Hiring Mr. Darcy - Valerie Bowman Page 0,55

the counter and stared toward the back as if trying to see into Jeremy’s dressing room.

I hadn’t even told Mitchell what had happened at the restaurant. “Stop it.” I slapped at his sleeve. “Hunky and I have nothing in common.”

“You grew up together, didn’t you? Both went to the same high school? That’s something in common.”

I put a fist on my hip. “Do you have a point?”

“Yes. Professor Plum was with that actress of his and they were not getting along.”

“Reeeeeally?” I leaned in closer, propped an elbow on the counter top, and planted my chin atop my fist. “What happened?”

A catlike grin spread across Mitchell’s face. “I thought y’all might be interested.”

I waved my free hand in the air. “There’s only one of me. Now spill.”

“Well...” He came around the counter and took a seat on one of the tufted stools next to me, Ms. Julia still under his arm. “Lacey Lewis was telling him she didn’t like half of his outfits, and he was telling her that you’d picked them out, and she was saying that you’d probably picked them out just to sabotage their chances, and he pointed out that you’d picked out everything before you knew you wouldn’t be his teammate, and she said he always sticks up for you, and he said that it had been really hard on you to have to let go of the chance at winning, and she said it couldn’t have been too hard or you wouldn’t have decided to get another partner.”

Hmm. I digested all of that for a few seconds. At least Harrison had apparently defended me a little. That was something. “Did they ask if you’d met my partner?”

“Of course, sister.” Mitchell looked at Ms. Julia and shook his head as if commiserating with the dog about the fact that I’d asked that question.

“What did you tell them?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“That he’s a total f.o.x. Then I told Professor Plum he’d better watch that you don’t take off with such a fine man.”

“You didn’t?” I smothered my laugh with my fingers.

“He said they’d seen you the other night at Orsay.”

I nodded. “That’s true.”

Mitchell nodded sagely. “So he knows I’m not lying about the fox thing. And I could totally tell girlfriend agreed. She might be a stuck-up Hollywood type, but she knows from good-looking.”

I crossed my arms over my chest, semi-annoyed by Lacey’s assumed interest in Jeremy. She’d already stolen my future fiancé, she’d better keep her mitts off my new Darcy if she knew what was good for her. “Did she paw at Harrison’s sleeve?”

“What?” Mitchell’s forehead crumpled into a frown.

“Lacey was doing that the other night,” I explained. “And calling him “Harry”? Bleck.”

“Egads, no. At least I didn’t hear that. I would have thrown up a little in my mouth,” Mitchell drawled. He set Ms. Julia on the counter and adjusted her tiny cap. After that was done, the little dog trotted over to her fancy, hot-pink velvet bed that rested on the corner of the countertop, hopped inside, turned around a couple of times and snuggled down.

“Are you making Lacey’s clothes?” I asked Mitchell.

“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t work for that crazy even if she asked me.” He stuck his nose in the air. “She has some Hollywood costume designer working on it. She’s been flying the woman in for fittings. Must be nice.”

I put my hand over Mitchell’s and squeezed. I could tell he was a little jellie. “You’re better than any Hollywood costume designer, Mitchy.”

He batted his eyelashes at me. “Oh, thank you, sweetie. I just couldn’t live out there in all that tinsel. And don’t get me started on the Scientologists. I so wish I could save that cutie John Travolta from them.”

I opened my mouth to reply when Jeremy pushed back the curtain of the dressing room and stepped out. My gaze swung to him and I swallowed. Hard. Standing about twenty feet in front of us was the hottest Mr. Darcy I’d ever seen. Tight, buff-colored breeches that hugged every curve and left nothing to the imagination, a white shirtfront, a sapphire blue overcoat, a perfectly starched white cravat and the black boots he’d brought with him to finish the look. My mouth was dry. Dryer than dry. There might have been a tiny trail of smoke coming out of the side of it as if an itty-bitty wildfire had started inside due to conditions being right.

Without taking his eyes from Jeremy, Mitchell squeezed my hand again.