Page 71 of Ardently Yours

Unlocking the doors and walking inside, I stare at my cafe. Empty. Just like me.

I lock the front door and head to my office, not wanting to look at the kitchen because it’ll make me think of Will Darcy, and I don’t want to think about him anymore. As if I could help it. I sit at my desk, not knowing why I’m here or what to do next.

I look down at my clothes, and I think of him all over again. These aren’t mine. They belong to his sister.

Then I’m thinking about last night. Being with him and his family. Being at the hospital. Being at their mansion. How, for a moment, I felt like I was part of his life. That was so stupid.

Why did I think we could pretend to be together? Nothing is fixed. Instead, we messed things up even more. My phone buzzes, and I see a text from Billie, whom I’ve been ignoring for days.

Billie: Don’t throw us away yet, Liz. Let me see you.

Defeated, tired, and over everything at this point, I sigh and say aloud to myself, “Fine. I mean, why not? What else do I have to lose?”

I text Billie back.

Me: I’m at the cafe. Come over.

Billie: Staying close by at my cousin’s house. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Will

Georgiana hasn’t stopped talking since we got in the car. She borrowed one of our parents’ cars from the three-car garage to drive us to the hospital to check on Dad, since she left her own car there with Mom. I let her talk since I’m in no mood to do so.

When we finally arrive, park, and head inside, I feel like I’m moving backward even as I walk forward, stepping off the elevator and making my way down the long hallway that smells of sterile cleaning solution.

“You’re not listening to me,” Georgiana finally says, letting out an agitated breath. “I can tell, you know.”

“And yet you keep talking to me.”

She slaps my arm, and I wince. It kind of hurts. Only my sister could get away with hitting me like that.

“What?” I say, grunting.

“You’re only frustrated because you let her go.”

“That’s not true.”

I try to defend myself, but there’s no use. I let Lizzie leave. I let her drive off without me, leaving behind our agreement, our friendship, our deal.

But none of that matters. The truth is, her leaving me behind is better because it gives me a reason to stay here and not go back to Selah Falls. How could I go back there, work at the cafe, and see Lizzie every single day, pretending like what happened between us never happened?

I think about the Selah Falls, everything sort of jumbling together in my mind. But the one thing that sticks out is Lizzie. She was there from the start of my time in Selah Falls.

The first person to welcome me and help make Selah Falls feel like home. The thought of never going back, of stopping by just to grab my things and then moving back home to work at the real estate company since Dad is sick, feels like the only other option.

Last night, when Mom and I went to get snacks, she said she was happy for me but I knew she would feel some kind of way about Lizzie being there.

And she did. She told me so. She also wanted to know why I thought it was appropriate for Lizzie to be at the hospital.

And, of course, I told her that Lizzie was my girlfriend. But what I really wanted to tell her was that Lizzie was my friend. That Lizzie was the one person who felt more like home than being back here in Chicago ever would.

But Mom wouldn’t understand that. I don’t think my parents have ever felt that way about each other. I haven’t ever felt that way about anybody. But I do know that as soon as I realized I felt it, I lost it.

And that means there’s no business deal.

There’s no fake dating relationship.