“She thought I didn’t like her.”
Ricky’s eyebrows shot upward. “So she’s having trouble understanding how you feel about her. Why would that be?”
Darcy would rather have a root canal without anesthesia. “She overheard me telling Charlie that I didn’t think she was pretty or smart.”
Ricky sucked in a breath. “Wow. Okay, she thinks you’re a dick. What else?”
“She seemed upset at the thought it would only be one date.”
Ricky’s eyes widened. “You asked her for a one-night stand?”
Darcy threw his hands in the air. “It wasn’t like that! We were going to dinner and a film premiere first. I just didn’t want her to get her hopes up that I wanted a lifetime of love and commitment.”
“Uh-huh.” Ricky regarded him skeptically.
“It’s worked with other women,” Darcy said, aware that his voice sounded sulky.
“Just out of curiosity, how many of these women were already coming onto you?”
Darcy considered. “Most…no, all of them.” Okay…I guess I see the problem. “No wonder she flipped over the idea of an NDA.”
His cousin set his fork down and leaned forward with his elbows on the table. “It sounds like you really want to date Elizabeth. Why did you tell her that you only wanted one night?”
Wasn’t it obvious? “My agent and manager are all over me about being seen with the right people. You know, up-and-coming starlets, models, beautiful people.”
“And you don’t think Elizabeth is pretty enough for a long-term relationship?”
“Exactly!” Finally, his cousin got it. “I wish it weren’t that way, but in Hollywood, appearances count for everything.”
Ricky had his head in his hands. “You didn’t tell her…Who am I kidding? Of course you did.” He took a deep breath. “+-Just tell me the
rest.”
This was excruciating. “I guess I was rather confident that she’d accept the date. And it showed.”
Ricky nodded. “You were arrogant. What else?”
“I wasn’t arrogant! She had a crush on me. I had every right to think she’d be thrilled.”
“She had a crush on you,” Ricky repeated in a flat tone. “How could you tell?”
Darcy shrugged. “I just could. You know, the way she talked to me and looked at me—especially after she stopped being my personal assistant—”
Ricky was banging his head on the table. “You’ve never had a crush, have you?”
“I guess not.” Until now.
“When you have a crush, you want to spend more time with the object of your crush—not less!”
“She didn’t have a crush on me?” Darcy was simultaneously relieved and alarmed. “That explains a lot, actually.”
Ricky’s face held growing horror. “Darce, did you tell Elizabeth you thought she had a crush on you?”
“I might have mentioned it…” Darcy spread his hands wide. “I didn’t understand why she was behaving that way—”
Ricky gaped at him. “How are you such a good actor when apparently you were raised by wolves?”
His cousin’s jabs were fraying Darcy’s patience. “Fine, what do you suggest?”