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He figured she had moved to Baltimore anyway and was dating Mr. Doctor-in-the-Making. Darcy had seen Ricky and a few other mutual friends over the past months, but he hadn’t worked up the nerve to ask about her. He was afraid to know the answer.
However, as the Oscars drew closer, Darcy couldn’t help wondering if Elizabeth might visit L.A. for the ceremony. Her father would receive an Oscar if In the Shadows won Best Picture. Jane and Ricky had both earned nods for the movie. So had Darcy, although she obviously wouldn’t attend just for the pleasure of seeing him win.
Ironically, Darcy had barely thought about the nomination at all. Oddsmakers in Vegas were giving him the edge in winning Best Actor, and all Darcy could think about was whether Elizabeth would be at the ceremony. It was stupid. He knew it was stupid. And he couldn’t help it. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even see her. There were more than a thousand people at the event. Elizabeth could sit a couple of rows over, and Darcy wouldn’t even know she was there.
Even if he saw he saw her, it wouldn’t change anything. They’d exchange a few polite words and go their separate ways. After all, Elizabeth would have her dreamy doctor date, and Darcy was stuck here with Caroline. He’d invited her to most of his industry events rec
ently, primarily out of laziness. She was eager and available and eminently suitable. Best of all, she’d been willing to settle for being seen with him; she loved the prestige enough that she had stopped pressuring Darcy for something more. Their arrangement also kept Roy off Darcy’s back. It was a mutually beneficial relationship.
Tonight, however, it wasn’t feeling very beneficial to Darcy. Miffed that she hadn’t received a Best Supporting Actress nomination, Caroline had done nothing but complain from the moment they hit the red carpet. Her dress scratched. The air was too cold. She was hungry. She didn’t have a diamond as big as Nicole Kidman’s. She thought Angelina Jolie’s dress was terrible. The EW reporter ignored her. The CBS reporter didn’t spend enough time with her.
Darcy had finally stopped responding, even with grunts, but that hadn’t slowed the flow of inanity. He tried to tune her out completely while also attempting not to think about Elizabeth. Doing mental jujitsu was not improving his mood.
He couldn’t mention Elizabeth within earshot of Caroline. Somehow sensing her competition, Caroline could disparage Elizabeth for fifteen or twenty minutes at a time without stopping to take a breath. Darcy sighed. When he’d envisioned attending the Oscars as a kid, he’d never expected he’d spend most of his time thinking about what he shouldn’t be doing.
God, this Elizabeth-shaped hang-up was stupid. He responded to reporters’ questions on autopilot while constantly checking over their shoulders in the hopes he might catch a glimpse of her. I’m such a fool. Her whole family probably burned him in effigy every night, and yet he couldn’t help hoping for a quick look.
He was talking with the reporter from ABC when he noticed Tom and Lydia Bennet working the red carpet. If she was attending the event, Elizabeth would be nearby, although the ushers would have sent her on the non-celebrity route. He strained to find her amidst the crowds over the reporter’s shoulder.
She gave him a polite smile. “Mr. Darcy?” Apparently he had stopped talking.
He gave her an abstracted look. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”
Caroline, still on his arm, gave a forced laugh and leaned toward the microphone. “There’s a lot of pressure being nominated. It’s very distracting.” The reporter gave the cameraman the cutoff signal. They obviously didn’t need any quotes from Caroline.
There were too many people in the way. Darcy couldn’t get a good view. He dropped Caroline’s arm and took a few steps toward the street, collecting more than a few side-eyes as he swam upstream against the flow of red-carpet traffic.
And there was Jane Bennet, supremely happy on Ricky’s arm and chatting with a reporter from E!. Darcy felt a brief twinge of sadness for Charlie, who was still pining for Jane, but he couldn’t deny that Ricky was a far better match for her.
If Elizabeth had attended, she wouldn’t be far behind Jane. But there were too many people—cameramen, reporters, stars, starlets, handlers, security guards—to even see the non-celebrity side of the red carpet. Using his height to advantage, Darcy strained to look through the crowds. He had picked out the other Bennet sisters and Tom’s wife, but not Elizabeth.
Maybe she hadn’t bothered. It wasn’t really her movie, after all. Why incur the expense to fly from Baltimore?
As he pushed through the crowds, a few heads turned in his direction. I should forget about her. She’s not here, and I’m making a spectacle of myself.
Then Darcy caught a glimpse of blue-green eyes and mahogany hair, delectably wrapped in purple satin. But it was only a moment before she disappeared back into the crowd. He needed a better view. He plowed through the crowds, heedless of who he elbowed out of the way and which toes he stepped on. Had he accidentally tripped Robert De Niro? Surely not.
Finally, his efforts were rewarded with a clearer view of Elizabeth. Only a few feet away, she was chatting with a woman he recognized as a costume designer. The other woman hadn’t worked on In the Shadows, but Elizabeth must have known her from one of Tom Bennet’s other projects.
Darcy took a moment to savor the sight. It had been months since he’d seen her in person, and she had only grown more beautiful. Her blue-green eyes sparkled under the artificial lights, like sunlight on the darkest part of the ocean. Her mahogany hair was draped in long curls, like a forties movie star. The dress, a strapless purple satin, clung to her upper body before widening to a bell-shaped skirt with a short train. Darcy could have watched her forever.
She was arm in arm with someone he couldn’t see—a person whose identity was blocked by the crowd, but Darcy already hated him. She had brought a date, of course. Darcy’s stomach plummeted into his shoes. A boyfriend? A fiancé? It could be anyone. Any kind of guy could recognize how amazing Elizabeth was, from a dashing up-and-coming movie star to a serious fellow medical student who would be ready to settle down.
What did I hope to accomplish by seeking her out? I’ll see her happy with another guy, and that’ll be the end of it.
But he couldn’t tear his eyes away. He hadn’t seen her in months, and now here she was, tantalizingly close. He couldn’t simply return to Caroline and forget Elizabeth’s presence. Not when he was all too aware that they were breathing the same air.
He closed in on Elizabeth, navigating the crowd step by stumbling step, all the while trying to get a peek at her date. Who was he, and did he deserve her?
Darcy’s slow progress was beginning to draw some curious looks, but he ignored them. The costume designer finally moved along, and the crowd shifted so Darcy could see Elizabeth’s date.
Garrett.
Relief made Darcy’s knees weak. There were many people Darcy could envision losing Elizabeth to, but an eighteen-year-old gay teen was not one of them.
Of course, Elizabeth had brought Garrett. She was always thinking of others, and no doubt she knew the teen would be thrilled to be part of Hollywood’s biggest celebration. He had a broad grin on his face as his eyes swept from one celebrity to another and a dazed expression that suggested he couldn’t quite believe this was really happening. His super-skinny tux was fashionable and flattering, and his hair was dyed a vivid green.
Way too many people still separated Darcy from Elizabeth, but Garrett had noticed him. With a sly smile, the teen touched Elizabeth’s arm, drawing her attention to Darcy. When she saw him, her lips parted slightly. Oh God, she was beautiful. Her neck was bare except for a necklace of gold links and where it was caressed by a profusion of dark brown curls. Darcy could only stare and imagine how it would feel to kiss that soft skin once again.
