Nick shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re doing. This can’t happen; you and Darcycannotbe a couple.”
I felt a flash of anger at his patronizing tone. “Excuse me, but just because you don’t believe in happy-ever-afters, that doesn’t mean therest of us have to lead miserable, loveless lives too. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I want to enjoy my best friend’s engagement party.”
I began to march toward Darcy and Bianca at the bar.
“Zoe, you have to listen to me!” Nick called after me. “He doesn’t belong here, and you need to get him back in before the damage is irreparable. If he stays here, then—”
“I don’t care!” I interrupted. “Just piss off and leave me alone.”
“Zoe, is everything all right?” Darcy must have heard my raised voice, because he was striding toward me, staring dark-eyed at Nick. “Is this gentleman causing you problems?”
Nick glared back at Darcy. “I’m not the one causing her problems,Fitzwilliam.”
I saw Darcy blink in surprise at hearing his name, but he quickly regained his composure. “I have no idea who you are, sir, but it is clear to me that Zoe no longer wishes to converse with you, so I demand that you leave her alone.”
“Not until she agrees to what I’m asking.”
“I said leave her alone, before I am forced to take action.” Darcy had taken a step toward Nick, pulling his shoulders back, and I saw Nick mirror his actions. Were they about to fight, right here in the middle of Bianca’s engagement party? Others around us must have picked up the scent of danger, too, because I was aware that people had stopped talking and were turning to watch the three of us.
Nick’s eyes flicked to me again. “Zoe, please—this is far more serious than you realize. The two of you can never have a real relationship.”
I felt another stab of rage at Nick. Darcy may be fictional, but what I felt for him was 100 percent real, so why couldn’t we have a real relationship? Sure, maybe there was a lack of sexual chemistry, but a relationship was about more than just physical attraction, and I wasconfident that with time, my libido would kick back into action, and then Darcy and I wouldn’t be able to keep our hands off each other.
At this thought, another idea flashed into my head. I knew a way I could show Nick that my relationship with Darcy was real—a way I could showmyselfthat it was real. And so I stepped forward, I took Darcy’s face in my hands, and I kissed him.
I was aware of several things at once. Of Darcy’s body going rigid with shock. Of someone letting out a gasp behind me. Of a distant shout of “Go, girl,” from someone at the bar. But I tried to block them all out as I held my hands against Darcy’s smooth cheeks and kissed the man I’d been in love with for fourteen years. For a few, painful seconds, he didn’t respond, but just as I was about to pull back in despair, I felt his lips soften and his arms curve around me, and then Mr. Darcy was kissing me back.
I closed my eyes and tried to lose myself in this incredible moment that I’d fantasized about for so many years. But Darcy kept trying to put his tongue deep into my mouth, like he wanted to lick my tonsils, and when I adjusted my head, our teeth banged painfully against each other. Crap, were we incompatible kissers? No, of course not! We just needed a bit more practice, and then we’d get in sync. And right now, all that mattered was that I was having a real kiss, with a real man, in what was definitely a real relationship.
When we stepped away from each other, Darcy looked slightly shell-shocked by what had happened, and I was about to ask him if he was OK when something caught my eye. Standing to my right was Nick, his hands hanging limply by his sides, staring at Mr. Darcy and me with a look of absolute horror.
Chapter Seventeen
I woke up the next morning with a banging headache and the Fear sitting heavily on my chest, reminding me that Nick knew about Mr. Darcy and wanted to tear us apart, I’d had a deeply average kiss with my book boyfriend, and then run out of my best friend’s engagement party without even saying goodbye. I considered putting my head under the pillow and going back to sleep, but my bladder was full, so I heaved myself out of bed and headed to the bathroom.
Darcy was still asleep as I passed him, snoring like a freight train. We’d barely spoken after the party last night, at first because I’d been in such a rush to get us out of the bar and into a taxi before Nick caught up with us, and then because my mind was manically replaying everything I’d just learned. Thankfully, Darcy’s pint and tequila shots had kicked in, and he’d fallen asleep in the taxi before we’d even gotten to Elephant and Castle. But still, our lack of conversation was giving yet more fuel to the Fear, who was gleefully reminding me that I’d basically sexually assaulted the man in public.
I stepped into the shower, and as the water ran over my body, Ithought again about what Nick had told me last night. Despite now having some kind of explanation about why Darcy was here, it still made no sense. How had I managed to pull him out of the book, given that I was certain I didn’t have the weird book magic his female relatives had? The only explanation was that Nick’s mum had transferred her magic into the copy ofPride and Prejudicebefore she died, and then I’d somehow summoned Darcy out of it because I loved him so much. And why was Nick so desperate to get Darcy back into the book? I tried to remember exactly what he’d said last night: something about it being dangerous for Darcy to be here and how we had to get him back before the damage was irreparable. But what damage could Darcy possibly do? It wasn’t like his presence here meant he was no longer inPride and Prejudice; I’d checked the book many times and he was definitely still there.
By the time I came out of the shower, Darcy was stirring, so I hurried back to my room and dressed in a pair of jeans and my “Books Before Blokes” T-shirt (the irony of that slogan didn’t pass me by), then headed out to the living room. Darcy was standing over the toaster, nursing a mug and looking distinctly un-romantic-hero-esque with puffy eyes and his hair sticking out at odd angles.
“Good morning,” he croaked.
“Morning. Is there any spare coffee?”
He nodded and I poured myself a mug while he sipped his cautiously.
“Darcy, I wanted to apologize for kissing you at the party,” I said. “I know it took you by surprise, and I shouldn’t have done it without asking your permission first, so I’m really sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable.”
He put his mug down before he answered. “I will admit, I am unused to young women accosting me in such a manner. But I canassure you that it did not make me feel uncomfortable. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect.”
Darcy’s words soothed over me like a balm. He didn’t hate me after last night—quite the opposite! And by the sounds of things, he hadn’t found it as clumsy as I had. Maybe I was being overly critical? After all, it had been several years since I’d kissed anyone, so I was probably just out of practice.
There was the sound of the toaster popping, and Darcy turned away from me to retrieve a slice of toast. He put it on a plate and then reached for a knife, but as he picked it up, it slipped through his fingers and clattered onto the work surface. Darcy winced at the loud noise.
“My constitution is unused to such liquors as I imbibed last night,” he said.
“Yeah, tequila’s a killer.”
