Page 41 of Third Time is the Charm
“Any chance I can steal one more dance from you before our night ends?” he whispered in her ear.
She didn’t have the heart to refuse him. “Of course,” she said, offering him a smile as he led her back into the dwindling crowd one last time.
Her body settled against him again, feeling nothing more than his body heat where they were touching. Beth tried to convince herself that that was a good thing – it allowed her to think straight, to not be overwhelmed, to act rationally; it was what she wanted.
“I know you’re stressed because he’s here,” Col murmured to her.
Her breath caught for a second before releasing.Of course, he would know.He’d been her closest friend over the past few months, the one who knew the most about what had happened; there was no point trying to hide it from him.
“I just thought it would be easier than it was – seeing him again, I mean,” she replied quietly. “I thought all of the hurt and anger that I’d gone through would make me somehow immune.”
His hand began to rub slow circles on her lower back in comfort. “When you’ve hurt so badly over someone, I don’t think it’s possible to be completely immune. Even for me, with my mom and the Contest… every year I stand up to welcome everyone to the event and tell her story; every year, I go into it positive that this year it won’t hurt, that it’s been long enough. And every year, I’m completely wrong and I get depressed for a few days even though we’re doing such a good thing,” he sighed, the emotion, even now, getting to him. “I know it’s not quite the same, but for someone who had that kind of impact on your life, instead of fighting against the feelings, it’s better in the long run to just figure out how to cope with them.”
Beth nodded against his shoulder, tears welling in her eyes. She loved how he could put aside his personal feelings because he wanted what was best for her; it would be easy to jump on all the horrible things Darcy had said and done, try to convince her that forgetting about him, or hating him, would be easier; but, he didn’t.He was such a good man.
“Not that I have much more advice than that.” He chuckled. “Because I still haven’t quite figured it out either. I do wish though that there was something I could do to make it easier for you…” He trailed off as his voice became hoarse, his feelings for her no longer being shielded. “I just want you to know that I would never hurt you like that, but, more importantly, that I am always here for you in whatever capacity that you need me.”
Beth sucked in a shaky breath, trying desperately not to cry – Col’s sweetness turning out to be the straw that might break the camel’s back. “Thank you,” she whispered thickly over her tears. She sighed in relief as the song came to an end, desperately needing to be somewhere where it wouldn’t be fuel for gossip as to why she was crying.
“Alright, gorgeous, let’s get you back to your room so you can get some sleep,” Col said. Beth was grateful for his support as he kept her held tightly against him as they went to say goodbye to Jane and Charles and Beth’s sisters who were all still in a small group talking.
“Are you guys heading out?” Jane asked, seeing them approach.
“Yeah, I have an early flight in the morning back to Boston, so I should probably get some rest,” Col answered, sparing Beth from being the reason that they were leaving a half an hour before the reception technically ended.
“Oh, of course,” Jane said, approaching him to give him a hug. “Thank you so much for coming. I can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.” Releasing him, she enveloped Beth in her arms as Charles shook Col’s hand.
“Congratulations, sis. You looked beautiful. I hope everything about today was just as you hoped,” Beth whispered to her sister.
“Oh, it was. Thank you for being a part of it; it means the world to me,” Jane replied, beginning to release her, but not before she whispered, “just talk to him.”As Beth pulled back, she saw the look in her sister’s eyes that said Jane could tell she was struggling tonight with seeing and being around Darcy.
They hugged Mary, Lydia, and Kat, before making their way to the exit; Beth purposely trying to avoid seeing her mother who would be upset that they were leaving early –well, maybe not if Col told her that he needed to.Either way, she wasn’t going to take the chance. They quietly slipped out of the courtyard and into the shuttle that was running to transport guests back to the hotel.
The gentle rumble of the bus lured Beth’s eyelids closed, her head gently resting on Col’s shoulder as it brought them back to the hotel. She relaxed against him, her mind registering his subtle scent.
Crisp and clean.
And safe.
“Beth, hey, we’re back at the hotel,” Col said softly as his hand gently squeezing hers.
“Oh, sorry,” she mumbled, drowsily waking up from her slumber. Leaning on Col’s arm, she let him lead her off the bus and into the lobby, stopping just as they entered the Castle.
“If you think I’m letting you walk back up to your room by yourself like this, you are sadly mistaken,” he said with a smile and his eyebrows raised.
Of course.
“My room is just right up the steps…” she said, unsure if she was telling him that as an attempt to direct him, or to justify the fact that she didn’t really need him to walk her there.
“Mine’s on the newer side of the hotel,” Col said as they began to move up the flight of stairs. “I want to say goodbye to you though, even though I’ll see you later this week.” Seeing Beth’s confused stare, he continued, “I wasn’t kidding when I said that I had an early flight out tomorrow morning. I have to leave here by six.”
“Oh,” Beth responded quietly, guilt washing over her that she’d invited him to the wedding – to have him fly down only to spend less than twelve hours here.
“Don’t,” he began sternly, as they approached the door to her room. “Don’t feel bad. I practically invited myself here, so it was my choice to travel like a crazy person.” He turned to face her, his fingers resting under her chin, tipping her face up to his. “And, I’d do it all again. For you.”
Beth heard his words and saw his head move towards hers in a fog, knowing that the kiss was coming. Col’s lips gently touched hers, the sweetness of his kiss trying to combat the bitter burn that controlled the rest of her. His arm came around her, pulling her tight against him, and she felt his arousal press into her stomach. A small gasp escaped her and Col took the opportunity to slip his tongue inside of her mouth. When his tongue brushed hers, the reality of where this situation could lead jolted her senses to attention.
She pulled her head back, her hands on his chest. Biting her lip, she looked at him apologetically before resting her forehead on his shoulder, trying to figure out the right thing to say. Thankfully, Col always seemed to have that on hand.
