“Ha.” Will snorted. “Knowing Charlie, he’ll have made a personalized scrapbook for her or created a scavenger hunt ending in a field of roses. Something ridiculous that women find romantic.”
“You could use a little tutoring in what’s romantic. It’s not all ridiculous, you know.”
Will checked under the bed and found an errant sock. “Money is romantic. At least to all the women I’ve dated.”
“And that, Will, is exactly your problem.”
***
Jane seemed to be having a wonderful time, not at all worried about being the center of attention or mixing family with friends new and old, but Elsie’s stomach was a ball of nerves. And that was before Will Darcy walked into the party and locked eyes with her. He looked away first, taking in the boisterous group milling around Charlie’s living room.
Her entire family had come, even Mary for the weekend. And of course Collin, still mooching off her parent’s hospitality, despite being the richest person in the room. Collin was going on and on about personal fulfillment and life goals again, thanks to her dad’s unending encouragement. The whole thing was so embarrassing.
“Will! What took you so long?” Charlie pulled on Will’s arm and took him around, introducing him to everyone.
Lydia gave Will a cold stare and turned back to Kat, speaking loud enough for him to hear. “I can’t believe Jeff and Denny wouldn’t come. As soon as I told them it was at Charlie’s house, they made up some dumb excuse. Men and their feuds.”
Will looked like he wanted to say something, but Jane came up to give him a hug and he handed her the card he’d been holding. “Happy birthday, Jane.”
Her face lit up. “Oh, that’s so nice of you. Should I open it now?”
Will shrugged, looking embarrassed. “If you’d like.”
She threaded a finger through the lip of the envelope, the noise in the room suddenly down to a small hum. Mrs. Bennet stopped talking to Collin and turned to look over Jane’s shoulder.
“A fifty dollar Visa gift card,” Mrs. Bennet crowed before Jane even had a chance to read the card. “How generous.”
Jane thanked him profusely, ignoring the fact that their mother had snatched the card out of Jane’s hand and was showing it around, praising Will’s handwriting and thoughtfulness.
When she reached Mary, dressed all in black, Mary tapped the card and sneered. “Money is a poor second to art, love, or time.” Upon which she pulled out a notepad, repeating the phrase to herself as she wrote it down.
Somehow, Elsie was sure that line would end up in a café poetry reading sometime soon.
Oh, this was getting worse. Collin, having lost his audience to a birthday card, wedged his way over to Will and put out a hammy hand. “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Collin Edgewood, life planner and motivational speaker.”
Will stared at the hand for several seconds, as if debating what to do with it. Finally, he put a hand to Collin’s shoulder instead and looked him in the eye. “And now we’ve met. If you’ll excuse me.” He escaped past him onto the back porch and collapsed in a deck chair, running a hand through his gorgeous wavy hair.
“What’s with him?” Kat asked.
Elsie let out a long frustrated breath. “I think he finds our family a little overwhelming. I can’t say I blame him.”
She decided a little fresh air wouldn’t hurt her either and went out the front door instead. Her phone buzzed in the front pocket of her sundress and she pulled it out, smiling when she saw it was a text from Jeff.How’s the party going?
It’d be better if you were here.But there was no use dwelling on that. Charlie probably would have graciously tolerated his presence, but with Will here, there was no way Jeff could have come. It was so unfair.
I still need to get a present for Jane. What kinds of things does she like?
How like Jeff to actually want to put some thought into his gift. Although Elsie had to admit, it’d been awfully nice for Will to get Jane a gift at all. Knowing Jane, she’d use the money on something tangible, but necessary, like a toaster. And then she could look at it every day and think how nice it was of Will to think of her on her birthday. Jane could make anything meaningful. Elsie had never known a more gracious person.Jane likes unicorns, popcorn tins, mint-flavored cocoa, and word puzzle books.
A random list only a sister could come up with.
Elsie smiled.Just trying to be helpful.
Footsteps sounded on the gravel by the side of the house, and Elsie looked up from her phone, alarmed to see Will approaching. She tucked her phone away and smoothed out her dress, immediately berating herself for doing so.
“Can I join you?” he asked.
“There are no chairs,” Elsie pointed out.
