First (Wrong) Impressions: A Modern Pride & Prejudice (22 page)

“Do you need to prepare? I can get you home early if you—”

“No, it’s fine. I have all of my research done. I basically give the same talk at every place. Pemberley was a bad example. Normally, I’m far better on my feet.”

“I know.” He looked her in the eye. His voice turned deep and he said, “You are an excellent speaker.”

“Except today,” she said and a nervous giggle escaped her. Good Lord, did she just giggle? Ugh.

“You were perfect.”

They looked at each other for several beats before he turned off the engine. Lizzy let out a long breath when she opened the door. Who was this smoldering, handsome man? Had the real William Darcy been replaced by some ultra-sexy alien consciousness?

Either that, or Darcy had taken her harsh words to heart, which could not be true. No man, in the history of menfolk, has ever been screamed at by a woman and then changed his behavior based on the horrible things she’d said. It went against everything in the menfolk’s handbook.

Aliens. Definitely. Clearly, that was the only explanation.

She rather liked aliens.

Chapter 26

On an intellectual level, Lizzy knew Darcy was rich. She didn’t know exactly how wealthy he was, but a web search had revealed he was worth anywhere between one hundred and two hundred and fifty million dollars. His sister had made several million from her singing career. So Lizzy knew Darcy was wealthy.

But there’s a difference between discovering that as part of an exhaustive web search and seeing what it looks like in real life.

Georgiana’s condo overlooked the Bow River, which was no surprise—it was the downtown area and Darcy’s offices were all in the core. However, Lizzy didn’t even know that multi-million dollar penthouses existed anywhere in Alberta. And wow, was this ever one of those.

The elevator brought them to the very top of the tower and opened to what Lizzy guessed was the equivalent of a house’s front porch. Double doors greeted them and Lizzy could hear muffled laughter beyond. She smoothed her jacket and checked her buttons. Yup, all were done up.

Darcy opened the door and walked in. Lizzy followed and succeeded in a) not running away and b) not projectile vomiting.

“William!” a young woman, presumably Georgiana, crooned. Lizzy knew what she used to look like, as her face had been plastered all over Lydia’s bedroom. Lizzy was surprised how much more real — and normal — Georgiana looked in person. The posters had presented a doll-like creature, plastic and fake. In real life, Georgiana was pale and didn’t wear a lot of makeup. She was heavier than the teenage photos, and it looked good on her. She seemed comfortable in her own skin, and five-hundred-dollar jeans and grey sweater.

“Hi, I’m G. You must be Elizabeth.” She held out a hand. “It’s so great to meet you.”

“Call me Lizzy. I’ve heard so much about you.”

Georgiana motioned to the willowy woman next to her, who wore significantly more makeup, and while her clothes didn’t look as expensive as Georgiana’s, they were still trendy and hipster. Her dark hair was long and straight, and she wore cat’s eye glasses. “This is my girlfriend, Danica Kwan.”

Danica’s hand was boney, but warm and strong. “I was starting to think we’d never meet you.” She flashed a glance at Darcy. “He goes on and on about you. I threatened to go to Edmonton to find you.”

Lizzy glanced away, embarrassed. Darcy’s neck was reddening by the nanosecond.

“Darcy has had the unfortunate pleasure of witnessing me trying to extort money from him rather repeatedly,” Lizzy said. “It’s affected his judgment.” She leaned forward and said in a playful tone, “Believe nothing you’ve heard.”

Danica motioned for her to take off her shoes and come in. “Darcy’s depiction of you had us convinced you walked on water.”

“Oil does float on top of water,” Darcy muttered.

G slapped his arm and glared.

Lizzy burst out laughing. At the quizzical stares, she said, “I never pictured Darcy with a sister with such a death glare! I thought only my little sister had that, but now I’m wondering if it’s universal.”

“It’s universal,” Danica and Darcy both responded.

Supper was fun, if a little awkward. It had all the hallmarks of a blind date and meeting the parents rolled into one. Still, Lizzy really liked G and Danica, who were a perfect match. Where G was shy, Danica was not. Where Danica was uncertain, Georgiana was firm.

“Where are you staying, Lizzy?” G asked.

“At the Lighthouse’s executive director’s house,” Lizzy answered with a grimace. “I don’t really know her, so it’s been awkward.”

Danica asked, “How so?”

“Kelly and her husband are very…” she searched for the right word, “old-fashioned in some of their habits.”

“What do you mean?” Darcy asked.

“Well, first, they have eleven kids. It’s hell. But, it’s more than that. Take last night. I wanted to catch up on work emails.” And Lizzy explained the endless parade of children, no Wi-Fi, and the stupid phone signal blocker they used. “They don’t even have a long cable that I could use with my laptop at the dining room table, so I had to sit in the living room to use the internet while they did family prayers. Then they asked me to join in a bunch of times and that’s not my thing. So I had to go out on to the sidewalk, in the rain, to use my cell phone.”

Danica gasped. “I would die without my phone.”

“I know, right?” Georgiana agreed.

“I sleep with my phone,” Darcy mused. “If I cuddle it nicely, it even talks to me.”

Lizzy choked on her food. “That’s an image that’s going to stick with me. You, in bed with your cell phone.” She pictured Darcy, half naked in bed with his cell phone, and she sighed. Good Lord, could she just stop humiliating herself? “I don’t want to complain, but I can’t imagine two or three more weeks of this.”

“Why not stay in a hotel?” G asked.

“G,” Darcy scolded.

Lizzy smiled. “My agency can’t afford the cost and I certainly can’t front a hundred bucks a night for two weeks. I’m going to have a hard enough time covering my transportation and food.”

“You should stay here,” G announced. “We have a spare bedroom.”

“Oh,” Lizzy said, looking down at her food. “That’s very kind, G, but I couldn’t possibly intrude. I was just whining.”

“I think it’s a great idea,” Danica said. “Seriously, we have a spare bedroom. Plus we’re downtown. You said all of your meetings are here, so you’ll save time.”

“And William can totally meet you for lunch and keep you company,” G said, giving an obvious and significant look at her brother. “We would all love your company, wouldn’t we, William?”

“There is plenty of room here for you,” Darcy confirmed. “You would be very welcome.”

Lizzy glanced between the three of them and wondered if this was what a cat felt like when trapped in a corner by a dog. There was no possible way she could stay with these people; they were complete strangers! Well, Darcy wasn’t, but she had a lot to straighten out concerning him, and being in his condo would certainly complicate things.

“Thank you, but I have to say no.” Seeing the disappointed looks, she added, “If it gets unbearable, I’ll let you know.”

“If it’s because of William, we can kick him out,” Danica said, smiling.

Lizzy laughed and tried very hard to convince them that it wasn’t because of Darcy, when everyone at the table knew it was completely because of him.

Chapter 27

February 19

Three days of meetings, children, and the nineteenth century at home was enough. Lizzy was not just pleased when Darcy texted her while she was en route on the bus after work; she was downright gleeful.

Darcy: Would you like to go out for dinner with me tonight? G and Dani will be there. Caroline and Charles, too.

Lizzy: Thx for the rescue. I’d love to.

Darcy: 7?

Lizzy: Sure!

Darcy: I’ll pick you up?

Lizzy: That would be great, if you don’t mind.

Darcy: Would love to. See you in two hours. Oh, it’s a dressier restaurant, so no jeans.

Lizzy: Cool beans.

Lizzy made it back to Kelly’s and endured Melissa’s smug looks. She jumped in the shower, tugged on a skirt and nice blouse, and did her makeup. She checked the time every fifteen seconds.

“Lizzy, there’s someone at the door for you,” Kelly called out.

When Lizzy walked by, Melissa said, “Mmm, try not to hit Darcy with a car.”

“Oh, shut up.”

“Who’s Darcy?” Kelly asked as she bounced a toddler on her knee.

“No one,” Lizzy replied.

“A rich, single, successful businessman who Lizzy would feel bad hitting with a car.”

Lizzy rolled her eyes. “Oh my God, seriously, there is
nothing
going on with me and Darcy.”

“Are you going to ask him for a donation?” Kelly asked, giving Melissa a wink and a grin.

Lizzy shoved her feet into her boots. “Not you, too.”

“Put on a coat. It’s freezing outside,” Kelly said.

Lizzy waved her off. “I don’t own a winter coat. I just layer. Besides, Darcy’s driving me home. It’s all good.”

She rushed out of the house before they could tease her anymore. In the driveway sat a blue soft-top Jaguar. She waved and hurried through the cold to the car. She slipped inside and smiled at Darcy. He returned her smile and pulled out of the driveway.

“How’s it going in there?”

Lizzy groaned. “I haven’t heard myself think in three days.”

“G’s invitation stands. You’re very welcome to stay at the condo. G and Dani would love to have you.” Darcy gave her a sideways glance. “I could stay elsewhere.”

“Pfft. I’ll survive.” Lizzy let out a roaring yawn. “Ugh, sorry. I’m exhausted.”

“Are you sure you’re up for tonight?”

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss it. I want to see Charles.”

An awkward silence settled between them. Somewhere along the way, Lizzy had stopped being angry at Darcy and transferred some of that anger to Charles. But even that had mostly dissipated. Jane had enjoyed a fabulous few months in Calgary and, though they’d not spent much time together beyond Christmas, Jane seemed happy in her phone calls, text messages and online status updates.

Maybe she and Charles weren’t meant to be.

“I need to tell you something.”

Lizzy looked at Darcy. “Hmm?”

He took a deep breath. “I told Charles I may have been wrong about Jane.” He glanced at Lizzy. “Has he spoken to her yet?”

“Oh. I don’t know. When did it happen?”

One side of Darcy’s mouth quirked up. “Last night.”

Lizzy chuckled and pulled out her cell phone. “To be honest, I haven’t even looked at my messages today. Let’s see. Three from Luke.” She left out that they were all harassing her about Darcy. “Nineteen from Lydia, mostly in code. Hey, you have a younger sister. What the hell does ‘OMG ur like my favourite otp’ mean?”

Darcy shrugged. “Codes to a nuclear bomb?”

“Ha! Oh, wait, Jane messaged me an hour ago.”

Jane: How did today go?

Jane: Have fun at dinner tonight! Call me when you get a chance.

“Hold on,” she said and dialed her sister. When Jane answered, Lizzy blurted, “How did you know about dinner?”

“Charles called me,” Jane said in a small voice.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“Why on earth would I be mad? What happened? What did he say?” Lizzy glanced at Darcy and made a confused face.

Jane lowered her voice. “I’m still at the store. Can I call you tonight? Oh, never mind, you’ll be out with everyone. I’ll call tomorrow.”

“No, you’ll call tonight. I can blow off the snob fest to talk to you.” She looked at Darcy and mouthed, “Sorry.”

He shook his head, though she could clearly see one corner of his mouth had curled upwards.

“It isn’t that kind of news,” Jane said.

“Oh. Did he apologize and tell you what happened?”

Jane sighed and said, “Yes.”

“And you told him you were still mad,” Lizzy guessed.

“I told him he really hurt me and I don’t know if I can move past that.”

“Oh Jane,” Lizzy said with a sigh. “I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be, Lizzy. And don’t be mad at Darcy.”

“But—”

“No buts. Charles is a grown man. If he really cared about me, he would’ve asked me if what Darcy said was true. Instead, he ran off. He should have talked to me first.”

Darcy pulled into a street parking space and turned off the engine. Lizzy gathered up her wallet and stepped out of the warm car and into the cold, still talking to Jane.

They crossed the street, as Caroline and Charles emerged from an underground parking door, with G, Dani, and Fitzy. “Shit, everyone’s here. I have to go.”

“We’ll chat later,” Jane promised and they hung up.

Charles was quiet when Lizzy approached, so she exclaimed, “Charles! Oh, it’s so good to see you!” She held out her arms, showing that she wanted a hug and that all was forgiven.

He let out a relieved breath and squeezed her tight. “It’s good to see you too, Lizzy. It’s been way too long.”

“You have to come back and visit me again,” Lizzy instructed. “No one brings me lattes now that you’re gone.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” Charles said.

“Good to see you again, Lizzy.” Fitzy offered his hand.

Lizzy shook it and grinned. “I didn’t know you were coming.”

“My plans cancelled, so here I am.”

Caroline gave Lizzy a tight smile. “Hello.”

“Hello, Caroline.”

Lizzy resisted the temptation to ask why she’d avoided Jane the entire time Jane was in Calgary, but let it go. Maybe Caroline really had been travelling. Maybe Caroline was a two-face jerk who didn’t care two straws for Jane. Maybe Lizzy decided she couldn’t care less.

They’d walked to the restaurant’s steps when Lizzy said, “Wait. Let’s get a picture before we go in.” She pulled her phone and said, “I just love the camera on this thing!”

“Cuddle in!” Fitzwilliam shouted out and they did, even Caroline who rolled her eyes and complained about her Italian leather boots getting wet in the snow.