“Why won’t you just say who it is?” Priscilla narrows her eyes at me. “Are you trying to get out of work?”
I let out an exasperated huff. Handsome new guy gives me a sympathetic smile.
“I thought my personal life was personal,” I say.
“But we’re a big family here,” insists my boss. I hate this line. Priscilla often uses it right before she asks me to work overtime and not get paid for it.
“It’s Liam Darcy,” says Jane. The entire room, including the cute stranger sitting next to me, gasps. Priscilla’s eyes go wide. I’d find the moment hilarious, except I really don’t want everyone talking about this.
“You’re dating Liam Darcy?” Priscilla asks in a hushed, reverent tone.
“I’m just his plus one at a fundraiser.”
“That definitely counts as a date,” says Lydia.
Priscilla clasps her hands and collapses in the closest empty seat as if falling onto a fainting couch. “To think one of my girls is going to marry Liam Darcy.”
“Woah, wait a minute... no one said anything about marriage,” I interject. “It’s just one date.”
Priscilla isn’t listening. She’s tapping away on her iPad, starting a Pinterest board for my wedding with Liam.
“I’m sorry,” Jane says with a shrug. “I was trying to help.”
I put my head on the table, trying to ignore the excited conjectures. When Priscilla finally loses steam, she assigns the retirement party to Lydia. The new guy offers to help, which is really nice of him. I wonder if he has a girlfriend.
***
The next day, I literally bump intoNoah in the employee kitchen, which is easy to do since the original Victorian galley kitchen is minuscule. It’s a mystery to me how anyone ever prepared meals for a family of eight in this closet-sized kitchen.
“It’s Mrs. Darcy, herself.” The new guy flashes me a smile.
“Shut up!” I give him a hip check to push him away from the fridge. Noah stays put, places a hand on my hip, and spins me to face him. Sheesh! This guy moves fast. But also, it’s kind of thrilling.
“Would this make your boyfriend jealous?” he asks with a teasing grin. He’s so close I can see the freckles on his nose and cheeks. He has the prettiest brown eyes. My blood surges in a pleasant way. His hand still rests on my hip.
“Liam’s not my boyfriend.”
“Good to know.” With his other hand, he brushes a strand of hair out of my face. He looks at me so sweetly, my heart melts a little. “Because I like you, Lettie Benson, and I don’t like Liam Darcy.” He steps away and takes a seat at the small bar.
“You know him?” I ask, genuinely surprised.
“A little. My dad works for his company.”
“Really?”
“Yes, he was best friends with Liam’s dad.”
“So, you’ve known Liam for a while?”
“We were childhood friends. That is until Darcy grew up and realized his net worth exceeded mine. Don’t look so shocked. To know him, is to know that he’s a total elitist and a snob.”
I think of Darcy talking to his employees at the holiday party. Honestly, he looked more comfortable chatting with plant workers and almond growers than with his parents’ wealthy neighbors.
“I’m not the biggest fan of Liam Darcy, but he seemed down to earth to me. Especially for owning such a large company.”
“He doesn’t own the company,” says Noah. “He owns one-third of it. His mother and sister each own a part.”
“I didn’t know that.”
