My Own Mr. Darcy (16 page)

When the last customer
finally left, Matt collapsed into his office chair and grinned. “Mission
accomplished,” he said.

“It was very nice.” I
popped a small éclair into my mouth.

“By the way, you look very
pretty tonight,” Matt said.

“Thanks.” I looked down at
my boring black pantyhose with a twinge of resentment.

“I’m glad you were here.”
Matt moved around the desk to sit beside me. It wasn’t until he sat down that I
noticed he had an envelope in his hand. “Merry Christmas.” He handed me the
envelope and kissed me lightly on the lips.

Inside the envelope were
two tickets to
Wicked
. “It won’t be here until March, but I heard you
talking to Courtney about it at dinner,” Matt said.

“This is perfect. I’ve
wanted to see this for years,” I said. “Thank you.” I leaned across the chairs
and hugged him. “Now let me get yours,” I said and retrieved it from inside the
small closet where I’d stashed it with my purse when I’d arrived. “I hope you
like it.”

Matt cut the string that
wrapped the box and removed the lid. Inside the box was a framed photograph of
The Pink Salamander. I had taken it in the evening, when the pink looked almost
lavender in the darkening light and the windows glowed invitingly.

“Did you take this
yourself?” Matt asked and I nodded. “You caught it at the perfect time of day.
Thank you, Elizabeth.” He looked at the photograph for a long time. “What a
thoughtful gift.” I loved the picture and thought it was beautiful, but it wasn’t
until I knew he liked it that I realized how nervous I’d been about giving it
to him.

Matt walked me to my car a
few minutes later. He held me close for a long time. “Merry Christmas, sweet
Elizabeth. I’ll miss you.”

THE COLD DRIZZLE
frizzed
my hair and made my fingers numb as I loaded the car with my suitcase and
Christmas presents for the family. Even though Dad and Mom only lived a half
hour away, I planned to stay for a couple of nights.

I was getting a later
start than I wanted and I had no one to blame but myself. I’d had my Christmas
shopping finished weeks ago, but I’d forgotten wrapping paper. After leaving
the bank at 3:00, I’d had to fight the Christmas Eve rush and stand in line for
twenty-five minutes, all for a roll of pretty paper. So much for shopping
early.

My phone vibrated on the
counter. Someone had left a text while I’d been loading the car.

CHAD: HEY, I WONDERED IF
I COULD DROP BY FOR A MINUTE. IT WON’T TAKE LONG.

My pulse did a little
sprint. It was from Chad. I told myself my reaction was simply because I hadn’t
heard from him for two weeks. My cold fingers trembled a little as I typed in a
message.

LIZZIE: GLAD YOU CAUGHT
ME. LEAVING FOR PARENTS SOON, BUT GO AHEAD AND STOP BY.

It only took a few seconds
before he responded.

CHAD: BE THERE IN LESS
THAN TEN.

I checked my reflection in
the mirror and tried to tame my rebellious hair. It was no use so I pulled it
back into a ponytail. Then I changed my mind and left it loose.

I hadn’t seen Chad since
he’d driven away and I found it unsettling that I was so eager to see him. And
that I cared what my hair looked like. Would Matt be disappointed in me if he
knew Chad was stopping by? I’d have to be quick and businesslike. It was the
only way to be fair to both Matt and Chad. I didn’t want to upset Matt or mislead
Chad. Quick and businesslike. I could do that.

I sprang from my seat when
the doorbell rang. I took a deep breath and walked calmly to the door.

Chad smiled. He looked
awkward and sheepish. He held a large, flat box wrapped in shiny red paper. Chad
had such a cute smile. I smiled back. “Thanks for letting me stop by.”

“Of course. How are you?”

“I’m okay. Been busy with
school and the team,” Chad said.

“I know. You’ve had some
good meets.” Chad looked surprised. “I read about them online.”

“Right. Carter signed a
letter of intent with the Ducks this week.”

“That’s so great.”

An awkward moment elapsed.
“Well, listen, I have something for you.”

A gust of wind shocked my
senses. “Come in. It’s freezing out there.”

“Here. Just take this and
I’ll get out of your way. I don’t want to keep you.”

“Don’t be silly. Come on
in.”

Chad
followed me into the living room and sat on the edge of a chair.

“I’m sorry,” I said,
looking at the package. “I didn’t . . .”

Chad put up his hand. “Stop
right there. I didn’t expect you to get me anything. I didn’t even know if I
should give you this, considering the circumstances, but . . .” Chad looked
down at the package. “No matter what happened, I wanted you to have this.”

“You’re much too nice, Chad.”

“Not really,” he said. His
voice was so quiet I could hardly hear him. He handed me the package.

“Do you want me to open it
now?” I asked.

“You probably should. I
want to explain something to you.”

I tore away the paper and lifted
the lid. Inside the box was a coffee table book called
Design in the
Details—Interiors that Speak
. It was a beautiful book.

“Thank you, Chad. This is
gorgeous. And so thoughtful.”

“There’s an envelope in
there,” he said pointing at the book.

I flipped through the
pages and found a small blue envelope. Inside was a hand-written gift
certificate.

Good for an interior design
consultation with Lola Keller.

I looked at Chad for an
explanation.

“That’s my mom. She wants
to redecorate her living room and dining room and when I told her about you,
she said she’d like to have you come by for a consultation. If she likes your
ideas, she wants to hire you.”

“Chad.” I could hardly
speak over the dam in my throat.

“I talked to her before we
. . . before things changed. Don’t worry. She knows things are different now,
but she still wants to talk to you.”

“Does she know I’m a bank
teller?”

“Of course. That’s not a
problem. You can meet with her in the evening or on a Saturday. If she likes
your ideas, I’m sure you can work things out with her. She’s a really nice
lady.”

“I’m sure she is.” I was
having a little trouble catching my breath. The sweetness of the gift had my
mind in a muddle. Thoughts kept flitting through my head but I couldn’t say
them. They wouldn’t be fair or appropriate.

Chad stood. “Mom’s number
is on the back of that card. Just give her a call after Christmas and set
something up.” I nodded. “Have a wonderful Christmas.”

I followed Chad to the
door. He was halfway down the stairs and I still hadn’t said anything. I
couldn’t let him leave like this.

“Chad?” He turned around
and looked up the stairs at me. Why were words so elusive?

“Yes?” His voice sounded
strangely hopeful and I was filled with guilt.

Finally, I forced myself
to speak. “Thank you.” My voice sounded small in my ears.

“You’re welcome,” he said.

“You’ve been too quiet
tonight,” Mom said. “Tell me what’s wrong.”

Mom and I were the last
ones up. After an evening of Christmas Eve festivities, Dad and James’s family
had gone to bed. Mom and I were putting together a breakfast casserole before
we went to bed.

“I’m fine, Mom.”

“I can tell you have
something on your mind. You know you can tell me.”

“I know. I’m just so
torn.”

“Torn about what?”

I told Mom about the gift
from Chad. “It’s so thoughtful, but I don’t know if I can accept it.”

“Of course you can. Why
wouldn’t you?” Mom asked.

“It’s Chad’s mom and we’re
not dating anymore.”

“It isn’t about dating.
It’s a job. For his mom. He didn’t ask you to decorate his house. Honey, this
is what you studied and you’re good at it. You have to seize these
opportunities when they come.”

“You think it’s okay if I
do it?”

“Of course. It’s a great
opportunity. Just be sure you tell Matt what you’re doing. Don’t make it a
secret or he won’t trust you. Matt should want you to pursue opportunities like
this.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

“Of course it’s true. Just
tell Chad thank you and then give it your best shot. This was really a nice
thing for him to do.”

“I know. I don’t deserve
it.”

“He must think you do.”

It was almost midnight and
I couldn’t sleep. I felt sick when I thought of Chad’s face as he left. Did he
know how grateful I was? Even if his mother decided not to work with me, Chad’s
thoughtfulness was one of the kindest things anyone had ever done for me and I
knew I wouldn’t sleep until I’d told him how much I appreciated it. I flipped
open my phone and started writing.

LIZZIE: YOUR KINDNESS
OVERWHELMED ME AND I COULDN’T FALL ASLEEP UNTIL I TOLD YOU HOW GRATEFUL I AM.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART.

Barely a minute had passed
when my phone chirped.

CHAD: IT’S NOT A BIG
DEAL. YOU SHOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO SHOW WHAT YOU CAN DO.

LIZZIE: I HOPE I CAN DO
SOMETHING SHE LIKES. ANYWAY, I WANTED YOU TO KNOW I APPRECIATE IT.

CHAD: CAN I ASK YOU A
QUESTION?

I knew I should say no.
The smart thing to do would be to say goodnight and go to sleep. The problem
was I didn’t feel very smart and I didn’t want the conversation to end.

LIZZIE: OF COURSE.

CHAD: IF I’D BEEN THE
FIRST TO SAY I WANTED US TO DATE ONLY EACH OTHER, WOULD I HAVE HAD A CHANCE?

I knew I should have said
goodbye. Now he was asking me a question I didn’t want to answer. I didn’t even
want to think about it. Besides, Chad wouldn’t understand. No one would.