Six years ago
"No! No! No!" Jane moaned as her car began to slow down. "I can't believe this is happening again."
Lizzy looked over her sister's shoulder and noticed the Check Engine Soon light next to the speedometer. She sighed. Jane never should have bought this car. It was a total lemon, always breaking down. Fortunately, Jane had managed to pull to the side of the road. Unfortunately, they were stuck in the middle of nowhere, at least 20 miles from any town and the sun was already starting to go down.
"Great," Lizzy said. "It's too late to call someone to tow this clunker to a mechanic. We'll just have to call dad and have him pick us up."
Jane slumped over the steering wheel. "What possessed me to buy this car? I can't wait until I get my new job and can afford something decent."
As Lizzy took her phone out of her purse, she and Jane heard the sounds of a car slowing down. Looking out the back window, she saw a black Lincoln Navigator come to a stop. The doors opened and much to her surprise, Charles and Will, the two guys they'd met last weekend, stepped out of the SUV.
"Oh my goodness," Jane gasped. "It's Charles! What's he doing here?"
Lizzy shrugged. "Beats me, but I'm glad somebody is here to help us."
The men walked up to the driver's side. Jane manually lowered the window. Looking up at the men, she smiled. "You don't know how happy we are to see you."
"What happened?" Charles asked.
"It's my car. The engine has problems sometimes. I don't think I'm going to be able to get it fixed tonight. All the mechanic shops will be closed."
"Well, you're in luck," Charles said, smiling. "The house I'm renting is only like a mile away. I'll call AAA and have them tow it to my house. Then, tomorrow you can get it towed to a mechanic. In the mean time, you guys could come hang over at our house."
"I'd hate to impose..."
"It's no imposition at all. I'd love to have you over," Charles insisted. "I'll make the call. Why don't you and Lizzy start getting the stuff you need out of the car?"
"OK. Thanks."
As soon as he'd walked off, Lizzy swatted her sister on the arm. "What do you think you're doing?"
Jane looked back at her, slightly in shock. "I'm taking him up on his offer of help."
"Do you think that's a good idea?" Lizzy asked, trying to be the voice of reason. "I mean how well do we really know these guys?"
"It's gonna be fine Lizzy. It's not like people don't know who they are. If we go missing, they'll know who to look for. Plus I really like Charles. I'd like to get to know him a little better. Please, Lizzy, go over there with me?"
Lizzy sighed, still not thinking this was the best idea. But the men were well known and Charles's sisters were staying at the house too. It wasn't like she was afraid they were serial killers or anything, but that Will guy completely unnerved her.
"Fine, but you need to call mom and dad and let them know where we are," Lizzy said, caving in to her sister's request.
Minutes later, after a phone call where their mother gave her most emphatic consent to their staying the night at the Bingleys, they took their shopping bags out of Jane's car and started walking over to Charles's SUV.
As Lizzy carried the oversized comforter Jane had bought for her new apartment, she accidentally tripped over a fallen tree branch. In an instant, two strong hands reached out to grab her waist, preventing her from falling on the ground. Once she was steadied, Will lifted the comforter out of her hands. Her heart beat in erratic bursts. Probably because she'd almost plummeted head first. It could not be due to the physical closeness of one Will Darcy. No, she was resolved not to like him. No matter how polite he tried to be.
"This is the room you'll be staying in. Dinner will be ready in about 30 minutes. I'll give you two girls some time to freshen up," Caroline said as she closed the door, giving the two women some much needed privacy.
"Oh my gosh," Lizzy breathed, completely astounded as she turned around in the room. "It looks like Saks Fifth Avenue threw up in here. These people are loaded. No wonder why you wanted to stay the night," Lizzy teased.
Jane replied, "That's not why I wanted to stay. I like Charles not because he's rich but because I feel a connection with him."
"Yeah, a connection to his money," Lizzy continued to tease.
Exasperated, Jane gently threw a pillow at her sister. "You hush. Anyway we need to get ready for dinner. Help me pick out an outfit. I must say I'm really glad we went shopping this afternoon. At least I'll have something nice to wear."
"Yeah, it's like the heavens were on your side," Lizzy replied.
"Anybody up for a game of Rock Band?" asked Howard, Charles's brother-in-law.
"I'll play," said Louisa, his wife.
"Me too," said Caroline.
"You gonna play Charles?" Howard asked.
Charles looked over to Jane and smiled. "Not this time. I think I'd like to go for a walk outside. Jane, would you like to join me?"
Nodding her head, Jane stood up. "Of course, I'd love to."
Lizzy watched amusedly as her sister and Charles left the room. They were obviously besotted with one another. But it was also quite clear that Charles's family and friend were none too happy about the budding relationship. Tough cookies, Lizzy thought, the two were clearly headed towards a relationship.
Lizzy sat and watched as the others played Rock Band. Well, everyone except for Will. He was too busy texting on his phone. Maybe he has a girlfriend she thought.
While Howard was picking out a new song, Caroline walked over to the couch and looked over Will's shoulder. "Who are you texting? Georgianna?" she asked.
He does indeed have a girlfriend Lizzy thought as she headed over to the bookshelf to peruse the books on the shelf. Well, hopefully he's nicer to her than he is to everyone else.
"Tell her hello for me, will you? It has been too long since we've seen her, hasn't it Louisa?"
"Definitely. Far too long. Next time have your sister join us on vacation, Will. I know she's busy making music but I'm sure she'd like a break every once in a while."
"I'll be sure to tell her that," remarked Will as he finished typing and put his phone back in his pocket.
"Lizzy, would you like to play with us?" asked Caroline.
"No, thank you" said Lizzy, shaking her head. "I think I'll read instead. I've been wanting to read this book for a while."
"Oh, we have a scholar in the house."
"I wouldn't call myself a scholar, but I am majoring in English Lit."
"Where do you go to college?" Caroline asked, her interest piqued.
"The University of Maine. Go Black Bears," Lizzy replied, pumping her fist in the air.
A surprised giggle escaped from Louisa. Caroline turned and shot a catty smile in her sister's direction. "A public university. I'm sure it's a very affordable option for your family. Our family has always gone to Yale. Although Charles was the black sheep and went to Harvard for both undergrad and law school. Though if he hadn't we would have never been introduced to Will and that would have been a shame."
"Yes, I'm sure it would have been," murmured Lizzy. Feeling uncomfortable around the present company, Lizzy decided to head back to her room. "If you'll excuse me, I've had a pretty exhausting day. I think I'll turn in."
"Good night," Will said as she walked to the door.
Lizzy looked at him, startled by his sudden politeness. "Good night.".
On the other side of the door, she took a deep, calming breath to help cool her temper at the whole situation. As she walked towards her bedroom, she couldn't help but hear laughter coming from the living room and Caroline saying, "What? Do you think it was something I said?"
"How was your walk?" Lizzy asked as Jane snuck into the bedroom two hours later.
"Oh, Lizzy, it was fantastic. I have never met a man easier to talk to than Charles."
Lizzy put her book down on the bed next to her and pulled herself up to a sitting position. Staring at her sister, she remarked, "You have a flush to your cheeks. I think you did something more than talk."
Jane's face grew redder. "Well, we might have kissed once or twice."
"Ooooh la la," Lizzy teased.
Jane began to undress for bed. Glancing back at Lizzy, she asked, "How did things go here? Did you guys play the Wii all night?"
"No, I stayed for about half an hour and then I went off to bed."
Jane frowned. "Lizzy, you really should get to know them. They seem like nice people."
Lizzy rolled her eyes. "Jane, you see the good in everyone, but there is little good in these people. Only Charles. They're all conceited, rich snobs with little to amuse themselves except each other."
"They can't be that bad."
"Attending a public university is practically a criminal offense to them. Apparently Ivy League schools are the only ones worth going to. Also, it's extremely obvious that Caroline has a crush on Will which makes total sense. They're both so snobby and stuck up that they'd make the perfect couple."
Jane tsked. "Sounds to me like you might be the one with the crush on Will. You do talk about him quite a lot."
"You must be still be love drunk from your walk with Charles because I have absolutely no interest in Will."
The clock on the wall struck 6:00 and Lizzy cursed her internal rhythm. She'd been out of school for three weeks now and still she woke up at the crack of dawn every morning. She got out of bed and headed down the stairs. There was no use in trying to go back to sleep because it wouldn't happen. She might as well eat some breakfast and then go for a walk.
When she got to the kitchen, she was surprised to see a tousled Will at the bar in his pajamas eating a bowl of Cocoa Puffs. He glanced up from his paper when he heard her approach.
"Hi," she said awkwardly. She was still in her pajamas too and was feeling a little self-conscious. "I'm just here to get some breakfast too."
"Cereal's in the top cabinet on the right," he replied.
Lizzy strolled over to the cabinet and opened it. Standing on her tip toes, she strained for the box on the top shelf. She could feel the hem of her shirt rising. Before she had time to tug her shirt down, she heard an amused chuckle from Will.
"Nice butterfly."
Lizzy blushed. Her parents didn't know and she still couldn't believe she'd gotten the tattoo. "It was spring break. I went a little crazy. And apparently got the most cliche tattoo available."
Will smirked. "I like it."
After fixing herself a bowl of cereal, Lizzy sat on a stool next to Will. She grabbed the Living section of the paper. They ate in silence. Every once and a while she'd glance up to look at Will, practically drooling at how handsome he looked freshly out of bed. And every once in a while, she'd catch him looking back at her.