A few days later, I sat behind the nurses' station filling out paperwork. Despite going to a paperless system years ago, I still somehow managed to have mountains of paperwork for my patients. I just wanted to finish and head home. I'd already reported to the night nurses, so once I finished putting in the last few sets of vitals and notes, I could leave.A shower and bed sounded like the best thing in the world.“Hey, Lizzie,” the charge nurse called to me. “There's someone here to see you.”Lydia and Jane rarely visited me at work, and if they did, it was always at lunchtime so I could buy them cafeteria food. I knew it wasn't them, and despite my dreams, I knew that Mr. Darcy would never show up here.I sighed, hit save, closed my screens, and went to see who wanted me. Maybe it was a former patient. Those always made my day.It was not a patient.I came to the entrance of the unit to find a woman in an expensive pantsuit and a mean look on her face waiting for me. She looked like
Two days later I woke before dawn. It was my day off, so I didn't need to be awake, yet I couldn't go back to sleep. I itched to get up and move. My brain was too full and my heart too tender to sit in bed and think.I put on my favorite black exercise pants and a soft sweatshirt. Outside, the dark air frosted with every breath and ice hung on the tree branches and buildings as I walked to Central Park. It was quiet in the early gray morning. There were only a few runners pounding the pavement, but they kept to themselves, huffing and puffing like dragons in the gray light.It was as close to being alone in the city as I could get.A layer of snow glistened and glimmered on the grass. No one had disturbed it yet, so it was still perfect and white. For a moment, I could imagine that there were no other people in the entire world. It was just me and the cold.I wished the cold could freeze my hope. I wished that it could freeze the ache inside of me every time I thought about him. I cou
“Will you hurry up? We're going to be late,” Lydia complained. She leaned against the bathroom door and watched as I finished putting the last touches on my mascara.“And what?” I asked, turning to look at her. “We'll miss the waiters walking around with the little trays of fancy hot dogs you don't like? You'll live. Promise.”My little sister rolled her eyes at me. For being twenty-one, she still had all the abilities of a teenager in the eye-roll department. She took a deep breath like I was trying all of her patience and checked her hair in the mirror one more time.“I guess it's fashionable to be late,” she said, smoothing down her dark hair. “We'll look more important and more people will be able to see us arrive.”I couldn't help but shake my head. We both had the same slim build, dark hair and dark eyes, but other than the physical similarities, it was hard to believe we were related. She was impulsive, naive, and fame-hungry, which drove me absolutely batty. She was sure she w
“Lizzie, it's a Gustave Loiseau,” Jane gasped, her hand to her mouth as she stared in wonder at lot number 327 of the auction. A lovely seascape hung on the wall. I could almost smell the warm sea air coming from the white sandy cliffs."It's very nice," I told her. I had no idea who the artist was, but Jane he impressed Jane. Art was her thing, not mine, but I could see the love in her eyes for the small painting. It was more than just something lovely to look at for her. It was an expression of life itself.“Are you sure I can't borrow twenty thousand dollars?” Jane asked, not taking her eyes from the painting. “This would look amazing in our living room.”"I have twenty dollars, and I'll buy you a print," I told her with a gentle smile. "Because you are right. It would look amazing in the living room."Jane sighed and kept staring at the painting. Paintings, specifically old French ones, were her passion. When she wasn't working at her painting restoration job at the museum, she v
I found Lydia at the bar having a great time with a man. She was flirting and giggling with him for everything she was worth. I wanted to warn her, but she waved me away before I could get close. I just hoped that she knew the man she was flirting with wasn't rich and famous. He was the other hospital winner of tickets to tonight's event. He worked on the floor below me as a transport technician. If she was hoping he was her ticket to fame and fortune, she was in for a surprise.I picked up a fresh drink while she glared daggers at me to leave her alone. She mouthed the words, “go away,” leaving no doubt that she didn't want my interference. I gave her a friendly wave and headed off to see the rest of the party.It was amazing. There was a live band, amazing food, free drinks, and beautiful people everywhere. For the night, I felt like I'd been transported to a different world. I rubbed elbows with the rich and famous. I found myself having a wonderful conversation with an older woman
It took me less than five seconds to find my sister, because she was standing on a chair at the bar waving to Layla and calling out the actress' name.The movie star was ignoring her and leaving the party. Lydia continued to shout, perilously teetering on the chair and looking like she might fall down at any moment.I hurried over and pulled her down. Several people were staring. I thanked my lucky stars that none of my co-workers had won tickets because this was embarrassing. At least we would never have to see these rich people again after tonight.“What are you doing?” Lydia slurred. She pushed me away, but not before I could smell the alcohol drenching her.“Fix your dress,” I hissed at her. “You're embarrassing yourself.”Lydia looked down at her dress to see her bra poking out of the top. She giggled and tugged her strapless dress back up to cover it. “It's not that big of a deal, Lizzie.”"What are you doing?" I asked her. I leaned over and motioned to the bartender for a drin
Jane waltzed around the kitchen, humming a happy tune to herself the next morning when I woke up. She was walking on air, and I couldn't help but smile as I watched her.She was twitterpated.I went to the coffee pot to find it empty. The bag of coffee next to it was empty as well.“Where's the coffee?” I asked, opening a cabinet to look for more.“We're out,” Jane said, still dancing around the kitchen with a goofy-happy smile on her face.“And you're still happy?” I asked. “With no coffee? He must be a heck of a guy.”Jane grinned. “He texted me this morning. We're discussing watercolors.”I shook my head. Only Jane would be over the moon about discussing watercolors at eight in the morning with no coffee in sight.“Jane, I need coffee. I need caffeine,” I told her. “I'm going to order some from the cafe. Want to come with me to get it?”Jane spun around the kitchen to pick up my phone. She curtsied as she handed it to me. I wished I could be in that good of a mood without coffee. “
The lights of New York City sparkled in the dark sky instead of stars as we left our building and found a limo waiting for us. Lydia squealed with delight and clapped her hands as soon as she saw it, and even Jane looked impressed. It wasn't every day that we got to take a limo to a fancy nightclub.The driver opened the door as we approached. Charles and Mr. Darcy were waiting for us inside the limo. Charles grinned as we got in. Mr. Darcy was talking on his phone.Jane sat next to Charles. Lydia was the next in, which meant that I had to sit next to Mr. Darcy. He had dressed for the club and looked sexy as sin. He wore dark pants with a matching dress jacket. A crisp white button dress shirt peeked out from underneath his jacket, but he'd left it unbuttoned, giving him an easy, devilish look. If I didn't know that his personality was not as handsome, I would have been very attracted to him.I, of course, did my best to ignore him as he hung up the phone. There was no way I was going