by Krista Lakes
“I do have a pretty fabulous ass,” she admitted with a giggle.
“That’s the spirit,” I said with a grin. “You should try on the pink one next.”
“You mean the one with the slit down to here?” She pointed to her bellybutton. “No way.”
I raised my eyebrows at her. “You know you want to.”
She rolled her eyes. “I’d never actually wear it.”
“And you’d wear this one?” I pointed to her current dress. It was bright red satin and hugged every inch of her so tightly that only her skin color was left to the imagination.
“Good point,” she conceded. She picked up the pink dress and headed toward the changing room. She paused at the door, turning to look back at me. “Thank you for this, Lizzie. I’m having fun.”
“Good. My evil plan is working,” I teased, dry washing my hands like an evil mastermind. It made Jane laugh as she went to change.
I sat in the plush viewing area of an upscale dress store and sipped on a glass of champagne. Everything here was way out of our budget, but they didn’t know that. We had stepped in to look at the prices and see if anything was on sale when the attendant recognized Jane from her pictures in the paper.
Suddenly, we were set up in a private dressing area with champagne flutes. We decided to go with it and try on some of the more outlandish dresses. If nothing else, it was making Jane laugh.
“Holy mackerel,” I said as Jane stepped out. She looked like a model in a fashion magazine. “Wow.”
“There is no way I would ever wear this in public,” she announced, her hands hovering over the major slit running down the front of the dress. It showed off her cleavage and every curve of her body.
“You look hot,” I told her. “And you couldn’t wear that in public because the first man that saw you would lose his mind.”
“Lose his mind, huh?” She looked over in the mirror. “Maybe I should wear it to a hotel opening.”
“We agreed we aren’t talking about him,” I reminded her. “No men today. Just girl fun.”
She sighed. “Sorry.”
“Jane, repeat after me: No, you can’t have this. I’m far too good for you,” I said in my most dramatic voice.
She giggled. “I’m not saying that.”
“Do it,” I pushed.
“No, you can’t have this,” she said flatly. She giggled and finished with a little flair. “I’m far too good for you.”
“Not bad,” I said with an appreciative nod. “I would nominate you for an Academy Award, but you’d probably win, and you know how Lydia would feel if you got an Academy Award before her.”
“Win or lose, Lydia would kill me either way,” she replied with a laugh.
I looked down at my watch. “Shoot, we’re going to be late for our reservation.”
“I’ll go change,” she said, taking one last look at herself in the mirror.
“I’m far too good for you,” I repeated, using even more drama this time.
Jane stuck out her tongue at me and went to change.
I checked my phone for an update from Lydia while Jane was busy. Lydia was supposed to be doing some sort of photo-shoot work today. It was at a car dealership outside of town, but it sounded like honest work. She had already sent me two pictures of her in a bikini on an expensive looking car. It wasn’t my idea of work, but as long as Lydia was happy and getting paid, I didn’t object.
Jane came out of the changing room, and we snuck out of the store before the salesperson could pressure us to buy anything. I was tempted to pick up the pink dress as a surprise, but it was way more than I could afford on a whim. Still, it had been fun to play dress-up.
“Where are we going for lunch?” Jane asked as we walked along some shops. “I’m starving.”
“Here,” I told her as we came around the corner of the shopping center. I pointed to the fancy upscale restaurant before us.
Jane’s mouth hung open. She shook her head. “Lizzie, we can’t afford that.”
The restaurant was super fancy. It was the type of place that I suspected Mr. Darcy and his friends liked to visit as they made fun of the lower classes.
“You’re not supposed to,” I told her. “I’m buying it as a treat to make you feel better.”
“Lizzie, you can’t afford that,” Jane amended.
“We’re just going to get an appetizer and drinks,” I replied. “I have plans to pick up a pizza on the way home. But, I did want you to have something special.”
“Now that, I can get behind,” Jane said with a laugh. “I’ve always wanted to try this place.”
“Why do you think I brought you here?” I gave her a gentle shoulder bump. “I’m supposed to make you feel better. I thought this might help.”
Jane smiled at me. “You’re a good friend.”
“Sister,” I replied. “You know we’re sisters.”
Jane grinned and nodded. “Damn straight.”
Even though we weren’t all biological sisters, Jane was as much a sister as Lydia and I were. We’d grown up together and then practically adopted Jane when her parents died. She was a part of my family, and I would protect her and treat her like one. She certainly treated Lydia and me like her sisters.
Together we walked into the fancy restaurant with smiles on our faces.
“Hello, I have a reservation for Bennet,” I informed the hostess.
She scanned the book in front of her. Her finger paused on an entry, and her smile flickered for a moment before she looked up.
“I’m so sorry, but we don’t have your reservation on file,” she replied.
“We can just go-” Jane started to say, but I put my hand on her shoulder.
“You don’t have it?” I repeated. “You’re sure? I made it this morning.”
“I’m afraid it’s not in here.” She blinked rapidly, betraying the lie. “But, I can seat you at the bar.”
“That will work,” I said with a sigh. It wasn’t like we were eating an actual meal here, anyway. The bar would be fine.
“I’m so terribly sorry for the change,” she said with a practiced smile as she led us to a beautiful mahogany bar. Since it was past lunch, we had our choice of seats. Jane chose a small bar table near the window so we could look out over the city.
“I can’t believe they lost our reservation,” Jane remarked, picking up a drink menu.
“They didn’t,” I replied. “They gave our table away. I saw her pause where my reservation should have been. Someone more important stole our table.”
“No, I’m sure that’s not it,” Jane said shaking her head. “Mistakes like this happen all the time.”
“Jane, you are too forgiving,” I told her with a smile. “Let me buy you a drink.”
“A martini,” she said with a grin. She pointed to the menu. “This one sounds sufficiently fancy.”
“Coming right up,” I said, standing up. I walked over to the bar and ordered two martinis. While the bartender worked, I flipped through a menu for our appetizer options. The lobster ravioli with truffle butter sounded terrific.
The bartender handed me the two drinks and I walked carefully back toward our table. I was less than a step away when I heard him.
“Elizabeth?”
I knew that voice. It made my blood heat and my stomach drop. I froze in mid-step, trying to decide what reaction I wanted to follow.
I wanted to turn and throw both drinks in his face, but they were expensive and I didn’t want to waste good vodka on him.
“Mr. Darcy! What a pleasant surprise,” Jane greeted him, a smile filling her face. She didn’t see my wide eyes and the subtle head shake I was trying to send her. Given her state last night, I hadn’t told her about what happened between Mr. Darcy and me yet. As far as she knew, everything was sunshine and roses between us. Or at least as much as there ever had been.
“Indeed,” Mr. Darcy replied. “Are you two waiting for a table?”
“Nope,” I quickly replied. I tu
rned and put on my best bitchy smile. “We’re actually just finishing.”
An older man in a smart blue suit came up and tapped Mr. Darcy on the shoulder. “William, our table is ready.”
“Excellent,” Mr. Darcy replied. “Fritz, I’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth and Jane.
Fritz’s gray eyebrows raised and he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” he replied warmly. “Would you care to join us? They gave us a table for four.”
I looked at Jane, giving her my best “no way in hell” look.
“We’d love to,” Jane replied, clearly not understanding my look.
We were going to have to work on her reading my signals better.
Jane stood from the bar table and took her drink from me. I tried to grab her shoulder, to make her stop so that we could leave. I didn’t want to spend a moment more with Mr. Darcy. I missed her shoulder though and only succeeded in spilling some of my drink on my hand.
I did the only thing I could do. I put on what I hoped would pass for a pleasant smile and followed behind her.
“This is a beautiful restaurant,” Jane remarked as we walked through the room. Every table was full of dining guests all eating fabulous looking food. Fritz guided the four of us to the only open table.
“It’s my favorite,” Fritz replied to Jane. “I make poor William come here every time I’m in town. It was a last minute visit today, and he still found a way to get us a table.”
My teeth ground together. Mr. Darcy took my table. It had been my reservation that he stole. Yet one more reason to hate the bastard.
“Where are you visiting from?” Jane asked as Fritz held out a chair for her. Mr. Darcy did the same for me and I did my best to ignore him.
“I manage William’s West Coast division,” Fritz replied. “I think I’ve been in the company almost as long as he has.”
“If we’re interrupting a business meeting, we can go,” I offered, already rising to my feet. “It’s really not a problem.”
“Please stay.” Mr. Darcy’s voice was quiet, yet sure. He looked at me with those blue eyes and I was once again powerless to say no to him. Damn him.
“Yes, please stay,” Fritz chimed in. “We already finished talking business.”
I slowly sat back down and took a big sip of my martini. Why did everything Mr. Darcy did make me want to drink inordinate amounts of alcohol?
“So, William tells me that you’re are a nurse,” Fritz said. He smiled kindly. He was a handsome man with graying hair and an easy smile. He had kind brown eyes that crinkled as he spoke, indicating that he was always smiling.
“I am,” I said, doing my best to stay calm. It was easier if I focused on Fritz and not on Mr. Darcy. “I work in the Cardiac ICU.”
“That must be very difficult work,” Fritz replied. “My father had a heart attack a few years ago, and it was the ICU nurses that kept him alive. They became family to us as he recovered. It’s an amazing profession.”
A genuine smile slowly replaced my forced one. “Thank you. I love my work, so it’s always nice to hear others appreciate it too.”
I decided I liked Fritz a lot more than I liked Mr. Darcy right now.
“And Jane, what do you do?” Fritz asked, smiling at Jane.
“I work in art conservation at the art museum,” Jane replied. “I specialize in postmodern paintings.”
“You work in art?” Fritz’s smile grew wider. “William and I have a friend that would love you. He loves art. I should really have you meet him.”
I looked over to see Mr. Darcy giving Fritz a death stare. Mr. Darcy had daggers shooting out of his blue eyes. Fritz managed to read Mr. Darcy better than Jane read me, and at least gave him a confused look.
“Would either of you like another drink?” Mr. Darcy asked, standing up quickly.
“I would love one,” I replied. My martini was gone and given that I was sitting next to a man I loathed, I needed another.
“I never did get my first one,” Fritz announced with a laugh. “I was distracted by beautiful ladies.”
Jane smiled at him. “I’ll take another as well, please.”
“I’m going to go to the bar,” Mr. Darcy told the table. “Fritz, would you mind helping me carry them back?”
“I’d like to help,” Jane said with a helpful smile.
“She’s steadier than I’ll be,” Fritz replied with a chuckle. “This bum knee of mine always seems to cause me to spill my drinks.”
“As you wish,” Mr. Darcy replied. He sent a stern look to Fritz as Jane carefully folded her napkin and left it on her chair. Together, she and Mr. Darcy went to pick up drinks.
“I must say, it’s wonderful to finally meet you,” Fritz told me once Mr. Darcy and Jane were at the bar. “William has spoken very highly of you.”
“He has?” I couldn’t hide my surprise. That was rather shocking to me, considering that Mr. Darcy never gave me that feeling.
“You must have really made an impression on him,” Fritz continued with a nod. “He’s usually rather quiet unless it’s about business.”
“I have noticed that,” I replied. “He doesn’t seem to care about much else.”
“He can definitely appear that way on the outside,” Fritz agreed. “But, he’s the most loyal friend I’ve ever had. There isn’t anything he wouldn’t do for someone he cares about.”
Except apparently pick up a telephone and call a girl, I thought to myself. “Is that so?”
“I don’t want to betray his confidence, but I think he rather admires you,” Fritz confessed.
“What?” I laughed. “I think you must be confusing me with someone else.”
“No, I’m quite sure it’s you,” he replied. “It’s just something in the way he speaks about you. He smiles more.”
I shook my head. Fritz had to be older than I thought and suffering from dementia. There was no way that Mr. Darcy spoke of me and smiled.
“I find that very interesting,” I said diplomatically. I took a sip of water. “He didn’t happen to tell you what happened a couple of nights ago?”
Like perhaps why he felt it was acceptable not to call, text, send a carrier pigeon? Why was it okay in his mind to sleep with me and then never contact me? Especially when he acts all happy to see me two days later?
Fritz thought for a moment. “He said he had to do a difficult thing,” he said slowly. “Something that was the right thing to do, even if he didn’t want to.”
I did my best to keep my face straight and not give away anything. Was I the hard but difficult thing? I seemed to remember him pulling off my clothes without too much moral struggle.
“What was it?” I asked. My hands twisted at the napkin in my lap. I had to know now.
Fritz glanced over at the bar. Mr. Darcy and Jane were waiting for their drinks and having what appeared to be a pleasant enough conversation.
“A friend of his was in a bad relationship,” Fritz said quietly. “It was rather one-sided and William had to help his friend see it. The girl was a gold digger, and completely uninterested in anything but his money.”
My stomach started to twist as I put together the pieces.
“Did you get a name?” I asked.
“Not the girl’s,” Fritz replied. He glanced back over at Mr. Darcy.
“The friend, was it Charles Bingley?” I asked. The words tasted sour and slimy in my mouth.
“I shouldn’t say,” Fritz replied, but the look on his face was plain as day. It was Charles, and the only person that could be considered a “gold-digger” was Jane.
“It was him. It was Charles Bingley,” I confirmed. Fritz didn’t deny it.
I looked over at the bar where Jane was smiling and helping Mr. Darcy pick up the drinks. She was smiling at the man who had decided she wasn’t worthy of the love of her life.
Red hot fury filled me. I could barely see straight I was so angry. Wrath seethed and boiled in my stomach and I felt like I might hurl it all up if I even ope
ned my mouth.
Mr. Darcy was a monster. Not only did he screw me and not care, but he also cheated Wickham out of his inheritance, and now he’d destroyed my best friend’s love and happiness. Any good points he might have once had with me were completely and utterly demolished.
I couldn’t stay in the restaurant with him. I didn’t want to be on the same planet, let alone the same continent with him after what he’d done. If he came back to the table, I was likely to stab him with my fork. I knew I was out of control and I needed to get myself away from him.
I grabbed my phone and pretended to check the screen.
“I’m so sorry, Fritz,” I said, managing to keep my voice light and even, despite the fact that I wanted to scream like a demon. “There’s an emergency and Jane and I need to get home right away.”
“Oh dear, I hope everything is okay.” Fritz’s kind face filled with worry. I felt sorry for him. He didn’t know that his boss was a monster.
“I’m sure it will be,” I told him, standing up and gathering my things. I grabbed Jane’s things too. “Please excuse us.”
I walked away from the table, not caring if I was being rude or not. All I could see was red.
I grabbed the drinks from Jane and set them down on the bar, spilling most of them. Mr. Darcy could afford it. “We’re leaving.”
Jane looked at me completely confused as she looked back and forth between me and the drinks. “What? Why?”
“We aren’t staying,” I growled, grabbing her arm and manhandling her toward the exit.
“Elizabeth? What’s going on?” Mr. Darcy asked, confusion twisting his handsome features. He held a martini in each hand.
“Screw you,” I hissed at him. I hated that white-hot tears stung at my eyes. I was so angry I could barely see. I ran into a bar stool and just kicked it away, not caring about the fact that it was going to leave a bruise or that we were in a fancy restaurant.
I just wanted out.
I ran for the door, pulling Jane behind me as she shouted an apology to a man who didn’t deserve one.
Chapter 13
“Okay, seriously Lizzie?” Jane followed me into our apartment, finally getting frustrated with my lack of words on the subway. “If you aren’t going to tell me what’s going on, then I have no idea what to do to help.”
