First (Wrong) Impressions: A Modern Pride & Prejudice (7 page)

The futon was opened and Lizzy’s heart dropped a little at first, until she realized that the tiny form on the bed was neither Charles nor her sister.

Lizzy tried to sneak back upstairs without waking her roommate, Ellie, but was too late.

“Did you end up down here, too?” She muttered, her voice still clouded by sleep.

“No, I was checking to see if Charles was down here.”

“Ugh, didn’t you hear them all night?”

Lizzy’s eyes widened. “I had my earbuds in.”

“You missed the show.” Ellie yawned. “They were at it for freaking hours.”

“I’ll let you get some sleep,” Lizzy said, and Ellie already had her eyes closed. She crept back upstairs with a large amount of glee in her step.

Jane and Charles! Together! She wanted to throw confetti and run around in circles. Jane hadn’t had so much as a date since Todd the Loser Coward had dumped her for having her leg taken off. What kind of asshole dumps a girl two weeks after having her leg removed? Todd the Loser Coward, that’s who.

And on her first date with the very yummy Charles Bingley, lottery winner heir, her big sister got lucky. Lizzy resisted dancing a jig. She was so happy for Jane. Charles seemed like a genuinely nice guy. Lizzy couldn’t see him using Jane for sex, so this might even turn into a
thing.

Lizzy hoped Ellie wouldn’t give Jane a hard time. When they all moved in together, Ellie had made it clear that she was uncomfortable with men coming and going at the house. It never came up, though. Lizzy wasn’t the casual type, Jane wasn’t actively looking for anyone, and Ellie was waiting until she was married. In the four years they’d been living together, no one had brought a guy home, except Jane when she was dating Todd the Loser Coward. And, yes, that was his official name.

This was probably a shocker for Ellie, knowing that it was Jane’s first date. Jane was a grown woman, though. The casual thing had never bothered Jane like it did Lizzy. Jane saw the best in everyone and before her accident had no problems with casual. It did Lizzy good to see a little glimmer of the old Jane again.

Lizzy decided that she was in such a good mood that she would make breakfast for everyone. She got to work in their tiny kitchen to make omelettes and bacon, sausage and pancakes. Lizzy turned on the radio just loud enough so that she could hum along with Michael Bolton. She thawed the bacon from the farmer’s market — today called for the good stuff. She chopped and sliced and fried.

With a swing of her hip, Lizzy closed the fridge door and went to work on slicing fruit, while the bacon popped and sizzled with enthusiasm. On the third pan of bacon—she really needed to buy a bigger frying pan — Jane and Charles stumbled out of their love nest. Jane had her leg on, something she normally didn’t do first thing in the morning, so walked into the kitchen as opposed to wheeling in.

“Something smells good out here,” Jane said with a glowing smile on her face.

“Hey Lizzy.” Charles, for his part, was flushed red and sheepish. “Nothing smells as good as bacon in the morning.”

Lizzy smiled back without giving them any significant glances, and tried to act like everything was normal. “This is from a local farmer. It’s the best I’ve ever had and I’m sharing, this morning!”

Charles’s pants rang and he pulled out his cell phone. He walked off a little and answered, “Hey Darcy.”

Lizzy leaned in and said, “Good girl!”

Jane flushed. “Shhh, he’ll hear you.”

“Jane Bennet, hitting the big times,” Lizzy said with a laugh. “You might want to avoid Ellie today.”

Jane creased her forehead. “Why?”

“Apparently, you kept her up.”

“Oh, dear. I’ll talk to her after Charles leaves.”

“No, I’m still at Jane’s,” Charles said, glancing at Jane and winking.

Lizzy nudged her sister. “I bet Darcy’s freaking out.”

“Don’t be mean,” Jane chided. “Darcy’s been his best friend for years. And Charles said last night that Darcy’s been trying to make it up to you about that manual labour comment you heard.”

Lizzy snorted. “That was pretty awful.”

“Be nice to him. He hates that you’ve been calling him Mr. Darcy because he feels you’re still mad at him.”

“I am still mad at him,” Lizzy shot back.

“Lizzy,” Jane said sternly, “Be nice.”

“Why don’t you just bring the car over? Have you eaten yet?” Charles glanced at Lizzy. “Well, Lizzy’s cooking breakfast. Hold on. Say, Lizzy? Can Darcy come over?”

“Sure,” Lizzy said with false cheer and in a louder voice, said, “Tell
Darcy
I said I’ll cook extra just for him.” She made a face at Jane.

“Did you hear that?” Charles asked. “Yeah, come on over. No, you heard her. She doesn’t mind. Dude, seriously, she’s standing right here. Lizzy, it’s okay, right?”

Jane gave Lizzy a pleading look.

“Oh for God’s sake,” Lizzy muttered, reaching out for the cell phone.

“Hold on, Lizzy wants to talk to you. Yes, Lizzy. Just…stop. Darcy, here, you talk to her.” Charles rolled his eyes and handed her the phone.

“Darcy,” she said in the brightest voice she could manage, “there is plenty of food. Come over.”

He cleared his throat. “Okay, then. Thanks.
Lizzy.
”

Great. Just great. Freaking Darcy for breakfast.

Chapter 7

September 24

Lizzy was finishing up paperwork in her office when her cell buzzed with a message:

Jane: We’re heading down to Martini Mars. Want to join?

Lizzy picked up her phone and gave her a call. “Hey, Jane. What’s a Martini Mars?”

“Hey! It’s a martini bar-slash-restaurant on Whyte Ave. We’re heading down now. I thought you’d like to come. Is it busy there?”

“Lord, no. We have eleven volunteers and staff, and ten folks for supper. I would’ve gone home, but I got distracted by the mountain of work on my desk.”

“Come on down, then.”

Lizzy looked at the time: just past seven. “Give me an hour. I need to change and take the bus down there.”

“See you then.”

“I’m going to head out, supper with the snob gang,” Lizzy said to Luke, who was busy working at his desk. “Did you want to come?”

He looked up over his glasses; he’d given up on the contacts hours ago. “Nah. I gotta get these applications for the chaplaincy position.”

“How’s that going?”

Luke groaned.

“That well, huh?”

“Between looking for a temporary pastor and helping Melissa with the merger, I’m going out of my mind.”

Lizzy leaned back. “I meant to ask, how did the meetings go today?”

“Okay, I guess. The Lighthouse in Calgary is in a similar situation to us, so joining forces is going to help both of us. Pool the resources and all.”

“I’m still not sure it’s a good idea,” Lizzy said. “They’re so much more evangelical.”

“And that’s why I’m doing all of the work, as opposed to sharing it with you,” Luke said wearily, though he smiled to show he wasn’t angry.

“Sorry, dude. I’d help but…” Lizzy raised her hands, “I got nothing.”

“It’s okay. Get lost.”

“Thanks.” Lizzy tugged on her coat and wrapped her scarf around her neck. “I’m so happy for Jane. She and Charles have been spending all of their time together lately. They’re so adorable.”

Luke leaned back in his chair. “Is she still playing it cool?”

Lizzy tugged her gloves on. “What do you mean? She’s never played it cool.”

“Please. I like Jane, don’t get me wrong, but you have to admit she’s super coy around him. I’ve been out with the happy couple, too.”

“Dude, she slept with him.”

“So? Sex is sex. I’m talking about the other stuff.”

“It’s only been a couple of weeks. It’s not enough time to decide if it’s worth getting serious.” Lizzy stuffed her cell and wallet into her purse. “And it’s clear she really likes him.”

“It’s clear to you, since she’s your sister. It’s not so clear to me, and I’ve known her most of my life. Charles doesn’t know her the way we do. She might need to encourage him a little if she wants to hang on to him. Otherwise, he’s going to think this is just a fling.”

“Luke, I love you to pieces, but you have no idea what you’re talking about. Besides, you’d never act that way yourself. If some guy showed up and caught your fancy, you’d be paying it cool and safe.”

Luke gave a shrug and went back to his computer. “Maybe. So let’s hope I’m wrong, for Jane’s sake.”

Lizzy headed out, stopping upstairs to let the staff know she’d left her radio with Luke. She waved to the handful of clients hanging out playing cribbage before hurrying home to grab a super-quick shower. She pulled on jeans and a tee before tugging a nice sweater over the outfit. She rushed out the door, just twenty minutes since Jane’s text.

Martini Mars turned out to be as dead as The Faith. It was easy to find Jane, as they were the only group there. Charles saw her first and waved. She smiled, giving a small wave as she headed over. Darcy’s head poked out from the booth and Lizzy’s heart sank. Couldn’t they do anything without him tagging along?

“Hey Lizzy!” Charles said. “Thanks for coming out.”

“Thanks for the rescue. It’s dead at work.” She took off her coat and hung it on the coat hook attached to their booth.

She exchanged greetings with Caroline and Darcy, trying to be friendly. She and Darcy had reached some kind of unspoken agreement; they couldn’t stand each other, but they made an effort for Jane and Charles’s sakes. Lizzy and Caroline really had nothing to say to each other, but Caroline was super nice to Jane, which helped.

Darcy and Caroline held the outer positions of the booth. She was going to sit next to Caroline, but Charles moved the wrong way, causing Darcy to shift down to make room for Lizzy. She faked a smile and sat.

The others had already eaten, so Lizzy skimmed the menu to see if anything appealed.

“Darcy, how is Georgiana doing?” Caroline asked. “Will we get to see her at Christmas?”

“She and Dani were planning a beach vacation the last time I spoke to them, so you’ll probably miss them this year.”

“That’s too bad.” She turned to Jane. “I adore Georgiana Darcy. She is endlessly talented.”

Jane smiled and said, “My youngest sister is a huge fan of her music.”

Caroline waved that off. “Her music career was just a hobby. No, Georgiana is far more than just the G’Anna people think she is.”

Lizzy, still perusing her menu, said, “I think a successful music career before eighteen would be considered talent by most people.”

Caroline opened her mouth to give what seemed likely to be a hot reply, but Darcy interrupted. “My sister was hoping to come up to see the condo when it’s renovated, so you might get to see her then.”

That got Caroline onto a new topic. “What a disaster this renovation is. Charles told me the condo would be finished in a couple of days. That’s why I came up here so early; I wanted to have a small break. Instead I’m living out of a suitcase with no end in sight. I should just go back home.”

“It’s not the contractor’s fault that they found mold in the bathroom,” Charles said patiently. He turned to Lizzy and said for her benefit, “My friends are in Dubai for the next year, so I said I’d watch over their condo renovation. I know that they wouldn’t want mold left there, so I told the contractors to fix the problem.”

“You’re welcome to stay at our place.”

Everyone at the table looked at Jane.

“Um, Jane…?” Lizzy began.

“Seriously. Our roommate’s away on a mission trip for the next month, so there’s just us two. Plus, our house is actually owned by The Faith. They’re our landlord.”

“Why does the charity own your house?” Darcy asked.

“It’s for out-of-town guests and volunteer groups,” Lizzy supplied. “We renovated it to get it up to code, and three of us rent the upstairs, thereby paying for the mortgage, and the basement is free for The Faith’s guests.”

“So homeless people sleep in your house?” There was a fair amount of horror in Caroline’s voice.

“Good Lord, no,” Lizzy chuckled. “In the summer, youth groups from rural communities come to the inner city to volunteer. And when Melissa has meetings with out-of-town folks, they’ll stay at the house as opposed to a hotel. It saves money for everyone, and gives us a chance to live in the inner city, which is a unique experience.”

Jane nodded. “The basement is set up like a guest hotel for visitors already. You’d have your own space and wouldn’t need to live out of a suitcase. It has its own kitchen and there are three bedrooms down there.”

Charles looked up from his drink and gave Jane a nervous look. “It’s a bit rougher than what we’re used to, but it’d give me a chance to see more of the inner city and the challenges there.”

Darcy cocked an eyebrow. “Talking with Lizzy should provide more than enough opportunity for that.”

Charles sighed. “It’s not the same, Darcy.”

“I don’t need to live somewhere unsafe to understand inner-city challenges,” Caroline said. “I’m aboriginal.”

Charles rolled his eyes. “Oh, please, Caroline. You don’t even talk to any of our family unless I make you. It’s not like we’ve ever been poor.”

“No, I just have to put up with people thinking I’m going to steal something whenever I walk into a store,” Caroline snapped. “Despite the fact that I can afford to buy everything in there.”

Charles sighed and said, “I’m simply saying, you have to admit that listening to Lizzy talk about The Faith wasn’t the same as going down there ourselves. So all I am saying now is that living in the inner city is going to be different than hearing about it.”

“True,” Darcy said. “It was significantly dirtier.”

“It’s fine, Darcy.” Lizzy looked at him over her steaming beverage’s rim. “I know it’s not your comfort zone.”

He sat upright. “You think I couldn’t handle sharing a house with my best friend, his sister, and two female acquaintances?”

Snark and awe torpedoes armed themselves, and she stumbled over which to shoot at him first.

The pause was enough for Jane to interject, “I’d love to have all of you stay at our house. There’s plenty of room and Ellie’s away, so we don’t have to worry, though I’m sure she’d be fine with it. I think it would be fun.” She glanced at Charles. “You were telling me that the reno will be done in two weeks, right? That’s nothing.”