Page 64 of Third Time is the Charm (Passion and Perseverance #3)

“I just don’t want anything to happen to you,” he said again, grimly.

“Nothing is going to happen to me,” she reassured him even though there was no way she could completely promise that.

Her hand moved to rest on his arm, trying to calm his mind.

“Darcy, I love you; I will always love your need to be my savior. But this isn’t really about you anymore – she has stalked me, attacked my job, threatened me…

I need to face her and handle this once and for all.

” She paused, staring into his dark, unconvinced and uneasy eyes.

She sighed heavily. “Tonight, I don’t need you to be my knight in shining armor; tonight, I need you to hand me my sword and let me deal with Caroline. ”

His eyebrows raised briefly at her words, before he nodded. Tonight, she would be in control – not hiding behind him on the sidelines, fearing the unknown; tonight, he would be there to support and protect her – but only if she needed him to.

“Sweetheart, tonight, I will be whatever you need me to be – I just need to know that you’re mine.” His words were soft and hoarse, the emotion in them electrifying the room around them.

“I told you… I’m yours,” she repeated with a small smile of reassurance. She began to turn, but his hand on hers stopped her.

“No, Beth.” He paused with a small nervous laugh. She’d never seen him nervous before. “That’s not… Christ… I’m fucking this up so bad right now.”

“I don’t understand...”

“Beth, I love you. I love you so fucking much it hurts to breathe right now knowing I have no control over what could happen tonight. There are so many unknowns about tonight… about us…” Beth stared up into his eyes – love and tenderness, fear and concern, written raw over his face.

“The only thing I feel like I know for certain right now is that I would be lying if I said that I could live my life without you.”

Oh my God. Her breath caught.

“There’s just one other thing I need to know for certain before we leave this room.

” He exhaled shakily as his free hand reached into his jacket pocket, pulling out a very familiar velvet box.

“I don’t care about all the uncertainty in our future – our jobs, our home, your family…

I told you before that I would ask you again to marry me once I felt like you finally knew me and what you were getting into…

This is me, Beth. This is all the fucked-up, intolerable pieces of me that I’m working to put back together for you.

” His voice got thicker with every word and every tear that went unshed.

His hand left hers to gently lift open the lid of the box to reveal the diamond and ruby ring that he’d proposed with before.

“I want to marry you so fucking badly, gorgeous. But this ring doesn’t have to mean that right now – all I’m asking is if you’ll let me walk out of this room certain about only one other thing - that you are mine no matter what and that whomever sees you, knows that.

” When she just stared, open-mouthed at him, he continued with a nervous laugh, “Sweetheart, I’d put a ring on each and every one of your perfect fingers just to show the whole world that you’re mine. ”

“Yes!” she blurted out. Her response shocking both of them.

He looked like he’d been prepared to ramble on, to try and assure her that this didn’t have to mean marriage – or at least right away.

But, she found, for all those uncertainties that she’d had about him and moving in and, well, everything…

they’d all disappeared. Somehow, looking into his eyes in this moment, she felt the exact same way he did.

All she wanted was to know for certain that they had each other.

“Wait… what do you mean yes?” Her outburst clearly throwing off whatever speech he had planned.

“Yes, Darcy.” She laughed lightly as tears began to stream down her cheeks.

“I don’t know that I’ll ever find the right words to be able to convince you that you had my heart a long, long time ago, but ‘yes’ is just going to have to cut it.

” Her hand reached up to cup the side of his face.

“I am yours. I have been yours for a long time and I want to be yours forever, as your wife. So, I mean ‘yes,’ I will marry you.”

He stared at her blankly for a split second. His brain taking a moment to believe what his ears had heard. When it finally clicked, she was in his arms, crushed against him as his mouth captured hers.

“I love you,” she whispered against his mouth, tasting the salt of their tears between them.

He pulled back, reaching for her left hand, he plucked the ring out of its resting spot, sliding it onto her finger as he whispered, “I love you, too.”

With the ring seated on its new home, he lifted her hand to kiss the back of it, his eyes locked with hers. Gripping her fingers in his, he placed her hand in the crook of his elbow. Her slight nod told him that she was ready and he escorted her to the door.

They needed no more words, she thought as they walked out strong and determined into the hallway, their love for each other was etched so clearly into their hearts .

So far, the guest who was registered as Mrs. DeBourgh hadn’t arrived yet. They’d upped the number of volunteers at the door checking people in to make sure that no one slipped by unnoticed; that was in addition to the extra security that patrolled the hallways and lobby area.

A half hour into the event and still no sign of Caroline. Beth was just able to leave her post by Colin’s side to join Darcy, who was standing at their table, taking a long sip of the white wine that was waiting for her. She was about to sit down when Darcy reached for her hand.

“Will you dance with me?” His dark, smoky eyes burned for her.

“Do you really want to dance with me, Mr. Darcy?” she asked teasingly, stepping closer to him. “Or do you just want to keep me safe in your arms for as long as possible?” Her last question was a whisper.

Darcy leaned in next to her ear. “What if I want both?” A smirk came over his face as he led her to the dance floor just as the band picked up a slower tune. Beth could only shake her head – that was Darcy, always wanting it all.

He pulled her close to him, his hand resting low on her back as they began to sway side to side with the music. Beth closed her eyes for a minute, pretending that all they were there to do tonight was dance.

It was a nice thought.

Tilting her head back from his chest, she looked up to see Darcy scanning the room intently.

“Do you see anything?” she asked quietly.

“No,” he replied. “John knows to come and find me as soon as someone checks in with her name. But I’m keeping an eye on her table just in case she manages to slip in here some other way that we haven’t accounted for.

The song ended and the music died down, meaning it was time to vacate the floor; Colin was about to welcome everyone to the event. Beth saw him approaching the microphone as they neared their table which was close to the door, so that they had a better vantage point on anyone entering or exiting.

As Beth closed in on her seat, she saw John approaching them at a brisk pace; combined with his grim expression, it could only mean one thing.

Caroline.

“She’s here,” John said as soon as he was close enough to speak at a discreet level.

“Where?” Darcy asked angrily.

“I’m sorry, sir; we’re not sure. She checked in just as the music stopped and large group of guests entered from the bar downstairs in time for Colin’s speech.

She slipped in with them.” Beth felt Darcy’s hand tightening on hers as her eyes began to scan the room.

“The woman who registered her, didn’t realize until the whole group had gone through.

By the time, she came and found me, the ‘Mrs. DeBourgh’ disappeared. ”

“Was it Hannah who checked her in?” Beth asked. It must have been – Hannah was the only other female on duty. “Did she say if it was an older or younger woman who entered under that name?”

“Younger. With long, blond hair.”

“ Fuck.” Darcy swore underneath his breath, his eyes looking around the room for Caroline. “Find her. Now.” His tone was deadly serious ringing clear with displeasure that they had managed to lose the one person they’d been hired to keep track of.

John nodded, turning to go find Arnie.

“Should we go help?” Beth asked, her body on edge; the thought of just sitting and waiting making her more anxious.

“No. Not yet. Let’s just sit for a second,” he replied sternly, his gaze not even returning to her; instead it kept scanning around the room, slowly assessing every face for the one he was after.

Beth turned to her seat, grabbing her clutch that had been resting on the chair. She was about to sit down when she noticed the small slip of paper that had been underneath her purse. Anger shot through her as she picked it up knowing exactly what it was and from whom it came.

I like your dress. It’s my color. I’ll wear it for him once you’re gone. Xo - Caroline

She felt the nausea roll through her, boiling up into her throat. Quickly grabbing her glass of water, she took a sip, almost knocking her wine glass over in the process.

“Beth, are you ok?” Darcy asked behind her; he’d sat down already and now looked up at her with concerned eyes.

She passed him the note, letting it speak for itself.

Beth saw his anger intensify with each word that he read, His knuckles becoming whiter as he gripped the paper harder.

When he finished, he shoved it into his pocket even though he really wanted to set it on fire. However, this was the first time Caroline had signed it, which meant it would be critical to any charges they decided to press against her.

He looked like he was about to say something when Colin’s voice boomed through the room.