For the Love of Life Read online

  Chapter One: Intrigue

  The room was dark and crowded, but the music was loud. Darcy sat at a high table, nursing a scotch, waiting for his cousin to arrive and grumbling to himself. Why do I let him talk me into going to places like this? I could be at the office, going through the mountain of paperwork, reading a book, or, well, anything else. At least this place isn't as seedy as the last one. He was looking around the room, watching the lights from the dance floor pass randomly over the crowds gathered at the tables, when his ear was caught by the melodic

  laughter of a woman. When he turned to view the source, he saw a slender

  young woman, her head thrown back in gaiety standing at the bar. As she

  turned from the bar, drink in hand, his gaze followed her curiously; her dark wavy hair bobbed as she seemed to float through the crowd to a table attended by several other ladies.

  Darcy watched with amusement as she talked and laughed with her friends. He noticed her enigmatic smile, her carefree laugh, and the way she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying herself. She was dressed in a blue casual skirt that showed off her hips, and a dark colored tight fitting sweater; her hair falling freely around her shoulders. She didn't have the figure of a model, but definitely had all the right curves in all the right places.

  He had not realized he was staring at her, until she caught his eye with what seemed to be a wink - though with the corner of her mouth. With a blush, he quickly diverted his gaze to his drink. After several minutes, he found himself watching her again as she made her way to the dance floor, where her body

  moved effortlessly to the rhythm of the music. She was confident, elegant, and utterly enchanting.

  "Her name is Liz, Elizabeth actually, but I call her Liz," came a familiar voice, causing Darcy to jump.

  In an effort to recompose himself and as a way of greeting, he growled back,

  "Richard, what took you so long! I've been nursing this drink for half an hour."

  "Sorry cuz, duty called," Richard replied, unrepentant. "You should go talk to her; you'd like her."

  Darcy glared at his cousin, prompting a hearty laugh in return. Richard was always trying to introduce Darcy to women, vowing he would not be satisfied until he saw 'Chicago's most eligible bachelor' married. Richard, on the other hand, was determined to make full use of his bachelor status, and refused any notion of relinquishing its benefits.

  "If you will not say hello, then I most certainly will," said Richard cheerfully, leaving Darcy alone with his drink once again.

  "Cas! Who's your friend?" Elizabeth asked Richard teasingly.

  "Huh?"

  "The dark, handsome one that's been staring at me all night. The one dressed for a business meeting." she answered, referring to Darcy's sweater and blazer attire.

  Richard laughed at the apt description. "Ah, my cousin Darcy." Then, with an amused look, he added, "All night, huh?"

  Elizabeth laughed. "Yep. What's his problem?"

  "Problem? You mean other than being rich and handsome?"

  "Yeah, he's the only guy I've seen who comes to a club dressed for business meeting, stares at a woman all night, but won't buy her a drink. Does he

  dance?"

  Richard laughed heartily at the accuracy of her description of his cousin. "Why don't you go find out?"

  "Cas, that sounds like a dare." Elizabeth replied cheekily.

  Richard shrugged with a challenging look. His look turned to amusement,

  when he noticed Darcy watching the two of them. With a suggestive look, he said, "Care to have some fun first?"

  Elizabeth suspiciously eyed Richard, but her eyes twinkled. Clearly she was intrigued. "If it involves you fondling me, you know the answer is no."

  Laughing, Richard feigned pleading, "Bend the rules just this once? Please, Liz?"

  Elizabeth shot a quick glance over her shoulder. "Excuse me, I have to inquire about a dance partner."

  Darcy watched jealously as Richard made his way to the dance floor, was

  warmly greeted by Elizabeth, and was quickly engaged in apparently amusing conversation. He watched, with not a little jealousy, how easily Richard had assumed himself as Elizabeth's dance partner and wondered about the topic of their banter. Whatever it was, they were both clearly enjoying themselves.

  Darcy had known Richard his entire life, and as long as he had known him,

  Richard always had the same charismatic, easygoing persona. Richard was a

  few years older than him, and they had grown up more like brothers than

  cousins. Richard had joined the army when he turned eighteen, Darcy believed, as a form of rebellion and to avoid entering his father's business. Despite his original reasons, Richard had made a successful career of the military. He was a colonel now, overseeing the ROTC programs in the state of Illinois, and was actively involved with the Veterans' Hospital in Chicago.

  Unlike Richard, Darcy had never been able to introduce himself to strangers in casual settings, much less start a conversation. The whole idea of small talk aggravated him. Richard was a fountain of small talk and flattery – deserved or not. Darcy could never bring himself to flatter someone for the sake of conversation. If only dating was more like a business, he mused. Relationships

  built on mutual benefits, with clearly identified goals and motives. No small talk, no empty promises, and no false flattery.

  With a sigh, he returned to the bar to get another drink. He was quickly

  accosted by two overly drunk women, who he attempted to discourage with the best manners his breeding had instilled in him. Thankfully, from a sweet but authoritative voice came, "He's already taken, girls."

  Turning towards the voice, he was surprised to see Elizabeth sidling up next to him, proudly displaying an engagement ring to the other women. The other two turned in disgust, muttering under their breath. The shock on Darcy's face was evident. "Thank you?" he managed.

  Elizabeth smirked, her eyes sparking with mischief, "Are you going to stare at me all night or dance with me?"

  Darcy felt the heat rising on his neck. She had noticed. He quickly added to her list of plusses, a beautiful voice and sparkling rich brown eyes. Her soft floral scent played havoc on his equanimity, and his first impulse was to wrap his arms around her and bury his face in her hair. He silently cursed Richard, certain he had something to do with her arrival at his side, and replied stiffly,

  "Forgive me, Miss, I don't dance."

  He glanced once again at the engagement ring and raised a quizzical brow to Elizabeth. With a shrug, a saucy look, and a drink in hand she returned to her table of friends. As she passed by Richard, she called out, "Later Cas."

  Darcy could not help look after her as let the breath he was holding escape. He turned back to his table, sans drink, where he was met by Richard, who was shaking his head at him.

  "She's engaged!" growled Darcy.

  Richard shrugged, "I doubt it. She hasn't dated anyone in years."

  "I saw the engagement ring." He bit back.

  Richard shook his head, a knowing, amused smile across his face.

  The rest of the evening, Darcy struggled to divert his attention away from Elizabeth, with varying success. Finally, when he had had enough, he left for the walk home. The entire walk was accompanied by pleasant thoughts about

  of sparkling brown eyes and a lovely swaying figure.

  "Darcy!" Came the cheerful voice on the phone.

  "What's up, Charles?" Darcy answered, in a distracted voice. Charles, bless him, was ever the optimist and never failed to hide it in his voice. The world could be ending in a fiery hailstorm and Darcy was certain the greeting would be the same.

  "I'm having a party at my place on Saturday. Will you come?"

>   Darcy rolled his eyes. He knows I hate parties. "What's the occasion?"

  "It's Jane's thirty second birthday."

  Darcy groaned, not even trying to hide his annoyance. "Jane, as in your new girlfriend, Jane? Why would she want me at her birthday party? I've met her once."

  Darcy had met Charles at NYU when they were both undergrads. They had a

  few classes together and became fast friends. When they both moved on to

  Harvard Business School, the friendship grew mostly from the similarity in their lots in life. Charles was inheriting his father's construction company, while Darcy was inheriting the Darcy legacy, consisting of PMB Corporation, and a sundry of properties scattered across the United States and England.

  Charles had always been a good friend, despite his quirk of falling in and out of love faster than cupid could shoot arrows on Valentine's Day. Jane was just the latest of Charles' "angels." Darcy had met every single one of them, and had picked up the pieces after each one had failed to grow into something

  permanent.

  The other quirk of Charles was he didn't need a reason to throw a party,

  especially if it was for his girlfriend. A birthday, or the mere fact it was Wednesday, was a good enough reason for Charles. Being one of Charles'

  closest friends, Darcy never failed to receive an invitation.

  He even attended most of them, if for no other reason than to the meet Charles'

  latest impending heartbreak, and to maintain their friendship; being Darcy had very few true friends.

  Of course, there was the fact that Charles' parties had also gotten him out of a number of Friday night prowls with Richard, and after last weekend's

  adventure, a party at Charles' was the lesser of two evils. Of course the fact that Charles' sister Caroline was out of the country, made his appearance at Charles'

  even more appealing.

  "Darcy!" Charles implored. "Just show up."

  Darcy capitulated. "I'll be there."

  "Great! Saturday at seven. See you then!"

  Darcy arrived at the party 8:30, hoping to minimize his presence with a late arrival and early departure. Charles owned a house just outside Chicago, and despite having an apartment in the downtown area, most of Charles' parties were at the house. It was the most pleasant part about attending these parties – the chance to see the stars and breathe in fresh air.

  Much like every other party Charles had thrown, there was music, dancing,

  drink and food everywhere. Darcy quickly scanned the area for Charles, hoping

  to find him, make his appearance known and then hide on the porch until he could leave again.

  "Darcy!" Charles shouted over the crowd and music. "You remember Jane?"

  Charles said with a silly grin on his face. "This is her sister Elizabeth, Elizabeth Bennet."

  Darcy caught his breath and he felt the heat creep up his neck. In front of him stood the alluring brunette from the previous weekend. Elizabeth was dressed in a pair of well fitting blue jeans, and a form fitting t-shirt that was covered by an unbuttoned long sleeve cotton shirt. Her hair was hastily pulled back in a hair clip, leaving stray wisps of hair that played with the collar of her overshirt.

  Despite her casual appearance, she looked incredible.

  "Nice to see you again." Elizabeth said politely.

  Charles looked inquisitively first at Elizabeth and then at Darcy. "You two know each other?"

  With a bit of unusual inspiration, Darcy replied with a smirk, "I'm told she's my fiancée."

  Elizabeth laughed heartily at the two stunned faces of Charles and Jane, setting Darcy's heart to a rapid beat. "Only until he refused to dance, and then I had to throw the ring back in his face." She teased.

  Darcy smiled weakly as he again felt the heat creeping up his neck; he was at a loss for words. "I... I..." he stuttered.

  Elizabeth chuckled at Darcy's nervousness and proceeded to explain to Charles and Jane their previous meeting.

  Introductions over, Darcy got himself a drink, did a once around the crowd, and then escaped to the porch. It was a cool fall night, but the fresh air felt good; it let him escape the crowd, and more importantly, returned him to his senses. It's just an infatuation, he told himself. It should be expected. He was human after all, with 20/20 vision, not to mention he hadn't been out on a date in years.

  Being hit on by drunk "boys" was not Elizabeth's idea of a good time. She had no time for love or romance, much less with men whose idea of fun was to see how much free alcohol they could consume in one night. After having cleaned up the beer that had just been spilled on her, she decided to step out on the porch before her violent instincts took over. She was a little surprised to find herself not alone.

  Darcy was bent over the porch railing looking up at the stars, giving her a clear view of his backside. Definitely a handsome man! Tall, great butt, lovely dark hair. What's with the clothes though? Darcy was dressed in a pair of khakis, a long sleeve turtleneck and a blazer. I wonder if he always dresses so stuffily. I wonder what he would look like in a tight t-shirt and jeans. She chuckled at the turn her thoughts had taken her.

  "Figures you'd be out here," came her sweet voice.

  "What?" Darcy replied, feeling a little indignant at the intrusion. He smiled as he recognized the owner of the voice. Elizabeth stood next to him, her back against the railing, looking him over. What would it be like to be wrapped in those arms? She thought to herself, causing a light blush to suffuse her cheeks.

  Darcy looked her over and noticed her left hand dangling from the railing, sans engagement ring. Nodding towards her hand he said, "I'm sorry. I didn't know, otherwise I wouldn't have said anything."

  Elizabeth laughed lightly, calming Darcy a little. "I would have thought someone like you would have noticed it was only a CZ. It's useful for fending off drunks; and apparently rescuing gentlemen in distress." she answered, her eyes twinkling with mirth.

  "Someone like me?" he asked, offended, his brow creased. What is that supposed to mean? I saw the ring maybe a minute, how would I know?

  Again her light laugh permeated the night. "Yes, the well dressed, stuffy business type, who probably doesn't even own a pair of jeans."

  "And what's wrong with being well dressed?" came the clipped response.

  "Nothing, if you want to live life as a series of business meetings," she replied with a smirk.

  She's laughing at me! He couldn't believe it. If only that laugh wasn't so intoxicating. Darcy returned his gaze to the yard, hoping his quietness would dissuade her from continuing the conversation. What does she know about my life? She's probably some secretary who doesn't know the first thing about business.

  "So what does William Darcy do for fun?" She asked cheekily. "I already know he doesn't dance, and he doesn't like parties."

  Darcy turned to her, startled. "You know who I am?"

  He is so uptight! She thought to herself. With an impertinent smirk and tone she recited, "William Darcy. CEO of the Fortune 100 company PMB. Family name as old as time. Graduated Harvard Business, Summa Cum Laude.

  Properties in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Derbyshire England, and

  London." When she had finished she looked at him with an impudent smile, waiting for his affirmation.

  Darcy forced a smile in acknowledgment, sensing another gold-digger.

  "Impressive, Miss Bennet." His voice full of disdain, "Do you memorize the biography of all Fortune 100 CEOs, or just those with a bachelor status?"

  Elizabeth's eyes narrowed and she began reciting the biography of other CEOs, stressing those with a married status, and even naming a few females, some of whom were single.

  He couldn't help but stare at her as she recited her litany. Okay, so probably not a secretary. Even his secretary Monica, for whom he held a great deal of respect, couldn't recite this information. Gold-digger? No, the gold-diggers he had met wouldn't be able to recite this information. No, she was something differe
nt, but what?

  Elizabeth felt his stare and looked over at him, catching his eye. For once he didn't look away, but held her look, causing her to catch her breath. The

  moment of electrified tension, as Darcy studied the twinkle in her soft brown eyes, was broken when Charles poked his head out the door. "Time for cake,"

  he announced. Elizabeth smiled gently at Darcy and then followed Charles

  inside; Darcy was not far behind.

  Somehow Darcy made it home, though he couldn't actually remember

  navigating his vehicle; he was too lost in reviewing his discussion with

  Elizabeth. She's smart and definitely beautiful; those eyes, so full of life, and her melodic laughter. Darcy shook his head. Get over it, he chided himself. She's impertinent as can be, far too forward, and what do you really know about her? Darcy sighed. Probably won't run into her again, so leave it at that. He told himself.

  Elizabeth was not faring well either. Her disappearance from the party had been longer than she thought and now Jane was playing twenty questions.

  Jane was just less than two years older than Elizabeth. They had always been close and the best of friends, despite the differences in personality. Jane was a gentle, soft spoken person that contrasted with Elizabeth's larger than life attitude. Jane worked at the local hospital, but was really more interested in finding the man of her dreams and raising a family. She enjoyed her work, but never had the same ambition Elizabeth had. In Jane's caring way, she worried about Elizabeth's drive, and was concerned Elizabeth would decide too late she wanted to marry.

  "Jane, it's not that big of a deal." Elizabeth protested. "He's stuffy and pretentious; obviously does not know how to relax and have fun. Oh, and let's not forget that I'm not looking for a romance right now."

  "Me thinks thou doth protest too much, Lizzy." Jane teased.

  Elizabeth shook her head. "So he was handsome. It takes more than a pretty face, Jane."

  The following week, Darcy stood in front of the mirror tying the bow tie of his black tuxedo. Richard had once again conned Darcy into escorting his friend to a fundraiser that night, swearing the entire time it was not a blind date. He's worse than Georgiana! How does he con me into these things? He muttered to himself. I hate fundraisers. I hate formal charity dinners, and I especially hate