Elizabeth of East Hampton (For the Love of Austen #2)

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

The bar was a wall of sound when Will reentered. Laughter and shouting and off-key singing all melded together over deafening guitar chords that sounded suspiciously like “Yellow Submarine.”

He ignored them as he navigated his way through the packed room. Or, at least, he tried to ignore them. What usually came so easy—that ability to shore up his defenses, put a mental barricade between himself and the outside world—suddenly felt flimsy and weak, making him only too aware of just how uncomfortable he really was.

It was that woman’s fault. He didn’t like crowded spaces and forced social interactions, but he usually had it under control. Then Elizabeth Bennet appeared. He had recognized that red hair immediately and said something before he could stop himself. Maybe that was what annoyed her—that or the flour comment—but regardless, she bit back.

Some people don’t mind a mess.

The words echoed through his head as his gaze slid to Vivienne and Annabelle. They were still at the same table in the back, although Vivienne’s head was now resting in her arms next to an empty martini glass. Beside her, Annabelle appeared to be in physical pain listening to the band.

It was time to find Charlie and call it a night.

Will continued his survey of the bar until he found him. Charlie was still standing beside Jane, leaning down to hear something she was saying. Impossible, considering how loud the fucking music was, but that didn’t seem to deter him.

Here we go again . Will thought he would at least have a week or two before Charlie fell headfirst into another relationship. What was the percentage he read in the Wall Street Journal the other day, 70 percent of couples break up before they make it to a year? For someone who was obsessed with facts and statistics, it was mind-boggling that Charlie chose to ignore that one. The man loved falling in love, and while that fact had been endearing in college, it was now like catnip to women who were more concerned with his net worth than his emotions. Of course, each relationship ended in the same predictable way, with Charlie giving too much only to have his heart broken, while Will ran interference, taking care of the mess left behind and picking his friend back up again.

And while this woman seemed perfectly lovely, Will didn’t have the bandwidth to fix another one of Charlie’s heartbreaks. They both needed to stay focused this summer.

Charlie caught sight of Will and motioned him over, his smile broadening across his face.

“You finally decided to join us!” Charlie exclaimed, raising his glass like this deserved a toast.

Will offered him a tight nod. Then he turned to Jane. “Your sister left.”

She blinked, as if the comment caught her off guard. Then he realized it probably had. “Lydia or Kit—”

“Elizabeth.”

Her expression relaxed and she nodded. “Piper told me. She has to work in the morning, so she headed home.”

Then she took a sip of her wine, like that answer was sufficient. Like it was fine that her sister just disappeared into the darkness all by herself.

“She walked.” Will’s voice was loud enough to be heard over the music, so the words came out almost like a shout.

Jane offered him a reassuring smile. “It’s okay. We live nearby; you don’t have to worry about her.”

“I wasn’t,” he murmured. He didn’t bother to consider whether that was true until the words had already left his mouth.

“Sorry?” she asked, leaning forward to hear him over the music. She laughed sweetly. “I can barely hear a thing. It’s not usually this crazy here.”

Charlie shrugged one shoulder as he practically yelled, “I don’t mind!”

Elizabeth’s words echoed through Will’s head again.

Some people don’t mind a mess.

There’s no way she could have seen the text message. No chance in hell that Charlie would have shown it to her. It was just a coincidence.

Then Will’s gaze slid over the bar, to where Charlie’s phone lay face up. The screen illuminated with a notification—one that could be read by anyone standing there. Like a redhead who’d been sitting at the stool in front of it just a few moments ago.

Well, shit.

He wasn’t embarrassed. After all, he hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true. Still, something hot and uncomfortable flared in his chest as he turned to Charlie.

“We should get going.”

“Are you kidding? The band hasn’t even finished their set!” he exclaimed.

Will leaned closer. “And Vivienne is barely conscious.”

Charlie’s smile flattened as he craned his neck to look toward the other side of the room. “Fuck.”

Goodbyes were quick, and to Jane’s credit, she didn’t seem to mind. Will couldn’t make out their words, but while Charlie was verbose, the eldest Bennet sister seemed happy to just smile and nod. She didn’t even look up from her drink as they walked to the door.

Will thought that was it. But the ten-minute drive home was one long soliloquy from Charlie about the beautiful Jane Bennet.

“Did I tell you that Tom Baker is her favorite Doctor?” Charlie asked, his voice echoing through the sharp angles of the house as their foursome entered the dark foyer.

“Yes,” Will replied flatly, continuing forward into the living room.

Charlie followed him, undaunted. “She even has all the ‘Pyramids of Mars’ episodes on DVD. Those are impossible to find! She said she would let me borrow them, but I think I might invite her over for a whole Doctor Who marathon, you know? She hasn’t seen ‘Planet of Giants,’ and I think—”

“Sounds great, Charlie,” Annabelle interrupted as she walked past him on her way to the kitchen. “Just don’t get attached.”

Charlie paused by the towering windows on the far side of the room, completely dark now except for the faint outline of the clouds against the black sky. “What does that mean?”

“Oh please,” Annabelle said with a roll of her eyes. “You can’t be that naive.” She didn’t even look at him as she said it, just opened the refrigerator and took out some water.

Charlie’s hands went to his hips. “I guess I am, because I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Annabelle already had the bottle of water to her lips, so Vivienne piped up from where she had landed on the sofa, arm flung over her face. “She’s probably just after your money, Charlie.”

Charlie’s brow furrowed as he looked from his sisters to Will, then back to his sisters. “Oh, come on. She doesn’t know I have money.”

Annabelle put her bottle of water on the counter. “Does she know you work in mergers and acquisitions?”

“Yes.”

“And that we rented this house for the whole summer?”

“So?”

Across the room, Vivienne laughed so hard it turned into a snort.

Annabelle tossed him an incredulous eye roll before taking another sip of water. “She knows you have money, Charlie.”

Neither of his sisters was privy to the way that Charlie’s expression dimmed, how his brow creased in an unfamiliar way and his gaze dropped to the floor. Will was tempted to soften the blow, but he also recognized the hard truth there. The one Charlie needed to hear.

After a moment, Charlie lifted his head, his attention now on Will. “What do you think?”

Will considered. Yes, he could tell Charlie what he really thought. And with anyone else, he wouldn’t hesitate. But Charlie wasn’t just anyone. Since they’d met freshman year at Columbia, he had been like a brother, and, considering Will was an only child, that meant a lot. When Will’s parents had died a few years ago, it started to mean even more. He wouldn’t sacrifice Charlie’s excitement on the altar of honesty. Instead, he simply said, “She smiles too much.”

Charlie’s pensive expression melted away as he shook his head and chuckled. “You’re a dick.”

The corner of Will’s mouth teased a grin before falling flat again.

“On that note,” Annabelle said, rolling her eyes, “I’m going to bed. Come on, Viv.”

She abandoned her water on the counter and walked over to the sofa. Vivienne was sprawled across it, her long dress wrapped around her legs and one sandal hanging off her foot.

“I’m not tired,” she whined, her eyes closed.

Annabelle grabbed the arm lying over her sister’s eyes and pulled. “Then just lie in bed and research companies that can send Richard an anonymous box of dog shit.”

Vivienne seemed to think about it for a minute, then sighed. “Okay.” She stood slowly and, Vivienne leaning on Annabelle, they both disappeared down the hall.

“I’m going to bed, too,” Charlie said, stretching his arms up over his head. “You all set?”

Will scratched his jaw, looking over to the towering windows that revealed darkness where the ocean should be. “Yeah. Going to stay up for a while.”

Charlie bobbed his head and started toward the stairs but paused at the foot. “You think Jane is nice, right?” he asked, turning just enough to look over his shoulder at his friend.

Will nodded. “I do.”

“And gorgeous?”

“Very.”

“Her sister is really pretty, too.”

Will stared at him.

Charlie smiled. “Maybe the four of us could go out, like a double date. Wouldn’t that be great? We could get—”

Will turned and started toward the kitchen. “Good night, Charlie.”

He heard Charlie laughing to himself as he ascended the stairs, but Will ignored it, his attention on the refrigerator. He had volunteered to drive tonight, so after two sips of that warm swill they served at the bar, he’d stuck with water. Now, as he grabbed a cold beer from the shelf, the drink felt well-earned. He twisted off the cap and took a deep sip as he walked to the doors that led out to the verandah.

They slid open easily, letting in a rush of ocean air, flush with salt and brine. He walked to the edge of the verandah, where the slate stone tiles met the craggy beach grass, and closed his eyes, listening to the steady rhythm of rolling waves breaking on the shore.

He needed this. Despite how much the Hamptons had changed over the years, how its unrefined edges had been polished and honed, nothing could take away the calm of the beach, the ocean, the wind. Even in the stillness it felt raw and untamed. He had come to rely on that feeling of peace mixed in with something unpredictable and wild. If he wouldn’t have it this summer in Montauk, then East Hampton would have to do.

An image of red hair and dark eyes flashed in his mind, of powdered sugar and a smirk, but he ignored it and took another sip of his beer. Why should he fixate on something that didn’t matter? It was a moment and it was in the past. By tomorrow, Elizabeth Bennet wouldn’t even remember him.