Chapter 22
Lizzy slammed the door of her house and rushed up the stairs to her room. She hurriedly threw her purse and laptop bag onto a chair and unbuttoned her coat. Her anger made her fingers fumble and take twice as long as usual. Finally the buttons gave way and she tossed her coat on top of the chair as well before flopping down on her bed. She wasn't sure who she was angrier at; Richard for playing with her emotions, herself for believing him or Will for proving Richard wrong.
"What the hell was I thinking? Of course he's seeing someone. Why would he ever think of me like that?" She felt like a teenager again, sitting in her room and moping over Will Darcy and his latest girlfriend. The only difference was the more sophisticated décor of the room. After lying down wallowing in her misery for a while, Lizzy heard a soft knock at the door.
"Lizzy could you be a dear and come help me in the kitchen?" Nina soft voice could be heard from outside her room and before Lizzy could reply, she heard the sound of footsteps retreating. Lying still on the bed, she contemplated whether or not to go move she knew that if she didn't, she would just brood the entire time in her room. Lizzy huffed and got up, dawdling on her way to the kitchen. She found her housekeeper standing at the counter scooping cookie batter onto a baking sheet. Nina turned to smile at the young woman with a gloomy expression.
"Are you hungry?" She asked as she wiped her hands on a kitchen towel as she opened the refrigerator for a carton of milk. She placed the full glass of milk in front of Lizzy who had taken a seat on a bar stool across the counter.
"No" Lizzy rested her chin in her hand and watched as Nina moved swiftly around the kitchen pulling out a hot tray of freshly baked cookies from the oven and placing it on the counter before putting another tray, full of dough in the oven. She turned around and placed a few of the fresh cookies on a plate and setting it in front of Lizzy.
"Why the long face?" Nina began sliding the cookies off the baking sheet and putting them into a tin. Lizzy sighed but didn't say anything.
"I remember the times when you used to sit here and tell me all about your day." She glanced sharply at the young woman, "Good and bad."
Trying to buy some time, Lizzy picked up a cookie and halfheartedly took a bite. Chewing slowly, she shrugged and swallowed before speaking, "Nothing to tell really. Just had a bad day, that's all"
Nina walked over to the stove and picked up a wooden spoon to stir her Bolognese sauce. She dipped a second spoon into the pot and gave it a taste before seasoning it with more sea salt. She covered the pot and turned back to the counter to prepare the next batch of cookies.
"It's more than just a bad day Miss Lizzy. You've been unhappy for months now." She fixed Lizzy with a knowing look. "Oh don't look so surprised. I've known you your whole life; from the day your dear mum brought you home from the hospital. You can't hide those feelings from me. You are disappointed with the way things have been turning out ever since you came home."
Lizzy didn't bother to deny it, "That's an understatement." She muttered. Nina clucked her tongue.
"My dear. You are not a child anymore. If you are not happy with the path that life is taking you down, you can choose another direction. Take matters into your own hands. Don't wallow in self-pity. Make better choices." She noticed the pathetic look on Lizzy's face.
"I didn't choose this Nina. I didn't choose to be lonely. How do I change that?"
"Go out and make an effort to meet a nice young man. Give Emma a call or maybe some of your other friends. Stop burying your nose in your work and classes." She paused as the sound of the doorbell rang through the house. "But before all that, could you get the door? Sam stepped out to do a few errands for me." She reached into a small pot to break a few sprigs of oregano for her sauce. Lizzy rolled her eyes and left the kitchen. As she walked towards the foyer, she noticed a vase of beautiful long stemmed roses. She paused in surprise and reached for the vase,
"Uhh Nina? Who are these flowers for?" She called as she craned her head to look for a card. The doorbell rang again. "Alright alright I'm coming, geez keep your panties on!" She walked towards the door, still carrying the vase in her left arm and jerked the door open with her free hand to reveal a sharply dressed young man who had tousled brown hair and bore a startling resemblance to Orlando Bloom.
"I'm sorry Cherie but I do not wear panties." He spoke with a heavy French accent, "Ah, I see you have received my flowers". He grinned at her shocked expression and, stepping lightly around her and into the house, looking around at his surroundings.
"Very nice house. Very…elegant." He turned to face her, "Well, aren't you glad to see me?"
Lizzy struggled to find her voice but it took more effort than usual, "Hello Marc."
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Richard paced around his apartment impatiently wondering why he hadn't received a phone call. He was sure he had gotten through to Lizzy. So why wasn't she calling? Or Will for that matter? He deserved a lot of credit for his matchmaking skills. Or at least some gratitude! Grumbling to himself he sat down on his sofa and reached for his cellphone to dial his cousins phone number. After 3 rings, he heard the familiar voice.
"Darcy."
"Okay you have to stop answering the phone like that. This isn't exactly a business line. What's wrong with you?" Richard didn't bother to hide his annoyance.
"What's the matter Richard? What's wrong now?" Darcy's wry tone only served to aggravate his cousin even more,
"What do you mean what's the matter? Did Lizzy call you?"
"No she didn't. We aren't exactly on speaking terms, remember?" Now it was Darcy's turn to sound annoyed. "I'm telling you, she can such a stubborn pain in the-"
"Never mind that. Are you sure she didn't call? You don't have any missed calls?" Richard was bewildered. She had seemed so receptive of his advice. What had gone wrong?
"NO! Why what's going on?" Darcy began to get suspicious.
"Argh! Forget it!"
"No, wait! Richard fill me in man-" Before Darcy could finish his sentence Richard pressed the button to end the call. Letting out a groan of frustration, he dialed another number. He listened as the phone kept ringing but no one answered.
"Where is she?" he muttered to himself as he tried again to reach Lizzy. After 2 more failed attempts, Richard gave up and tossed the phone onto the sofa beside him. Immediately it started to ring. He grabbed it again and looked at the screen before groaning and tossing it aside once more. But the caller was relentless and the phone kept ringing. With a sigh of frustration Richard reached for the offending gadget.
"I hate everyone," he muttered under his breath before speaking into the phone, "Yeah what do you want?"
"Okay what is wrong with you?" Darcy voice was loud and irritated, "Why are you so cranky and what made you think that Lizzy would call me?"
Richard sighed and rubbed his face with his hands. "Nothing man. Don't worry about it."
"Richard! You're up to something. What is it? I'm not going to leave you alone until you tell me." Darcy yelled over the phone. Richard was quiet for a minute, wondering what he should reveal.
"What's wrong is that I have 2 hard headed friends who let their stubbornness get in the way of their happiness."
"Uhh I think you've been watching one too many of Lizzy's chick movies."
"Shut up man. I'm serious. You guys care about each other but you just won't admit it. And don't lie to me and say you don't because I know that you're practically in love with her." Richard blurted out impatiently.
"I am NOT-" Darcy began to sputter but his cousin cut him off,
"Lizzy feels the same about you." There was silence for a moment.
"She does?" Richard noticed how his cousin's voice had dropped to an almost whisper.
"Yes she does and she was supposed to talk to you. Or at least I thought she would." Richard stood up and began pacing again. "Look man all I'm saying is enough is enough. You have feelings for her and instead of talking to her like an adult, you run and hide like a kid."
"If I talk to her and she doesn't feel the same it could backfire and ruin our relationship." Darcy muttered.
"What relationship? You aren't even speaking to each other!" Richard scoffed. His cousin didn't respond. "Look," Richard softened his voice, "You won't ruin the relationship. Trust me. She feels the same way Will."
Darcy paused to digest Richards words, "Okay," His voice was suddenly strong, "I'm going to call her."
"Okay good and don't forget to call me back when you're done with Lizzy"
CLICK
"Hello? Will?"
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Lizzy sat across the loveseat where her former flame was seated nursing a cappuccino that Nina had been kind enough to make for the two of them. It seemed surreal to have him here in New York in her living room. And yet here he sat, all comfortable and nonchalant as though he belonged here. She needed to get to the bottom of this.
"Uh Marc, what are you doing here?" Her tone was bewildered.
Marc chuckled, "Why? Are you not happy to see me? I flew here from Paris just to see you." Lizzy's jaw dropped causing him to laugh out loud, "Relax ma belle, I'm here for work. I'm meeting with someone about displaying my work in their gallery.
"Oh wow Marc, that's wonderful. Congratulations. I'm so happy for you." Lizzy was genuinely pleased for him.
"Merci. I am looking forward to moving here." He grinned at her.
"Move here? You're moving here?"
"Oui, that was the deal." He leaned forward, "But I had other motives also. I miss you Elizabeth." He reached over to take her hand in his.
To say she was surprised would be an understatement. "You do?"
"I was hoping we could have another chance to make this work. To make us work. I can't stop thinking about you." He paused to give her time to answer but seeing as how she was speechless he continued, "You're beautiful, intelligent, sophisticated. You are everything I could ask for in a woman."
Lizzy could practically feel her heart melting. For the life of her she couldn't remember why exactly she had broken up with him the first time. He was, after all a sweet guy and he seemed to really care about her. What was she waiting for?
"Well? What do you say?" Marc got up and walked around the coffee table to kneel in front of her, her hands in his once again. Lizzy tried to think of a reason why she should reject his offer when Darcy's face popped into her head. She hesitated but then remembered him and the redhead she had seen earlier. She shook her head slightly to erase the image from her head. With renewed conviction she flashed him a bright smile.