Chapter 12 #2
Our front door flew open from the inside, and Mr. Darcy came out, holding a hat in his hands and looking flustered. He stopped before running into us. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there.”
William and I broke apart, and Darcy stepped back, giving us room to enter our home.
“Oh, Mr. Darcy, I didn’t realize you were here.” Pretending like it was the most natural thing in the world to come home and find Darcy in my house, I cleared my throat and took off my coat. The coat rack’s wooden arms reached out and accepted my coat like a well-trained ma?tre d.
“I invited him,” William told me.
Lizzy shot me a frantic look from the couch that seemed to scream, “What am I supposed to do?”
“Thank you for coming,” William said to Darcy. “I wanted to discuss Lady Catherine. I’m concerned that the situation might cause ongoing tension, and I would prefer to prevent that. As you know her better than I do, I thought you might be able to suggest the most effective way to handle it.”
I shook my head at the absurdity of it all—Lizzy’s panicked expression, Darcy’s clear discomfort, and William, completely oblivious, asking advice from someone he barely knew.
William’s phone rang, and he glanced at the screen. “Oh, it’s Lady Catherine. Maybe she requires assistance after what happened yesterday.” He glanced at me, then lowered the phone. “I can return her call later.”
His willingness to put me first warmed me, but I shook my head. “Go ahead and answer it. You should make sure she’s okay.” It wasn’t like we’d be kissing anyway with Lizzy and Darcy here.
“Are you sure? I’m not sure if the call is more pressing than what we were about—”
“I’m sure,” I said before he finished his sentence. “Thank you for checking, though.”
“I’ll be back in a minute.” He gave me a gentle kiss on the cheek that stole my breath, then stepped away to answer.
“Take your time,” I said somewhat breathlessly.
He glanced at me over his shoulder. “Sixty seconds is the current limit for how long I can wait to return to you.” Then he put the phone to his ear and strode a few paces across the yard.
I closed the front door once more and turned back to Darcy and Lizzy, hoping my cheeks weren’t as red as they felt. “What a lovely surprise,” I said. “Can I get you two something to drink? I think we have some leftover nutcracker nog.”
“No, that’s all right.” Darcy’s gaze flicked from the door, to Lizzy, and back as if they held equal temptation. “I should be on my way. I stopped by because Pastor Collins asked me to, but I can see that this is a bad time.”
“So soon? I’m sorry we missed you,” I said. “William and I had no idea you were coming over today or we wouldn’t have been out.”
“Think nothing of it. I didn’t give you warning before I popped in, but I wanted to check in when I heard about what happened last night.” He fidgeted with his hat again.
“Oh, thank you.” I couldn’t resist another confused glance at Lizzy.
“Well, I should be on my way. I need to swing by to see my aunt as well.” He glanced back at Lizzy. “Thank you for your time, Elizabeth.”
She inclined her head, but it might’ve been to hide the confusion in her gaze more than anything else.
Darcy opened the door once more and strode off without another glance back, his shoulders unusually tight.
I turned to Lizzy. “What did you do to Darcy? It looks like you’ve hexed the poor man.”
Lizzy shook her head, giving me a wide-eyed look. “I have no idea.”
I walked over and took her hand. “Well, do you want something to drink? I’m sure I can find something without caffeine.”
“No, I actually can’t stay long either. I just wanted to swing by to give you this.” She handed me a golden bracelet with runes etched into the sides. “If you have Mr. Collins wear this, I think it will help him get his memories back.”
“Actually, he got them back a few minutes ago.” I fiddled with my scarf, which I hadn’t surrendered to the slightly overbearing coat rack.
“Oh, that’s wonderful.” Lizzy gave me a small smile and tucked a strand of her chocolate brown hair behind her ear. “Then I suppose I’d better get going. I can see that my presence here is unnecessary in more ways than one.”
I glanced toward the fireplace where our magical stockings snuggled together, the material wrapping around each other in a way that brought heat to my cheeks. I stepped in front of them and shooed at them with my hands. “Don’t be silly. You aren’t in the way.”
“Once Mr. Collins returns, I imagine I will be.” She pulled me into a sudden hug. “I’m happy for you Charlotte, and I’m proud of you for opening your heart again.”
I hugged her back. “Thanks, Lizzy.”
“I’m so glad that Mr. Collins makes you happy. You deserve it, and I couldn’t be happier to have been wrong.”
“Me too.”
As if summoned by our conversation, William chose that moment to enter the house. He looked between Lizzy and me, his brow furrowing. “Is everything okay?”
Lizzy gave me a look, then stepped back. “Everything’s fine. I was just leaving. I need to swing by the Chronicle to get the first draft of my article in.”
Considering she could’ve just emailed her article in, that was the worst excuse ever. But at least William didn’t seem to notice.
Once the door closed behind her, William stepped closer, his eyes burning with a look I wasn’t used to seeing from him. “That was sixty-three seconds.”
I swallowed hard and took a tiny step toward him.
His hand slid around my waist, the movement slow and careful, and he pulled me closer. “Based on your expression, I believe now would be a good time for this. Am I correct?”
My gaze darted from his lips to his eyes and back. “It’s a great time.”
“Excellent.” With us this close, his breath feathered against my lips.
Unsure what to do with my hands, I let them rest against his chest, my fingers lightly curling into the front of his shirt.
“You understand the implications of what we’re about to do, right?”
Warmth trickled through me, at his touch or at his words, I couldn’t tell. “What do you mean?”
“Our marriage, which began for convenience, has transitioned into something I believe qualifies as a love match.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Feelings? That sounds completely reckless.”
“Objectively reckless.” His mouth lowered until it was a hair’s breadth from mine. “Possibly a huge lapse in judgement.”
I smiled. “And you’re sure you’re okay that I’m a human?”
“On average, interracial relationships encounter more challenges.” He cupped my cheek. “But I have no desire for a different outcome. I’ll even open up my congregation to the Unmarked.”
I flushed in pleasure. “I might embarrass you in front of Lady Catherine.”
“I might kiss you in front of Lady Catherine,” he said. “It feels like a balanced exchange.”
I laughed, but the sound quickly died as his lips brushed against mine.
For a moment, we both froze, the touch as hesitant as the first snowflakes of winter. But then I leaned up on my tiptoes to close the distance between us. William’s hands tightened around my waist, pulling me closer and erasing whatever careful distance I’d desperately kept between us.
The second press of his lips dropped the barriers I’d done my best to keep up until I could do nothing but admit that this ridiculous fae man had found his way into my heart.
The fire crackled behind us, the flame heating up as if our kiss overloaded his magic.
But even more than its heat, the warmth from his kiss raced from his lips all the way to my toes.
If Lizzy were to give me the starroot potion again, I was pretty sure that this would be the new memory I saw. It was quickly becoming a favorite.
I moved my hand up to wrap around his neck, and he groaned against my mouth like a man thawing after a long winter and I was his first sip of tea. He pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, then his eyes closed and he exhaled slowly.
“You once said happiness in marriage is a matter of chance, but I find the probability of ours quite favorable.” He raised an eyebrow, quoting me back with a faint smile.
“Love is always a gamble.” I pulled him closer by the front of his shirt. “But I finally found someone worth risking everything on.”