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She looked back at me, but there was no hint of anger or frustration in her eyes. She seemed willing to let me talk, and so I launched into the speech I had been formulating the full ride over here.
“I shouldn’t have let him get to me,” I said. “I’m sorry I let him pull me into a stupid fight. And I’m sorry if it seemed like I didn’t think you could fight your own battles or anything like that. I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.”
“I don’t need you to defend me,” Darcy said, her voice even. “It’s not like we’re together or anything like that.”
The words hit me in the gut, but I tried to keep my face neutral. Darcy had made it very clear that she wasn’t interested in a relationship. I knew that, so I shouldn’t be surprised or hurt when she reinforced it.
“I know we’re not,” I said. “But I still don’t want some ass treating you badly. I’d do the same thing for Liz, you know?”
It was hard to read the expression on her face as she watched me. She seemed subdued, as if she couldn’t quite figure out what she wanted to say. But I took it as a win that she was at least letting me have a conversation and wasn’t telling me to leave.
“You got a few good punches in?” Darcy asked, and I delighted in the small smile on her face. Once again I felt the satisfaction of that hit to John’s mouth.
“It would have been worse if Liz hadn’t broken us up,” I said.
“He is an ass,” she said, and I felt the tension break between us. “I kind of wish I had been there to see it.”
“Liz can tell you all about it,” I smiled. We were quiet then, both unsure of what to say next. I saw the papers still strewn on her desk and knew she probably had more work she wanted to finish up. I didn’t want to make her night any longer than I already had.
“Anyway,” I said, standing up. “I’ll let you finish your work. I hope Chinese food is alright.” I gestured to the bag that was sitting on the desk. “Liz said it’s your usual meal for working late.”
“It is,” Darcy said. She smiled at me, and I felt a warmth in my chest. It felt good to do something nice for her, and it made me thrilled to know I had done something to make her happy.
I grabbed my still-dripping coat from the coat rack and slid into it. The sound of rain surrounded the building and filled the silence around us.
“Could you do me a favor?” Darcy asked. I spun around to see her close to me, leaning against Liz’s desk.
“Of course,” I said. “But if you want me to beat someone else up it might have to wait until tomorrow.”
Darcy rolled her eyes at me, and we smiled. I was hopeful this meant our friendship had been restored and we could put today’s incident behind us. I could only hope I wouldn’t run into John anytime soon.
“I walked over here from my house,” Darcy said. I saw her eyes slide to the front door where we watched the rain falling steadily. “Would you mind dropping me off?”
“No problem,” I said.
“It’s only a few blocks,” she said, as if wanting to assure me it wouldn’t take up too much time. “I just didn’t know it was going to rain. If I can avoid getting soaked to the skin, I’d certainly like to.”
The image of Darcy in the rain, her clothes wet, brought a sudden flash of desire. I pushed it away, forcing myself back to the present.
“Of course,” I said. “Do you need to finish anything up here?”
“All done,” Darcy said. “I don’t think I can focus on anything else for the night.”
I handed her a sweater from the coat rack, which I assumed was hers, and she thanked me for it. She gathered the rest of her things and we rushed out to the car, shielding ourselves from the heavy raindrops falling around us.
13
DARCY
We drove the short distance back to my house, the smell of fried food wafting through the car. My stomach grumbled at the smell, and I realized how hungry I was. I was touched Callum had brought it for me and surprised by the kindness of the gesture. I never expected him to apologize for his fight with John.
“Up here on the right,” I said, pointing out my small Cape Cod-style cottage. Even in the pouring rain the house was quaint. I always felt better coming home to it, and I was proud of the way I had fixed it up, bringing it back to its former glory.
Callum slowed the car to park along the sidewalk.
“How nice,” he said, smiling at me. I thought about the pouring rain and the bag of food sitting at my feet. From the size of the bag, it looked like far too much food for one person. And Callum had been so sweet tonight ...
“Have you eaten?” I asked. I waited for his reply as the windshield wipers squeaked against the windshield.
