Hi everyone! I'm back after a really long hiatus and I sincerely apologize for that! It's really hard finding the time to write with 4 kids and full time school but I'm really going to try to keep going and I have every intention to finish this story. I changed my blog, so feel free to check it out: .com

Thanks again to my amazing beta Mab35 and to lizzieann16 for reminding me that I have unfinished business here on fan !

Chapter 21

The weeks following the showdown were full of discomfort and silence. True to his word, Charlie had gone to see Jane the following day and sorted everything out. A long, intense conversation revealing his insecurities and habits regarding past relationships made Jane all too willing to forgive and forget. It could be said that this blowout turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it pushed the couple to buckle down and confront deeper issues within their relationship. Issues that might, with both party's easy going natures, have forever remained swept under the proverbial rug. He tried to explain the situation to Lizzy as well, but all he received for his efforts was a polite smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. For even though she could see that things were better than ever between her best friend and her cheerful other half, Lizzy was having a tough time forgiving Will for his interference. He tried to approach her a few hours after the lovebirds had reconciled but Lizzy, still in a fit of anger, refused to speak to him then and his following three attempts as well.

Will walked into yet another charity benefit and scanned the room for his friends. Sure enough he found Richard, Charlie and Jane standing together. He wended his way through the crowd, smiling politely whenever he made eye contact with an acquaintance without stopping.

"Hey" he greeted his friends. "What?" he noticed their surprised expressions. Jane and Charlie quickly schooled their faces to look more neutral and looked away. Richard however had no such qualms.

"What are you doing here? You never come to these things if you can help it."

Will shrugged but didn't offer an explanation. He scanned the room quickly. "So who else is here?"

His cousin smirked at Will's transparentness, deciding to have a little fun, "Oh no one really." Will turned to him,

"What? No one?" His tone was incredulous. Jane looked at Richard, confused as to his intentions. Charlie rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what game Richard was playing.

"Nope. Not a one." Richard put his hands in his pocket and winked at Jane. Will frowned,

"Are you sure? There are no other friends of ours here?"

"Yup, just us" Richard maintained. Charlie noticed the disappointed expression on Will's face and decided to go easy on him,

"He's kidding man, Emma and Lizzy are using the ladies room." Will visibly relaxed and accepted a drink from a passing waiter as Richard shook his head at him.

"One word dude, pathetic." Will ignored him and perked up as he saw Emma make her way to the group. He frowned when he noticed she was alone.

"Hi Will. I didn't think you'd be coming."

Will was only able to focus on the fact that she was alone. "Where's Lizzy? Wasn't she with you?"

Emma hesitated for a minute before answering, "Oh uh… she ran into someone and stopped to chat." She shared a quick glance with Jane that would have gone unnoticed if she wasn't being stared at by the others. It was obvious to the men that Lizzy had seen the addition to their group and chose to stay away. Will clenched his jaw and excused himself, unable to bear the sympathetic looks he was receiving from Lizzy's 2 best friends. He walked away, followed by his cousin.

"Hey just give her time. You know how Lizzy is when she's having a temper tantrum." Richard felt sorry for Will but didn't know what else to say. Will shook his head angrily,

"No, I'm done. I've been trying to get in touch with her for weeks now. Jane and Chuck are together and happy now and she's still avoiding me. I don't know what else to do except wait for her to come to me. A man has to have some pride." He watched as Richard stood quietly listening to his rant. He drained the last of his drink and passed the empty glass to his cousin. "Whatever, I'm outta here. Tell everyone I had to leave."

Without waiting for an answer Will stormed out of the room. Richard sighed. He hated seeing his cousin like this. Looking around the room he spotted Lizzy standing on the opposite side of the room talking to some older gentlemen. He looked on as she glanced up and watched Will leave the room before turning her attention back to her companions. Determinedly he walked over to her. He waited for her to finish her sentence before taking her arm.

"Forgive me gentlemen but I need a word with my young friend here." Without waiting for an answer he dragged her away to a quiet corner.

"Richard! What are you doing?" She wrenched her arm and glared at him.

"Why are you avoiding Will?" He crossed his arms and fixed her with a stare. She looked away from his face.

"What are you talking about? I'm not avoiding anyone."

"Yes you are and I can't understand why. You were angry at both of us and now you're talking to me, albeit a bit frostily. But you won't even look at Will. The problem doesn't even exist anymore. This has to stop between you two." Lizzy ignored him and looked around the room trying to find someone, anyone else she could talk to. This angered Richard even more.

"Elizabeth Bennet. Grow up. You're acting like a child."

She glared at him, "Leave me alone Richard. I don't have time for this. I've been busy. Case closed." She saw a young man walk in her direction and grabbed onto the opportunity to leave, "Jason, how are you?" Stepping away from Richard and his disapproving looks she walked off trying to make small talk with the young man who couldn't believe his luck at having the Bennet heiress take notice of him.

Richard frowned at the back of her head. He knew she was busy but that was just an excuse. Her anger had surely dissipated by now but the headstrong young woman just couldn't admit it to her friends and so, instead of swallowing her pride, she pulled away and immersed herself into her job as well as her education. Having decided to pursue an Executive MBA from Harvard University via correspondence, Lizzy managed to keep herself busy with a demanding course load as well as trips to Cambridge Massachusetts every now and then to meet with professors. All this on top of work brought her social life to a screeching halt, excepting a few charity benefits where she made a brief appearance before making a quick exit.

A few days later Richard found himself entering Viand, a quaint coffee shop which was a favourite of Lizzy's, determined to succeed in his mission, "Operation Reconciliation". He was feeling like the product of divorced parents, not a feeling he relished and although his last attempt had been futile he wasn't about to give up. The enticing aroma of freshly brewed coffee, mingling with the smell of pastries fresh from the oven greeted him as he glanced around covertly locating his prey. After placing his order, Richard made his way over to the cozy booth in the corner where the young lady in question sat typing away furiously at her laptop, stopping every so often to sip from the ceramic mug to her right. He slipped into the booth across from her without waiting for an invitation and smiled at her surprised expression as she realized she had company.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Lizzy asked.

"I could ask you the same question." Richard shrugged off his coat, tossing it aside before unwinding his silk scarf and slowly removing his leather gloves.

"I'm working. What does it look like I'm doing?" Lizzy voice betrayed her peevishness at his presence. Richard leaned back into the leather seat and raised his eyebrow at her.

" Whoa, what is with the attitude Ms. Bennet?" He watched as her expression became less hostile and more contrite.

"Sorry. I'm swamped with finals and I feel like I'm falling behind. What was I thinking? Going back to school while working full time at Bennet Corp. could possibly be the dumbest thing I've ever done." She slammed her laptop shut and rubbed her eyes before reaching for her drink.

"Oh I don't know about that," Richard smiled at the waitress as she set his pastry and coffee in front of him. She blushed and smiled back before making a hasty retreat.

"What do you mean?" Lizzy frowned. Richard tore a piece of the croissant with his long fingers and popped it into his mouth. He chewed slowly knowing his companion was waiting for an answer and couldn't resist the urge to frustrate her. Seeing her eyes narrow at him, he decided to make his point.

"Oh I don't know. Cutting a friend out of your life because you are too proud to apologize seems stupider if you ask me." He reached for his cup and took a sip of the hot beverage without taking his eyes off Lizzy.

"What do I need to apologize for? He was the one who was wrong." Her voice dripped with anger. "He stuck his nose where it didn't belong and turns out, he wasn't even right!"

"To be fair he didn't tell Charlie to dump Jane." Richard shook his finger at Lizzy as she opened her mouth to protest and continued before she could interrupt, "Nuh uh. You don't get to blame him for his friend's screw-ups. Will's advice was sound. And even then he still apologized to you. Three times which he didn't need to. You're the one who took it too far."

"I did NOT take it too far-"

"Really? How long has it been since you two have spoken? And don't tell me you aren't counting the days because I know you better. You miss him. Don't deny it."

"No I don't. I'm fine without him."

"You're a bad liar" Richard retorted. Lizzy rolled her eyes,

"I'm not lying. It's not like we were close. We didn't speak once the whole time I was in France and I was fine then and I'm fine now." In her anger, Lizzy didn't realize that her true feelings were creeping out. If Richard hadn't known about her crush before, he would have caught on now.

"Bullshit." He snapped, "You left because you wanted to get over you crush on Will. You didn't call because that would be like one step forward two steps backwards."

"I did not have a crush on Will," Lizzy scoffed, hoping her lying skills had improved within the last 30 seconds. "Where did you get that ridiculous idea from?"

"From you." Richard dropped the bomb and sat back waiting for her denial. Sure enough it came swiftly.

"I never said that. It's not true."

"Thanksgiving at Charlie's place. You got drunk on scotch and told me you left because of your feelings for Will." He waited for the awareness to dawn in her eyes but none came. "You couldn't sleep. Came into the kitchen. Ran into me there. We took our drinks to the living room and sat on the ground and talked…ring a bell?" Slowly Lizzy began to remember. Her expression turned horrified as she stared at her friend. He nodded at her.

"Yeah. Don't worry, I didn't tell anyone." Lizzy's face relaxed the teensiest bit. She sat in silence processing the information. Richard watched the emotions play across her face.

"And something tells me that those feelings never died."

Lizzy frowned and raised her eyes to his, "What makes you say that?"

Richard drained his cup and craned his head to locate the waitress. The woman in question noticed him and made her way over.

"Can I get you anything else?" She smiled brightly at him and in return Richard gifted her with his million-dollar grin,

"Yes can I have a refill and," he glanced over at Lizzy, "Anything for you?" She shook her head at him absentmindedly. He turned back to the waitress, "I guess that's it." He waited for her to walk away before turning back to Lizzy, "If you were over Will, you wouldn't be so hard on him. But ever since you came back anytime Will screws up, you flip out. When you left, your 13-year-old self saw Will as this larger than life hero. Now that you're back and all grown up, you can't handle that he's a regular guy, a good guy but a flawed one. He's not as perfect as you remember him being. But Lizzy, he was never perfect. He always had his weaknesses. You just never saw them because you were young and impressionable." Richard rushed on, not giving her an opening to speak up. He could see the confusion in her face but there was also a great deal of defiance like she wanted to contradict him even though she knew he was right. And so he didn't let her get a word in edgewise.

"And what bothers you the most is that all those feelings are still there or at least they came back again, I don't know which but whatever, and it bugs you that you care for Will despite his shortcomings. It's written all over your face. No matter what he does, whatever mistakes he makes, however angry he makes you, your feelings for him aren't going away." He sat back triumphantly; having delivered what he knew needed to be said. Lizzy frowned and reached for his coffee, slowly taking a sip.

"Well…who died and made you Dr. Phil?" She muttered, not knowing what else to say. Richard chuckled, watching her from the rim of his cup.

"You should just talk to Will. Tell him how you feel." Lizzy looked at him with a panicked expression. Before she could say anything however, he continued, "Your secret is safe with me but you ought to talk to him. You might be pleasantly surprised by what he might say." He stood up and threw a wad of cash on the table before kissing her on the forehead and walking away, hoping that she would give his words of advice more than a passing thought. Lizzy watched him go suspiciously, not wanting to believe what he was hinting at.

Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Will walked briskly down Madison Avenue, maneuvering to avoid bumping into the December shopping crowd. Normally, he hated shopping himself but his sister had dropped some not so subtle hints about wanting something from Tiffany's. He stood at the corner for a moment wondering if he should walk down to Laduree to pick up Lizzy's favorite macaroon's as a peace offering.

"Hey Darcy," A feminine voice broke through his thoughts. He turned to see a beautiful redhead smiling at him, "Fancy meeting you here."

"Hi Sondra. How've you been?" Will politely greeted the women whom he had, at one time, been romantically involved with. She stood in front of him with her hair perfectly coiffed, in a fur lined camel colored coat and stiletto boots. Her eyes were covered with oversized sunglasses.

"I'm doing good. How about you? You look great." She removed her eyewear and looked him up and down unabashedly admiring him.

Will smiled tightly at her, "Yes well I better get going-"

"What's the rush?" She cut him off, tossing her hair over her shoulder and throwing him a wide smile. "Buy me a cup of coffee and let's catch up."

He hesitated, not wanting to give her the wrong idea. Will had always had a fun time with Sondra but had no intention of getting involved with her again.

"Relax Darcy," She laughed, "It's just coffee between friends. I'm engaged." She raised her left hand and flashed him a 4-carat diamond ring. Will relaxed visibly.

"Oh. Well. Congratulations. Who is the lucky fellow?"

"You remember Carl Henry."

Darcy nodded with a smile, "Of course. So he decided to make an honest woman out of you." Sondra threw back her head and laughed.

"What can I say, he swept me off my feet." She grinned as he fell into step beside her and the two made their way to the closest coffee shop, Viand. After pausing to place their orders, they made their way over to a table just by the entrance.

"So when's the wedding?" Darcy asked her as they sipped their hot beverages. Sondra sipped her low fat latte before answering,

"Next spring." Will raised his eyebrows causing her to continue, "Yes I know, it's a very long engagement but hey, blame mother. She wants it to be event of the season." She shook her head ruefully.

"And you don't want that?" Will challenged her. From what he remembered she had never had a problem being the center of attention. In fact, she always seemed to enjoy it. She made a face at him,

"Okay I'll admit. I want a big flashy wedding. But I've been engaged for 2 years now and still have to wait for another 16 months. It's killing me."

"So do a shotgun wedding and get it over with." He suggested. Sondra rolled her eyes at him,

"Please. I'm not an off the rack dress at the Church of Elvis bride Darcy."

"Ahh yes, you're the wedding at the Plaza in a Vera Wang dress kind of bride" Will shook his head at her with a dry smile on his face.

"What?" She exclaimed, "I have been waiting for this day since I was a little girl. I want to walk down that aisle in my gorgeous dress, marry the man of my dreams and be the envy of every woman in the room."

Will shrugged, " Well, then you're going to have to suck it up and wait." Sondra sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I know. Anyways, that's enough about me. What's new with you? Is there anyone new in your life?"

"Nope." He really didn't want to discuss this with his ex-girlfriend.

"Come on, there's nobody? Who were you thinking about when I found you standing still on the street?"

"I wasn't thinking of anyone," Will protested, "I was trying to figure out where to go." Sondra raised an eyebrow at him,

"And where is that?"

"I was going to go to Laduree to pick up some macaroons." He shot back. His companion leaned forward triumphantly,

"Oh really and who were the macaroons for? And don't say for yourself because you do not have a sweet tooth!"

Will rolled his eyes, "I was picking them up for a friend."

"Uh huh, a girlfriend?" she pressed the topic, not letting him off the hook.

"A family friend. Lizzy Bennet." Sondra sat back disappointed,

"Oh Lizzy. I thought I might have caught you hands deep in the middle of a clandestine affair. Gosh Darcy you need to spice up your life a little. You're getting a little boring." She smiled at him good-naturedly as she reached out to give his hand a squeeze. "Anyway, I heard she was back but haven't seen her yet. How's she doing by the way?"

Will didn't want to air his problems with Lizzy in public so he kept his answer brief. "She's good, just busy." Sondra emptied her cup before responding,

"Yeah I can imagine. Probably learning the ropes at her family company. Rumor has it she's being groomed to take over." She glanced at her watch, "I better get going or I'll be late for a meeting with the wedding planner and my mother of course." She grinned at him as she stood. Will quickly stood as well.

"Well, it was great seeing you again. Don't be a stranger." She wrapped her arms around his neck giving him a hug, which he returned.

"Good seeing you too and congratulations again. Carl's a lucky man." She pulled away slightly and smiled,

"That's quite a compliment coming from the 'one that got away'" She kissed his cheek softly and winked before stepping away. Will smiled back and watched her walk away, neither one of them aware that they were being observed by a jealous brunette.