Page 20 of Pride, Prejudice, & Pretense

She had almost convinced herself of that when her phone,Fanny's phone, beeped.

After Darcy left, she had spent a few minutes with the phone tailoring it to her cover, and then she had put it on the nightstand beside her bed. Her agency phone was in the nightstand drawer, out of sight.

She rolled over, wrestling to disentangle herself from the boa constrictor of her blankets. Huffing, she reached for the phone and looked at it. There was a text from Ned.

Ned.Darcy.

Forgot to say how much I liked the fresh red pedicure

Lizzy inhaled in the dark and then laughed, delighted. With so much on the line for the party, she had temporarily forgotten about needing a pedicure. At the last minute, she had founda nail salon a short walk from her apartment and used the walk to acquaint herself with the immediate neighborhood. She had gotten her pedicure, deciding on red for no good reason she could offer other than liking the shade the nail tech had suggested.

When Darcy…Nedpicked her up for the party, she had been fully dressed, her black closed-toe heels already on her feet. It was after they returned to the apartment that she had taken off the party dress and her heels and returned to him barefoot. He had noticed, and he specifically noticed the red polish.

She supposed he had sent the note to establish a Ned/Fanny text history. It was the kind of small but intimate thing a boyfriend might text to his girlfriend. An attentive, thoughtful boyfriend.

Lizzy couldn't help herself. Smiling in the dark, Fanny texted Ned.

Thanks, Ned! Nice of you both to notice and to say so

She expected that to be the end of the exchange, so she put the phone back on the nightstand. But then it beeped again. She retrieved it, curious.

All-day permanent red?

Lizzy boggled for a minute and then remembered an old advertisement—maybe for lipstick?—all-day permanent red.As if the phrase was at once the name of a shade and a promise of long-lastingness. She stared at the question. And then she decided to boggle Ned in turn.

All night too

For a long time, there was no response, only the promise of three dots flashing. Then Ned sent her a smirking emoji. There was a pause, and Ned's smirk was followed by:

Night, again XOXO

Fanny texted back:

Night XOXO

Setting the cell phone down and relaxing back into the bed, Lizzy reflected on the exchange.The XOXO was a good touch, and good for our cover, the text history.The kiss crossed her mind one last time, lingering in memory much longer than it had in fact. She rolled over and smiled herself into a swift sleep.

***

Saturday, October 17

When Lizzy woke up later than usual the next morning?certainly later than she expected?she started the coffee maker and quickly made herself some breakfast. As she sat down on a stool to eat, there was a soft knock at the door. Walking to it, she peered through the peephole. Darcy stood in the hallway, a grocery bag in each arm.Ned.

"Hey, Fanny, it's me!" He said it loudly enough to be heard through the door but not loudly enough for his voice to carry farther. He wouldn’t expect anyone but her to hear him but was obviously taking no chances.

Lizzy pulled the belt of her robe tight. Her robe was no shorter than the black mini dress she wore the night before, but somehow it felt more revealing. She opened the door.

Darcy looked her in the face, and she could tell he was resisting the desire to let his eyes drop. "Sorry not to have called first, Fanny."

She stepped aside to let him in and then closed the door.

He sniffed the air. "Is that coffee? Eggs?"

She walked past him to the counter, gestured to a stool, split her breakfast to share half of it with him, and poured him a cup of coffee. After placing the bags on the couch and taking off his jacket, he eagerly moved to sit where she’d indicated. AsLizzy came back around the counter to sit beside him, she noted Darcy’s casual “Ned” clothing, a sweater and jeans.

He took a bite of his omelet and hummed his approval. "Good!"

She looked over her shoulder at the bags. "What did you bring?"

---