Page 57 of Second Chances
Ok, well, she needed to talk to Darcy first and find out what he was doing about the situation. Maybe he was going to have CB arrested -you wish -and there’s no need to worry him over an email at this point.
Ok, watch and wait.
With her plan of action in place, she responded to Jane saying never mind. Remembering she still had to respond to Darcy from earlier, she texted him back.
-Crazy morning, can’t wait to see you.
Not a total lie.
~I’ll pick you up at work tonight. I made us dinner reservations.
- Great!
No matter what was going on, he was still able to put a smile on her face and butterflies in her stomach; all her anxious thoughts left her mind, replaced with only her desire for him.
Setting her phone down, calmer with this temporary solution in place and warmed with the anticipation of seeingherDarcy tonight, she got up to go check in with Alaina and move on with her day in as normal a fashion as was possible.
Chapter Nineteen
She hadn’t been watchingthe clock all day. Well, that’s what Beth kept telling herself, and it was partially true; she hadn’t been watching the clock hanging on her office wall. She had, however, been watching the clock on her computer all day, counting down the minutes until six o’clock.
The day had gone by quickly, just not fast enough for Beth’s liking. She had met with both of her assistants this morning about their events from over the weekend; she’d been pleased with the results in spite of a few minor hiccups, but nothing that would give their clients any bad press, so overall a success. She ate lunch in her office, jotting down some ideas for Jane’s shower to go over with her vendors in the afternoon.
First, she met with the caterer, Lori, about Caroline’s event. They’d reviewed the final food choices that went with the theme and overall feel of the art — a farm-to-table style, all natural, selection of finger foods, including very rustic cured meats and cheese, raw veggies, and then the “naked” cake, as she and Caro had previously discussed. Switching gears to Jane’s shower, Beth had come up with a British tea party vibe - finger sandwiches, exotic teas, pastries, etc. It was going to be an afternoon event so Beth didn’t want anything very heavy or focused around a sit-down meal; Jane didn’t like to be the center of attention, so keeping everything as an informal, tea party social would help Jane feel more at ease.
Beth called her mom halfway through the conversation to confirm her selections, not because she really wanted to, but because she knew that if she didn’t consult her, her mom would be upset with what the outcome was.It didn’t hurt that she may have told her mom the tea party was all Caro’s idea…
From that point, it was smooth sailing. She finished up with Lori just as the decorator, Marc, arrived which threw her right into another meeting with no time to dwell on each passing minute.
Marc already knew what she was thinking for Caro’s event. They’d emailed back and forth last week nailing down some ideas. He gave her a list of the flowers he recommended that they use and the price breakdown so that she could get final numbers to Caro. Everything had come within her budget, so Beth told him to move forward with the preparations. Bringing up her sister’s shower, she asked him what he would recommend, but clarified that she wasn’t looking for anything too crazy; she didn’t want to completely take over Caro’s house with the stuff. Thankfully, he was able to give her some great ideas, like arranging English roses in tea pots or tea cups as decor that could be placed anywhere. Beth noted down his ideas and flower recommendations, putting it on her list to call the Flower Shoppe tomorrow and order the blooms, as well as have her mom go out and pick up the cups to place them in.
When Marc left, Beth slumped into her desk chair, exhausted from what felt like an endless day of meetings, giving directions to everyone; ironically, it was she who was left at the end of the day still unsure of which direction to go in with the email threat that she had received. She groaned as she looked at the clock on her laptop, it was still only five-thirty. Reluctantly opening up her email for the last time today, she breathed a sigh of relief that there was only one message for her to handle - the email from Patrick that Phil had forwarded to her earlier this morning.
Beth smiled as she read Patrick’s request for her services, obviously knowing that this email would be sent along to her. She clicked to open a new email to Patrick only and began to type her response when there was a small knock on her door -probably her assistants leaving for the day.
“Come in,” she said.
The door opened, a bouquet of red roses entering the room just before Darcy did.
“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said, his deep voice reverberating through the room and straight into her core.
Her eyes jerked up from her screen, realizing who had just walked in. His gaze was smoldering, and her sharp intake of breath an acknowledgment of the instantaneous desire between them. Before she could stand up to greet him, he walked over, setting the flowers on her desk, and leaned down to capture her mouth with his.
She immediately melted into him, his kiss pulling out of her every stress and worry that had built up throughout the day. In that moment, Beth gave herself completely over to her desire, welcoming the all-consuming fire that burned away every other thought and feeling from her body. Her mouth opened to his exploring tongue, teasing hers into a frenzy as her arms came up to wind around his neck pulling him closer to her.
Beth whimpered when she felt Darcy draw back from their embrace, the comforting warmth seeping out of her as the reminders of reality began to creep back in, the intoxicating seclusion of his kiss gone. Not wanting to let go of the safety she felt in his embrace, she kept her arms linked tightly behind his neck and her eyes shut, willing him to continue.
“We have to get going or we’re going to be late for our reservation,” he said softly, tenderly kissing her lips and then forehead.
“Do we have to?” she begged even though she let her arms fall to her sides, opening her eyes to meet his gaze.
“Trust me,” he growled, “there is nothing more I want to do than have you on this desk right now.”
Beth saw it happening before she could think to do anything to stop it. Darcy glanced over at her computer, as he referenced her desk, his eye unmistakably catching the open email to Patrick that she had begun. He didn’t linger, but the moment was broken. She saw his jaw flex as he stood up swiftly, taking a step back from her chair.
“I see that I’ve interrupted you in the middle of something,” he said curtly, the warmth in his voice and demeanor gone, tamped down by the wave of jealousy that had come over him. “I can wait down in the lobby for you.”
Shit.
