Page 34 of Ardently Yours

I slip in through the back, walking through the supply area before passing through the door that leads to the hallway outside her office, right next to the kitchen. Her office door is cracked open slightly. She is looking down at a stack of papers on her desk. I knock on the door and hear her yelp from inside.

“Do you have a death wish?” Lizzie asks as the door creaks open.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” And it’s true. I really didn’t mean to scare her. But watching her clutch her chest, breathe rapidly as she tries to calm herself down, and hold a pen like a weapon, I almost burst out laughing.

“And what were you going to do with that? You were planning to stab me with your pen?”

“Well, maybe if you were an actual intruder,” she says, putting her pen down with a heavy sigh. She places a folder on top of the papers she was looking at before I knocked. “Anyway, that doesn’t matter. What are you even doing here, Darcy?”

“I came to talk to you.” I enter the office, ready to fix things with her.

“Yeah, well, you could have texted me instead of just showing up here out of the blue. We both know how good you are at texting.”

Okay, I guess I deserve that. I know she’s referring to what I texted her last night. But all she sent me was No, and then, of course, she spent all day at work hardly speaking to me. Then she did the same thing at Bible study.

“Lizzie, please let me explain.”

I know the exact moment her expression changes. It’s like I’ve caught her off guard. It’s so slight, but I can’t help noticing it.

She’s not used to me being so serious or calling her by her name like that. Usually I throw in a “Boss Lady” or make a joke. But I think we’re past that now. I think I need to take a step back and be honest with her so she understands where I am coming from.

“Can you just tell me why?” she asks before I’m able to say anything. “Why would you ask me to be business partners? Were you plotting this all along? Did you even really want to work here with me?”

I move farther into her office and take a seat in one of the chairs in front of her desk. She’s sitting behind her desk, so we face each other. I take a deep breath, letting a moment pass before I respond because I want to make sure I answer this the right way. I can see where she’s coming from and why she would think I have been plotting this the entire time.

Honestly, I haven’t been. I’ve enjoyed working here.

I have a lot of responsibilities, but I appreciate being able to come here, have a job, and work somewhere I feel valued. I never felt that back home working for my dad. Here, I’m a member of the team, and Lizzie is one of the only people who really saw something in me and took a chance on me.

But how do I say that without sounding sappy and sentimental? How do I open up without telling her all of my family business and everything I’ve been going through? Is it even possible to tell her any of this without spilling some of my secrets?

Maybe I’ve been quiet too long because she starts tapping her fingers against the desk while she waits. I know it’s my turn to speak. I’m just not sure where to start.

“Well,” I say slowly, “I have to admit that this is hard for me. I don’t let a lot of people in, so I’m telling you this because I trust you. I think we could really help each other. I’m in a very sticky situation. I’m about to lose all of my money if I don’t do something with it before it’s gone.”

“You’re about to lose all of your money?” she asks, her expression changing from impatience to concern. “What’s going on?”

“It’s complicated. I’ve been trying to figure out what I want to do with the money. I need a place to live here in Selah permanently because I want to stay here. When I came here, I also wanted to open my own bakery. Sometimes I still think about it. But partnering with somebody like you, especially after seeing your work ethic... we’re both ambitious, and I think we’re more alike than we’d like to admit. We work well together, and from watching you, I know running this business isn’t always easy. I know I’m ready to take on the responsibility of investing this money into something I care about. I care about this place, Lizzie. I care about you. I want to stay here but I need a reason to prove to my parents that I can. I need them to allow me to keep my inheritance and to let me live my life in peace. I want to change my life. I want to change your life too, Lizzie. So I really think we should consider...”

I trail off because she’s looking at me so intently.

I think I understand her now. The other day, she told me she needed a fake boyfriend because of everything going on with her family and her ex-fiancé.

I thought she sounded like she was losing it, but she was trying to hold everything together. Now I understand that feeling. Because that’s exactly how I feel.

“Just say it,” she says. “I know you are holding something back, Darcy.”

“I think we should become business partners...and I also think we should fake date each other.”

Chapter Eleven

Lizzie

“I’m sorry, what?”

It takes me more than a moment to understand what Will just said to me.

I must really be going through it because I’m pretty sure that Will Darcy just asked me to not only become his business partner but also to become his girlfriend.