“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go, Lizzy.”
She sauntered toward him with a saucy smile, their gaze at the others unbroken. “I expect your hands to remain on the wheel at all times.”
“It would be ungentlemanly to do otherwise.”
“And, I won’t be asking you up for a nightcap or ...anythingelse.”
“I don’t expect you to.”
“I won’t kiss you goodnight at my front door.”
“I won’t offer one.”
“Then why take me home? What’s in it for you besides ensuring my safety and appeasing your mother?”
“Honestly? I want to get to know you.”
She grinned, then sat; one long leg followed the other into the car. Looking up at him with that amazing sparkle in her eyes, she challenged, “Well then, it looks like we have a deal, cowboy. Can this pony kick up some dust?”
“Absolutely, but I’m no cowboy, Lizzy. I’m just an ordinary guy.”
“Youare no ordinary guy, William Darcy.”
And she was no ordinary girl.
And that kiss she said she wouldn’t give when they arrived at her apartment? Boldly she’d leaned over the console, breathing, “I may have said no kiss at the front door, but I never said anything about kissing in your car,” then seductively planted a delicious open-mouthed kiss on his lips, lingering there long enough to make his pants uncomfortably tight and his heart skip a beat.
It rocked his world!
She was the one.
EIGHTEEN
“I choose not to be sad,” Lizzy said to herself, locking the front door to her brownstone. “You are sitting on a rainbow.” Unlike today, every other day spent at La Tempera brought out her smile because even though she no longer painted, she was knee-deep in the art world, helping others to get a leg up by sharing their talent with New Yorkers. The gallery brought her immense joy, touching a hole that could never truly be filled.
Today, she forced a smile, resorting to extreme measures of vocalized reassurance and positive affirmations. Looking on the bright side of things was never a choice, but embracing negativity was. Holding onto her inner light had been a challenge of late and even harder this morning because she left her radiance in his arms on the moonlit beach. Seducing William was not only the most singularly stupid and selfish thing she’d done in a long time, but simultaneously the most honest and joyful thing she’d done in a year. She would never deny her heart again, and acknowledging that George was entirely wrong for her was the first step in taking back her life. Reconnecting with William exposed the truth she had turned a blind eye to. George found no value in her beyond his personal gain. He didn’t love her as she should be loved. He wasn’t a gentleman of integrity or sincerity. He stood for nothing of honor. He, much like she had become, was a charlatan—only his energy was dark and hers was once light. William was light, too, but he was betrothed to another, and she would not interfere. She must move on and hope that true love would knock on her door again. “It will. You will find authentic love again.”
Still, she wanted to cry, not wanting to let go of William now that she’d found him again. Albeit drunk on Saturday night, he’d said he still loved her.
Forcing another smile, she pulled back her shoulders, raised her chin, and descended the brownstone steps to the car waiting to take her to the gallery.
“You got this, Lizzy.”
“Darling! How was it? Who was there? What did you wear? Did you mention the gallery?” Guy brightly greeted the moment she entered the back office.
“Ugh,” she replied dropping her bag on the desk.
“That bad?”
“Ugh. It was worse than bad. I mean, the Hamptons venue was beautiful, and the bride and groom were happy but then ... Hurst, our client, peed on a potted plant in front of the editor ofNYC Bridemagazine, brightly declaring, ‘Hey, when you gotta go, you gotta go.’” Chuckling, she shook her head.
Guy laughed. “Ay caramba!”
Plopping into the chair, she said. “And, the bride’s sister is our new acquisition client, Carrie Bingley.”
“A referral! What a happy coincidence!”
“Happy?—not by a long shot. Ms. Bingley is marrying my ex, the one and only love of my life, William Darcy.”
