“I can’t believe that we get to go to the grand opening of the new hotel!” Lydia exclaimed, dancing around the kitchen in her little black dress.

“Considering that Jane is dating the owner, it’s not that crazy. It’s really sweet of Charles to invite us, though,” I replied. I looked around, trying to find my shoes. “Lydia, did you borrow my black heels?”

“No. They’re in the front closet,” Lydia replied.

“Instead of in my closet where they belong?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. She flashed me a big grin that told me she had totally borrowed them. I sighed.

“It’s just too bad that Wickham couldn’t get the night off,” Lydia said with a sigh. “It would have been so nice to have an agent with me at the party. I can feel it in my bones that I’m going to meet a producer tonight.”

“Remember, tonight is about Charles’ new hotel, not finding a producer. Or an agent, or being discovered,” Jane warned. “I don’t want this night to end up all about you.”

“Fine. You two act like I have no social skills at all,” Lydia said, rolling her eyes dramatically. “Is the curling iron still on?”

I nodded, and she went to the bathroom to fix her already perfect hair. I went to the front closet to look for my black heels.

“I still can’t believe what you told me about Wickham and Mr. Darcy,” Jane whispered as I dug through a pile of shoes to find my heels. “It’s probably a good thing that Wickham isn’t coming tonight. It would just be awkward.”

“I agree,” I replied. I held up one shoe in triumph. I just needed to find the second.

“I have a hard time believing all of it, though,” Jane continued. She reached in and pulled out my missing shoe. “There must be some sort of misunderstanding. Mr. Darcy doesn’t seem that bad. And he’s been so good to Charles.”

“Oh, Jane,” I said, taking the shoe from her. “You always believe the best in everyone. I don’t think you’re capable of thinking something bad about someone.”

“And that’s not a bad thing,” Jane reminded me. She chewed on her cheek for a moment. “Did you tell Lydia about it?”

“She saw the whole meeting between the two of them,” I told her. “I think she thinks the same thing about Mr. Darcy that I do.”

Jane frowned. “I don’t know. I’ll ask Charles about it. Every story has two sides, and I want to make sure we know them both. It’s only fair.”

“It doesn’t really matter,” I told her, slipping on my shoes. They matched my sexy little black dress perfectly. “We already know he’s an entitled, elitist ass.”

“Be nice.” Jane gave my shoulder a gentle push. “You’re going to have to see him tonight.”

I sighed. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing Mr. Darcy. Now that I knew the truth about him, I felt dirty even thinking about our dance.

“How are you and Charles doing, by the way?” I asked, changing the subject. I didn’t want to think about Mr. Darcy unless I had to.

Jane’s face melted into a happy smile. Her eyes went distant and wistful, and she let out a contented sigh.

“That good, huh?” I teased, giving her a grin.

She giggled. “I really like him,” she said, looking down at her hands. She bit her lower lip and smiled. “I think he likes me, too.”

“How could he not?” I asked her. “You’re pretty amazing.”

“I just wish we could have more private time together,” she said, still looking at her hands. Her smile faded. “These openings and events are fun, but...” She sighed.

“But the crowds and photographers are too much for you,” I finished, squeezing her shoulder. Jane nodded sadly.

“I really would prefer to just go to a movie. Or cook him dinner here,” she said. “I don’t feel like I belong up there in front of everyone.”

I gave her a big hug. “You’re doing great,” I told her. “And you totally belong up there with him. You’re gorgeous, and you belong.”

She smiled weakly. “Thanks,” she said with a shrug. “We should get going, or we’re going to be late.”

I nodded and grabbed our coats. I made sure Lydia turned off the curling iron (she hadn’t) before we left, and together the three of us headed out of our building and down to a waiting limo. I was almost getting used to riding around in these things. It still felt luxurious to be chauffeured around the city this way, but I no longer felt like a newbie getting in and out of them.

Mr. Darcy and Charles weren’t waiting for us in the limo this time. They were already at the grand opening of Charles’ new hotel. There was a big party to show off the new building, and they were going to meet us there.

The drive was comfortable as we went to the far edge of the city to celebrate and see the new hotel. Lydia chattered happily as we drove, telling us how wonderful Wickham was and all the auditions she was going to go on.

About halfway there, Lydia pulled a flask out of her jacket and grinned. “Pre-game?”

“Yes, please,” Jane said, reaching over and taking a big sip. She sighed as it went down. “I hate being out in public.”

“Did you tell Charles?” Lydia asked. “Given the way he moons over you, he’d probably stop asking you to do this kind of thing.”

“No.” Jane held the flask in her hands and stared at it. She looked up at Lydia. “Because what if he decided not to invite me at all? It is his job, after all. I’d rather deal with the crowds and pictures than not be with him.” She took another sip. “Besides, I think I’m getting better at it.”

“You should just tell him,” Lydia told her.

“Thanks, little sister,” Jane replied, handing back the flask. I wasn’t sure if she meant for the advice or the whiskey.

“Anytime, big sister,” Lydia replied with a smile.

“My turn,” I said, taking a swig. The whiskey burned on the way down with a beautiful warmth. I could feel it seep into my toes. If nothing else, this would make me more pleasant to Mr. Darcy if I couldn’t manage to avoid him.

The limo stopped in front of a beautiful new hotel with a red carpet coming out the front door. Climbing out of the limo and stepping up onto that red carpet, I felt like I was important. It only got better as we walked right past everyone waiting to get in.

As soon as we stepped into the lobby, Charles came to greet us. Mr. Darcy was nowhere to be seen. Charles’ smile was solely for Jane as cameras flashed all around us. She kissed his cheek and turned a bright shade of red as a camera flash clearly caught her in the act.

“I’m going to go make some new friends,” Lydia announced. “Bye.”

“Hey, behave yourself!” I called out to her. I didn’t want another repeat of the gala. Or the club.

Please, please, please, let her not cause a scene this time, I prayed silently. I wasn’t holding out much hope.

I found myself standing in the lobby by myself. Jane and Charles were off to the side, talking to another couple. It seemed like everyone in the room was paired off, and I was the lone man out. For a moment, I wished that Wickham had been able to come. He would have kept me company and kept me laughing through the night.

I smiled thinking of Wickham. I’d done some research on him and his talent agency. I’d found that he was a real agent with real clients. None of them were very famous yet, but he was slowly making a name for himself in the industry. I couldn’t find much else on him, but I didn’t find anything negative either. I was just glad he wasn’t a scam.

I glanced around, finding only conversations already in progress. I decided I’d get a drink and then I could wander the new hotel. It was decorated beautifully with a large lobby leading into a comfortable lounge and bar. Everything sparkled.

I paused to notice one of the pieces of art hanging in the lounge on my way to the bar. It was the Gustave Loiseau painting from the fund-raising gala. I smiled to myself, knowing that Charles must have bought it and put it where he was sure Jane would see it. Having it displayed for everyone to see and enjoy would make her very happy.

I turned to walk away from the painting to get a drink and ran smack into Mr. Darcy’s chest. He caught me as I bounced off of him, making sure that I didn’t fall. He wore his trademark dark suit that fit him to perfection. His face was freshly shaven, and he smelled amazing because of course, he did. Memories of our dance and the passionate dreams that followed surged through me despite my best efforts to forget them.

“Oh, hello,” I said once I regained my balance. I wasn’t sure how to talk to him now that I knew the truth. I wanted to slap him again, but I knew that wasn’t appropriate. I needed to pretend to be civil. For the sake of Charles and his opening, at the very least.

“Elizabeth,” he greeted me. The way his accent curled on my name made me sound far fancier than I actually was. “Would you like to look around the hotel with me? I was hoping you would join me for a drink as we looked it over.”

“Sure,” I replied without thinking. My smile was brittle as I realized I just agreed to spend time with him. I didn’t want to get a drink or anything else with him, but it was too late now.

“What would you like?” he asked, sounding like a gentleman, even if he wasn’t one.

“Um, champagne is fine,” I replied.

“I’ll be right back. Stay here,” he said, nodding his head and stepping away. I stared after him. Why in the world had I said I’d get a drink with him? I quickly came up with a plan to just disappear once he brought me my champagne. I’d say something polite, and go find Lydia. It wouldn’t be that hard to get away. I didn’t have to see the hotel with him.

“Are you okay?” Jane asked, coming up beside me. “You look like you might be sick.”

“I might be,” I replied. “I just agreed to a drink and a tour with Mr. Darcy. I can’t believe I said yes.”

“You’re being too harsh,” Jane scolded. “We haven’t learned his side of the story.”

“I don’t need to have his side,” I responded. She gave me a disappointed look, but I didn’t take it back.

“Fine,” she said with a sigh. “There’s someone here I’d like you to meet.”

I followed her to the lobby where a young woman was talking and laughing with Charles. They stood by a small standing table with a single rose centerpiece. It was exquisite and suited the hotel perfectly.

“Lizzie, I’d like to introduce you to Emma Woodhouse. She’s a friend of Charles’,” Jane said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” I replied, holding out my hand. The young woman shook it and smiled.

“Excuse me,” Charles said. “Jane, will you come take a photo with me?”

“Don’t go anywhere. I need to talk to you,” Jane whispered to me. “Just stay here.”

I nodded. “Go take your picture. I won’t go anywhere.”

Jane forced a smile but went with Charles for the pictures she hated, leaving me with Emma.

“Jane tells me that you are a nurse?” Emma asked. “Is it anything like the TV shows?”

I smiled. “There aren’t nearly as many good looking doctors. I can honestly say that I have never hooked up in a janitor’s closet.”

“Darn,” she replied shaking her head. “TV falls short again.”

I laughed. “I do love it though. It’s a great job. Hard, but very rewarding.”

“That’s good to hear,” she replied. She took a sip of her drink and motioned to the bar. “Did I see you speaking with William Darcy?”

“I was,” I replied. “Do you know him?”

She shrugged. “A little. We spent some time together at a party in London once. He seemed like a decent person, but very busy with his business.”

“That’s a nice way of putting it,” I said. “I’d say he’s kind of a self-centered ass.”

“Wow.” She giggled. “You don’t like him much,” she noticed.

“He hurt a friend of mine over business,” I replied. “I’m afraid that I’m not his biggest fan at the moment.”

She nodded. “He does become rather cutthroat when it comes to his airline, but I think it’s just because it’s very important to him. When I met him, he was known for his charitable donations as much as his airline.”

“Donations are just money, and he has plenty enough of that,” I replied. “His behavior is inexcusable.”

Emma tilted her head and looked at me thoughtfully. “It’s a shame you don’t like him,” she said after a moment. “The two of you seem like a good match. I would have thought you two would hit it off.”

I laughed. “No way. I have decided that Mr. Darcy and I are mortal enemies,” I announced with a smile. “I think we have very different viewpoints on what is acceptable behavior in business.”

“I can understand that,” she replied with a nod. She waved to someone behind me. “Will you excuse me? I see an old friend.”

“Of course,” I told her. “It was a pleasure meeting you.”

“And you. By the way, here he comes with some champagne for you.” Emma smiled and touched my shoulder. “If you do have an epic battle with your mortal enemy, please don’t mess up the lobby floor. Charles worked really hard to make it look nice.”

I raised my hand like I was taking an oath. “I will not destroy the hotel,” I promised her with a chuckle.

She grinned and picked her drink up off the tall table. She nodded a polite to hello to Mr. Darcy as she went to greet her friend. I wished Emma or Jane would come back and save me from having to talk to Mr. Darcy by myself.

“I didn’t know what you preferred, so I brought my favorite,” he said, handing me my drink.

I attempted a smile as I took a sip. At least it tasted good.

“It’s good,” I told him. “Thank you.”

Silence fell between us, and I could hear a million other conversations in the lobby that sounded better than ours. I looked around for an escape, but there wasn’t one. I was stuck having a drink. I thought about throwing the champagne in his face, but I didn’t want to ruin Charles’ party. I needed to play nice since I promised Jane I would.

“I’m afraid I’m not very discerning in my champagne tastes,” I said after a moment. I needed to fill the silence, or I was going just to end up stewing and then reacting poorly. “This is good, though.”

“It’s Dom Perignon.”

“It’s very nice.” I took another sip. I was going to need more if this was how the evening was going to go.

Mr. Darcy took another sip of his drink and nodded, leaving the silence between us to grow again.

“It’s your turn to say something,” I said after a moment. “That’s how conversations work. I said something about the drink. You should say something about how the lobby is decorated or how well Charles did with this place. You should say something. Anything.”

He looked at me with those mesmerizing blue eyes.

“Of course,” he replied, lowering his glass. “What would you like to discuss?”

“You know, I’m not really sure,” I said. I could hear the lyrics to a love song playing over the lobby sound system. “I guess we could just stand here in awkward silence. That seems to be working just fine.”

Mr. Darcy took a sip of his drink, apparently unperturbed by my remarks. “Do you prefer the silence?” he asked. “Or I suppose we could talk politics?”

The idea of talking politics with Mr. Darcy made me wince. “I have a feeling that talking politics would leave us screaming obscenities at one another.”

“I think we’re probably more alike than you think,” he replied, a knowing smirk crossing his face. I did my best to ignore the impulse to knock it off his smug head.

“What about your business?” I offered. “That seems to be the only thing that interests you.”

A hint of irritation crossed his features. “Why do you say that?”

“It’s all you seem to do,” I replied, feeling self-satisfied in my small victory against him. I’d gotten under his skin with that comment. “You’re always on the phone. It seems like you never stop working.”

He took a slow sip of champagne. I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He smiled at me.

“How are your patients in the CICU?” he asked. He was obviously avoiding talking about business just to prove me wrong.

I was not expecting that, but it was a nice deflection. Fine. I could play that game.

“They’re doing well,” I replied. “I actually just discharged one yesterday. He had a triple bypass and was a wonderful man with a kind family.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Mr. Darcy said, almost managing to sound sincere.

I decided it was time to play hardball. I set my drink down on the high table.

“In fact, he says his daughter is an actress and would be happy to give Lydia some pointers,” I continued. “He actually congratulated my sister on acquiring an agent so early in her career.”

“Wickham is lucky to have such skill acquiring talent,” Mr. Darcy replied diplomatically. He lowered his glass, and his eyes hardened. “If he can give her any success, I’ll be incredibly impressed.”

“As long as you don’t sabotage him, he should be fine,” I retorted.

His nostrils flared, and he set his drink down on the table harder than necessary. I’d finally riled him, and it felt good. My heartbeat sped, and I moved closer.

“I do not sabotage. I do not cheat. I do not make false promises that I can’t keep,” he said, enunciating every word. His hand gripped the glass hard enough I was afraid he might break it.

I wasn’t about to back down, though. I wanted this out in the open. I wasn’t going just to let this be. I wanted answers. I wanted him to be accountable for his actions.

“And you say that Wickham does? You say he sabotages and cheats?”

“That is for you to determine,” Mr. Darcy replied. He narrowed his eyes at me. “I will not speak poorly of him. Why are you pressing this?”

“Because I want to know why,” I replied, taking a step toward him. I wanted to get under his skin and annoy him as much as he annoyed me. I wanted him to think of me the way I did him: often and without meaning to.

“I’ll tell you anything you want to know,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. He was close to me now. I didn’t remember taking quite this many steps into him, but I was close enough now to smell his cologne. I could see the blues and grays of his eyes and the small spot he missed shaving near his earlobe.

How did he infuriate me so easily? Why did being near him cause my heart to go crazy and my ability to think disappear? I glared up at him, riled and looking for a fight. I wanted to get a reaction out of him. I wanted him to react to me.

I wanted to knock him down and kiss him, and I wasn’t sure it was in that order. The space at the arch of my legs ached for something only he could give me. I hated him, yet my body wanted his touch. Lust surged through me in hot waves.

I hated that I wanted him, but that only made me want him more.

How did he get under my skin and turn me on?

Without thinking, without my brain’s permission, my body leaned forward and kissed him.

And oh, God, did it feel good.

Every part of my body sang with need and kissing him made it better and worse at the same time. He threaded his hand behind my head and into my hair, kissing me back.

And the man could kiss. His lips were soft, yet demanding. He tasted better than he had in any of my dreams. Sweet, yet rich with hints of champagne.

Before I knew what I was doing, I wrapped my arms around his neck, not letting him go. I needed his kisses, his touch, and so much more. I needed him more than I needed to breathe. I hated him and needed him in equal parts.

What in the world had he done to me? I went from hating him to wanting to screw him in the space of a single kiss.

“We should go someplace less public.” He broke the kiss just long enough to whisper the words, and even then that was too long.

I nodded, hating that he pulled away from me. My body ached to feel him against me, and even though I knew I would get more, I hated that I didn’t have him that instant.

He grabbed my hand. With my lips still tingling from Mr. Darcy’s kiss, he pulled me away from the crowd.