Page 54 of Third Time is the Charm (Passion and Perseverance #3)

“Yes, this coming weekend. Tell him to call me directly if there is a problem, but I don’t expect there to be.”

Beth rolled over in bed, hearing Darcy’s deep voice coming through the door from the living room. Her vision came slowly back into focus while her ears were alert to his conversation, wondering what had him up so early on a Saturday morning.

“Let me know when it’s taken care of.”

Sounds like business.

She pushed herself up to sit in the bed, pulling the sheet with her to cover her chest. She ran her hands quickly through her hair trying to calm down the matted mane just as Darcy walked back in the room, starting as he saw her awake and alert, waiting for him.

“Good morning, sunshine,” he said with a smile.

Beth bit her lip, taking in the sight of him and those sweats of his riding low on his hips. “Good morning,” she murmured. “Who was that on the phone?” She couldn’t help herself from asking.

His eyes glanced down at his cell. “Just business stuff that needs to be handled for this week. Wanted to make sure my people were on top of it,” he explained vaguely. “How did you sleep?”

Her brow scrunched for a second, wondering if there was more going on than he was saying, but from what she’d heard, it sounded like the truth.

“Wonderful,” she sighed, smiling up at him. “How about you?”

He walked over to her and leaned down, placing a soft kiss on her lips. “Wonderful.” He kissed her again. “Alright, I’m going to make us breakfast.” He stepped away from the bed and moved towards the door again.

Beth grimaced. She still didn’t have any breakfast food in the apartment; she hadn’t had time or really thought to go out and get some.

“I don’t have any breakfast food,” she said.

He winked at her. “I know, that’s why I stopped on my way in last night. Your fridge is now fully stocked.”

“You didn’t have to do that,” she exclaimed, feeling guilty that her apartment seemed to be lacking in the very basics.

“I know, gorgeous, but I didn’t want there to be any reason for you to have to leave that bed this morning… or put on clothes.” His eyes flared suggestively and Beth felt her skin tingle all over at his insinuation.

“Mmm… how thoughtful of you, Mr. Darcy,” she replied coyly, stepping out of the bed and out from underneath the sheets, confidently stretching her naked form in front of him.

She sent him a sideways glance through hooded eyelids, enjoying his undisguised stare of appreciation and the resulting spread of his arousal over his body.

Beth raised an eyebrow at him as her arms came back down to her sides. “I thought you were going to make breakfast?” she asked, innocently.

“If you keep that up the only thing I’ll be having for breakfast is you,” he growled.

She feigned mock surprise. “Whatever do you mean?”

His jaw muscles flexed and his eyes flared with desire.

Beth smiled; she was hungry – she’d better stop teasing him if she wanted to eat this morning. “Alright, I’m getting in the shower – alone,” she clarified. “Go make breakfast.”

She met his gaze, watching him struggle with himself whether he was going to let her do just that or if was going to forget breakfast and take her. Everything was still for a moment and then he spun on his heel and walked back out into the kitchen.

She chuckled softly to herself and walked into the bathroom, turning on the shower. She washed quickly, anxious to be back with him.

And hungry – her stomach rumbled.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried off, taking a deep breath of the delicious smell that was emanating from the kitchen.

She threw on underwear and her t-shirt. She didn’t want to be too tempting before she had a chance to eat something.

Following the delightful scent, she walked out of the bedroom to see Darcy standing over the small stove, cooking something in a smaller fry pan.

Something that she wanted to eat, it smelled so good.

“So, what’s on the menu?” she asked, alerting him to her presence.

He glanced over his shoulder at her before turning back to his task. “My famous frittatas – hope that’s ok.”

“As long as it tastes as amazing as it smells.”

He turned, sliding the contents of the fry pan onto the plate waiting on the counter. Opening the fridge, he pulled out a glass of orange juice setting it along with the egg concoction in front of her.

Beth eyed the plate greedily.

“Go ahead and eat. I could hear your stomach from out here.”

She dug into the eggs while he began to make his.

“This is amazing,” she said with a mouthful of her fourth bite.

“Thank you.” He set his plate down on the other side of the counter and began to eat with her. “I was wrong though.” Beth looked up at him questioningly. “I’m going to need you to cover up that delicious ass of yours. We’re going to get a restraining order.”

Beth swallowed the bite of food in her mouth, thinking through what he was saying.

“Can it wait?” she asked hesitantly. “Not indefinitely.” She quickly clarified seeing his expression harden.

“Just until Monday, I meant. It’s Saturday and I just want to be with you – spend the day with you here, just the two of us.

Nothing will happen to us here. I feel like I just got you back – we just got us back – I don’t want to bring her into it right now.

” She paused, assessing the changes in his expression, watching it soften.

“I just want one weekend to ourselves. Please.”

His lips thinned. It wasn’t what he wanted or what he wanted to hear, but it also wasn’t asking a lot.

“Fine,” he acquiesced. “But, we are staying here then. I’m not taking any chances.”

Which meant that he already had his security watching her apartment.

She nodded, not caring right now as long as it meant she could spend time with him.

“So,” he continued, “I thought Col hired you to expand his foundation’s reach into New York City. Is that still happening?” He tried to make the questions appear nonchalant, but Beth knew better.

“Wondering how long until I’m back in the city for good?

” she teased him, trying to stifle the small smile.

She knew he wanted her to move back to New York, not that he couldn’t stay here indefinitely, but he preferred the city – and she did, too, if she was honest. It also meant that she would be several hours from the boss that was trying to steal her from Darcy – even though his attempt was unsuccessful and she doubted Col would make any more attempts – but distance would ease Darcy’s mind.

He frowned at her. “Just making conversation,” he said, then with a sigh, added, “but yes, I would like you back in New York, I won’t lie.” The last was grumbled softly as though he was embarrassed to admit it.

“I know that is his plan,” Beth began, giving him the information he wanted, grateful that he’d admitted his feelings out loud.

“That is what we talked about when he mentioned hiring me before. I don’t think he expected me to be requesting that job so soon…

” She trailed off, not needing nor wanting to go into further detail about why she’d needed to ask for the position.

“So, even though he wants to in the near future, I’m not sure how near it actually is.

I think he needs a significant capital investment to make the move to New York and I’m not sure the clinic is prepared for that right now.

Maybe after the Contest he’ll have a better idea.

” She shrugged her shoulders. “That’s if the Contest still happens…

if Col can get those permits squared away. ”

Expanding into New York was going to be expensive for Col, there was no doubt about that.

Maybe some of the high-profile investors that were coming up this week might be able to make that happen, but who knows what was going to happen now.

She began to chew on the inside of her cheek at the thought, her mind drifting back to work and everything that would happen if Col couldn’t convince the city that the permits had been approved.

“I want you to move in with me. Again.” His words echoed softly through the silence, a screaming interruption to her thoughts.

A million questions ran through her mind. None of them as fast as the answer that her lips begged to give him.

“Darcy…” she said softly. “I can’t move back to New York right now.

” She started with the most basic fact. “I love my job and what I’m doing, but, right now, it has to be done here.

I don’t have the same opportunity in New York.

I can’t leave.” She shook her head, finding the words to tell him what this meant to her.

“I’ve finally found something that I enjoy and something where I feel like I’m really contributing and I won’t give that up; and I would hope that you wouldn’t want me to. ”

It wasn’t that Darcy wasn’t important to her, but she would end up resenting him if she left this job for him.

As much of a difference as she’d seen in him, being around him the past two weeks, there was still the deeply rooted fear that it wouldn’t last. If she left her job for him and then lost him, she didn’t know what would happen to her then.

“I don’t want you to leave,” he interjected before she could try to explain further.

“I don’t want to ask you to make that choice; you shouldn’t have to.

I don’t care where it is. I’ll move in to this apartment if that’s what it takes to be with you, although I’d prefer to find a place that could accommodate a slightly larger bed.

” Darcy smirked slightly with the last statement, trying to use humor to offset how seriously sweet his offer was.

“Mr. Darcy,” she said softly. “I don’t know that I’ve ever seen you be so accommodating.”

“Oh, accommodating? Is that what that was?” he asked with a raised brow, coming around the counter to stand closer to her.