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.