P&P

Chapter Twenty-Five

"I don't get it," My aunt began. I was lying down on my hotel bed as she was "reading" on her iPad at the table. "I thought you hated William Darcy. And yet, that day we toured his house he never took his eyes off of you. Never. And then he invited you to lunch."

"It's a complicated situation." I told her vaguely. Aunt Gardiner was my mother's sister, and like her she was incredibly nosy. But while my mother was prone to interfering no matter what you said, my aunt was much more subtle in her manipulative ways. She'd nudge you in the direction she wanted with her words, while my mother would nudge you with a literal push.

"Well, if you want to know what I think," She started, and I smirked. "William seems like a sensible young man. Much more sensible than most his age. I think you'd be a fool to let him slip away."

Too late, I couldn't help but think to myself bitterly.

"You're just saying that because he's rich." I teased, and she gasped dramatically.

"All I'm saying is that I think he likes you." She told me. "And that all you have to do is pick the time to do something about it."

"If you say so." I said with a light eye roll. I had already rejected Darcy once. There was no way he'd subject himself to that again, even if I had changed my mind. Which I hadn't. Really. Not at all.

"That William Darcy," My aunt said more to herself. "He's quite the charmer."

I wouldn't exactly refer to him as that, but I saw where she was coming from, in a way. He certainly had come a long way from the first day I met him. I never thought I would see him in a positive light.

But I did.

Later that day, Darcy called and invited me over to his house to hang out. He told me that Georgiana really liked me and thought we could get to know each other better. I still thought of this as weird, but it seemed the more we hung out the less weird it became.

Georgiana and Darcy were sitting outside at a table in their backyard, drinking what looked to be iced peach tea. The sun was blazing and Georgiana was fanning herself with an envelope, complaining about the heat.

"It's eighty degrees in the middle of January. Why?" She cried to Darcy, who only rolled his eyes.

"You're too used to Connecticut weather. You seem to have forgotten the time we went to the beach and got a tan in November." Darcy told her. This time she rolled her eyes.

"Hey there," I started, and Georgiana smiled wide when she saw me. She lifted her sunglasses to the crown of her head and got up to hug me.

"I'm so glad you're here!" She told me, offering me a seat next to her. "As much as I love my brother, he's absolutely no fun." I believed her.

"I can see that." I said, smirking at Darcy as he glared at me from across the table. I could see that he was hiding a smile.

"Can you give us ladies a moment, William?" Georgiana asked him in an innocent voice, which sounded a lot like Lydia's before, during, and after one of her devious schemes. I suddenly became wary.

"You're not going to do anything you're not supposed to, are you?" Darcy asked her, narrowing his eyes at her. He seemed to think she was up to something too.

"Of course not." She answered, still using that faux-innocent voice.

"I'll be in the living room if you need me." Darcy told me, getting up from his chair. "Scream if you do." Darcy whispered to me before he left. I smirked to myself.