Final Showdown Read online

  “And is Caroline being any help?” he said, a glint in his eye. “Your new favorite subordinate.”

  Her upper lip curled. “I can’t believe James put her under me. I asked her to do one thing. I wanted her to check out a potential office spot in Dallas for me, and she called in sick for the last two weeks. Told her brother I was being ‘demanding.’”

  Darcy laughed and moved closer to Liz. “You can be pretty demanding.” Then he lifted her chin and brushed her lips with his. He could feel her body relax into his arms.

  After the kiss, he fumbled with the strap of the backpack still in his arms. Liz opened her eyes and smiled at him. “We can’t be apart for a month ever again.”

  “Agreed,” he said. “Two wells dug, and I think our foreman has a better idea of the expected timeline, so I should only be making two-week trips in the future. I can’t stay away from my g—” He stopped; he couldn’t even get the g-word out of his mouth.

  “Girlfriend.” She winked at him.

  Darcy sat down and motioned for Liz to take a seat at her desk. He took a deep breath, pulled his backpack up to his lap, and unzipped it.

  “Ooh, a present?” she asked, trying to peek into the bag.

  He closed the bag shut quickly. “Close your eyes.”

  She shook her head. “Is it a snake?”

  He laughed. “It’s not a snake.” He could feel his palms start to sweat, and his heart beat faster. “Close your eyes,” he said again.

  “Not a bug or a frog?” she asked again.

  He gripped the black fabric of his backpack tighter. If she didn’t close her eyes soon, he was just going to empty its contents onto her desk.

  “No reptiles or insects. Close your eyes,” he repeated.

  She looked at him for a second longer, then she slowly closed her eyes.

  When he was sure her eyes were shut, Darcy opened his bag again. Inside were six, identical black boxes. Slowly, he picked each box out of his backpack and put them on her desk.

  He took a deep breath and braced himself. He knew if Liz didn’t accept his proposal this time, he couldn’t wait another six months. “You can open your eyes.”

  She looked around. After a few seconds, her eyes landed on the black boxes.

  “Come here.” He motioned for her to walk around the desk.

  This time, she didn’t ask about any reptiles. She slowly got out of her chair and stood at the front of her desk.

  Her eyes were wide, and for the first time since he’d known her, she was obviously speechless. He stood up, pushed the chair out of the way, and got on one knee.

  “Liz, you asked me to wait, and I have. I’ve waited for exactly six months to ask you the same question I asked you a half a year ago. I love you.”

  He took a deep breath. “Please pick me to be to be your partner.” He opened one of the black boxes sitting on her desk.

  “And please pick one of these to wear forever.” Then, one by one, he opened each of the six black boxes on her desk. Liz’s jaw dropped as he popped open one gorgeous diamond ring after another.

  The first two were brilliant, round diamonds. The third was an emerald-cut beauty. The next was a princess-cut ring, and a pear-shaped diamond finished up the first five. Darcy took a breath before opening the final one. It was the oval-shaped diamond ring he’d used in his first proposal.

  “Said rings?” Liz said, counting all the boxes before her.

  “One for every month you made me wait.” He grabbed two of rings. “You can have all of them or one of them. But, please, just put one on your finger.” Liz looked down at the diamonds, and her eyes narrowed on the last one, the one with the large oval diamond in the middle.

  She picked it up and looked at it closely. “It’s the same one as your first proposal.”

  He nodded. “It is.”

  35.

  Liz smiled at him, but before she could answer, Elise poked her head in the executive office. “Marry him!” she yelled. “Or one of us is going to!”

  Liz turned and saw her entire Savannah staff, standing at the glass wall. She laughed and nodded her head. Then, she looked back into the eyes of the man still bending down in front of her.

  “Yes. I’ll be your partner,” she said.

  Darcy jumped up and grabbed her face between his hands. Liz heard clapping and screaming from the office as everyone flooded into the executive office.

  Elise carried two big bottles of champagne and a sleeve of coffee cups. She passed the cups around and popped the bottle, passing around drinks to everyone. Every employee toasted the new engagement of their boss and their boss’s fiancé. The new hires didn’t even know Darcy as the former president of Pemberley Media.

  Everyone mingled and offered their congratulations, then slowly drifted back to their desks. After they all left, the building door opened, and in walked a small blonde and a goofy-looking young guy that Liz instantly recognized.

  “You invited Sam and Georgia?” Liz asked.

  Darcy shook his head. “No, I told her what I was planning on doing, and she invited herself.” He looked away and mumbled under his breath, “Little sisters.”

  Georgia skipped into the executive office. “Congratulations, brother and Liz!” Georgia hugged Liz as Sam shook Darcy’s hand.

  “Thanks for coming, Georgia,” Liz said.

  Georgia adjusted the straps on the small black handbag looped over her forearm. “I didn’t want to miss your engagement day.” She glanced toward Sam, who was standing a few feet away. “Also, Sam and I want to let you know some big news too.”

  Liz gripped her hands tightly on her coffee cup full of champagne. She braced herself for big news. Marriage? A baby? Liz wasn’t sure she could take much more.

  Georgia looked expectantly at Sam, who was uncharacteristically quiet. Then she turned back to Darcy, whose fist was clenched so tightly that Liz was afraid he was going to crush the paper cup in his grasp.

  “We bought a house,” Georgia squealed.

  Darcy’s head jerked toward Sam, and he hissed, “You’re moving in together?” He leaned toward Sam, and Liz wrapped her fingers in his to hold him back. “You’ve only known each other six months.”

  Georgia shook her head. “We’re not in a relationship. We’re restoring an old Victorian house in Nashville.” Georgia raised her eyebrows.

  Sam spoke up, “After a few dates, we realized we just wanted to be friends. But thanks for introducing me to my next client, Mama.” He raised his hand in the air, and Georgia gave him a high five.

  “That is great.” Liz hugged Georgia again. “But stop calling me Mama,” Liz hissed at Sam.

  Darcy stopped towering over Sam, and Liz felt his fingers intertwine with hers. Darcy turned to face her, his stubble and dark eyes as mesmerizing as ever. “You have a bunch of names you don’t like being called,” he whispered.

  Liz looked up at him. “Just Lizzy.”

  “And Mama,” Sam said.

  “Obviously,” Liz said.

  Darcy stared down at her. “Also, don’t call her a secretary.”

  Liz looked down at the coffee cup in her hand. She couldn’t believe how far they’d come since the first day they met when he asked her to bring him coffee.

  Darcy leaned down. “What if I don’t call you my fiancée? We could skip the engagement, and I could just call you wife.”

  Liz took a sip of the champagne; the bubbles popped delicately in her mouth before she answered. “One step at a time. I’ve got to put the ring on first.”

  “I can solve that.” Darcy quickly grabbed the oval-shaped ring off the desk and slid it onto her finger.

  “Elizabeth.” Darcy pulled her into his arms, and she wondered how she got so lucky. “Can I call you that? I want to call my wife something no one else does since Lizzy is out of the question.”

  “Yes. Elizabeth is perfect,” Liz nodded.

  “I love you, Elizabeth.”

  “I love you, Darcy.”

  Before ano
ther moment passed, Darcy bent down and brushed his lips to hers. Then they kissed for a very long, very unprofessional length of time.

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  From the Author:

  A huge thanks to Jane Austen, whose loveable and immortal characters were the inspiration for this story. Love you Jane!

  Thanks to my editor Sarah Fox whose keen eye and expertise kept me from going down several Wickham-shaped rabbit holes.

  Also, thank you to my husband, who inspires me every day with his patience and generosity.

  Finally, thank you for reading my book. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it. If you want to know when more of my books are coming to electronic shelves near you, check out my website and join my mailing list. Hope to see you there!