Page 37 of Second Chances (Passion and Perseverance #2)

Chapter Nineteen

She hadn’t been watching the clock all day. Well, that’s what Beth kept telling herself, and it was partially true; she hadn’t been watching the clock hanging on her office wall. She had, however, been watching the clock on her computer all day, counting down the minutes until six o’clock.

The day had gone by quickly, just not fast enough for Beth’s liking.

She had met with both of her assistants this morning about their events from over the weekend; she’d been pleased with the results in spite of a few minor hiccups, but nothing that would give their clients any bad press, so overall a success.

She ate lunch in her office, jotting down some ideas for Jane’s shower to go over with her vendors in the afternoon.

First, she met with the caterer, Lori, about Caroline’s event.

They’d reviewed the final food choices that went with the theme and overall feel of the art — a farm-to-table style, all natural, selection of finger foods, including very rustic cured meats and cheese, raw veggies, and then the “naked” cake, as she and Caro had previously discussed.

Switching gears to Jane’s shower, Beth had come up with a British tea party vibe - finger sandwiches, exotic teas, pastries, etc.

It was going to be an afternoon event so Beth didn’t want anything very heavy or focused around a sit-down meal; Jane didn’t like to be the center of attention, so keeping everything as an informal, tea party social would help Jane feel more at ease.

Beth called her mom halfway through the conversation to confirm her selections, not because she really wanted to, but because she knew that if she didn’t consult her, her mom would be upset with what the outcome was. It didn’t hurt that she may have told her mom the tea party was all Caro’s idea…

From that point, it was smooth sailing. She finished up with Lori just as the decorator, Marc, arrived which threw her right into another meeting with no time to dwell on each passing minute .

Marc already knew what she was thinking for Caro’s event.

They’d emailed back and forth last week nailing down some ideas.

He gave her a list of the flowers he recommended that they use and the price breakdown so that she could get final numbers to Caro.

Everything had come within her budget, so Beth told him to move forward with the preparations.

Bringing up her sister’s shower, she asked him what he would recommend, but clarified that she wasn’t looking for anything too crazy; she didn’t want to completely take over Caro’s house with the stuff.

Thankfully, he was able to give her some great ideas, like arranging English roses in tea pots or tea cups as decor that could be placed anywhere.

Beth noted down his ideas and flower recommendations, putting it on her list to call the Flower Shoppe tomorrow and order the blooms, as well as have her mom go out and pick up the cups to place them in.

When Marc left, Beth slumped into her desk chair, exhausted from what felt like an endless day of meetings, giving directions to everyone; ironically, it was she who was left at the end of the day still unsure of which direction to go in with the email threat that she had received.

She groaned as she looked at the clock on her laptop, it was still only five-thirty.

Reluctantly opening up her email for the last time today, she breathed a sigh of relief that there was only one message for her to handle - the email from Patrick that Phil had forwarded to her earlier this morning.

Beth smiled as she read Patrick’s request for her services, obviously knowing that this email would be sent along to her. She clicked to open a new email to Patrick only and began to type her response when there was a small knock on her door - probably her assistants leaving for the day.

“Come in,” she said.

The door opened, a bouquet of red roses entering the room just before Darcy did.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” he said, his deep voice reverberating through the room and straight into her core .

Her eyes jerked up from her screen, realizing who had just walked in.

His gaze was smoldering, and her sharp intake of breath an acknowledgment of the instantaneous desire between them.

Before she could stand up to greet him, he walked over, setting the flowers on her desk, and leaned down to capture her mouth with his.

She immediately melted into him, his kiss pulling out of her every stress and worry that had built up throughout the day.

In that moment, Beth gave herself completely over to her desire, welcoming the all-consuming fire that burned away every other thought and feeling from her body.

Her mouth opened to his exploring tongue, teasing hers into a frenzy as her arms came up to wind around his neck pulling him closer to her.

Beth whimpered when she felt Darcy draw back from their embrace, the comforting warmth seeping out of her as the reminders of reality began to creep back in, the intoxicating seclusion of his kiss gone.

Not wanting to let go of the safety she felt in his embrace, she kept her arms linked tightly behind his neck and her eyes shut, willing him to continue.

“We have to get going or we’re going to be late for our reservation,” he said softly, tenderly kissing her lips and then forehead.

“Do we have to?” she begged even though she let her arms fall to her sides, opening her eyes to meet his gaze.

“Trust me,” he growled, “there is nothing more I want to do than have you on this desk right now.”

Beth saw it happening before she could think to do anything to stop it.

Darcy glanced over at her computer, as he referenced her desk, his eye unmistakably catching the open email to Patrick that she had begun.

He didn’t linger, but the moment was broken.

She saw his jaw flex as he stood up swiftly, taking a step back from her chair.

“I see that I’ve interrupted you in the middle of something,” he said curtly, the warmth in his voice and demeanor gone, tamped down by the wave of jealousy that had come over him. “I can wait down in the lobby for you.”

Shit .

“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.”