Darcy scowled. “Please, I’ve told you to never again put me in that situation with Caroline.”
“Notmysister—Jane’s sister! Elizabeth is great too, isn’t she?”
Darcy stared past his friend and nodded. “Yes, great. But I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Oh, are you still holding that sock search against her? C’mon, Lizzy’s not looking for a date either. And you two seemed to get along well at Netherfield. Made quite a soccer team, I thought. And we left you two home alone that night when it stormed. I never asked. What did you do? Oh, let me guess—Scrabble? Or did you read Shakespeare aloud by candlelight?” Charles chuckled. “Honestly, I should apologize to Lizzy, leaving her home alone with you and your books and your boring old Bach.”
“While you were off mooning to your easy-listening music, we made do. Talked about music, our families…that’s about it.” Darcy looked down at his feet and frowned.
“Really? That’s good. I was kidding about the Bach, you know. Lizzy is a great girl. Smart, pretty, and obviously a damn good soccer player. You should get to know her better.”
“Look, Jane is wonderful, all warmth and kindness.”And hopefully more faithful than her sister.“She’s perfect for you. But her sister is a different story. Elizabeth is, well, quite the opposite.”
Charles, his brow furrowed, slowly shook his head. “Jane and Elizabeth are nothing like their mother. So what’s the problem? She isn’t one of your society chicks? You can be such a jerk.”
“So I’ve been told,” he replied quietly. “You know none of them mean anything. I’m merely an escort.” Darcy keyed in the code and opened the car door. Charles reached in and patted the dog.
“She looks good. Healthy.”
“The surgery was a full success. She still sleeps quite a bit, but her appetite is back.”
“That’s great. I mean, she’s what, nearly fifteen years old?”
Darcy nodded. “I should go.”
Suddenly, Jane was beside them, holding out a paper bag. “Lizzy’s cookies, fresh from the oven. Plus, I put in some coconut snowballs and raspberry chocolate stars and a few other kinds.” She put the bag in Darcy’s hands and gave him a brief hug. “Drive safely. Merry Christmas.”
Lump firmly in throat, Darcy smiled and croaked out a thank you. He shook hands with his friend, wished him happy holidays, and drove away, Coco curled up on her blanket beside him.
Charles put his arm around Jane and steered them back to the house. “That was sweet of you. He doesn’t often get homemade cookies in a lunch bag.”
“Hey smarty pants, there was festive holiday Tupperware inside that bag!”
“Okay, okay. It was very thoughtful. And nice of Lizzy to send out a few cookies too.”
Jane shook her head. “Well, she wasn’t happy about it. One batch was a bit burnt, and I took some of the good ones. Just five or so, but she didn’t want to spare them.”
The couple stopped at the front door. “She doesn’t like him much, does she?”
“I don’t really know.” Jane wrapped her arms tightly around Charles’s waist. “She hasn’t said anything to me, and normally she has an opinion on everything.”
Christmas Eve festivities at an end, the sisters settled into the twin beds in the room they’d shared until a few years ago.
Jane burrowed down under the blue paisley bedspread and yawned. “Did Lydia tell you about the party?”
“Yes,” Elizabeth murmured. “Her Super Sweet Sixteen party? In Orlando.”
Jane rolled over and looked over at her sister. “You sound mad.”
“Well, why can’t I be? Neither of us had a Sweet Sixteen party, and Lydia is getting one in Florida?”
“Technically, the party is here with all of her friends. Then she gets to take a few girls down to Barbara’s condo.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Wait, she’s being chaperoned, right?”
“Barbara and Dad are going, and Mary is going, too, but only to hang out in Harry Potter World.” Jane sighed. “It’s not that I want to go, but they didn’t even ask us.”
“They never do,” Elizabeth replied fiercely. “Barbara is their mom, and moms throw Sweet Sixteens. Mary and Lydia were losing their front teeth and starting chapter books when you and I turned sixteen. Nobody even thought about it.”
