Her Perfect Gift

“Well, you will need to go through my agent then, because this is a party. This is my down time.”

“I only want a moment,” she insists. “This won’t take long. I just want to know about you. All of you. Your life, your childhood, what you are working on now, how you followed in your father’s footsteps…”

“I have already told many people that I don’t want to do an autobiography, thank you.”

“No, this isn’t that.” She shakes her head hard, but I don’t believe her. She has that untrustworthy look about her, like all the members of the press. “It isn’t for anything. I just want to talk to you that’s all.”

She seems older than the usual press people who sneak into places like this, but maybe that’s for a reason so no one suspects her. That’s how she got in. I don’t know how she managed it with the way that she looks though. It’s weird. I would have assumed that someone should have thrown her out by now.

“I’m actually looking for someone right now. So, thank you for your time…”

“Your girlfriend?” My God she is relentless. “The girl that you came here with.”

“It isn’t your business, so can you please let go of me now. Talk to someone else. There are plenty of people here that you can harass before you get kicked out, so why not do that?” I wave my hands dismissively. “I am sure that there will be someone who wants to talk to you. Someone desperate for the attention.”

“Because I’m here for you. I have only just come to speak to you, that’s all…”

“Well, I’m sorry, you will have to tell your boss that I don’t want to speak to you at a party. Contact my agent.”

I’m sure that I can hear her saying something about not having a boss, but I don’t want to listen to her any longer. I have already been distracted enough by Winter. I’m not going to allow that to happen again. So, I continue on walking towards the bathroom to find Darcy because she is the only one who matters.

“Darcy!” I eventually find her standing in the corner of the room, by the bar with a drink clutched between her fingers. She is staring into space like she doesn’t even know where she is. “Are you sick?”

“Huh?” Her eyes finally stop looking so glazed over and she snaps back. “Oh, Seth.”

“Let’s go outside,” I insist. “Let’s get some fresh air. You look like you need it.”

I guide her towards the balcony outside where there are only a few people hanging around. It’s quiet enough for us to have a decent conversation where we can hear one another. I can tell that Darcy needs that. I don’t really know what is troubling her, but she looks sick as a dog and she hates being here.

“What’s up?” I grab her and hold her in my arms. “What’s going on, Darcy? You look all upset?”

“I… I…” She stares up at me and I honestly see a stranger looking at me. I know that she looks different tonight, we have already talked about that, but now it isn’t just her outsides. It’s her insides as well. “I don’t know. But it helps being outside. I think that I might have been a little overwhelmed.”

Shit, this is my fault, all of it. I should have guessed that would be the problem because I felt the exact same way at my first event. I should have not been so wrapped up in myself, instead I should have been more considerate of her. When I brought Darcy to LA, I promised myself that I would treat her like a princess and love her the way that she deserves to be loved. Instead, tonight, I have been a shit instead.

“I’m so sorry, Darcy, I didn’t think much about it. I shouldn’t have let you go…”

But she doesn’t reply. She doesn’t say anything. Instead she leans against my chest and she holds on to me for a moment. I feel a bit lost as she does, I don’t know what

she needs me to do, and I don’t want to get it wrong. This is my chance to redeem myself in her eyes and I am scared as all hell.

“I love you, Darcy,” I tell her a little desperately. “I really do. Whatever you need, I’m here…”

“I love you too.” I’m pretty sure that’s what she replied, but the words vibrate against me and get a little muffled. I really hope that’s what she said though, I hope this pressure hasn’t put her off me for good. That’s the last thing I want. I just got everything that I want, I don’t want New Year to ruin it. I don’t want this one stupid party to be the thing that tears us apart.

This is supposed to be a fresh start, a new beginning for the pair of us, and I need to make it right.

Chapter Twenty

Darcy

January 1st

Why can’t I get the words out? Why can’t I just tell Seth that I am well out of my comfort zone here and I don’t like it at all. I’m not the princess attending the ball, I am the pauper who is obviously in the wrong place at the wrong time. Everyone can see it, I can feel their judging eyes on me the entire time, they all know that I am not one of them and because of that, they don’t want me around. And why would they? They have made their way into an exclusive club and I wasn’t officially invited to join them. Only by Seth. The rest of them didn’t agree to this, so it makes sense that they would resent my presence.

I wanted to speak to Seth about it, to see if this is normal, but he’s been too wrapped up in his costar. The very beautiful and quirky looking Winter, who is utterly intimidating but seems pretty sweet at the same time. The sort of woman who I’m sure fit in with Hollywood right away. They have been talking for hours about this movie that they are going to star in together, sharing their passion and excitement for the project, which has left me all by myself. I hid in the bathroom for ages while I tried to get over it. Even my drink didn’t help, so I’m hoping that sucking in endless fresh air will help me.

Leaning against Seth is giving me some much needed support, but I still haven’t found the words to be honest.