Page 58 of Second Chances
“No, it’s ok! I’m just finishing up some work emails, I’ll just be a minute if you want to wait here,” Beth replied quickly, emphasizing the word ‘work’, not wanting him to go.
His response was only a curt nod as he turned to pace her office. She sighed, turning back to her computer. Patrick was a friend, and barely that, and she was only emailing him about work related things. Unfortunately, as much as she just wanted to blurt that out to Darcy, to reassure him, if he had a problem he needed to be the one to say something; like with everything else that they had gone through,he needed to learn to be open with her if this was ever going to work.
Keeping herself aware of his movements in her periphery, she continued her email to Pat, the beginning of which had only contained a greeting and her gratefulness that he had thought of her and Gardiner to contact for his publicity needs - hardly anything incriminating or to be concerned about,but that was Darcy.
Hey Pat,
Thanks so much for reaching out to Gardiner (and me!) for help with your publicity needs. I apologize for the other night. There was a lot going on at the party, and personally. I have to say that I’m surprised that you’ve finally emailed me after all of these years of saying how much you need my help!
Her face was on fire. She glanced up to see Darcy glaring at her, only then realizing that a smile had crept over her face as she had written that last sentence in jest. Unfortunately, Darcy didn’t know that.
“Almost done,” she said, meekly.One thing at a time…
If you want to shoot me over some details on what you were thinking, I can get things rolling for you. I look forward to working with you and again, I’m so sorry about the other night. Chat soon,
Beth
She hit send and closed her laptop, quickly packing up her things, keenly aware that Darcy was still watching her intently, trying to decide if he should say something or not. When she rounded her desk, Darcy turned and moved toward the door.
“Darcy,” she said, causing him to stop and turn back towards her.
She closed the distance between them, putting her hand on the door to stop him from opening it.
“Is everything ok?” she asked.
It was as close as she was willing to come to address his obvious jealousy.
Staring him down, she dared him to answer her. She saw his struggle play across his face - the desire to know the extent of her and Pat’s relationship clashing with his predisposition to conceal his feelings and show no sign of weakness. Leaning up, she kissed him tenderly, hoping to coax the words out of him. As her lips touched his, she felt the tension begin to drain out of him.
“What’s going on between you and Patrick?” he asked bluntly, if not a bit harshly.
Grabbing his hand, she locked onto his gaze as she spoke her answer.
“Patrick is just a friend.” Her first words chosen carefully in an attempt to immediately allay his fears. “I only see him every year at Renée’s party, which is usually a smaller affair, so I’ve gotten to know most of her close friends pretty well. Usually, I see him once a year and we just catch up on life or whatever is going on in the world at the moment, but he mentioned to me this year, before we left, that he is looking to host some charity events, I think, and said he would be contacting me for professional help.”
As she spoke, she could see the anxiety leaving his expression.
“He contacted Phil earlier today, and Phil just forwarded me his email, so I wanted to reply to get the ball rolling.”
“I see,” was Darcy’s gruff response. Oh, he believed her – it wasn’t that. It’s just that now, knowing there was nothing special going on, he felt like an idiot for wondering.
Placing her hand on his cheek, she leaned up again, whispering, “I’m glad that you asked me, but there is nothing to worry about” just before kissing him again.
“Thank you,” he said hoarsely, as Beth broke the kiss and turned to open the door.
There really was nothing for him to worry about, although, she had an inkling that Pat had only contacted this year - after all of the years ofsayingthat he was going to - because of what had happened the other weekend between her and Darcy. Even though she had responded to his several texts over the past week reassuring him that everything was fine, Pat was an incredibly caring person and she had a feeling that he was using this as a legitimate way to make sure that she was really ok.
There was no proof of that though, so she kept her suspicions to herself for now, relishing in the small victory she had just won. As they walked outside her office to the black car waiting to take them to the restaurant, Beth shivered as she remembered how just a few hours ago, she was walking into this building unknowingly being stalked by the CB. She glanced quickly around them, a wave of nausea rolling over her at the hunch that someone was watching them.No, Beth, don’t be ridiculous. It’s probably just your nerves,she tried to reassure herself as they got into the car. It didn’t stop her, though, from peering out the darkly tinted windows to try to spot someone hiding in the shadows. For a second she thought she saw something move by the corner of the building, but it was all in shadow as they pulled away from the curb;it was probably just her imagination.
Beth staredin awe out of the restaurant windows. Even higher than Darcy’s apartment, the View, the rotating restaurant in the Marriott, gave her an unencumbered panorama of the city at dusk.
She’d heard about the restaurant before but had never been, assuming it would be too touristy to enjoy, but boy, was she wrong. Tourists or not, nothing detracted from such a beautiful view of the city.
“This view is incredible, Darcy,” her voice a little breathless, unable to take her eyes away from the window.
“It certainly is,” he agreed, except he wasn’t looking out the window; he was looking at her.
Beth felt his gaze, a blush stealing to her cheeks before she finally turned away from the window to pick up the glass of white wine he had ordered for her and take a sip.
