Chapter Seventeen
I woke up the next morning with a banging headache and the Fear sitting heavily on my chest, reminding me that Nick knew about Mr. Darcy and wanted to tear us apart, I’d had a deeply average kiss with my book boyfriend, and then run out of my best friend’s engagement party without even saying goodbye.
I considered putting my head under the pillow and going back to sleep, but my bladder was full, so I heaved myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Darcy was still asleep as I passed him, snoring like a freight train.
We’d barely spoken after the party last night, at first because I’d been in such a rush to get us out of the bar and into a taxi before Nick caught up with us, and then because my mind was manically replaying everything I’d just learned.
Thankfully, Darcy’s pint and tequila shots had kicked in, and he’d fallen asleep in the taxi before we’d even gotten to Elephant and Castle.
But still, our lack of conversation was giving yet more fuel to the Fear, who was gleefully reminding me that I’d basically sexually assaulted the man in public.
I stepped into the shower, and as the water ran over my body, I thought again about what Nick had told me last night.
Despite now having some kind of explanation about why Darcy was here, it still made no sense.
How had I managed to pull him out of the book, given that I was certain I didn’t have the weird book magic his female relatives had?
The only explanation was that Nick’s mum had transferred her magic into the copy of Pride and Prejudice before she died, and then I’d somehow summoned Darcy out of it because I loved him so much.
And why was Nick so desperate to get Darcy back into the book?
I tried to remember exactly what he’d said last night: something about it being dangerous for Darcy to be here and how we had to get him back before the damage was irreparable.
But what damage could Darcy possibly do?
It wasn’t like his presence here meant he was no longer in Pride and Prejudice; I’d checked the book many times and he was definitely still there.
By the time I came out of the shower, Darcy was stirring, so I hurried back to my room and dressed in a pair of jeans and my “Books Before Blokes” T-shirt (the irony of that slogan didn’t pass me by), then headed out to the living room.
Darcy was standing over the toaster, nursing a mug and looking distinctly un-romantic-hero-esque with puffy eyes and his hair sticking out at odd angles.
“Good morning,” he croaked.
“Morning. Is there any spare coffee?”
He nodded and I poured myself a mug while he sipped his cautiously.
“Darcy, I wanted to apologize for kissing you at the party,” I said. “I know it took you by surprise, and I shouldn’t have done it without asking your permission first, so I’m really sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
He put his mug down before he answered. “I will admit, I am unused to young women accosting me in such a manner. But I can assure you that it did not make me feel uncomfortable. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect.”
Darcy’s words soothed over me like a balm.
He didn’t hate me after last night—quite the opposite!
And by the sounds of things, he hadn’t found it as clumsy as I had.
Maybe I was being overly critical? After all, it had been several years since I’d kissed anyone, so I was probably just out of practice.
There was the sound of the toaster popping, and Darcy turned away from me to retrieve a slice of toast. He put it on a plate and then reached for a knife, but as he picked it up, it slipped through his fingers and clattered onto the work surface. Darcy winced at the loud noise.
“My constitution is unused to such liquors as I imbibed last night,” he said.
“Yeah, tequila’s a killer.”
He nodded mutely as he picked up the knife again and spread a thick layer of Nutella on the toast. As he did, I felt my phone buzzing, and when I looked down, I saw Bianca’s name on the screen.
“I should take this,” I said, but Darcy was already inhaling his breakfast, making little moans of pleasure as he did.
I went into my bedroom and shut the door before I answered.
“B! I am so sorry. I know I was the shittiest friend and chief bridesmaid last night. I’m really sorry for rushing off without saying goodbye.”
“Never mind that,” Bianca said. “I want to know about the whole dramatic love triangle face-off thing, with Will and Nick basically fighting over you, and then you picking Will and snogging his face off!”
Fighting over me? Was that what she thought had happened? She couldn’t be further from the truth—but at least if Bianca thought that, then I wouldn’t have to tell her what their stand-off had really been about.
“I don’t know what was going on there,” I said. “I think everyone had been drinking and things just got a bit out of hand.”
Bianca laughed. “I know I told you to forget about your book boyfriends and focus on potential real-life ones, but having two guys almost punch each other over you is next level!”
“I’m sorry for making such a scene.”
“Don’t apologize, everyone loved it. You should have heard my mum and aunties after you left, arguing over whether you should have picked Will or Nick. I have to say, Nick got the most votes, including mine; the chemistry you two have is hot.”
God, if only she knew that the only chemistry Nick and I had was hatred.
“You should have seen his face when you were kissing Will,” Bianca continued. “He looked like someone had kicked his favorite puppy. And after you guys left, he kept following me around, trying to get me to give him your number. I didn’t, obviously, but that boy wants you big-time.”
I felt my stomach drop. It wasn’t me Nick wanted—it was Darcy. And he clearly wasn’t going to give up easily.
“Do you know what the beef is between Nick and Will?” Bianca asked. “They clearly have history, because Nick told me Will was bad news and you should steer clear of him.”
“I have no idea,” I said, glad we were on the phone so she couldn’t see my cheeks flush at the lie. “Maybe Nick was drunk?”
“Nah, he seemed sober to me. And Steve told me that Nick isn’t someone who seeks drama for no reason; they haven’t seen each other for a few years, but apparently at uni, Nick was this sweet, chill guy who got on with everyone.”
I swallowed a snort. That romance-hater was anything but sweet.
I heard Bianca take a deep breath. “Look, I know you’re really into Will, but from what Steve told me this morning, Nick’s not the kind to make up shit about someone just for fun. So maybe he has a point and you do need to be a bit careful?”
“No, B, I’m sorry but you’re wrong. Nick is the one to be careful around; he’s the misogynistic bookseller, remember?”
“That’s another thing,” Bianca said. “Steve said Nick has always been really respectful of women. I was wondering if maybe Nick knows something about this other woman in Will’s life that you mentioned, and that’s why he thinks you should be careful?”
Shit, I’d forgotten I’d told Bianca there was another woman on the scene.
But I didn’t need to worry about Elizabeth, did I?
She and I existed in different worlds, and although Darcy was stuck in mine, it wasn’t like I was keeping them from being together in the novel.
Is that strictly true? You’ve stopped trying to send Darcy back to the book, so aren’t you deliberately keeping him away from the woman he loves?
“Will told me there’s nothing serious going on with this other woman,” I said to Bianca, pointedly ignoring the Fear.
“OK, but just promise me you’ll be careful. Maybe Nick’s wrong, but he seemed genuinely worried for you.”
We chatted some more about the party, but I got off the call as quickly as I could, my heart racing.
It was clear that Nick wasn’t going to let this go; he wanted to take Darcy away from me, and there was no way I was going to let that happen.
I hurried back through to the kitchen, where Darcy was draining the last of his coffee, a blob of Nutella on the end of his nose.
“How do you fancy getting out of London for the weekend?”
He looked up at me in surprise. “Is it not rash to make such a precipitous decision? Where would we go?”
“I don’t know. I just thought you might enjoy a change of scene from this flat. I’m not working today or tomorrow, so we could take a train somewhere, see some countryside.”
Darcy scowled for a moment, as if unsure about this sudden, unplanned suggestion.
“I’ll take my laptop so you can watch old episodes of Drag Race,” I said.
He nodded. “Then I should be delighted to take an excursion with you.”