Gina refused to leave now that Darcy was semi-permanently living in his DC apartment instead of at Bing’s. Last night, he’d had to endure her accusations that he was hiding. It did no good to try to turn the argument around on her. She’d leveled a glare at him and said, “Bro, you’re ten minutes closer to the university. Ten minutes closer is gold. And Mother doesn’t throw a fit when I stay with you instead of at her place—which, why she cares when she’s in California is beyond me. Besides, it’s too big and lonely there. What’s your excuse?”

No matter what he told her she just bleeted “Eh, wrong,” in his face, so he’d resorted to dirty glares.

And, unfortunately, she was right. With Gina gone to class that morning, Darcy had been planning on using the distraction free space of his apartment to knock out some proposals that had been slipping down his list of priorities, but he hadn’t been able to focus. His mother had been texting him the professional photos she’d had taken of the engagement party, and in one of them, the photographer had managed to capture Eliot talking with Jane and smiling. It wasn’t actually a photo of Eliot—it was a photo of the crowd—but Darcy had zoomed in and cropped everyone except the two siblings out, and he couldn’t stop looking at it.

It had been over three months since Darcy had handed over his defensive letter. He didn’t regret doing it, but sometimes he wished he had kept a copy. He wasn’t sure he had expressed himself well. Maybe he should have held back a few days to pic precisely the right words—

No. What was done was done. He hadn’t heard from Eliot in that time, and he hadn’t expected to. He’d handed the responsibility of managing his mother’s wedding completely over to Will and declared that was that.

But it wouldn’t hurt anything if he checked in on things, right? He closed the image of Eliot and called Will.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Will, have you received any more bills from Brightside Weddings?”

Will made a snuffling noise, as if he was trying not to laugh. "Paid the latest one yesterday.”

"I see.” Darcy drummed his free hand on the top of his desk. “Mailing them?”

"Haven't needed to. Eliot comes by and picks them up. Nice guy. Your mother must have destroyed them before you stepped in. I mean, he and Charlie are good, but not necessarily stand up to your mother good.”

“That’s why they have us. Eliot hasn’t had any questions for me, has he? Or you, regarding me...”

There was a pause, and Darcy knew he’d given information to his cousin that he’d not intended to give. He had told Eliot he could go to Will to confirm everything. Did the fact that he hadn’t mean he believed Darcy, and didn’t feel the need to? Or had Darcy’s arguments been dismissed completely out of hand?

“Should he have questions?” Will drawled.

“I just wanted to make sure everything was still going fine with Mother.”

“Things have been pretty quiet the last few weeks. I believe all the final choices have been made for the wedding and the reception, and they’ve been focusing on other events. In fact Eliot told me he’s managing his first fundraiser for the city zoo in two weeks.”

Darcy pulled up the calendar on his desktop, checking his calendar against Gina’s school calendar. It looked like he and Gina might be able to go. "Are we donors? To the zoo, I mean."

There was a moment of silence until Will replied, “Do we want to be donors?"

Since taking over Pemberly Visions, Darcy hadn’t paid much attention to the philanthropic arm of the business. So many organizations had been hesitant to be associated with them until his father’s scandal had died down, and then… Darcy just hadn’t given it much of a thought, too busy trying to get his feet under him, and then too used to his own ways.

He tried for a nonchalant tone as he said, “Don't see why we wouldn't be. Haven't we done work for them in the past? I remember Dad working a campaign when they created the penguin environment.”

"Yes, we did.” Darcy heard the shuffle click of Will’s mouse on the other end of the call. “But I don’t think we ever did anything more… You know, if you're interested in becoming a donor, I'll look into it. I’m sure they would be happy to accept.”

“Please do, I think Pemberley needs to revitalize and review our charitable contributions.” Darcy was pretty sure that had he been facing Will, he would see a smile on his face.

All Will said was, "Can do."

Two weeks later, Darcy straightened his tie and cufflinks for the eighth time since they’d exited the car. Gina smiled and loosening the tie, said, “You look handsome. Don’t worry.”

“I don’t like being late,” Darcy grumbled. “It’s inefficient and rude.”

“Even you can’t prevent traffic accidents, big brother.”

“It wasn’t the accident that was the problem,” Darcy said. “It was all the drivers rubbernecking as we went by.”

They walked through the entry door, unannounced, and found themselves in a sea of khakis paired with Hawaiian shirts. Not a single suit, let alone tux, in sight.

Gina leaned into Darcy’s side, whispering, “You said this was a black tie affair.”

Darcy only stood more proudly. “I thought it was. But one good thing Dad taught me was never be ashamed of being overdressed or wearing work clothes.”

“When, in your entire life, have you ever worn work clothes? I mean, I’m assuming you’re talking about blue jeans and t-shirts, right? I think I’d pee myself laughing if you showed up in some ratty jeans and stained t-shirt.”

“Don’t ever laugh at clothes that show they’ve been worked in.” Darcy snapped more fiercely than he’d intended. “There’s nothing to be ashamed of in a hard day’s work.”

“Then why don’t you do one?” Gina grumbled under her breath, but he pretended not to hear. He didn’t want to pound the message into her head the same way Dad pounded it into his. She didn’t respond well to that. Darcy might not work hard with his hands and his back, but too many people dismissed the work he did daily, assuming he was just some rich boy who leaned back and gave orders. He would never dismiss someone else’s hard work, no matter how they came by it.

Will had been waiting for them, and noticed them immediately upon their entrance. He shook Darcy's hand and kissed Gina on the cheek. “You both look great,” he said, without a hint of irony. “This was a good idea, supporting the zoo. We’ve been having a blast." He indicated Carter, who had followed quickly behind him.

“Oh, my dear Gina, such a darling dress. You are far above this event in that.” Carter, wearing a painfully bright shirt, frowned as he stirred the umbrella in his drink. “This event needed some actual class.”

Will cast a narrow eyed look at Carter, which Gina mirrored. “There’s plenty of class here.” A cat-like yowl split the air, and Will smiled. “The other donors have been having too much fun.”

The voice, attempting to sing the Macarena, echoed over the assembled guests. Gina’s lips formed a round O of shock. Even Darcy found himself having to look three times to be sure his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

“Is that—” Gina started, forgetting not to point.

Will grinned. “It sure is. Senator Paulsen is up there now. You just missed Richard Yul, president of Biotrek. And over there is Ashley Ford, the CEO of Megawish. She rocked some pretty intense Stevie Nicks with ‘Go Your Own Way.’”

Carter rolled his eyes. “Every person worth knowing is, one after the other, getting up on that stage and singing karaoke.”

“Why?” Gina asked, wincing at the Senator’s attempt

Darcy kept his face more placid. “How?”

Will rocked on his heels. “Eliot. He came up with an genius way to raise funds. They’re all betting against each other. Senator Paulsen is the last to go. I think, if he makes it through the song, he’ll raise close to a hundred grand for the zoo.”.

The zoo director walked by at that moment, stopping to introduce himself to Darcy and thank him for his generous donation. He eyed Darcy and Gina’s formal attire without comment. Darcy took the opportunity to ask how the event was going.

The man grinned and leaned in slightly. “Got to say, I had my doubts when Eliot suggested it. Getting guests to sing karaoke? Sounded impossible to me. But he’s pulled it off. Man’s a genius. If all the funds people have promised come in, we’ll make our annual goal tonight.”

“Tonight? In a single evening?” Darcy understood the rarity of such an occurrence.

“Tonight.” The director turned to look at the stage where Senator Paulsen was finishing his song in front of a jumble of his peers who appeared to be dancing the Macarena. “Like I said, man’s a genius.”

“He is very gifted,” Darcy agreed, ignoring the significant looks Gina was trying to give him. “I was hoping we might set up a time to talk this month about the zoo’s current marketing campaign…”

Gina jabbed him in the side with a finger as he used the conversation to escape from her too-obvious hints.