Page 53 of Puck and Prejudice

“Good morning,” he says in a cheerful tone, and offers me the cup.

“Morning. Thanks for the coffee.”

He smiles. “No problem. I figured you’d need it, since you didn’t come down for breakfast.”

“I couldn’t get out of bed.” I take a sip of the coffee, burning my tongue in the process. “I’m surprisedyoudid.”

He smirks. “Yeah. I never went to sleep. Thank you for bringing Jane here.”

“You’re welcome. So… the wedding is back on?”

“Oh, it’ssoon.”

We start moving toward the bus. “Did you set a date?”

“Not an exact date, but Jane mentioned a wedding destination… maybe Seville.”

“Oof. Seville in the summer will be quite hot.”

“Yeah, I know. But I’ll do whatever she wants. She’s running the show.”

“What’re you guys talking about?” Alex asks as he stops next to us.

“Chad’s wedding.”

“Ah cool. I never asked you how you proposed.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why do you wanna know, Kaminski? Planning a proposal of your own?”

His face and ears turn bright red. “No, no, no. Blair and I are in no hurry to tie the knot.”

Logan laughs from ahead. “Yeah, right.”

“Shut up, Logan.” He joins his brother, leaving Chad and me alone again.

We’re one of the last ones to get on the bus, but we always sit in the same seats toward the back. That means we walk right past Wickham, who’s sitting on the aisle. Chad yawns, and Wickman blurts out, “Late night for you too, huh?”

“You could say that,” Chad replies.

I would have ignored the snake.

“Now I know why Jackson brought the other sister as well. One for you, and one for him.” He smiles maliciously.

Chad turns around. “What did you say?”

“Oh, you didn’t know Jackson hooked up with Izzie?”

“What the fuck are you talking about?” I step closer to him.

He arches his brows. “Don’t play the innocent card, Darcy. I saw Izzie sneaking out of your room in the middle of the night, wearing your T-shirt. Now I know why you left the bar before anyone else.”

Fuck. He must have seen Izzie when she walked out of my room. I rest my hand on the top of his seat and lean forward, getting into his personal space. “Listen, you weasel. I didn’t hook up with Izzie. You’d better shut your mouth, or I’ll do it for you.”

He narrows his eyes. “Is that a threat?”

I stand straighter. “No, a warning.”

Everyone on the bus is staring at me. Since Wickham spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, I decide to do the same. “If I hearanyonespreading rumors about Izzie or Jane Bennet, they will answer to me. Is that clear?”

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