Lucky 13

by Cat Gardiner

  Darcy’s hand smoothed along the small of her back, remembering every curve, memorizing them anew. He breathed in the scent of her subtle honeysuckle, and his heart clenched. He was so in love with her that the dance became pure torture.

  “Congratulations on your award, Will. Your generosity and achievements both personally and on behalf of the Foundation are quite impressive.”

  She chastised herself, hearing her compliment sounding like a business accolade rather than what her heart wanted to scream.

  “Thank you. It’s really the Foundation as a whole – the efforts and generosity of everyone. My personal commitment is because of what I told you the other night - it’s how I can best honor my parents.”

  “I’m sure they’d be very proud of you.” She met his expressive gaze. His vibrant blue eyes held hers within his spell.

  Darcy pulled her closer to him, their heated bodies touching. He needed her. He needed to share this night and all that his heart felt, but she was verboten. Her barricade was still in place, her body remaining relatively unyielding in his arms as they moved across the parquet floor. Unyielding in comparison to what he had experienced with her the night he loved her with everything he had to give.

  Elizabeth’s fearful heart was petrified of his rejection, but the words she needed to speak were exploding in her mind. Above the pounding within, her voice trembled when she summoned the courage to speak. “I’m proud to know you, and I’m so sorry I doubted your character. I was wrong about that. I’m sorry I hurt you, especially on such a significant and painful day.”

  Tears threatened and her hand clutched his bicep. She wanted to say more, express herself fully, and tell him she loved him, but the image of his thumb brushing along the blonde’s back and her finger caressing his cheek stopped her.

  The song ended before he could reply, and a second later, Sarah took a possessive hold of his arm as John’s arm circled Elizabeth’s waist, as though reclaiming her.

  She subtly removed his hand without making a scene.

  “Thank you for the dance, Elizabeth,” Darcy solemnly said.

  “It was my pleasure. Thank you.”

  As he made to leave with Sarah, Elizabeth couldn’t help reaching out to his arm, clenching around his forearm to halt his departure. She spoke, hoping he understood her meaning, “They say dancing encourages affection.”

  Furrowing his brow, he didn’t know what to make of that statement which echoed his words from Friday night’s dance at the calendar launch. “It’s true; it does. Of course, it helps if you have a partner who is open to the affection.”

  She felt his sting in his words, confirming his continued anger.

  Their eyes remained locked, the orchestra started to play a fast song, and the dance floor filled around them. Sarah overtly placed her free hand upon Darcy’s bicep, smoothing it up and down, and John broke the ensuing silence, stating something about wanting to dance again.

  “You there!” Catherine de Bourgh exclaimed, approaching the small group with her silk-clad arm held high in the air, her nude-painted, manicured fingers snapping the two couples to attention. “Miss Bennet, I must have a word with you. You must introduce me to Mr. Lucas.”

  Just like that Elizabeth was drawn from Darcy’s heated gaze as Sarah, assessing her as competition, tugged his arm toward one of the board members. He began to network about the room, putting in place that million-watt smile Charlotte had teased him about.

  Beside his date, John sufficiently bloviated to Catherine whose uncharacteristic, sycophantic behavior allowed Elizabeth an immediate excuse to go to the ladies room.

  Georgiana watched the entire exchange from beginning to end. Observant of the pained expressions on both Elizabeth and her brother’s face, her heart broke for them. She followed Liz’s departure with swift footsteps, the chiffon of her sapphire blue scarf trailing behind as she traversed the crowded room.

  She propelled the large doors outward with a hefty shove, yelling down the hallway after Elizabeth. “Liz!”

  Fighting the tears, Elizabeth turned, bracing herself for the confrontation she knew was forthcoming. She wasn’t sure what to say, but hoped that Georgiana would apologize for her duplicity. Poised and calm, she pushed down the tumult she felt after just dancing with Darcy.

  With a hesitant smile she simply said, “Georgiana.”

  “Can we talk? I think you and I have some things to clear the air about.”

  “Yes, I suppose we do. Shall we go down this hall?” She pointed in the opposite direction where only a few guests meandered. Both felt uncomfortable walking side-by-side in silence until reaching two available Queen Anne chairs sequestered below a window.

  Georgiana, looking so beautiful, began with polite conversation: how spectacular Elizabeth looked, the color of her dress, what cool shoes, fabulous purse.

  It was clear she was nervous until Elizabeth helped her by beginning. “I recognize this is awkward for you, Georgiana and, as a sibling myself, I also understand to a degree why you felt the need to become involved in your brother’s affairs. I think what upset me the most was that your intent for befriending me was so contrived. With the knowledge of your deceit, it made me feel as though you didn’t actually enjoy our new friendship and that much of what you said, apart from your brother’s attributes, wasn’t honest conversation. It appears you only had one mission in mind – to spy on me. That wounded me.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry, Liz. I have to be honest. At first, when I met you at the audition, that was my intent. I had never seen my brother act as he did that day. To single out a girl, let alone dance and sing to her was entirely unprecedented. I had to know more about you and what you thought about him, so I sought you out.”

  “I can understand that and probably would have done the same for any of my sisters. But then you initiated a lunch under false pretenses, no?”

  “I did, at your invitation.” Georgiana leaned over the small end table between them, covering Elizabeth’s hand with hers. “You have to understand … Will … well Will hasn’t been passionate about anyone or anything, other than firefighting, since my parents’ death. When he told me that he thought you were ‘the one’, I had to help him. His happiness is first and foremost in my life.”

  “The one?” She expelled a deep sigh. “I suppose it could have been so much easier had I only put aside my own insecurities and prejudices against him. I should have agreed to go with him to dinner or something. Did he put you up to the blog and commenting?”

  “No, that was all my idea. He knew about it but needed the web address and then you volunteered it so willingly. You may not believe this but reading your blog and commenting helped him to know how to approach the world of dating and romance, as well as how to woo you, get to know your heart and the incredible woman you are.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Well, you are incredible. You challenged him, helping him to finally pursue and find love. I believe you helped him face life again. I’m sorry I deceived you, and I want you to know that no matter what happens or doesn’t happen between you and my brother, I do value you as a friend, and someone I’d like to get to know better – not because of him – but because of me. While I’d love to have you as my sister, I’d love to have you as a dear friend even more. I truly enjoy your company.”

  “And I enjoy yours. I accept your apology and welcome your friendship. Now … Georgie, can I ask you a question and hope for an honest answer?”

  “Sure, anything to help me make it up to you.”

  “Who is the blonde on his arm?”

  Georgiana rolled her eyes. “Ugh! Sarah Pendleton, ex-girlfriend, bitch-extraordinaire who only wants his money. According to my aunt …” She imitated Catherine’s voice to a ‘T’, “…Theirs is a marriage planned since childhood. Society’s two darlings coming together at last.”

  “Does … does he … care for her?”

  “Will hasn’t seen her for many years. Actually, her presence as his da
te tonight shocked me. It must have been Aunt Catherine’s doing. Honestly, I don’t know what’s going on in that confused head of his. And here I thought he was crazy when I saw him filling out a Jewish matchmaker questionnaire and now he goes and …”

  “A what?”

  “Yeah I know, we’re not even Jewish. Some woman known as a shad-something down on Clinton Street had him fill out a form because, according to Rick, she found him the perfect bashert. Whatever that is.”

  Elizabeth started to laugh, wrapping her hands around her waist, doubling over. Over and again she said, “Oh my God … Sadie you devil…”

  Charlotte recognized the hysterical laughter carrying down the hallway. She peeked around the corner, spying Elizabeth and Georgiana laughing with the latter questioning, “Who’s Sadie?”

  It did Charlotte’s heart good to see her friend laughing after the depressed sot she had slipped into the day before. After witnessing her and Darcy’s brief dance, she had been so sure that Elizabeth was most likely in the restroom in tears needing comfort. Instead, she found her busting a gut in fits of laughter. She laughed, too.

  Looking all formal but still a bit bohemian in black chiffon that lightened first to burgundy then getting redder as it headed toward the trailing hemline, she approached.

  Bent over, clutching her belly, Elizabeth first spied Charlotte’s bright-red, strappy platform heels, and choked through her laughter, “Nice shoes, Char.”

  “Thanks. What’s so funny?”

  “You. Sadie. Will. My shadchan date and how it happened that the dim sum he fed me during our date on Thursday night came from Shanghai Café Deluxe. You’ve been a very naughty girl, my friend. How many more people have been involved in matchmaking for Will and me?”

  “So now you know. Don’t worry, I called Sadie and told her the date is off.”

  Elizabeth stood, towering over her friend whose shoes did nothing to conceal her height when next to Elizabeth’s own four-inch heels. She placed both her hands on Charlotte’s shoulders. “Well you’ll just have call her right back and tell her the date is still on.”

  “What if the other party is no longer interested in the match? What if he’s afraid of rejection again?” Charlotte raised an eyebrow to make her point.

  Elizabeth looked to Georgiana. “What do you think, Georgie? Do you think your brother might still be interested in meeting his shadchan date if he knew it was me?”

  She nodded as Charlotte said, “He already knew it was you.”

  “That devil! Well, let’s see if we can’t make both our Christmas wishes come true. I think, I’m the one who needs to do some wooing now.”

  “You can just go back in there and tell him, Liz. I’m sure Will would be over the moon happy if you told him how you feel. You are in love with my brother, aren’t you?” Georgiana grinned knowingly.

  “I am, Georgie but although I want to tell him, I do think it would be awkward for both our dates, no matter how we feel about either of them tonight. Hopefully, when we danced he understood what my true feelings are, but he may still be so mad at me. Besides, this night is about the Foundation, and Will doesn’t need any more drama. No, I have to woo him and I will.”

  Mischief played across her lips. “Besides, I still have a shadchan blind date to redeem.”

  Charlotte touched her friend’s arm. “Umm … about John … that’s what I came to tell you. He’s ready to leave. Turns out someone remembered some controversy over a few of his photos being digitally manipulated during the South Yemen Revolt. Apparently, the guy got loud about it, and began calling into question his Pulitzer. John wanted me to tell you he’s ready to leave and waiting for you in the lobby beside the Gatsby tree. The night has just begun. There are still dances to be had. You shouldn’t go if you don’t want to.”

  “It’s okay. I’ll drop John at your apartment on my way to check on Jane in TriBeCa. She and I need to have a long talk, and I have a few phone calls that have to be made. After all these years, I think I’m ready to call my mother to tell her I won’t be going home for Christmas dinner.”

  Elizabeth took Georgiana’s hands in hers. “Thank you, Georgie for your honesty and thank you for keeping our little secret here.” She kissed her cheek and whispered, “With any luck I’ll see you on Christmas morning for that date you promised with your brother. I’m hoping Will might be making pancakes.”

  She started to walk away but backtracked with an afterthought. “One last thing, did he stop reading the blog?”

  “Yes, after you fought, he hasn’t read any of your posts. Neither of us have.”

  “Good, because my readers need an update and I don’t want him to know what I’m cooking up.”

  Liz’s Blog Post Here

  Charlotte's Blog Post Here

  Chapter Twenty-Two – Tuesday, December 24

  1 Day Until Christmas

  It was already late in the afternoon when Darcy finally pushed the last of the wrapped Christmas gifts under the tree, including one small box covered in gold foil paper with an emerald green hand-tied bow. Last night, working tour three at the West End Cave, he had spent the entire shift between runs – car blaze, dumpster fire, and sanitation pier explosion - playing over the conversation he'd had with Elizabeth as they danced at the gala Sunday night. He recalled her genuine smile when he received the award and memorized every syllable of her compliment and the apology she made for misjudging him. Nothing was implied beyond her comment on dancing, but her hasty departure spoke volumes. No, he simply wasn’t prepared to give up on her. He was determined to grovel and begin at the beginning with her if she was at all willing. Even if Lucas was still in the picture, he didn’t care. Elizabeth owned his heart.

  Darcy felt the void of her absence yesterday at the Barnes and Noble calendar signing. She was conspicuously M.I.A. from one of the biggest public events surrounding the Foundation’s calendar promotion. Instead, she had asked Stan to go in her place. Even Charlotte was in attendance with her Nikon, capturing every lust-filled touch and smile with the obliging thirteen firefighters. Scores of eager women lined up wanting souvenir photos available for purchase online for a donation to the FDBF of $13.00.

  When he asked her of Elizabeth’s absence, her reply was brief, “She had an important meeting Downtown.” Back to immediate business, she traversed the crowded Fifth Avenue bookstore, canvassing the horde of likely donors for four straight hours.

  For as many fawning, attractive, attentive women present, nothing lessened the oppressive sadness in his heart for the one woman he pined for. In fact, it had only made him feel worse, but the pain lessened when he arrived home to the cheerful greeting of the lobby concierge, along with a crystal vase filled with a dozen, long stemmed, red roses. They had been awaiting his arrival - no card, no signature, and no indication of the sender. Not even the florist name was available, either that or the concierge held a few secrets.

  Darcy’s hope soared.

  Georgiana, and her hopeful optimism, further convinced him that Elizabeth would see the light. In fact, his sister was insistent upon it. So much so, he wondered if she knew something or was she up to her usual mischief making.

  Before the calendar signing, he began his determined effort toward reconciliation with Elizabeth by scheduling a holiday breakfast with Charlie at the Athletic Club. During a long and serious conversation between the two close friends, they discussed Charlie’s cold feet. As much as Darcy cringed at hearing about Elizabeth’s mother, he counseled his friend on overlooking the horrific aspects of the mother and focusing on the goodness of the daughter. That was, after all, the only reason Charlie broke off the engagement, not anything else, and certainly not the dreaded soft-porn secret.

  The once resolute bachelor had become immobilized by fear following the night of the dinner party when Jane’s recently erratic behavior reared its ugly head. In love, he bore the brunt of her demands and complaints all day. That is until, he reached his limit when she launched a nuclear level verbal
assault after he mistakenly stowed the colander into the wrong cabinet. Of course, Charlie’s discovery of a canister of Binaca Breath Spray, inadvertently placed in the spice drawer, didn’t help the situation either and that was when panic mode set in. He was about to marry Frances.

  Thankfully, Darcy's supportive friendship and calming perspective had extinguished the catastrophic fire before the damage became irreparable. According to Charlie, this morning he had made up with Jane, and the wedding was back on. There was other happy news but Charlie said he would wait to share it. What came as the biggest shock to Darcy was his friend’s outright laughter over the fact that Jane thought he broke it off because of a regretful magazine photoshoot she did back in her early years of modeling. Imagine her surprise when he told her that photo hung on his dorm room wall for a good two years.

  The weatherman spoke of snow overnight, a white Christmas was promised, and Darcy felt it was a lucky omen, particularly when his smart phone vibrated and the name Sadie Finkelstein appeared on the LED.

  “Hello, Sadie,” he answered cheerfully.

  “So, you think you know everything Mr. Smarty? That fancy-shmancy telephone of yours tells you everything – except how to vin a vife.”

  “I tried, but I failed. I … um … made a few mistakes along the way.”

  “Vell Boyckik, you got no fancy ephone Ap for that, eh? Listen to Sadie. I'm the Ap for that! Ve’ll have to meet again for some pointers on how to voo a voman properly.”

  Darcy’s gaze rested on the red roses, now in full bloom. He felt in his gut that Elizabeth had sent them. “I don’t know. Maybe I should do things a little differently now.”

  “One hundred and sixty-nine marriages over thirty years, and you vant to do it your vay!” She sighed. "You don’t know bupkis. That Elizabeth is the past. Sadala has a new girl for you and I have to meet you tonight to tell you all about her. Until I make my match, your tukus is mine.”