Caroline, still on his arm, gave a forced laugh and leaned toward the microphone. “There’s a lot of pressure being nominated. It’s very distracting.” The reporter gave the cameraman the cutoff signal. They obviously didn’t need any quotes from Caroline.
There were too many people in the way. Darcy couldn’t get a good view. He dropped Caroline’s arm and took a few steps toward the street, collecting more than a few side-eyes as he swam upstream against the flow of red-carpet traffic.
And there was Jane Bennet, supremely happy on Ricky’s arm and chatting with a reporter from E!. Darcy felt a brief twinge of sadness for Charlie, who was still pining for Jane, but he couldn’t deny that Ricky was a far better match for her.
If Elizabeth had attended, she wouldn’t be far behind Jane. But there were too many people—cameramen, reporters, stars, starlets, handlers, security guards—to even see the non-celebrity side of the red carpet. Using his height to advantage, Darcy strained to look through the crowds. He had picked out the other Bennet sisters and Tom’s wife, but not Elizabeth.
Maybe she hadn’t bothered. It wasn’t really her movie, after all. Why incur the expense to fly from Baltimore?
As he pushed through the crowds, a few heads turned in his direction. I should forget about her. She’s not here, and I’m making a spectacle of myself.
Then Darcy caught a glimpse of blue-green eyes and mahogany hair, delectably wrapped in purple satin. But it was only a moment before she disappeared back into the crowd. He needed a better view. He plowed through the crowds, heedless of who he elbowed out of the way and which toes he stepped on. Had he accidentally tripped Robert De Niro? Surely not.
Finally, his efforts were rewarded with a clearer view of Elizabeth. Only a few feet away, she was chatting with a woman he recognized as a costume designer. The other woman hadn’t worked on In the Shadows, but Elizabeth must have known her from one of Tom Bennet’s other projects.
Darcy took a moment to savor the sight. It had been months since he’d seen her in person, and she had only grown more beautiful. Her blue-green eyes sparkled under the artificial lights, like sunlight on the darkest part of the ocean. Her mahogany hair was draped in long curls, like a forties movie star. The dress, a strapless purple satin, clung to her upper body before widening to a bell-shaped skirt with a short train. Darcy could have watched her forever.
She was arm in arm with someone he couldn’t see—a person whose identity was blocked by the crowd, but Darcy already hated him. She had brought a date, of course. Darcy’s stomach plummeted into his shoes. A boyfriend? A fiancé? It could be anyone. Any kind of guy could recognize how amazing Elizabeth was, from a dashing up-and-coming movie star to a serious fellow medical student who would be ready to settle down.
What did I hope to accomplish by seeking her out? I’ll see her happy with another guy, and that’ll be the end of it.
But he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He hadn’t seen her in months, and now here she was, tantalizingly close. He couldn’t simply return to Caroline and forget Elizabeth’s presence. Not when he was all too aware that they were breathing the same air.
He closed in on Elizabeth, navigating the crowd step by stumbling step, all the while trying to get a peek at her date. Who was he, and did he deserve her?
Darcy’s slow progress was beginning to draw some curious looks, but he ignored them. The costume designer finally moved along, and the crowd shifted so Darcy could see Elizabeth’s date.
Garrett.
Relief made Darcy’s knees weak. There were many people Darcy could envision losing Elizabeth to, but an eighteen-year-old gay teen was not one of them.
Of course, Elizabeth had brought Garrett. She was always thinking of others, and no doubt she knew the teen would be thrilled to be part of Hollywood’s biggest celebration. He had a broad grin on his face as his eyes swept from one celebrity to another and a dazed expression that suggested he couldn’t quite believe this was really happening. His super-skinny tux was fashionable and flattering, and his hair was dyed a vivid green.
Way too many people still separated Darcy from Elizabeth, but Garrett had noticed him. With a sly smile, the teen touched Elizabeth’s arm, drawing her attention to Darcy. When she saw him, her lips parted slightly. Oh God, she was beautiful. Her neck was bare except for a necklace of gold links and where it was caressed by a profusion of dark brown curls. Darcy could only stare and imagine how it would feel to kiss that soft skin once again.
God, I’ve been a fool, he realized in a sudden epiphany. I’ve been miserable the past months when I should have been doing everything in my power, to move heaven and earth, to give us another chance. I should have shown up on her doorstep ready to serenade her. I should have sent her twenty bouquets of roses. I should have bought a billboard proclaiming my love for her.
He’d been so terrified that he didn’t deserve her that he hadn’t done anything to earn her. Anything so she would give him a second chance. Anything to prove that he wasn’t another shallow Hollywood loser.
Because he wasn’t. There were times when he felt like a screw-up, but not when it came to Elizabeth. No, the way he felt about her: that was the real thing. And he would do whatever was necessary to convince her of that.
Darcy had stopped a few feet from Elizabeth and Garrett, unsure if he should approach. Garrett crossed the distance first, giving Darcy a quick handshake. “Hey, I’m glad I finally have a chance to see you and thank you in person for the sound equipment you sent me. It’s top-notch stuff! I’m loving it.”
Darcy tore his eyes away from Elizabeth long enough give the teen a glance. “Hell, you kept me out of jail; it’s the least I could do.” He was embarrassingly aware that he should have done far more for Garrett: taken him out for dinner, gotten him a job, bought him a house—or at least called to say thank you. But he’d been so overwhelmed at first, and then later it had seemed too late.
Garrett shrugged. “I wouldn’t have known to do it if it hadn’t been for Elizabeth. She’s the one you should thank.”
“What?” Darcy’s mouth fell open.
Garrett’s forehead creased. “Didn’t you know that? She was trying to find a way to prove you were innocent. When she came to me, I realized that I knew the guy who’d lied about seeing you at Lydia’s car.”
“Elizabeth did that?”
“I thought you knew.”
Darcy shook his head. “The police wouldn’t tell me much. I just knew you’d worn a wire.”
“Yeah. It was so cool!” Garrett grinned. “But that was the easy part. Elizabeth did the hard work.”
You could have knocked Darcy over with a feather. All this time he’d assumed she’d been angry. He’d assumed she’d wanted him out of her life, and she was the one he had to thank for his freedom.
“I had no idea,” Darcy said, raising his eyes again to Elizabeth in amazement.
She was staring at him, no doubt completely perplexed by his expression. “Will?” Elizabeth’s one word held a world of questions.
By now, everyone near Darcy and Elizabeth had noticed how they were staring at each other. Every eye was riveted on them. News cameras and fans’ iPhones were trained in their direction, and the space between them had emptied of bodies.
Darcy longed to close the distance between them, take her in his arms, and kiss her for at least an hour before stopping to take a breath. But he didn’t know if she would want him to even kiss her hand. Still, he walked toward her, slowly, one foot at a time carefully placed on the red carpet. Closer and closer, every second fearing she would tell him to stop.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t know you helped prove I was innocent. I’m a fool. I should have guessed. I should have called. I should have come to you as soon as I could. And we could have…I should have told you I love you. Because I do. I love you so much. Please don’t tell me I’m too late.”
How was it possible for a woman to appear so worried and hopeful at the same time? “Too late for w
hat?” she asked. “What do you want?”
What did he want from her? Everything. For the rest of his life. But now, in front of thousands of people and millions of television viewers, was probably not the time to discuss that. “Will you be my date to the Oscars?”
He reached out and took her hand. It was warm and soft in his.
A crease formed between her brows. “Don’t you already have a date?”
Darcy had completely forgotten about Caroline. Glancing over his shoulder, he peered through the crowds to see her standing near the ABC reporter, so furious she might start breathing fire.
Garrett was standing off to the side, a pleased but puzzled smile on his face. Darcy caught his eye. “Garrett, would you do me a favor and be Caroline’s date for the night?”
Garrett grinned. “No problem, Mr. D.” Deftly stepping around Darcy, he glided toward Caroline. Darcy immediately lost interest in her.
“So.” Darcy cleared his throat. “I don’t have a date anymore, and neither do you. Will you be my date?”
“For tonight?” she breathed.
All right, he might as well put all his cards on the table. “For the rest of my life.”
The audience gave a collective gasp.
Elizabeth’s eyes couldn’t have gotten any wider, but she responded without hesitation. “Yes.”
“I don’t care if you live in Baltimore or where you’re going to medical school, we’ll make it work.”
There was a suspicious sheen in her eyes. “I’m not living in Baltimore; I applied to UCLA medical school.”
Then she was in his arms, and he was kissing her. The applause swelled around them, but the noise of the crowd was curiously muted and distant in Darcy’s hearing. On the other hand, Elizabeth’s murmured words were nearly thunderous in his ears. “I love you, Will.”
“I love you, too.” His lips came down on hers again.
Epilogue
Elizabeth had always wanted an outdoor wedding, and conveniently enough, she happened to be marrying a man who owned a house with extensive and beautifully landscaped grounds. There were many parts of Pemberley she loved, but her favorite place was the lawn behind the house, where luxurious green grass abruptly gave way to a sheer drop overlooking the Pacific Ocean.
Darcy couldn’t be happier to be supplying his new wife with her dream wedding. They had been blessed with perfect weather. The sky was a vivid deep blue, and the ocean roiled with green, gray, and blue, accented with occasional whitecaps. The sun hung golden just above the horizon, painting the clouds with the pinks and purples of a nascent sunset.
The wedding ceremony hadn’t been a long one, and now the guests were clustered around a dance floor and gazebo that had been specially constructed for the event. In part to ensure the privacy of their wedding ceremony, Elizabeth and Will had kept the guest list short—mostly family and close friends. So far there were no signs that the media had gotten wind of the event—no hovering helicopters or paparazzi clustered at the gate. Hopefully nobody would find out until they were on their honeymoon, and Darcy’s publicist released the official photos.
Nobody would be surprised at the news. They’d been dating for two years by now and were a well-established Hollywood couple. Elizabeth didn’t attend that many industry events; coursework at UCLA medical school kept her pretty busy during the school year. But she saw Darcy every night when she went home to their condo—and, of course, they lived at Pemberley on the weekends.
Everything had aligned to make today perfect, Darcy thought. His parents weren’t even bickering, an event that was usually as predictable as the ebbing of the tide. Georgiana had brought a new boyfriend as her date, and Darcy liked what he had seen of the young man so far.
Finishing up his conversation with his sister, Darcy longed to return to Elizabeth’s side, but before he could, Aunt Catherine swooped down on them. Georgiana managed to smile at the older woman, although he knew she found their aunt difficult and intimidating. “Isn’t it a lovely day for a wedding?” his sister said conversationally.
Aunt Catherine made a sour face. “I suppose if one must marry, it’s as good a day as any.”
Darcy’s eyebrows lifted. “I thought you wanted me to marry.”
She waved her hand. “Oh, I did. It’s a useful institution if one is to procreate, and Pemberley needs a proper heir. But one can’t expect too much happiness to arise from it. Husbands can be terribly inconvenient things for wives. Mine obliged me by passing on only a few years after we married.”
Darcy recalled how his aunt had been on the verge of recommending a service to help him conceal bodies. Sometimes it was better not to ask too many questions.
“Where is Bill?” Darcy asked. He almost never saw his aunt without her assistant. “Or Cecil B. DeMille?”
She waved airily. “Bill is in the kitchen butchering a chicken for Cecil’s dinner. You know he can only eat the freshest meat.”
Darcy wondered what the catering staff thought of that, then decided it wasn’t his problem.
His aunt continued. “And Charlotte is preparing the wild gooseberries for my dinner.”
After marrying Bill Collins, Charlotte had quit her job and now catered only to Catherine de Bourgh. Darcy wasn’t sure how she could bear it but had to admit that the woman seemed very happy.
Aunt Catherine lifted her chin. “I don’t approve of Miss Bennet moving into Pemberley.”
Darcy sighed. “She’s already living here.”
She ignored this. “Some of the furnishings which were transported from Europe by your Darcy ancestors. There are pieces that go back to the Regency time period.”
Darcy had heard this speech before. “Yes, I know.”
“It will be Elizabeth’s responsibility to make sure everything is in good repair and cleaned properly.”
“She is going to medical school. We have a staff to clean the house.”
Aunt Catherine scowled. “Such tasks cannot be entrusted to a staff that has no sense of history! Why, you have antique rugs and draperies! And the shades! They must be cleaned frequently.”
“I’m certain the staff will ensure—”
“Are the shades of Pemberley to be thus polluted?” The older woman stamped her foot.
Really, this was beyond ridiculous. Darcy tried not to laugh. “Aunt Catherine, if you are so concerned about our shades, you may visit Pemberley at any time and clean them yourself.”
Not giving her a chance to respond, Darcy gave his sister a nod, turned on his heel, and strode across the lawn in search of his bride.
Before he reached her, however, Darcy encountered Garrett and his boyfriend, Seth, who had just been speaking to Tom and Franny Bennet. “I hear you guys moved into a new place,” Darcy said to them.
“Yeah.” Garrett grinned. “Lots more room for sound equipment. Plus, this one keeps adopting dogs.” He tilted his head toward Seth.
Seth laughed. “You make it sound like I’m a hoarder. We have four dogs.”
“I had a quick question before the next board meet—” Garrett said to Darcy.
“Uh-uh,” Seth cut in. “This is Will’s wedding day. No shoptalk!”
In addition to working as a sound designer, Garrett also helped run the Darcy Foundation, which organized and hosted mentoring programs at studios for homeless teens. They were even flying in kids from other parts of the country now.
Garrett gave his boyfriend a sheepish smile. “All right, you caught me. I thought I could slip one in.”
“I’m sure you’ll have everything under control while I’m away,” Darcy assured the young man. “Right now, I have a desperate urge to see my wife.”
Seth turned to look at her. “She is simply radiant.” Darcy caught Garrett’s eye and mouthed, “Text me.” Garrett responded with a wink.
Darcy joined Elizabeth, who was in the midst of an animated conversation with Jane, resplendent in her purple maid of honor dress, and Ricky, who saluted his cousin with a glass of champagne. “Now
that you’re off the list of Hottest Bachelors, I’m hoping I have a chance,” he said with a grin at Jane, who gave him a playful slap on the arm.
Darcy laughed. “There was a time I thought you might make it to the altar before we did.”
As Jane entwined her fingers with Ricky’s, her diamond engagement ring sparkled. “We’re just waiting for a break in our schedules. Maybe sometime next year.”
Since In the Shadows had swept the Academy Awards—winning in every category for which it was nominated—everyone associated with the film had found their careers to be red hot. Past transgressions forgotten, Darcy now had his pick of the best roles. Roberta Perez was collaborating with Tom Bennet’s production company on their third movie project. Jane had been in demand for some of the edgiest film roles and had picked up another Oscar nomination. Ricky’s second screenplay was in post-production. And Wickham was still in prison. Life was good.
“How is your latest screenplay going?” Elizabeth asked Ricky.
Darcy’s cousin had a twinkle in his eye. “It’s a love story. It begins when the hero hits the heroine with his car.”
Everyone laughed while Darcy protested indignantly, “I almost hit her!”
But Ricky wasn’t finished. “I hear you’re going to France and Italy on your honeymoon,” he said to Elizabeth.
“Yes.”
“I hope you’re taking Raoul.” He grinned. “Darcy might have a Ferrari, but you don’t want him driving on those mountainous roads.”
Darcy gave his cousin a sardonic look.
“We are not taking the chauffeur on our honeymoon,” Elizabeth said emphatically. “I will be doing the driving.”
Ricky’s eyebrows shot upward. “How do you feel about that, Darce?”
He smiled. “I’m perfectly fine with it. I might even give her an opportunity to almost hit me with the car. It turned out pretty well before.”
The End
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