Pride and Papercuts (The Austens #5) - Staci Hart Page 0,3

dinner, but—” Georgie paused, her eyes shifting behind me and sticking there. Her face slackened, her eyes widening. “And who is this again?” She said it as if in a daze, and confused, I glanced over my shoulder to follow her gaze.

Which had locked on Jett.

I moved out of the way, a slow smile spreading across my face as I realized finding a lady for Jett might be easier than I’d thought. “This is my brother Jett.” Who wore an equal look of utter stupefaction on his face.

“Hello,” he said in a velvety voice I didn’t recognize. He offered a strong, square hand, and hers slipped into his palm, nearly disappearing when he closed his fingers.

“Jett,” she said, testing the word on her tongue. “Yes, of course. Cam just said that, didn’t she?”

His smile tilted. “She did. Nice wig.”

A nervous laugh tittered out of her, and she brought her small hand to her head as if she’d forgotten about it. “Quite a party you guys throw.”

“Any excuse to break out my loincloth.”

Another laugh, this one more relaxed, and with that, the two of them took a step closer to each other, then another, and with the last, we had been excluded from their conversation.

Suspicion wafted off Darcy as he watched our siblings, and the realization raised my hackles by an increment. But he didn’t intervene, just stood there with mistrustful eyes and his hands clasped behind his back.

I tried to ignore the beauty and strength of his shoulders by noting the line of elite pride they made, sharp as a knife. Something about him made me feel silly, and the desire to take off my wig to even the playing ground made me feel even sillier.

Cam pulled her phone out of her pocket, frowning. “That’s Tyler—he’s got the baby at home alone. I’ll be right back,” she promised to no one in particular as she scuttled off.

And Jett took Georgie’s hand and dragged her onto the dance floor. I watched them go, smiling.

Leaving me alone with him.

It was then that I noticed the tingling of my nerves, gathering at my cheeks—one in particular, the one closest to him. Instinctively, I turned toward the feeling and found myself pinned beneath the weight of his gaze.

This must be what a rabbit feels before the wolf devours it.

Everything about him was imposing, as if he took up more space than his mass alone required. As if somehow, he consumed all the nearby air to power the rise and fall of his broad chest. I was unable to determine if he was disapproving or just bored. If he was judging me or simply indifferent. All I knew was that the intensity of his observance had disconnected several wires in my brain.

I blinked, flashing a smile before breaking the connection, turning to search for Jett and Georgie in the crowd, finding them bouncing around to “Goodbye to You.”

“Well, they seem to have hit it off,” I said.

“Seems so.”

A hot sensation bloomed in my chest at those two little words. Words that, unlike his demeanor, I could instantly tell without question were disapproving.

“I can’t remember the last time I saw Jett dance. He’s better at it than I remember.”

Liam made a noncommittal noise.

And we fell into an awkward, fumbling silence.

I grappled for something to say, anything to fill the noiseless void between us. “And how about you, Mr. Darcy? Do you dance?”

“Not if I can help it.”

I cast him a look. A disbelieving sound somewhere between a laugh and a scoff escaped me, but he just stood there, stoic and stern, watching the dance floor like if he concentrated hard enough, he could conjure up the great secrets of the universe.

Before I could respond, Cam was back, grabbing at my arm.

“The baby has a fever,” she said, and I thought she might be about to cry. “Tyler’s on it—I mean, she just has a little low-grade fever—but I just want to talk to him for a minute longer, and Fabio’s here. Will you make the announcement so I don’t cry like a crazy person all over the microphone?”

I chuckled, pulling her into a hug. “Of course, and don’t worry. She’ll be fine.”

Cam sniffled. “God, I’m the worst. Thank you, Laney.”

The second I let her go, she hurried off again.

Eager to get away from my uncooperative companion, I turned back to excuse myself.

But he was gone.

I brushed away an unexpected streak of disappointment and headed to the stage with my chin up, which coincidentally raised my nose