s not important. I can get a cab really easily.”
“I’ll take you home.” He didn’t hesitate. He didn’t have to think about it. He just offered.
“You don’t have to, Mr. Darcy,” I told him, standing up from the table. I doubted he wanted to be stuck with me any longer than he had to be.
“No, I’d like to.” His voice was soft. I melted a little bit, even though I wanted to protest a little bit more. The idea of being alone with him was making my heart stutter. As much as I wanted more time with him, what in the world would I say without Georgiana to fill in the big silent parts?
“Good, it’s settled then,” Georgiana announced before I could tell him no. “My brother will take you home, and I get to see you again. Promise?”
There was no way I could say no to that. “Of course. I’d like that very much.”
“Good.” She grinned, but the frowned. “Now, why have you been calling him ‘Mr. Darcy’ all night? I thought you two knew each other.”
“Well, the night I met your brother, I did call him William,” I told her. “He corrected me and told me to call him Mr. Darcy.”
“William!” Georgiana’s accent became much sharper as she smacked her brother on the shoulder. She glared at him before returning to face me. “I apologize for him.”
Mr. Darcy’s cheeks darkened. “I did do that, didn’t I?”
I nodded. “Among other things.”
He got up and came to stand before me, his blue eyes focused on me. I was the center of his world, and it was a heady experience. “I am sorry.”
My knees went weak, and my heart threatened to go into a-fib. I reached for the table just to keep me upright.
“Me too,” I whispered, staring into his eyes. “For everything.”
It wasn’t as much of an apology as he deserved, but it was at least the start of one. A weight lifted off my shoulders, and I knew I should have apologized a long time ago.
He smiled, lighting up those blue eyes and making my knees tremble a little more.
“You’re more than forgiven,” he said softly.
“Well that’s good,” Georgiana said, reminding us that she was still there. She held up a
strawberry. “Strawberry for the road?”
I shook my head. “No, thank you.”
She shrugged and popped one happily into her mouth. “Good. More for me then.”
I gave her a big hug. I couldn’t help but like the girl. She was still struggling with her illness, but there was no way she was letting it bring her down. She was a light in this world and reminded me a lot of my grandmother in the best possible way.
The three of us walked into the mostly deserted lobby. I couldn’t believe that I’d had such a nice time with the two Darcy siblings that I’d lost all track of time. I would never have thought it possible.
“You go on up to the room,” Mr. Darcy told Georgiana as she stifled a yawn. “I’ll take Elizabeth home.”
“Take your time,” she told him as she headed toward the elevator. She waved one last time as I went to retrieve my coat. It was easy to find because it was the last one left.
“You don’t really have to take me home,” I told Mr. Darcy as he helped me slide on my coat. “It’s not far. And a cab is really easy.”
“I want to,” he replied. “Stop arguing.”
I nodded in acquiescence. “As you wish.”
He chuckled. The sound was rich and joyful, and it made me look up in surprise. “What’s so funny?”
“Submission looks very strange on you,” he told me. “You never give in.”
“That’s a nice way of saying I’m stubborn,” I said. He just grinned at me and put his hand on the small of my back to guide me to the valet. His touch, even through my coat, made my stomach flutter and my nerves tingle. I was glad I was wearing a coat, or he would have been able to feel my heat.
The valet jumped to attention as we walked out. “Mr. Darcy, I’ll have your car up right away, sir.” He took a step and then stopped. “Which one would you like?”
“The red one, please,” Mr. Darcy replied.
The valet nodded and took off running. I’d never seen someone move that fast, but then again, I also wasn’t worth billions. Or even had a car.
“How many cars do you have here?” I asked, realizing that the valet made it sound like there were multiple.