by Jenni James
He grinned. “Deal.”
When another waiter came up with wine, Will looked over at Eliza first. When she shook her head, he declined for them both. Instead, she sipped on her imported water.
They ordered their meal, and then the awkwardness began to sink in. It was only them, all alone, staring at each other.
He started with the same things he asked earlier. “How was the flight? Do you like your room? Was it difficult to get the meetings swapped to Monday?”
She answered them again, giving the same replies as before, and then allowed her voice to trail off.
Yes, it was fun to kiss Will and get caught up in the drama and romanticism of a large house and fancy airplane, but the reality was, they really didn’t know each other. They simply had nothing to talk about.
Will must’ve been thinking the exact same thing, because he suddenly leaned forward. “Tell me about yourself.”
She sat up a little straighter. At least this was a start. “Well, what would you like to know?”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure. Anything, really. What’s your favorite pet? Was there an animal you loved more than the rest when you were younger?”
She grinned and glanced down at the untouched china and silverware at the table. “You won’t believe it.” She picked up a salad fork and began to draw lazy circles on the linen tablecloth with it.
“A skunk is about the only thing I wouldn’t believe you’d like.”
“A skunk!” She chuckled and then scrunched her brow. “They’re actually kind of cute, but no. My pet was a unicorn.”
Now it was his turn to look surprised. His eyebrows rose, and he failed miserably at trying to wipe the smile off his face. “A unicorn? That was your favorite pet? Not a kitten or dog?
“Oh, I liked those too. Just not as much.” She lifted her nose at him. “No young lady of consequence would be without her pet unicorn, of course.”
He cleared his throat and asked as seriously as he could, “So you actually had one?”
“Of course! We almost had two, but then Jane changed her mind at the last minute and decided she wanted a dragon instead.”
He chuckled. “And what did you name your unicorn?”
“Mr. Sparkles,” she said with an absolutely straight face.
“Indeed. And what did your sister name her dragon?”
Eliza dropped the fork. As soon as Will mentioned Jane, the mood fell flat. It made no sense, since she was the one to bring her up, but all at once, she was tired of playing. She tried to brush the feeling aside, but found that she couldn’t. “I don’t remember.” She sighed agitatedly and stood up. “Excuse me. I’m going to find the restroom.”
She felt a moment of guilt at his stricken face as she walked away, but quickly shoved the feeling aside. Jane deserved so much better than this. Eliza followed the signs to the nearest bathroom and walked in.
It was a very fancy room, with velvet couches and bottles of lotions and tissues and everything. Sitting down on the nearest couch, she put her head in her hands and took some deep breaths. He was the enemy. Here she was, flirting with the man who had made it his business to hurt her sister.
Eliza shook her head, attempting to shake out this crazy. What was wrong with her? She seemed to be flip-flopping worse than a freshly caught fish. The analogy suddenly made her stomach churn. Blindly, she looked at the painting on the wall across from where she was sitting. That’s exactly what this felt like, being caught on Will Darcy’s hook, thrashing back and forth.
She was here for one reason and one reason only—to help her boss with his sister, who’d been through a nightmare and might need a woman to talk to. That was it. Anything else that might develop was as useless and as painful as Will’s hook. Yes, he was fun to kiss. Yes, for a moment, she couldn’t blame herself for being captured in the surreal romanticism of it all. But when all was said and done, he valued wealth over relationships. He had to, or why else would he think Jane was just after Charles’s money? Money would always come first to him.
The hotel, the restaurant, the house. He wouldn’t know how to live frugally if he tried. This was how he impressed, how he chose to live. And it wasn’t her. It would never be her. And she’d sure as heck better get it through her head now that this life wasn’t ever meant to be hers.
By the time Eliza made it back to the table, their dinner was just arriving, almost as if the wait staff had been watching the bathroom door to time it precisely so that their meals were hot and fresh. It was a bit creepy.
However, the food was marvelous. They ate quickly, and Eliza kept the conversation away from anything uncomfortable. At first, Will tried to pry, but after a few failed attempts, he kept the peace and they both stayed on safer, more polite, and less personal subjects. By time the meal was over and they were on their way back to the hotel, Eliza had completely convinced herself that she and Will would only ever be friends—perhaps not even that. Maybe just a little more than acquaintances.
That was, until she met the adorable Georgia Darcy.
CHAPTER NINETEEN:
Georgia beamed when she met them at the door as they walked into Will’s suite. “Hello? You must be Eliza,” she said as she shook her hand. Eliza could see that her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes, and there was still a trace of a bruise on her forehead. “It’s nice to meet you.” The pretty girl wore one of the maxi dresses Eliza had packed for her. Her hair was twisted into a side braid, and she was adorably barefoot. She led them into a mirror of Eliza’s suite. Only the décor was different. Its shades of red and light brown worked well with the darker contrast of the wooden furniture.
Eliza warmed to Georgia instantly. “It’s wonderful to finally meet you. In all the time I’ve worked with your brother, I’ve never met any of his family.”
Will shut the door and hugged his sister. “She’s practically all the family I’ve got.”
The girl grinned and then pushed her big brother away. “It’s not true, and you know it. Don’t forget Dad.”
Will kicked off his shoes, unbuttoned the top button on his shirt, and then plopped down on the couch. “Well, it’s not like he’s ever home anyway. He’s pretty easy to forget.”
Georgia chided him and sat down on the couch with him, curling her feet underneath her long dress, then looked up at Eliza. “Make yourself at home.”
Eliza set her purse on the floor next to Will’s shoes and occupied the loveseat across from them. It was soft and inviting.
Will grinned. “You can take your shoes off too, if you’d like.”
Suddenly, she felt like a fool. “Oh, sorry. You guys are probably one of those polite families who take their shoes off at the door, huh?” She slipped off her heels.
Georgia giggled. It sounded a bit forced. “Of course not. We just don’t like shoes. Neither of us.”
Eliza’s eyebrows rose. “Really? I can’t imagine Will not wearing them.”
He wiggled his toes in his socks. “Nope. I like my feet free.”
It was then that she noticed they were Ghostbuster socks. “They’re so cool!”
“Thanks.” He smiled over at his sister. “Georgia got them for me.”
“Serious? They’re really fun.”
“Yep.” She reached down and grabbed one of his wiggling toes. “He has a whole collection from me.”
“It’s true. I think I’ve got the best collection of socks ever.”
“I got him Batman, Superman, the Hulk… you name it.”
“She even got me an old-school Animaniacs pair.”
“No way.” Eliza was impressed. “I used to love that show.”
He looked over at her. “Me too.” Then he ruffled Georgia’s hair. “I think I probably have a hundred pairs of socks now, thanks to this one.”
“Hey! Watch the hair.”
“Yeah, Will,” Eliza joined in. “Watch the hair. It’s way too pretty to mess up.”
Surprisingly, Georgia got up and plopped down next to Eliza. “Yeah
, us girls have to stick together.” She searched Eliza’s gaze as if she were begging for acceptance.
“I see how it is. You’re ganging up on me now. Fine.” Will rolled over and lay all the way down on the couch, putting his feet up on the armrest. “There. Now I get the whole thing to myself.”
Georgia rolled her eyes. “Sorry he’s such a dork. Our mom did raise him better than that, I promise.”
“I can hear you.”
“Good.”
“Your mom?” Eliza prodded, curious. “Is she with your dad right now?”
A little bit of a shadow fell over Georgia’s face, and Eliza regretted her words instantly. The girl didn’t even have to speak—Eliza knew what had happened to her.
“Mom died about ten years ago. From breast cancer.”
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Forgive me. I shouldn’t have brought her up.” Eliza felt awful.
The girl shrugged. “It’s okay. It was hard when it happened, and I miss her like crazy sometimes, but it’s okay.”
“I really didn’t mean to go heavy on you the first five minutes of sitting down.”
Georgia placed an arm on the back of the loveseat. “You kind of look like her old pictures.”
“Me?” Eliza tucked her feet underneath her. “What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know—you just do. Look, Will. Doesn’t she look like Mom?”
Eliza was afraid to meet his eyes, so she studied the girl while Georgia studied her.
“A little. I never thought about it before.”
“Even your hair is the same color.”
This was slightly uncomfortable, so she changed the focus away from her. “What was she like?”
Georgia sighed. “Perfect. Soft, kind, caring. Always quiet.”
Eliza smiled. Nothing like her, then. They just had similar coloring. “She sounds like an angel.”
“She was,” Will said. “Unbelievably shy and angelic. Sometimes we wonder how she and Dad ever found each other.”
“He’s very loud and boisterous and opinionated.” Georgia stifled a grin.
Will cleared his throat and sat back up. “That’s one way to put it. Dad is well—Dad.”
“So, what do you like to do?” the girl asked her.
“Me? I . . . well, I like to watch TV and—”
“Read romance books.” Will shuddered.
“Hey! You could learn a lot from a hero of one of those books, you know,” Eliza protested.
“Like what?” Will stood up and walked to the adjoining high-backed chair next to her. “Fifty shades of gross?”
Eliza rolled her eyes and turned toward him. “I’ll have you know, there happen to be wonderful books out there that deal with the romance aspect of love. They’re not always about whatever it is men think women need to be happy. Good grief. I’m talking about real men who love women and will do anything for them to prove it.”
He stared at her for a few seconds and then said, “It’s books like those that ruin you women for good.”
“Of all the sexist things to say!” She was about to stand, but he put his hand up.
“Hear me out for a minute.”
Folding her arms, she took a deep breath and sat back in the cushions of the couch. Her father’s words about her never listening came back loud and clear. “I’m listening.”
“I believe that some—I’m not saying all—but some of those romance books must completely skew the reality of what men really are. You women gush and sigh and long for this impossibly romantic weirdo you’ve just read about, then toss aside the actual normal man right next to you because he’s not Damien, or Alfonzo, or Luke.”
“Alfonzo?”
Georgia giggled.
“Whatever. The point is, you say I’m sexist, yet I’m not the one reading about some perfect hero who will guarantee that anyone you meet will never be man enough for you.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Eliza laughed. “Forgive me for wanting to read about men who don’t exist. Fine. I admit it. By your standards, maybe I am sexist. But honestly, have you met the men out there? Why do you think women need to escape so badly?” She leaned forward. “In fact, if I did a study right now on the effects of reading escapist romance, I bet I’d find that it actually saves more relationships than it ruins.”
“How so?” Now he folded his arms.
“Because despite what you think, women are not stupid creatures who go all gaga over some dream Alfonzo”—she tried not to gag over his name—“and we know for a fact that men aren’t like the ones we read about. However, we’re able to relate to similar attributes of those heroes, which then allows us to look at our husbands or boyfriends or whatever, and fall in love with them all over again.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder. “So really, we’re doing you a favor by reading it because it allows us to still want a man when we’re done.”
“She’s got a point, you know.” Georgia laughed.
“Oh, no.” He pointed at her. “Don’t you go starting on me. One woman telling me off is enough for tonight. I definitely don’t need two!”
“You know what I’ve decided, Eliza?” Georgia tapped her shoulder.
Eliza turned toward her. “And what’s that?”
“I’ve decided that Will was right. You are someone I’d love.”
Eliza chuckled. “I don’t know if ‘love’ is the right word.”
“Anyone who can hold their own against the great Will Darcy deserves respect in my book. And what’s not to love about that?”
“Well, when you put it that way, I have no idea.”
Both girls laughed.
“Ha. Ha.” Will pretended to pout. “I’m feeling completely outnumbered.”
“As you should!” Georgia teased. “It’s about time you knew how I feel when you and Dad get together.”
“Didn’t you say you had a surprise for Eliza?” he asked in an obvious attempt to change the subject.
“Oh!” She jumped up. “I nearly forgot. Come on,” she said as she ran to the kitchen. “Will told me what your favorite dessert was, so I wanted to make it for you.”
Will caught Eliza’s arm as she was about to follow. “Thank you,” he whispered.
“For?”
“Making her forget. I could never repay you for this. Never.”
“Here it is!” Georgia exclaimed. She turned around with a pretty two-layered chocolate frosted cake. “I even did the roses myself.”
CHAPTER TWENTY:
“It looks awesome.” Eliza walked forward and took the cake from the girl’s extended hands. “Thank you so much. I never would’ve known you made this. I would’ve thought it came from a bakery.” It really was incredible.
“See, Will? Even she thinks so.” Georgia pushed past her brother to walk with Eliza to the table.
“You’ve got some talent,” Eliza said.
“Oh, don’t say that yet. I can make things beautiful, but how about you taste it before you rave about talent.”
“This is true.” Will pulled out a dining room chair and sat down. “The real test is trying it. You never know with Georgia.”
“Hey. You’d better be nice to me.” The girl went to the kitchen. “Eliza, you stay with Will and make sure he doesn’t snitch any of the frosting. I’ll get the plates.”
Eliza pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. “Did you hear that?” She brought the cake closer to her. “I have to watch out and make sure you don’t eat any.”
“You’d better. I’ve been known to devour whole cakes in a single sitting.”
Eliza shook her head. “I won’t even say how disturbing I think that statement is.”
He winked. “That’s because you clearly don’t have brothers. If you had some, you’d know it’s perfectly healthy for a man to devour a cake every now and then.”
“And take thirds at every meal, too.” Georgia set plates, forks, and napkins on the table.
“Are you serious?” Eliza asked. “How do you
stay fit?”
He leaned back and patted his tummy. “Ah, that’s the best part. My brain works so quickly, it completely energizes the rest of me. My metabolism is like a fifteen-year-old boy’s most of the time.”
“You know, that explains so much more than you realize.” She turned to a laughing Georgia. “How can I help you?”’
“Keep getting Will. You have no idea how much fun it is to have a sister around who can clobber him.”
Eliza’s brain skittered to a halt at the word “sister.” Thankfully the two continued on without her.
“Whatever. She isn’t clobbering anything. She’s too tiny.”
Georgia began to slice the cake. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s shaking in his boots.”
“Socks. Remember, I’m wearing socks.”
“Fine. Socks. But you’re still shaking.” She handed a piece of cake to Eliza.
“If I’m shaking, it’s because of low blood sugar. What’s taking so long?”
“Hush. Now how big do you want your piece?”
Eliza took a bite of hers. Suddenly every distracted thought she had of becoming Georgia’s sister fled. “Oh, my gosh. Will, take a huge one. You’re going to want it.”
“You heard the lady. Gimme one huge slice.”
Eliza quickly took another bite. She didn’t care if she was talking with her mouth full. “Georgia, this is seriously to die for. I need the recipe. Like, must. Have. It.”
“Careful. If it’s that good, you might actually die.” Will took the plate his sister handed him and dug in.
“Have I ever mentioned how charming you are?” Eliza took another bite.
“Well, she could’ve poisoned us. You never know. Huh, sis?” He looked up at her.
Georgia sat down and shook her head. “As tempting as it is to kill you, Will, I have yet to give in to the urge.”
“Aw, it’s so nice to have a sister who loves me.”
Eliza put her fork down. “Good grief, you’re incorrigible today. What’s with you?”
He gave his best innocent face. “Aren’t I always like this?”
