The bartender handed me the two drinks and I walked carefully back toward our table. I was less than a step away when I heard him.
“Elizabeth?”
I knew that voice. It made my blood heat and my stomach drop. I froze in mid-step, trying to decide what reaction I wanted to follow.
I wanted to turn and throw both drinks in his face, but they were expensive and I didn’t want to waste good vodka on him.
“Mr. Darcy! What a pleasant surprise,” Jane greeted him, a smile filling her face. She didn’t see my wide eyes and the subtle head shake I was trying to send her. Given her state last night, I hadn’t told her about what happened between Mr. Darcy and me yet. As far as she knew, everything was sunshine and roses between us. Or at least as much as there ever had been.
“Indeed,” Mr. Darcy replied. “Are you two waiting for a table?”
“Nope,” I quickly replied. I tu
rned and put on my best bitchy smile. “We’re actually just finishing.”
An older man in a smart blue suit came up and tapped Mr. Darcy on the shoulder. “William, our table is ready.”
“Excellent,” Mr. Darcy replied. “Fritz, I’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth and Jane.
Fritz’s gray eyebrows raised and he smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” he replied warmly. “Would you care to join us? They gave us a table for four.”
I looked at Jane, giving her my best “no way in hell” look.
“We’d love to,” Jane replied, clearly not understanding my look.
We were going to have to work on her reading my signals better.
Jane stood from the bar table and took her drink from me. I tried to grab her shoulder, to make her stop so that we could leave. I didn’t want to spend a moment more with Mr. Darcy. I missed her shoulder though and only succeeded in spilling some of my drink on my hand.
I did the only thing I could do. I put on what I hoped would pass for a pleasant smile and followed behind her.
“This is a beautiful restaurant,” Jane remarked as we walked through the room. Every table was full of dining guests all eating fabulous looking food. Fritz guided the four of us to the only open table.
“It’s my favorite,” Fritz replied to Jane. “I make poor William come here every time I’m in town. It was a last minute visit today, and he still found a way to get us a table.”
My teeth ground together. Mr. Darcy took my table. It had been my reservation that he stole. Yet one more reason to hate the bastard.
“Where are you visiting from?” Jane asked as Fritz held out a chair for her. Mr. Darcy did the same for me and I did my best to ignore him.
“I manage William’s West Coast division,” Fritz replied. “I think I’ve been in the company almost as long as he has.”
“If we’re interrupting a business meeting, we can go,” I offered, already rising to my feet. “It’s really not a problem.”
“Please stay.” Mr. Darcy’s voice was quiet, yet sure. He looked at me with those blue eyes and I was once again powerless to say no to him. Damn him.
“Yes, please stay,” Fritz chimed in. “We already finished talking business.”
I slowly sat back down and took a big sip of my martini. Why did everything Mr. Darcy did make me want to drink inordinate amounts of alcohol?
“So, William tells me that you’re are a nurse,” Fritz said. He smiled kindly. He was a handsome man with graying hair and an easy smile. He had kind brown eyes that crinkled as he spoke, indicating that he was always smiling.
“I am,” I said, doing my best to stay calm. It was easier if I focused on Fritz and not on Mr. Darcy. “I work in the Cardiac ICU.”
“That must be very difficult work,” Fritz replied. “My father had a heart attack a few years ago, and it was the ICU nurses that kept him alive. They became family to us as he recovered. It’s an amazing profession.”
A genuine smile slowly replaced my forced one. “Thank you. I love my work, so it’s always nice to hear others appreciate it too.”
I decided I liked Fritz a lot more than I liked Mr. Darcy right now.