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25
Elizabeth felt like she’d been buffed and polished to a high shine. At Will's insistence, she and Georgiana spent the afternoon at a spa, and at Charles's insistence, Jane had joined them. After hours spent having a facial, massages of various body parts, a manicure, and a pedicure, Elizabeth was decidedly relaxed; but as she began to get ready for the evening ahead, her nerves kicked in. She took a deep breath and ran her hands over her stomach, willing herself to calm.
It's just a big party. Nothing to be nervous about.
She cringed. It was a big party thatmighthave a couple of Will's ex-lovers on the guest list—not to mention lying, scheming, bean pole Caroline, and cell phone-answering Anne. Oh, and Catherine.Let's not forget match-making Catherine.
Standing in Will’s closet now, she removed her dress from the hanger and let it glide over her head, then pulled up the side zipper. The soft material felt wonderful against her skin, and the style of the dress—low in the front and practically backless—prevented her from wearing a bra. In keeping with minimal underthings, she opted for a lacy black thong.
While Jane and Georgiana opted to have their blonde manes swept into complicated styles atop their heads, Elizabeth chose to leave her hair down, for two reasons: one, her hair rarely cooperated with being up in any shape or form, and two, she knew Will would, at some point, attempt to take it down anyway. So why bother? She decided to pull up the sides, clipping them in the back with a rhinestone hair clip, and let the rest fall around her shoulders.
Her skin had a healthy summer glow, so she didn’t require much makeup; a little something to bring out her eyes, a light lipstick with some gloss, and she was good to go. She admired her perfectly shaped and painted fingernails and toenails before donning her heels, and then stood and gazed at her reflection in the full-length mirror.
You clean up well, Lizzy Bennet.
The shoes would take some getting used to. She didn’t wear heels often; she rarely had occasion to and, in truth, avoided them whenever possible. She walked around Will's bedroom now, getting used to the feel of them and the way the dress moved when she walked.
She reached the far end of the room, and when she turned, she was surprised to see Will standing just inside the doorway, his eyes fastened intently on her.
Ohh. My. God.
She’d eagerly anticipated the sight of him in a tuxedo, and the reality did not disappoint. In fact, the image she’d formed in her mind didn't come close to the real thing; he looked as if he’d just stepped from the pages of a magazine or was about to walk the red carpet at a fancy awards show.
“Wow,” she squeaked.
He smiled as they walked toward each other, and when they met in the middle of the room, he grasped her hands and held her at arms’ length.
“I could say the same about you. You are…simply stunning.” He tugged her close and grinned. “Taller.”
She laughed lightly and glanced down at her feet. “About two inches taller.”
Unable to resist, she stroked over his shoulders before slowly trailing her fingers down his chest and over the lapels of his jacket, reaching up to adjust his bow tie—which really needed no adjusting at all—and grasping his hands again.
“You are exceptionally handsome, and you smell delicious. In fact, seeing how hot you look in this tux only makes me want to take it off.”
His arms wrapped around her as he lowered his mouth to hers, and she heard a quiet growl come from deep in his chest. Her hands floated under his open jacket and smoothed over the muscles of his back before settling on his hips, pulling him closer. Kissing him was much easier with heels on, and she took full advantage. After a long moment he slowly pulled away from her.
“If we're not careful, we won’t make it out of this room,” he teased, his hands caressing up and down her back. “I like all this bare skin. And I love that you left your hair down.”
She arched an eyebrow as she wiped the gloss from his lips with her thumb. “The cliphasto stay in.”
He grinned. “That's okay, there's plenty here for me to play with. I won't touch the clip.”
“I’m going to wear my birthday jewelry. Will you help me with the necklace?”
She went into the closet again and came out a moment later, handing Will the necklace and turning her back to him as she swept her hair up and off her neck. She sighed when she felt his warm lips drift across her shoulder, then felt the cool weight of the necklace settle onto her collarbone. She lifted her hand to touch it and frowned.
“What is this?” Her hands traced over the jewelry and she walked to the full-length mirror, then gawked at her reflection. “Will, what…? This isn’t… Are those–are those emeralds?”
He smiled softly. “They are."
“And–and diamonds?” He only grinned and shrugged, and she turned to him. “Where…when did you…?” She closed her eyes and sighed. “I don’t–I don’t know what to say.”
“Sure you do.”
Her cheeks heated, and she rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Will. It's lovely.”
“See how easy that was?” He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small box.
