"Not yet."
The man pulled away as if suddenly unimpressed. "I was in charge of a case for Mr. Darcy. Worked with him personally about it."
Rick didn't care if he'd been Darcy's personal secretary. The man seemed to only care about his own importance. How in the world did this man produce an angel like Anne?
"Did Anne meet Mr. Darcy?"
The man sighed as if Anne had died. "Regrettably, no. She was too busy. But," he nodded his head in her direction and grinned, "She's met a more interesting man. More interesting than others she's met." He gave a pointed stare at Rick.
Rick clenched his jaw. So, the stuffy father still didn't think Rick was worthy of Anne. "Will isn't the manager of anything." The old man had to at least acknowledge Rick had something Will didn't.
"No, but he will be. Very soon, I hear. Much higher than an Acquisitions Manager."
Rage boiled within Rick. "Excuse me." He rose to his feet and headed out before he punched the stuffy man to the other side of the room. Despite everything Rick had achieved, the father still had no respect for him.
Rick should never have come to this event. Anne wasn't as headstrong or stubborn like Louisa. She'd be persuaded by all those stuffy people that he wasn't good enough again. Even if he fought for her, he'd lose her. Just like the first time. He wasn't enough. Never was enough.
Time to leave. He didn't want that stupid manager position in the first place--
"Rick!"
He turned, shocked to find Anne hurrying toward him.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, those adorable chocolate eyes searching his face in concern.
He should confess, right now, that he had never gotten over her. That the sole reason he had come to this stupid symphony was for her.
But he couldn't handle if she rejected him again. He cared too much. Had always cared too much. Everyone else he could defy, their opinions tossed aside, blazing a trail alone, until he met Anne. He rose and died on her opinion. And he couldn't take another death. He wouldn't survive the second round.
"I had work come up," he waved his phone as if that explained everything.
"But," she waved behind her, "the symphony hasn't even started. You'll miss it entirely."
He was missing HER entirely. And she didn't even realize it. Her head was too full of that snake-like Will.
He forced a careless shrug. "Work is work."
She took a step toward him, hand outstretched as if determined to drag him back by force. "But the piano solo is in the beginning. Surely it's worth staying for that."
A smile snuck on his lips. "You would only care for the piano part." Maybe if he could turn himself into a piano, then he'd get her undivided attention.
She glanced down as if embarrassed. "I do have a partiality for pianos, don't I?"
He wanted to laugh. "That's an understatement."
Her chocolate eyes rushed up to his and he caught his breath. Her eyes had warmth like back in the old days. Maybe her head wasn't full of Will. And she had run after him, hadn't she? Defied her entire family to come after him?
Did he dare risk asking her?
He had to. Even if it killed him.
He took a step forward, reaching for her hand.
"Anne?" Will's voice stabbed Rick like a knife and he jerked backwards, hands curling into fists.
"Is something the matter?" Will stepped to her side, a hand on her back, claiming her as his. Rick wanted Anne to shrug off his touch, to push him away and renounce him, but she turned to Will with a smile. "I'm fine."
Rick wanted to sink into the floor in despair. Or throttle Will.
"I was only worried about Rick." She abruptly faced him, a look of concern on her face. "Won't you come back?"
She was being nice. That was the only explanation for her chasing after him. Not because he was special to her, but because she worried about others. Will was her boyfriend, not him. End of story.
"No, I have to go. Enjoy the symphony." Resisting the urge to deck the smirking Elliot, he turned and strode out of the place. However, at the entrance, he slowed, half hoping to hear her call out his name, but he only heard silence. Furious at himself, he marched out, hoping to never see Anne again.
Chapter 23
He drove aimlessly for an hour, too consumed with the rage inside. Ironically, he soon found himself near her--no, his sister's house. He began to turn around, but stopped. His sister could still be up; he had been meaning to visit them anyway, and, like Brandon said, they'd accept any excuse for his visit.
He pulled into the driveway, but instantly regretted the move as memories of Anne flooded his mind, of when he lost her the first time. The rage re-ignited and he hastily backed the car up, but his headlights caught the waving figure of his sister standing at the opened front door. She must have seen his lights and had investigated who had arrived. Leaving would either confuse or hurt her. With a frustrated sigh, he parked the car and forced a smile onto his face.
"Sophy!"
"Rick! I thought that was you." She hurried down the steps and wrapped her arms around him in a big hug. He squeezed her back, glad to have at least one girl still willing to jump into his arms.
She pulled back and studied his face, concern flooding her face. "Oh, no, Louisa didn't make it, did she? Rick, I'm so sorry!"
He blinked, stunned. "What? No, she's still in the hospital. In fact, everyone is hoping she'll wake up soon."
"Oh, I'm so glad to hear that; you have no idea. I just...well, your face, you looked like you were having a hard time."
He glowered, not happy she saw right through him. "It's nothing."
She pulled on his arm. "Come, let's go inside. We can talk better, there."
"There's nothing to talk about."
"You know, I used to do the same thing. Refuse to talk. But you know what Al did?"
He hadn't' the faintest idea. "What?"
"He'd cry."
Rick's jaw dropped. "He what?"
"Never in front of me," Sophy said. "He'd go somewhere where he didn't think I'd hear him. But I did once and I realized, every time I bottle up my feelings, I only hurt the ones I love." She leveled a stare at Rick. "Your face looks just like mine when I need to talk." She tugged his arm toward the house. "So?"
He blew out his breath, unsure of what to say or if he was even willing to confess. Sophy, however, took his silence as agreement and dragged him inside. Rick cringed as they entered the house, scared of running into Al. He loved his brother-in-law, but he didn't think he could take his jokes at the moment. Or his tears.
To his surprise, Sophy led him to the kitchen table without any interference from Al.
"Where's Al?" Rick asked, unable to withstand his curiosity.
A sheepish grin stole across Sophy's face. "I was craving chocolate but we had run out. He decided to be my knight in shining armor and go get some."
"So, he went to brave the fiery supermarket dragon?"
"It can be quite fearsome." She patted a stool in the kitchen. "Did you want something to drink or anything?"
He grinned. "Chocolate?"
She slapped his arm. "You'll have to wait for Al, then."
Rick nodded, then slumped onto the stool. Sophy busied herself pouring milk into glasses. "For when the chocolate arrives," she said as she slid a glass to him. He gave a weak grin and they fell into silence, his sister waiting calmly, her eyes on him. He knew she was waiting for him to spill, but he didn't know where to start. He had too much pent up inside. It may get ugly coming out.
He decided to go for a safer topic. "How did you and Al meet again?"
Sophy didn't seem to mind the random topic. She smiled as if savoring a beloved memory. "College."
"Yeah, I know where, but how?"
"Oh. Well, I was studying in the library in my usual spot and he was strolling by when he abruptly stopped, approached me, and asked me on a date."
Rick stared at her. "He just...asked you right there? Without even introducing
himself?"
She laughed. "He said something like, "I'm Al, the tall, goofy guy, and I'd like to take you to a funny movie."
"And was it funny?"
"I don't know. I didn't go."
"What? You turned him down?"
"Yep."
"Why?"
She swirled the contents in her glass. "Like I said, he abruptly asked me on a date. I had no idea who he was or if he was being serious or not. I was also a late freshman, trying to get my feet under me and he was this giant stranger who looked ancient."
Rick laughed. "Ancient? Even then?"
"I know. He was only thirty-six, but to a nineteen-year-old, that's ancient."
"What did he do next?"
"Kept on my radar, pretending to "happen" to be in the same area as me. I totally believed him at the time, but then, I didn't really care. He was just the old guy I occasionally chatted with on campus."
Rick sipped his milk. "When did you finally go on a date?"
"A whole year later."
Rick nearly dropped his glass. "Really? He kept trying for a whole year?" Rick was impressed. No wonder Al insisted persistence was the key. If Rick had been up against this, he'd have moved on, refusing to give the girl a chance to reject him again.
"Yep," Sophy said with a sad smile. "I turned him down, oh, I don't know, more than five times, but he finally offered to take me to one of my favorite plays and I decided to go since, if all else fails, at least I'd enjoy the play. But I was so surprised with how much fun we had."
"And then happily ever after."
Sophy shook her head with a wince. "I was terrible to him."
Rick leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"Well, when the relationship grew serious, I freaked. I was too young and he was too old and I had a myriad of reasons and the only people I could turn for advice were all my age and you can imagine their opinion of a guy seventeen years older than me. Plus, well, Al was never drop-dead gorgeous. That was Steven's specialty."
"What?" Rick straightened up. "Steven? Who's Steven?"
Sophy laughed. "Sorry, have I never mentioned him? I was dating him at the same time. Poor Al, going up against someone ten years younger, a whole lot more good-looking, and already guaranteed for a fancy, rich job. Much more enticing than Al's army job."
Rick couldn't believe it. "You gave up Steven for Al?" That was like Anne giving up Elliot for him.
She wagged her finger. "It's more that I almost gave up Al for Steven and that would have been a terrible mistake. Steven couldn't make me laugh like Al. And Steven fought dirty." She glared at the glass in her hands for a moment, then put on a smile again. "You know, I have nightmares where I find myself married to Steven instead of Al."
"He was abusive?" Rick curled his hands into fists. Even though he had barely learned about Steven, he already wanted to pummel the guy. No one had the right to hurt his sister.
"Oh, no, no, I'm telling this all wrong, aren't I? He and I, our fights were dramatic, not abusive. Lots of yelling and throwing of hurtful insults. I had anger issues and so did he, so when we fought, we'd feed each other's anger and escalate the problem instead of dissolving it. Al, on the other hand..." Sophy shook her head with a grin. "I don't know how he does it. I can't stay mad at him for longer than two minutes, I swear. He's a genius."
"Wow." Rick plopped his elbows on the counter. "I had no idea. Poor Al. I thought his persistence remark only meant a few weeks of hard work."
Sophy laughed. "He jokes a lot, but not about being persistent. In your case, though, I guess you have to wait until she wakes up again."
Rick jerked at that. Then he sighed. "Actually, it's not like that at all."
She cocked her head. "Oh?"
He sighed again, not sure how to break the news. "Louisa...is a very nice girl."
"But...?"
"My heart was long gone before I met her."
Sophy suddenly leaned forward, excitement in her eyes. "Oh?"
But Rick recoiled. "It's a long story."
Sophy propped her chin into her hands. "Those are my favorite."
Rick stared at the unmoving, white liquid in his glass. "There's...this girl I met. When I was nineteen."
"Oh, this IS a long story. What happened? Did she think you were too old?"
He shook his head. "She's only two years younger than me. But she had these eyes--they were like windows into a calm, old soul. She could remain happy even though her life wasn't happy. I couldn't understand it. She drove me crazy. She was so sweet. So kind. And so smart. And she never seemed scared of me. She even knew..." A laugh dribbled out. "Actually, she was kind of like Al for you."
"She knew how to calm you?"
"Yeah. I could get all riled up, ready to blow, but she'd have me relaxed in the next second. It was like magic. I wanted to be with her all the time because...well..." he sighed. "It was the only time I was happy." He glared at the glass, the ache for that wonderful time threatening to consume him.
After a long moment, Sophy asked, "What happened?"
"Her father and godmother, that's what."
"They didn't like you?"
"I was an ex-foster boy," he spat. "No family, no job, no future. That's all they saw in me. But she, she saw more in me. I know she did. I saw it in her eyes. She believed in me. Believed I'd make it. But her family poisoned her against me. Convinced her I was a nothing. And then she was gone."
"She left?"
"No, I did. For the navy. But she refused to come with me." He glared at the table. "Insisted on staying with her family and going to college instead."
Silence fell between them for a moment. Then Sophy broke it. "How old was this girl?"
"Seventeen."
Sophy raised an eyebrow. "Seventeen? You asked a seventeen-year-old to run away with you?"
"I asked her to marry me. And she said yes. She said she'd go anywhere with me. But her father wouldn't give us permission--"
"And she chose to not to throw everything away and run away with you."
Rick glared at Sophy. "You're making it sound like I was the bad guy."
Sophy winced. "Sorry. I guess being older makes you see things differently. What did she say when you came back?"
He stared at her. "Come back?"
Sophy answered his stare. "You still love her, right?"
He leaned back. "At the time, I didn't think I did. I thought I had gotten over her. Moved on. But then I met her again, and...and it all came rushing back. And she's just as kind and sweet and..." He gripped his head. "I can't get her out of my head. But she's with her family. The same ones that hate me--"
"How do you know that?"
"I met them tonight. They still think I'm a nobody. A nothing. And they now have a new guy they want her to be with and it's not me."
"But what did she say about it all?"
Rick drummed his fingers on the table, not answering.
Sophy leaned forward. "Rick, have you not asked her opinion yet?"
"You don't understand. She rejected me. She listened to her family over me. I can't compete with that."
Sophy grabbed his drumming fingers. "Rick, you know I love you, but I was making dumb decisions at twenty that nearly cost me Al. This girl was three years younger. Are you really going to hold her to a decision she made so long ago?"
"You don't get it," he yanked his hands away from her. "You don't get rejection, what it's like to be tossed aside. No one got rid of you." It was out before he knew it. And he instantly regretted it. He stood up. "I need to go. I've got work--"
"You mean our Dad's friend, don't you?"
Rick stilled.
She kept her eyes on the glass, pain crisscrossing her face. "You're still mad they kept me while you were forced into the foster system."
Rick rubbed his face. He had never wanted to bring up this topic. "I'm not mad at you, Sophy. I'm...I'm mad that...that...no one WANTED me." His voice broke as that phrase tumbled out of him. Rick covered his face, appa
lled at his breakdown. He expected Sophy to say something--anything, really--but she held still, the silence only broken by the humming of the refrigerator.
Sophy drew in a shaky breath. "Did you know, they asked me if I'd take care of you? That if I could stop those angry outbursts of yours, then they'd keep you. But I...I didn't know how." She hung her head. "I knew it was my fault when they sent you away. If only I had been like Al or this girl you spoke of and knew how to calm you down--"
"It was not your fault," Rick cut in. "You were a teenager--"
"I was seventeen. The same age as your girl. I made a decision that I regret to this day. Why are you forgiving me for abandoning my own brother and not this girl?"
Rick fell silent and glowered at the tabletop. He expected Sophy to speak again but she remained as quiet as him. Apparently, she wanted an answer so he dug up the best one he had.
"You weren't persuaded. You didn't decide to keep me, then kick me out when everyone told you to."
"Ah..." Sophy breathed softly. "She promised, then backed out of it."
"Exactly."
"She lost your trust."
He nodded, glad she was understanding it so well.
"And has she continued to betray you?"
He snapped his eyes to hers, suddenly wary. "What do you mean?"
"I mean, has she been leading a life where she never keeps any promises and continues to let others down? Is she a terrible person?"
A new anger burned within Rick--an anger to defend Anne. "No. She's actually very dependable. She'll drop everything to help someone in need. And she's always so frustratingly calm and nice. Even when a crisis is going on," he closed his eyes, remembering her steadfast calmness during Louisa's accident, "you know you can count on her to keep her head."
"So, let me get this straight. The love of your life dumped you when she was seventeen, but has been living like a paragon since? And yet, you continue to blame her for the choices she made while seventeen?"
"You don't understand. I have nothing to offer--"
She slapped the tabletop. "Now that's just ridiculous. You are a stellar young man who has traveled the world, has an enviable job, and who happened to get a pretty girl named Louisa to swoon all over him a few weeks ago. You have worth, Rick. Yes, no one saw it while you were growing up, but it's different now! Give her a chance to accept you again!"
Persuading Her: A Modern Persuasion Retelling (Pemberley Estates Book 2) Page 17