Page 8 of Perfectly Right

“That’s not what I mean.” Charlotte ate a few chips before she finished her thought. “He must attract attention all the time, and likely hates it as much as any introvert does, so he acts?—”

Elizabeth frowned. “Introvert? He’s difficult to talk to, but?—”

“That too. All the social interaction and constant demands on his time must be very draining on him. It would be a lot even for an extrovert. Honestly,” she said, offering Elizabeth one of the horrid chips, “it’s bizarre that he ever created this matchmaking scheme, putting himself in these awkward situations with womenyou—a woman who says she dislikes him—get to choose. Seems like he’s trying to do penance or something.”

“Hmm.”Maybe?

“Oh look, there’s a band at Oz Park. Let’s go sit.”

She followed Charlotte to the grassy common and sat next to her. As her friend swayed to the music, Elizabeth leaned back on her elbows and sorted her muddled thoughts. Things were shifting and rearranging themselves in her head. Conclusions she’d jumped to and never bothered to question now seemed tenuous, if not flat wrong.

She remembered Darcy standing apart from the crowd at a holiday party. When he wasn’t looking disdainfully at Charlie and Jane and the other overzealous partygoers, he was glaring at her. No, not glaring. Staring. He must have been deeply uncomfortable in such a loud, boisterous crowd—a crowd that included her two over-served younger sisters.

I was wrong. He’s not the last man in the world I’d ever go out with—he’s setting me up with men far worse.

She was ashamed that she’d said so many cruel things to him. It was painful, realizing she had misjudged Darcy right from the beginning. He was not perfect, and understanding him betterdidn’t excuse his behavior. It did, however, go a long way toward explaining it.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Hey, Lizzy is texting you. What’s up with that?”

Darcy glanced at the phone he’d carelessly left on the car console. “No idea.” He couldn’t deny the small thrill he felt anytime she texted him—no matter the subject, it meant she was thinking of him. But he certainly didn’t want Charlie to know how much it mattered. He reached for his phone but Charlie got there first and held it away from him, in his right hand, next to the passenger door.

“No texting while driving!”

“Don’t read my texts.” Darcy didn’t want to think how her date had gone. He’d done her no favors with Thorpe, and she might be angry.

“I’m not. Look at me and smile.”

Darcy turned and found his phone, clutched in Charlie’s hand, inches from his face. “What the?—”

“Voila! Now it’s unlocked and you can just talk to her.”

“No, you?—”

Charlie smiled, tapped Elizabeth’s contact info, and plugged the phone into the console. As it began to ring, he held up his own phone and slipped in his earbuds. “No worries. I won’t listen but I’ll want the lowdown later.”

A moment later, before Darcy had a chance to really think about what exactly she might want to say to him, Elizabeth’s voice sounded through the speaker.

“You’re a brave man, calling me instead of texting.”

“Yeah, well, I’m driving with Charlie and thus didn’t have much choice. You texted? Thumbs up or thumbs down?”

“I have learned things I never needed to know about motor oil.”

“So, a swipe left?”

“It was among the most insufferable thirty minutes I’ve ever spent.”

Darcy tried not to smile. “More insufferable than with Collins or me?”

“You’re not always insufferable, and you’re not weird. Much, anyway.” The gaiety in her voice took any edge off the insult, but it wasn’t exactly how Darcy wished she would sum him up.

“Glad to know I’m moving up in your estimation.”

“Weird isn’t bad, but some weird is too much. I once had a friend who got seriously fixated on a K-pop star and made endless TikToks about him. It was a lot, but I suffered through her weird phase because I had my own obsessions that she tolerated.”

“Like what?”

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