From Pemberley to Manhattan [COMPLETED]

Chapter 25

Nat

There had been no kissing. No stripping. No melting away in each other. No moaning. And, thankfully, no shooting.

I put on my light green string bikini (and, before your dirty minds start conjecturing, it was not thong-like), a white beach dress over it, and went to the kitchen feeling my heart pounding fast against my ribs.

In theory, I hadn't done anything wrong; yet, I couldn't stop myself from blushing when I saw Darcy having a croissant on one of the stools at the kitchen island. He'd fled from me the night before, when we'd had our moment. He'd done the right thing, and I was nothing but thankful. Still, a part of me felt humiliated, as if he'd blown me off, which he totally hadn't. Quite the opposite, he'd behaved like a perfect gentleman.

His eyes met mine briefly, when I said good morning to him, Bobby and Anna. I saw desire in them for a moment, enough of it to make me look away. Maybe he'd been in his best behavior, but his eyes had told me that, behind all that seriousness and control, he felt the spark between us, too.

Pouring myself some coffee from the coffeepot, I admired the ocean view, its infinity and greatness reminding me how small my troubles and feelings were. This room was also lovely; the hardwood floors contrasted elegantly with the white cabinets. There was a huge island with granite top in the middle of the room. The windows on my left faced a beautifully kept garden and, on my right, there were double doors that opened to a balcony that faced the sea.

I was lost in my thoughts when I felt Darcy approaching me. Yeah, you read it right; I felt him, didn't even have to see him to know he was near. Unconsciously, I glanced behind me and stared directly at his mouth. My gaze went up until it reached his eyes, and they looked blue as the sky, clearer. He was looking, mesmerized, at my throat, making me remember a specific moment from my dream.

I could feel the blood rushing to my face again. "Did you sleep well?" His dark, irresistible voice asked. Did he guess what I was thinking about?

"Nat? Are you okay?" Fanny's voice pulled me from my daydream. I was so lost in the blue waters of Darcy's eyes I hadn't even noticed her entering the kitchen. "You're all flushed, babe!"

"It must be the heat...", I lied through my teeth, but it worked. Not only she agreed, but told me she thought it was way too hot herself.

"Let me just get some breakfast and we can take a swim in the pool", she invited, and I happily accepted. As I've previously stated, Patty's pool was one of my favorite features in the house.

"Morning", Doug said to everyone, then, approaching me, whispered in my ear, "Sorry about last night, baby. I was so tired. But I'll make it up tonight, ok?" He promised, then his hand closed over the nape of my neck and he planted a kiss on my cheek.

I smiled up at him as he moved away and that's when I noticed Darcy staring at us with assassin's eyes. I was not overreacting; he was so enraged his knuckles were white because he was holding the cup with too much strength. I told myself I was crazy, for I could swear what I saw in his features was jealousy. Was he holding that poor cup of coffee wishing it was Doug's thick neck?

"By the way, Fanny", Doug finally broke the spell and I was able to look away from Darcy, "I was just talking to Terry and he asked about you. Told me you still won't return his calls."

"Oh, you mean the calls he made after blowing me off?!" Fanny countered, already looking enraged, making all in the kitchen laugh but me and a confused Darcy.

Terry was a detective like Doug, and they worked together at the same precinct. As you might have guessed, he and Fanny had a history. They only had had three dates, yet sometimes it seemed like they were the twenty-first century version of Rick-slash-Bogart and Ilsa-slash-gorgeous-Bergman affair. Only, instead of Casablanca, they were in New York.

Their short-but-full-of-surprises star-crossed love story deserved its own chapter. It might not be a long story but it was an incredibly fun one. And romantic too, even though Fanny threatened to punch me when I told her so.

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