I stared up at the tall building just outside of Central Park that Mr. Darcy worked at. I’d verified that it was the right one on the walk over and I even knew which office was his. I hoped that I could see him and thank him for what he’d just done for my family. I just had to get past security and his secretaries.

The lobby was full of windows and bright, modern architecture. There were two sets of elevators, but to get to them, I had to get past security. I squared my shoulders and walked up.

“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Darcy,” I announced. My voice squeaked a little.

“Name?” The big guard asked.

“Elizabeth Bennet,” I replied. “I just need to see him for a minute. I’m sure if you tell him I’m here he’ll let me come up, and I just really need to see him.”

The security guard waited until I stopped babbling. “Ma’am, you’re already on the approved list. Take the second elevator to the top. Have a nice day.”

“Oh.”

I nodded and walked past him to the elevator and got on. Mr. Darcy had me on his list. There was no way that he could have known that I would ever come here, but yet I was allowed to. He wanted me to.

I love you...

The memory of him telling me that in the rain came back like a whisper. My cheeks flushed, and guilt pulled at my stomach. I was a fool.

The top floor matched the lobby. It was all clean lines and modern furniture in the blue and white of Oceania Airlines. A painter stood off in one of the corners slowly adding green accents.

“Excuse me,” I said, walking up to a large desk with a woman wearing a headset. “I’d like to see Mr. Darcy. I’m Elizabeth Bennet.”

The woman looked up. “Of course,” she said with a smile as she checked her schedule and list of approved contacts. Her eyes widened slightly before she looked at me again. “Please have a seat. He’s finishing a meeting, but once he’s done, you may see him.”

“Thank you,” I told her.

I found a seat in the white lobby and looked out the window. I could see Central Park from here. The leaves were gone from the trees leaving stark gray lines across the gray grass. The sky sparkled with wispy white clouds across the sea of blue. The color of the sky reminded me of Mr. Darcy’s eyes when he smiled.

“Ms. Bennet?” The secretary stood next to me. “Mr. Darcy will see you now.”

“Oh, thank you,” I replied. I had been so lost in the blue sky that I didn’t see her leave her desk. She brought me to a glass door and held it open as I walked in.

The office was dominated by a large, sleek, modern desk. The view was even better in here. I could see more of the city and all of the park below. On either side of the window, books lined the walls in all shapes and sizes.

Everything was very elegant and smooth. I suddenly felt very out of place in my jeans and t-shirt. I was just glad that my black wool jacket was nice. It was my saving feature.

“Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy greeted me as I stepped in. He stood and came to the front of his desk. He wore his traditional perfectly fitted suit. Today was a beautiful dark blue that brought out the darkness of his hair and the light blues of his eyes. “What can I do for you?”

All the grand speeches I practiced on the way over went right out the window. I’d had this beautiful thank you speech all planned out, and now that I was here, standing in front of him, I couldn’t remember a word of it.

“I, um, I...” I stopped and took a deep breath. There was no reason to be nervous, yet my stomach was dancing with butterflies. “I wanted to thank you.”

“For what?” he said like he didn’t know.

“For helping my sister,” I replied. I took a step closer to his desk.

“I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he told me with a small shrug. I would have believed him if I didn’t know better.

“She let it slip that you were there,” I informed him.

He sighed. “Of course she did.”

“It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together of what you did for her.” I took another step into his domain. “There’s no other reason for an agent like that to be interested in her.”

“I happened to have business in California,” he replied. “It was just luck.”

I took another step. I was now only a few feet away from him.

“Still, thank you,” I told him. I looked up at his face, watching the way his eyes focused on me. It did strange things to my heart. “It means the world to me.”

“You love her,” he said softly, his eyes still taking me in. “Despite her flaws, you love her.”

He opened his mouth as if he were going to say more, but instead took a breath and turned from me. I missed his gaze as soon as it was gone. It made the room less bright.

There was silence in the room.

“I should have brought you a fruit basket or something,” I said with a laugh, wanting to make him smile. “I think I need to work on my thank yous.”

He chuckled softly. “My secretary would have just stolen it.”

I smiled, liking that he was looking at me again. Those blue eyes held more in them than the sky outside.

A knock came on the door behind me. “Sir, your ten o’clock is here,” his secretary said, opening the door and peeking her head in for a moment.

“Thank you,” he told her, but his eyes didn’t leave me. He looked at me like I was beautiful, even in my jeans and coat.

“I should go. You have a meeting,” I said, not wanting to leave but not wanting to be a bother either. “Thank you. Again.”

“Oh, um. One more thing before you go,” he said, turning around to his bookshelf. “This came today, from the hospital. I wouldn’t even know what to do with it, but I have a feeling that you do.”

He handed me a box wrapped in cellophane. I recognized the box as the one from the auction. The one that contained the 18th century journal that I had bid on for my father.

I looked up at him, and he looked down at me. I had no idea what to say to express how I felt.

I told my feet to move, but they didn’t want to leave Mr. Darcy. I couldn’t blame them. Instead of turning to the door, I took the last step to him and went up on tiptoe to kiss him on the cheek. It was chaste compared to our other kisses, but still, the electricity of it made my heart skip.

“I hope your meeting goes well,” I said, taking a step back and nearly running into who I assumed was his ten o’clock. “Oh, excuse me.”

The woman I’d nearly knocked over didn’t give me the time of day. She wore a smart pantsuit and her dark gray hair was short and severe. She was somewhat scary, even though she barely came up to my shoulder. She was not someone to be trifled with.

I quickly ran out the door, my lips still hot with the kiss. I looked back to see him smile at me before greeting the woman.

“Hello, Catherine,” he said, and the rest was lost as the door closed.

I held my hand to my lips, my heart pounding. Why had I kissed him? Why had I come here? He didn’t want to be thanked. He had done this without telling me, yet here I was. I was a glutton for punishment, I decided. I liked the way Mr. Darcy put me off balance.

I nodded to the secretary and escaped down the elevators and out to the lobby. My lips still tingled, and I couldn’t wipe the smile off my face. I felt lighter than I had in months and I knew it had to do with Mr. Darcy.

I needed to see Jane. I needed to tell her that I’d seen him.

Outside his building, the wind was cold and sharp. It felt good against my hot cheeks, and I loosened the buttons on my jacket. Everything was hot from being with him. I stepped out onto the sidewalk and looked up toward his office. It was silly, but I thought I could see him looking down at me.

I waved and smiled, even though it was stupid. It probably wasn’t even his office, yet I liked the idea of him watching me and smiling.