“Hey,” Piper’s voice broke through the noise. She was placing a glass of ice water in front of Lizzy even as she said, “I thought you had to get your beauty sleep.”
Lizzy grabbed the glass as she rolled her eyes. “I’m going.”
As she took a deep sip, Charlie’s phone buzzed again. He reached over and read the incoming text, then quickly typed out a response before abandoning the phone on the bar to turn back to Jane. Her legs were crossed, and she was absentmindedly playing with the ends of her long dark hair. Charlie watched, entranced.
Yeah, he was a goner. But then, by the look on Jane’s face, she was, too.
Lizzy set her glass down next to Charlie’s phone, which was still lit up. When Lizzy stole a glance, his entire text conversation took up the screen.
CHARLIE
Where are you? Jane’s sister is still at the bar and not talking to anyone…
WILL
She doesn’t need my pity.
CHARLIE
Oh, come on.
She’s gorgeous.
WILL
She’s a mess.
Lizzy stared at the words until the phone went black again. Well, at least the message wasn’t about her sister. Still, the revelation left a sting of embarrassment in her chest. It dissolved quickly, though, and all she could do was laugh to herself. The night had left no doubt that Will Darcy was an asshole. But he was right about one thing: she didn’t need his pity.
Lizzy dug in her pocket and pulled out her car keys, then gave them to Piper. “Give these to Jane when she comes up for air, okay?”
“How are you getting home?”
Lizzy shrugged. “I’ll walk.”
Piper shook her head, like she should have known.
Lizzy slid off her stool and weaved through the crowd toward the back exit, or—as it was affectionately called by regulars—the Irish Goodbye Door. It opened out onto a small porch that no one ever used, with stairs that led down to the gravel parking lot, making it the perfect means of escape for those looking to avoid notice.
Sure enough, the porch was empty as she walked out. The door shut behind her, muffling the music inside, so she stopped to close her eyes and enjoy the sudden stillness. The walk back to her house wasn’t too long, and she congratulated herself for being the only Bennet sensible enough to wear sneakers tonight. Another Saturday night on the books.
Then she opened her eyes and noticed someone standing in the shadows just a few feet away.
Will Darcy.
“Crap,” she whispered under breath. It was dark, so his harsh features were lost in the shadows, but his phone was in his hand and the screen was illuminated as if he had just been typing another text message. But now his attention was on Lizzy.
She didn’t blink. In fact, she refused to look away at all.
“Leaving?” he finally asked.
“Yup,” she said, adding a slight edge to the word. “Hiding?”
“No.” Then a frustrated sigh, as if he had been caught out. “Is it always so chaotic in there?”
“You said you wanted authentic,” she replied. “The chaos is part of its charm.”
He threw her a sardonic glare. “Charm?”
