Darcy pulled me inside. “We have to go.”
“I’ll see you later, Riley.” I gave him one last smile despite the tension brewing between the two men.
Darcy jabbed the button a few times, and the door slid closed. “Who was that?”
“A coworker.” Even though I’d only woken up an hour ago, I was already tired.
“He didn’t act like a coworker.” Darcy’s voice was gruff, and in the narrow space, he felt closer than normal.
“Well, he is,” I said a little too sharply. “I’m not dating anyone here.”
“You aren’t?” His wide-eyed look of surprise was almost flattering.
“Do you think I’d have agreed to our cover story if I had a boyfriend?”
Instead of answering my question, he said, “Why aren’t you dating anyone?”
“Because I don’t want to get tied down to Austen Heights. I’m not staying here. Once my father…” My throat closed up. “I’ll head back to New York eventually, so it wouldn’t be fair to get involved with anyone knowing that.”
“So you aren’t against dating, just dating someone from here.” Darcy’s voice was low and laced with a hint of something—the same something that darkened his green eyes.
My pulse sped up. “I—” What should I say?
Darcy looked at me for a long moment while the silence built between us like bubbles flowing from a cauldron—at any moment, it could pop.
A buzzing filled the space, and Darcy pulled his phone from his pocket with a sigh. “Yes?”
I blew out a breath of relief… or was it disappointment?
A muffled voice responded on the other end, then Darcy pressed a button and held it between us. “You’re on speaker, Charles.”
“Hi, Lizzy!” Jane said.
“Hey.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket. Sure enough, it had been Jane trying to call me.
“Jane and I think we have the solution to your problem,” Charles said. “Well, it was Jane’s idea. Can’t believe none of us thought of it last night.”
“Charles.” Warning tinged Darcy’s tone.
“Oh, right. Well, all you need to do is have one of you take a love potion, then you kiss and poof. You’re free.”
“No.” I shook my head. Love potions were unpredictable in how long the effects lasted, and there was no counter spell for them. The fact that Jane, who didn’t even like love potions, although she was too sweet to say anything like that to Mom, had suggested using one proved how desperate she was to help.
“Absolutely not,” Darcy said.
I scowled at him as the elevator door opened with a ding. I knew why I refused—I couldn’t stomach the idea of throwing myself at a highborn fae, even for a potentially short time—but what did he have against falling for me? He hadn’t acted like he cared about me being half-witch, half-fae, but I guess he was like all the others after all. Maybe I’d completely misread him in the elevator.
“Back to the drawing board, I suppose.” Charles sighed. “Want to meet at Netherfield to figure out what to do next?”
“Yes.” Darcy turned his troubled gaze on me. “We’ll be there soon.”
Maybe he was worried I was getting too close to his secrets. If only I’d discovered something. And why was Charles so willing to drop everything for Darcy if they were both highborn fae? Clearly, there was more to him besides secret magic.
“Why does Charles always listen to you?”
“What do you mean?” Darcy’s stiff demeanor belied his casual tone. He didn’t look at me as we stepped outside.
The air was sharp with the scent of autumn and an incoming storm. A gust of wind cut across the street, twisting a pile of leaves into a colorful tornado and running invisible fingers through Darcy’s thick curls. I fought to keep my hair from my face. Lightning flashed overhead, alarmingly close, but the rain had yet to hit.
