Page 104 of Not Exactly Mr. Darcy
He followed Liv around the side, back to the parterre garden, catching her finally when she neared the silent fountain.
“Liv, please.” He grasped her upper arm.
She stilled. “Please get your hand off me.”
He dropped it. “I’m sorry. I really don’t understand this overreaction.”
“Overreaction?” She swung back to meet him. “Is it an overreaction to feel shocked that the man I thought I knew proved I didn’t know him at all?”
“Come on. You’re blowing this way out of proportion.”
“Am I? Or am I finally seeing things clearly? Oh my goodness. No wonder people were getting upset because they thought I was a gold digger.” She glanced at Sir Humphrey, who had been joined by others. “That’s right, isn’t it?”
Sir Humphrey inclined his head. “The thought did cross my mind.”
Liam glared at him.Thanks for nothing.
“I can’t deal with this right now.” Liv shivered. “I need to go home.”
“You can’t. The fireworks are about to begin.”
“Fireworks?” She glanced at him. “You spent money on fireworks?”
“They were donated,” he mumbled. By Theo. The Mr. Darcy of her dreams, the man who clearly had never put a foot wrong. “Please, Liv, please stay.”
“I can’t—no. I can’t pretend. You lied to me.”
“Liv, it was a misunderstanding, that’s all,” George pleaded.
Liv stepped back. “Do you know how much of a fool I feel like right now?” Her eyes sparkled with angry tears.
His heart twisted as she shifted away, and he grew conscious that they’d soon be joined by yet more people, with everyone looking at him, looking at her. So he hurried after her. “Liv, please wait.”
She tripped over an uneven cobblestone, and he hurried to grasp her so she didn’t fall. A light dusting of snow meant the path was slippery. “Thanks,” she muttered, before jerking away. “But that’s it. I’m done.”
“What? You can’t be done.” Panic rose. “You’re staying here for Christmas, right? Veronica is looking forward to having you.”
“I’m not staying with her. She lied to me too, you know.”
“Liv, we just wanted you to stay here to help the Hall, help the village,” Tobias said.
“So you all admit it now. You manipulated me. Used me. I feel like such an idiot.” She wiped at her eyes, smearing her makeup.
No. He didn’t want her to cry. “Please don’t cry.”
“Olivia.” Her grandmother moved to her side and spoke urgently to her in an undertone.
For a second he thought Liv might push her away too, but then she gasped, drew out her phone from the fabric pouch swinging from her arm, and held it up to her ear.
Her eyes widened, and then her breath audibly hitched again.
What was wrong? He drew near.
She bid him away, shaking her head. “I need to leave.”
“I’ll take you.” Then he’d get the chance to talk. Explain. Offer a thousand apologies. Make her see that they were meant for each other. Tell her that he loved her.
“No.” Her eyes flashed, the fire in the brazier echoed in the green depths. “I need to go home. Right now.”
