Page 92 of Puck and Prejudice

Her face flushes. “No. Do you?”

I open my mouth to tell her exactly how I feel about her, but her parents join us in the waiting room, so I swallow my words.

“Oh, hello, Jackson. Nice to see you again.” Mr. Bennet and I shake hands.

“Likewise, sir.” I turn to his wife. “Good morning, Mrs. Bennet.”

She stiffens. “I wouldn’t call it agoodmorning.”

“Mom, come on,” Izzie interjects.

“Don’t ‘come on’ me. Not only am I the last to know that my daughter had been admitted to the hospital, now I find out she has to get married next month!”

“They don’t need to rush the wedding, dear,” Mr. Bennet chimes in.

His wife twists her face into a scowl. “Don’t youdaresay they can wait and get married after she has the baby.”

He widens his eyes. “Okay, I won’t say it.”

Poor guy.

“I’ve dreamed my entirelifeof seeing my daughters get married in the same church that we did, and now, the dream is shattered!” the woman laments.

“Hello… you have two other daughters,” Izzie pipes up.

Mrs. Bennet waves her hand dismissively. “Oh, you’ll never get married at this rate, and Lydia is too young and reckless. Jane was my only hope.”

Izzie looks at me, and her eyes seem to say,See what I have to deal with?

“I wouldn’t count on Izzie never getting married. She’s a catch,” I say, just to see what Izzie does.

Her reaction doesn’t disappoint. Her jaw drops, and a couple seconds later, she gives me a death glare. I fight to keep a straight face. But in the end, the joke is on me.

“Oh, you think so? Then why aren’t you two dating?” Mrs. Bennet asks.

Hell. Why did I open my big mouth? “Honestly, I have no clue.”

Now Izzie will definitely kill me.

“Jackson is just joking, Mom. We have nothing in common.”

“What about the horses?” her father asks. “You both love horses.”

Mrs. Bennet’s eyes light up. “That’s right. Youdolove horses. It’s settled then. You must go on a date.”

“Mom! I’m not going to date Jackson because you said so. This isn’t a Jane Austen novel!”

If I hadn’t shared all those intimate moments with Izzie and made her come more times that I can count, my ego might have taken a bruising. But watching her get more flustered by the minute is amusing as hell.

Mrs. Bennet turns to her husband. “What did I tell you? No hope.”

“I’m going to say ’bye to Jane.” Izzie starts toward the hallway.

“I’ll come with you.” I look at her parents. “It was nice to see you both.”

Before I’m out of earshot, I hear Mrs. Bennet say, “He’s such a nice man. Why can’t Izzie see that?”

Izzie is taking large strides, determined to not let me walk by her side. But my legs are longer, so her attempt to run away from me is futile.

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