Chapter One

Posted on: 2013-09-23

Summer 2011

"Will, it's great to see you," she enthused. "Eric is grilling on the patio. Feel free to head out there and help if you like. Can I get you anything to drink?"

He smiled. "A beer would be great, but can you introduce me to your friend first?"

"Oh, of course, yeah," Anne said. "Sorry, Will, this is my friend, Eliza Bennett. Eliza, this is Eric's teammate, Will Darcy. He's another one of the starting pitchers. Eliza works at St. Benedict's with me."

Eliza had dark brown hair and brown eyes-like Will himself. She wore glasses and exuded a calm confidence in her demeanor. As she rose from the couch, she smiled a cool smile and held out a small hand. "It's nice to meet you."

"You too," he replied before heading out to the patio. Eliza was adorable, and he had to know more about her.

"She's out of your league," was Eric's first response to Will's query. "You date supermodels. She's a high school teacher."

"So Anne knows her from work?"

"From high school, actually," Eric replied. "So yes, before you ask, I have also known her forever. And she's out of your league."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Which one of us has an ex-girlfriend who was on the cover the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition?"

Will rolled his eyes. "That was stupid. It's over. It's been over for a long time. You don't need to keep dragging it up. I dated one supermodel-ONE."

"I'm just telling you that's the guy that Eliza sees you as."

"Eric, I want to be more than the baseball player who dated Amanda Ferguson."

Eric smiled. "I know. But sometimes, you have to prove yourself to others. You can't just get by on your reputation."

Eric was right. Eliza just saw Will as the baseball player who dated Amanda Ferguson. If he was being honest, he didn't blame her. His relationship with Amanda had been very public. But that didn't mean that it didn't hurt when Eliza would talk to George Knightley (who was engaged, thank you very much) for twenty minutes and wouldn't give him two seconds. "All I ever did was date a supermodel," Will muttered to Edmundo Benoit at a barbecue Rick hosted to celebrate Anne's birthday a few weeks after Will first encountered Eliza. "What was so wrong about that?"

"Don't ask me," Ed replied. "I've only ever dated two girls in my life, and while the first time was a disaster, I have to say that I got pretty darn lucky the second time around."

"Dude, your entire story is that you got lucky. You met The Girl when you were fourteen, and once you got your act together, everything fell together perfectly."

"Some men just walk in the sun," George remarked as he joined the conversation. "And as far as his personal life goes, that is Ed."

"But as far as our baseball careers go, that's Will," Ed replied.

Will smiled. "So I'm good at baseball. That'll make me rich and it'll make me happy from time to time. But it won't give me the family that I want

"You want a family?" Ed asked.

"Is that a surprise?"

"Well, yeah, it is," George said. "Natalie broke up with you because you didn't want to settle down and have a family. You said that the best thing about dating Amanda was the fact that she didn't want to settle down; she just wanted to have fun."

"And then we broke up because that wasn't what I wanted anymore. I want something more."

George smiled. "When did that happen?"

Will shook his head. "It's just life the past few years. Your brother died, and then you and Emma got engaged. Eric found Anne again. Ed's been married for a year and a half now. I want more than what I have. I want the happiness I see in my friends. And I'm starting to think that I really want to be a dad."

"Do you want to have kids or to get married?" Ed asked.

Will's southern twang edged into his voice. "I think I want both."

"Well, you grew up," Ed replied.

Will shrugged and smiled. "I'm working on it, but I don't think that Eliza believes it."

"Give her time," George said. "She has to see you in your natural habitat."

While Will Darcy wanted to win Eliza Bennett's heart, Eric Wentworth and George Knightley were both planning weddings. Eric's was the second weekend of November, and George's was two weeks later. Ed Benoit had married his high school sweetheart a year and a half earlier. And Will was starting to feel left out.

For Eric and Anne's wedding, Eliza would be the maid of honor, and Will would be the best man. "Perfect opportunity to get to know her better," George said of the plans. "You'll have to talk to her about toasts and stuff like that."

"Do I really need to?"

"I'm not folding name-cards or stuffing favors," Will replied flatly.

"You will if you want to impress Eliza," George told him firmly.

Will sighed. "Why aren't women as easily impressed as men?"

"You were impressed by Eliza's self-confidence and poise," Emma said. "Now you need to show her that you can be compassionate and giving."

"I am plenty giving! I gave thousands of dollars of my own money to charity this past year!"

Emma sighed. "Will, it takes more than writing big checks to impress a girl like Eliza."

"That's easy for you to say. George impressed you in the sandbox."

Emma rolled her eyes. "George impressed me with his intelligence, his kindness, and his ability to laugh at himself."

"It's easy to laugh at yourself when your eyes are mismatched and your nose is cartoonish," George remarked, referencing his heterochromatic eyes and his dislike for his nose.

"Are you saying that I can't laugh at myself?" Will asked.

His friend shrugged. "I'm just saying that I impressed Emma with my ability to laugh at myself, and I suspect that Eliza isn't too different from Emma in that regard."

Emma nodded. "She and I are different but we aren't THAT different. She loves to laugh. And she hates roses."

"I'll remember that-if she ever decides to talk to me."

Just when Will was really starting to feel left out, the Tigers traded the Mariners for Edward Ferrars. Ferrars would be the fifth man on the pitching rotation that included George, Eric, and Will. Will was delighted to learn that Edward was single. "Finally, someone else who can sit awkwardly around while you three make out with your significant others," Will remarked when discussing the new trade with his teammates.

Eric rolled his eyes. "We've all sat through all of your relationships without complaining. Now it's your turn to be the odd man out."

"Will, I will gladly grab a beer with you if you want, but I'm not interested in being your wingman anymore."

"Then convince Eliza to go out with me. Do me a favor. I've done you plenty of favors."

Eric shook his head. "If she isn't interested, I can't help you. I'm sorry."

"I'm Will Darcy, Eric. I'm not used to women not being interested in me."

"Then this is probably good for you, Will."

Chapter Two

Posted on: 2013-10-05

"I could never even consider dating Will Darcy," Eliza Bennett pronounced. She was sprawled out on the couch in Eric Wentworth and Anne Elliot's living room with a pillow on her chest and her feet on the end table.

"If you get your feet off the glass on my end table, I won't kill you," Eric replied.

Eliza kicked her feet up in the air. "All that I'm saying is that I'd never date him. I know he's your friend, but I'd never date him."

"Hold it. Who said anything about you dating him? I just told you that he wanted to know if there was anything that he could do for the wedding."

"He should ask the bride, not the maid of honor."

Eric shrugged. "He actually asked the groom, and since you're here and the bride isn't, I'm asking you if you have any ideas."

"He could help with name cards?"

"Would that require him to write anything by hand?"

Eliza shook her head as she flopped her legs down on the couch. "Nope, he would just need to fold them and maybe cut them out."

"He could do that," Eric said. "He also wants to know if your toast is going to be sentimental or funny. He doesn't want to step on your toes."

"I was planning on making Anne cry."

"That's no fair. Anne cries at everything-happy or sad. She cried when I asked her to marry me instead of answering. Will could stand there and just read my baseball stats for the past ten years, and she'd probably cry."

Eliza snorted. "Eric, you are so much darker than you ever let on."

"I'm Mr. Selfless, Mr. Humility; I leave being troubled to the bullpen."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "You're always so mild, Eric. How do you do it?"

"What do you mean?"

"How are you so calm?"

Eric shrugged. "I've just always been calm."

"But how?" Eliza persisted. "How have you remained calm even after Anne broke up with you after high school or when you have troubles in a game? You remain so calm. You don't scream. You don't yell. You just get really quiet and then you calm yourself down. How do you do it?"

Her friend's fiance shrugged again. "I grew up with Sophia. I had to be calm because she wasn't. Also, Sophia was five when I was born and she was loud and demanding and everywhere. I had to be sweet and quiet. And then two years, Jacob came along, and that was more of the loud, demanding noise. So I was quiet. It was easy. It's just the way I am, I guess. I've never really felt the need to scream or yell much. That was Sophia's thing."

Eliza just looked at him. "How does Anne know when you're mad?"

Eric laughed. "I tell her. I just tell her that I'm frustrated and we talk about it."

"Is that what you did when you guys broke up eight years ago?"

"No, then I put a hole in my parents' living room wall."

"And then you moved on?" Eliza asked, pulling herself into a sitting position.

"No, I made that break-up my professional fuel. I became the pitcher that I am today using that fire. I kept reminding myself that the Eliots didn't think I was a good pitcher and I was trying to prove to the world that I belonged in the big leagues."

"And you do."

Eric nodded. "And everyone knows that now although the Eliots don't really care about baseball. But when I started out, forget it. I had to earn my place in the world. And to be honest, I was better off alone then. It wouldn't have been good for Anne to have been around that experience."

"Why do you say that?"

Eric leaned back in his chair. "I poured every ounce of my being into baseball from the age of eighteen until twenty-five. Everything I did was about baseball. If I was playing it, then I was thinking about it or dreaming about it. It consumed me. I was thinking about it even when I said that I wasn't. My goal, my focus-everything was to be a better pitcher. My friendships, my family-all of that came second to baseball. It wouldn't have been a good place for Annie. I didn't know that then, but I know it now. And I'm glad that life kept us apart while we grew up."

"How are you so good?"

"I'm not good. I'm just quiet." Eric stretched his long body and smiled.

Eliza looked at him and shook her head. "I like you, and I'm glad that we're friends. And I'm even gladder that you're marrying my best friend. But I will never understand how people can be calm and reserved."

Eric laughed. "You know me, you know Anne and George. We're all reserved. We keep our emotions to ourselves. Will plays his cards close to his vest most of the time."

"He seems pretty extroverted to me," Eliza said.

"He's extroverted but he's surprisingly calm. When he's stressed, he just goes and throws baseballs at Ed."

"He throws baseballs at Ed?"

"Yeah, that's what I do too actually. I just go out in the backyard or to the bullpen and throw off my stress. That's what I've done my whole life. When Jacob and I were kids, Mom used to send us out in the backyard and tell us to throw baseballs until we were calm again."

"So baseball is your happy place?"

Eric grinned. "The diamond is my best friend."

"I thought Anne was your best friend."

He laughed. "She's my human best friend. The baseball diamond is my inanimate best friend. It has a soul, you know."

Eliza rolled her eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"Will says the same thing. He swears that the pitcher's mound at Comerica Park can speak to him."

"Well, I now know that I should never take Will Darcy seriously. I could never believe a man who thinks that a pile of sand talks to him."

"You just don't understand baseball," Eric replied firmly.

"Annie, is Will Darcy serious about wanting to help with the wedding?" Eliza was hanging out with Anne and Emma over Labor Day weekend.

"Of course he's serious," Anne replied. "Why wouldn't he?"

Eliza shrugged. "I just figured that he was just asking to be nice."

"That's not his style," Emma said. "If Will says something, he means it. He's a lot of things, but insincere is not one of them."

"How do you know that?"

Anne shrugged. "Will Darcy may be a lot of things. He's crazy. He's a goofball. He really does eat a metric crap-ton of Taco Bell the night before he pitches. He loves to pull pranks. Sometimes, I think he's about five years old at heart. But he isn't insincere."

"He is incredibly genuine," Emma added, running her fingers through her long blonde hair. "He says what he means. And his actions come from his heart even if they don't always make sense."

"So dating Amanda Ferguson came from his heart?" Eliza asked with raised eyebrows.

"He genuinely thought he saw something there. I don't think he ever saw it as a long-term relationship, but he saw something of value in that relationship," Anne explained steadily.

"Yeah, her body," Eliza muttered.

"You're such a cynic, Eliza," Emma returned. "Sometimes, you have to go outside of your comfort zone and realize that not everyone has ulterior motives."

"I just don't trust him."

Emma sighed and leaned back into the couch cushions. "We're not asking you to marry him. We're asking you to believe that he is a good person."

"When he says that he wants to help out with my wedding, he means it."

"So what should I do?"

"Ask him to meet up for coffee and talk about what you need to do," Emma suggested. "Tell him everything that you need to do that he could even possibly help with, and then ask him what he is willing to help with."

"Well, he can't help with the bachelorette party," Anne joked. "I won't allow that."

"Oh, trust me," Emma returned. "He won't want to. That is SO not Will's style."

Eliza laughed. "What will he want to do?"

"I don't know. Ask him." Anne leaned back into the couch and shrugged. "If he says that he wants to help, then he means it. So let him."

Two days after that conversation, the Tigers left town on a ten-day road trip, which temporarily denied Eliza the opportunity of meeting up with Will Darcy. However, the same day the boys of summer left town, a new school year began at St. Benedict's Academy, the Catholic school where both Eliza and Anne worked. Anne was an English teacher, and Eliza taught Spanish. As always, both women found themselves completely consumed by work although Anne found that her impending wedding was keeping her almost as busy as her job was.

With Emma and Marisa Benoit both out of town with the Tigers, Anne was relying heavily on Eliza for help with the wedding. "This is making me so grateful that I have sisters," Eliza told Anne as she helped her decide what to use as favors. "I can make them help me if I ever have to plan my own wedding."

"I have sisters, but they aren't interested in helping me with my wedding to Eric. Now, if they thought that Eric was important and from high society, they'd be all-aboard. But since I'm just marrying a baseball player, he isn't good enough for them. His money isn't good enough for them."

"Jerks," Eliza replied. That had been her token comment on the Eliot family ever since she, Anne, and Eric had all been students at Our Lady of Consolation Catholic High School. As it happened, OLC was St. Benedict's biggest rival in sports, and Eliza coached St. Ben's girls' cross country and track teams, a job that consumed her Saturdays all fall and all spring. Winter was her only free time.

Anne smiled at Eliza. "Do you think that all of your sisters would be willing to help you plan your wedding? Can you really see that happening?"

Eliza laughed. "Oh gosh, you're right. Genevieve would help. Maria might help a bit as long as she could focus on the music."

"But you wouldn't want that because her taste is so bizarre when compared with yours."

"True."

"And do you think Kat or Lydia would ever really help with your wedding? They'd just give you obnoxious, trendy ideas that they'd pulling from Pinterest."

Eliza chuckled. "Why are you always right?"

"It's part of my Anne Eliot charm. But anyway, do you see why I don't mind not having Isabella and Maya around to help planning my wedding?"

"I do. And I'm also hoping that you and Emma can help along with Gen if or when I ever get married."

Anne squeezed Eliza's hand. "Of course I will. You're my best friend. I'll be there for you just like you're being here for me."

Chapter Three

Posted on: 2013-10-15

Emma May Woodhouse was born in a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. She had grown up playing softball in Little League and then in high school. She also played in a travel league during her high school years. Softball was an incredibly important part of her life. She went to the University of Missouri on a softball scholarship. And it was there that her relationship with the boy down the street, George Knightley, went from being amicable to far more than that. George was a junior at Mizzou during Emma's freshman year, and he was the pitcher on the school's baseball. Emma was a pitcher for the softball team. One thing led to another, and by the end of her freshmen year, they were dating.

When George graduated from college in 2004, the Arizona Diamondbacks drafted him as a pitcher. Emma, who was still in college, and George quickly grew to love Phoenix and its surrounding environs. When she graduated from college in 2006, Emma got a job in Scottsdale working for a non-profit's marketing department and moved in with George. It was at that point that Emma's friends started asking her when George was going to propose to her. She always quickly replied that she wasn't worried about it, and she was happy with the current arrangement. She knew that she loved George, and she wanted to be with him for a long time; heck, she wanted to marry him someday. But she wasn't ready for marriage yet, so their current arrangement was fine with her.

Before the 2007 season, the Diamondbacks traded George Knightley to the Detroit Tigers as part of a three-team trade. Emma and George decided to keep the condo in Phoenix as their permanent home. Emma would live there most of the time with the couple's three cats, and George would be there during the off-season. Emma planned on supporting the Tigers because they were George's team, but she didn't intend to put down any permanent ties in Detroit. But all of that came before she met Anne Eliot or Marisa Benoit.

In fact, Emma didn't really develop a solid connection to the other players' significant others until Anne Eliot came into the picture in 2010-three years after George's career in Detroit began. She liked Natalie Reynolds, Will Darcy's then-girlfriend, well enough but she and Natalie were radically different people and Emma found it hard to be friends with Natalie when they weren't watching baseball games together. Marisa Benoit was a sweet girl, but the two women were worlds apart. So Emma kept her distance as she could from the other wives and girlfriends.

Summer 2010

"You can't dislike Anne," Emma told George about a month after meeting Eric Wentworth's girlfriend for the first time. "It's just humanly impossible to dislike her."

"She's the nicest person on earth."

"And she's perfect for Eric."

George nodded. "That's one of your few matchmaking comments that I've ever agreed with."

"It's not really matchmaking to say that a couple who are already dating are perfect for each other."

"You're right," George replied. "So, you're still failing at matchmaking."

"I don't know why you don't think that Darcy should date Eric's friend, Eliza."

"Eliza is too judgmental for Will."

Emma shot George a look intended to tell him that he was wrong and didn't know what he was talking about.

"I know Eliza, Em," George insisted. "I've known her since Eric started playing for the Tigers. She's a Good Girl who always does the right thing and dates the Right Guy. Will Darcy just does not fit her typical guy."

"Well, none of those typical guys have worked out for Eliza, so maybe she needs to try something different. Maybe trying something different, someone like Will-maybe that would be good for her."

George sighed. "Em, be careful. Will is definitely dating Amanda Ferguson right now."

"Are you serious? Please tell me that you're not."

"Nope, he's really dating her. I have it from the horse's mouth."

Emma sighed. "George, Will is twenty-nine years old. Amanda Ferguson is twenty years old. You know who else is twenty years old? Will's little sister! And you know what Will loves to talk about? He loves to talk about Gina is still a little kid and she's not old enough to date anyone and when Drew, who is only two years older than her by the by, wanted to date her last year, Will told him to go die in a ditch."

"I thought it was a hole," George retorted.

"Are you arguing with me?

"Nope, I actually agree with you about everything except the ditch. I thought it was a hole."

Emma sighed. "You will be the death of me, George Knightley."

"And you of me, dear Emma," was his reply before kissing her.

Emma Woodhouse still made her home base in Arizona, but when George's career brought him to Michigan, Emma and her supervisors made some changes to her job so that she could spend more time with her boyfriend. She was able to work remotely from wherever she was-Detroit, Phoenix, New York, Chicago etc.

In June of 2010, George's younger brother, John, passed away in a tragic accident. He had been riding his motorcycle home from a late night at work when his car had been t-boned by a speeding car that blew a red light. John died instantly; the driver of the other car walked away with barely a scratch. George's heart had broken. He channeled his grief into his baseball game and become a better pitcher that he had been before John's passing. But he barely spoke about his feelings until Christmastime.

In December of 2010, George and Emma went to Missouri to spend Christmas with their families and it was there that George finally opened up about his feelings about his brother's death. He felt abandoned by his brother even though his brother's passing was accidental. He felt guilty that he was alive while his brother was dead. He was angry that his brother hadn't been wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. He had regrets about things that he wished he had said to John or done with John. He missed his brother.
It hadn't been easy for him to say these things, but after he was finally able to open up about losing John, Emma saw a joy return to George that she hadn't seen since before John's death.

And on New Year's Eve, George asked Emma to marry him. Mercifully, most of their friends and family were gracious enough to avoid saying "finally" when they learned that the couple of eight years was finally engaged and planning a wedding for November 2011. Will Darcy was not gracious enough to avoid letting that word slip from between his lips. But after a good smack upside the head from Eric Wentworth, Will Darcy pulled himself together and behaved himself. He even agreed to be a groomsman in George's wedding.

For the record, it ought to be stated that Will's reaction to Anne and Eric's engagement was "Well, it took you long enough." Will Darcy was not perhaps the most tactful of men. Eric Wentworth had taken it upon himself to try to introduce some tact into Will's lifestyle. He had undertaken that mission during Eric's rookie season with the Tigers in 2005, and he hadn't given it up since then.

When Eric and Anne became engaged in February of 2011 after a mere six months of dating, no one was surprised. "Why wait if you know that it's right?" Will had commented. "You guys have already wasted enough time."
Similarly, Eliza told Anne, "After all the wasted time, just do it."

"How is it that Eliza is Anne's best friend and you were friends even when you were separated from Anne for several years, but I never met her until this summer?" Will asked Eric one night during the Tigers' road trip. It was a Thursday evening and the Tigers were on an airplane flying from Chicago to Boston after beating the White Sox in an afternoon game that Eric had pitched.

Eric shrugged. "I think that before I got back together with Annie I tried to keep Eliza away from my baseball career because I was afraid that she'd drag Annie back into my life. For a long time, I wasn't ready to see Annie again, and so it was really hard being friends with Eliza when I knew that she and Annie were still really close. But I knew that Eliza isn't much of a baseball fan in the first place, so she wasn't much interested in my career or dragging Annie to games."

"She doesn't like baseball?"

Eric shook his head. "Not really, but she isn't much of a sports girl in general. I mean, she likes soccer, which is supposedly because she's a Spanish teacher. And she pays attention to running because she coaches track and cross-country. But beyond that, she doesn't really care much for any sports. She says she doesn't have time."

Will Darcy sighed and looked down. "That makes me sad. How does someone not have time for baseball?"

Eric laughed. "Not everyone is you."

"Clearly, that's how I explain your existence. But seriously, how does she not have time for baseball?"

Eric shrugged. "She's a busy woman. And she wasn't raised around baseball; she was raised around running. It's a big part of her life. She teaches, she coaches, she runs, and she hangs out with Anne. Oh, and she reads books. And she cooks. She's an amazing cook."

"Does she use tomatoes in her cooking?" Will Darcy was notorious for his hatred of tomatoes.

"Okay, she does," Eric admitted. "But she also knows how to make things without tomatoes. She makes a mean macaroni and cheese bake."

"How is her Mexican food?"

"It's decent. It's better than Taco Bell."

Will glared at Eric. "I get the feeling that I'm being mocked."

"You deserve it."

Will sighed. "Sometimes, I wonder why we're friends."

"I can introduce you to pretty girls," Eric replied with a smirk.

"Yeah, I would have dated Anne if you hadn't run off with her."

"Don't tell me that. I'm about to marry her."

"What's not to like?" Will asked. "She's smart, pretty, fun, sweet, and compassionate. I'd love to have a girl like that."

"You were dating Amanda Ferguson when I started dating Anne."

"My loss," Will replied.

Eric smiled. "Anne is too mild for you. You need a woman with more fire to her."

"Like Eliza?"

"Emma Woodhouse thought it was a good idea about a year ago. George disagreed."

"Well, I'm going to disagree with George. I like the idea of a woman with a little spirit to her."

Eric shook his head. "Oh, Will, just hang out with Emma. She'll find someone for you eventually."

Will snorted. "More like George will find someone for me and Emma will take the responsibility for it."

Eric laughed. "Well, that's probably true. But regardless, you will meet someone someday."

"I know. I just want to settle down."

"You will someday."

"Hopefully someday soon," Will replied. "Now, want to review stats for the Red Sox with me?"

"Absolutely," Eric said, leaning back in his seat.

Chapter Four

Posted on: 2013-10-27

Will and Eliza met for coffee the following Monday. The Tigers had an off day, and Eliza offered to meet with Will after cross-country practice on a rainy, dreary day. They met at Eliza's favorite coffee shop, Death Before Decaf, at Will's suggestion. She was decidedly not dressed like a woman who was interested in impressing the man she was meeting with her appearance. She was wearing an old pair of jeans, a St. Benedict's Cross Country sweatshirt, and a pair of dirty sneakers. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she looked tired. Will, on the other hand, was neat and fresh with clean jeans and a nice dress shirt. He was well-rested and calm.

When Emma walked into the coffee shop, she was twenty minutes later than she'd told Will she would be. He was sitting at a table fiddling with his phone. When she slammed her exhausted (and damp) body down into the chair, he looked up at her with a warm, friendly smile. "Hey, Eliza," he drawled. "How are you?"

"I might be dead," she replied as she put her arms on the table and rested her head on her arms.

"Are you all right?"

"It's only Monday," she moaned without lifting her head. "And I need it to be Friday."

Will wanted to do something that would make her feel better, but he wasn't really sure what would help. "Is there anything I can do?" he offered.

"A time machine would be nice."

He smiled. "I can't do that. But I could get you a cup of coffee or some tea?"

She lifted her head up sharply. "Tea would be amazing."

"Any preferences?"

"Green tea with honey and lemon, please," she said as she flopped her head back onto the table.

"I'm on it," he said, rising from the table and pulling his wallet out of his back pocket. Then, he looked back at her. "Eliza, are you sure you're feeling all right?"

She looked up at him. "I'm okay, just tired. It's been a long day."

"Do you want to reschedule this for another day? I'm free on Thursday evening."

"I don't know. I'm tired and sore and whiny right now. And I had a rough day." Eliza sighed. She didn't know why she was telling Will Darcy this, but she was tired and she had a
rough day. And she just wanted to whine to someone.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shrugged. "Maybe?"

He smiled reassuringly and squeezed her hand. "Let me get you that tea and then you can vent to me."

Eliza wasn't entirely sure why, but she felt that Will Darcy had one of the most calming smiles she had ever seen in her life. And she wasn't entirely comfortable with that. She was far too used to the idea of Darcy as an arrogant jerk who had little consideration for the feelings of others.

Will came back a few minutes later with a cup of coffee for himself and a large mug of tea for Eliza. "I got you a couple packets of honey and some lemon slices," he said, handing her a small plate. "I didn't know how much honey or lemon you'd want."

Eliza smiled involuntarily as she added one slice of lemon and two packets of honey. He was being too kind and she was almost hoping that he would slip up soon and show his true colors.

"So, do you want to talk about your day or would you rather just pretend that today never happened?" Will asked after taking a sip of coffee.

Eliza sighed. "I don't even know."

"Okay, what's bothering you, is it work or personal?"

"Mostly work," she replied.

"Kids or coworkers?"

Eliza shook her head. "Will Darcy, be serious. Why are you asking me these questions?"

"You're upset, and I want to help."

"But why? You barely know me. Why should you want to help me?"

Will shrugged. "You matter to my friends, and I want to make sure that you're all right."

Eliza sighed. "Will, let me explain something to you. I'm a high school teacher. In my nonexistent spare time, I coach high school cross-country. I'm the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding. I'm also a bridesmaid in another friend's wedding right after that. I'm just plain stressed, and I don't foresee that changing any time between now and Thanksgiving."

"Which brings us to why I wanted to talk to you," he replied calmly. "What can I do to help with the wedding?"

The petite brunette across the table from him sighed again. "I don't even know. I'm that overwhelmed."

"Can you give me a list of everything that you're responsible for with this wedding?"

She nodded. "Not right now, but I could email you a list."

"Great, and then we can decide what I can take care of for you."

She sighed. "I could just send you a list of what I need you to do after I look at what I need to do."

"Either way," he replied with the wave of a hand. "Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."

Eliza smiled slightly. "Can you make teenaged girls stop fighting with each other?"

Will shook his head with a slight smile. "Probably not, sorry."

She shrugged. "Oh well, life's rough. And we can't have everything we want."

"How is cross country going?"

"It's all right. My girls are just being teenaged girls and it's kind of getting to me."

"What's wrong?"

She sighed. "Apparently, their boyfriends are more important than the team."

Will grimaced. "That sucks."

She nodded. "One of my girls skipped practice today to hang out with her boyfriend. And I'm furious with her. Her parents don't really want her dating him, but they're not going to tell her no because they think that if they do that, then they'll just push her to him. And I get that. But now she's skipping practice to hang out with a guy who probably isn't interested in her beyond next Tuesday."

"That's a rough one. You're braver than I am. I could never teach teenagers."

Eliza smiled. "I've been told that it takes an extraordinary person, but I'm not convinced."

"I think it does," Will replied with a smile.

Eliza shrugged. "I think that it's more of an extraordinarily crazy person than anything else."

"Let's agree to disagree," was all that Will said in reply. They parted ways shortly thereafter.

When she got home, Eliza emailed Will with a list of things that she thought he could do to help with the wedding. She didn't hear back from him right away, but that didn't surprise her as he was the starting pitcher for the Tigers' game on Tuesday. He was probably stuffing his face with his absurd pre-game meal from Taco Bell.

Will's response to her email was sent at three o'clock in the morning on Friday; later on, Eliza would learn that this was a symptom of his stress-related insomnia but at the time, she just thought it was another aspect of his arrogant eccentricity. He told her that he has everything under control. She should just email him the table arrangements once they're finalized and he'll print, separate, and fold all of the name cards for the reception. She needed help arranging the centerpieces the day before the wedding? Fine, tell him what time to be at the reception hall and he'll be there. His mom can fill up the bowls for the floating candles before the reception; he already asked.

Will, as Eric and Anne had both previously indicated, likes to take care of people. "He asked his mom for help with my list," Eliza commented to Anne in the teacher's lounge later that Friday morning.

"That's Will for you," Anne replied. "And that's his relationship with Kathy. She's great. I wish that she was my mother."

"Well, to be fair, your mom is kind of venomous." Adelaide Russell-Eliot was not known for inspiring warm, cuddly feelings in anyone.

"And Kathy is the chocolate chip cookies mom who can fix anything with a hug."

Eliza smiled. "You need more people like that in your life."

"I thought you didn't like Will Darcy."

"I'm not talking about Will Darcy. I'm talking about your description of his mother."

Anne sighed. "Will is who he is because of who his parents are."

"So his mother is a supermodel?"

Now Anne snorted. "Kathy Darcy is anything but a supermodel. She isn't unattractive, but she definitely looks like a fifty-something who has had two kids."

"Then why did he date a supermodel?" Eliza asked.

Her friend sighed. "Eliza, he had just broken up with his girlfriend and he was in a difficult, fragile place. An opportunity presented itself, and he didn't use his best judgment."

"I'm sure that's what he said."

It was impossible to ignore the extreme bitterness of Eliza's tone, and Anne was concerned. "Eliza, you're my best friend. You've been my best friend for years. And I need you to hear me out on this. Just because one guy left you for a prettier, younger girl, that doesn't mean that all guys are like that."

"Don't bring Jack into this." Jack Wickham was Eliza's college boyfriend. The couple had gotten engaged after graduation with the intent of getting married in the summer of 2009, but three months before the scheduled wedding, Jack had left Eliza for a twenty-one-year-old bartender.

Anne sighed. "I wouldn't if you hadn't. You're judging Will Darcy based on Jack Wickham. Will Darcy is a far better person than you're giving him credit for."

"How do you know that?"

"Because Eric has known both of them and he says that Will is nothing like Jack," Anne persisted.

"So what are you saying?"

"Give Will a chance to be his own person. He's a good guy."

Eliza's only response was to sigh.

At the end of September, the Tigers clinched the Central Division for the third time in three years. Will Darcy was thrilled. And for the next three weeks, the focus of his life was entirely baseball. But when the Tigers lost to the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship, he went back to Detroit to do whatever Eric and Anne asked him to do for their wedding.

Chapter Five

Posted on: 2013-11-09

Anne and Eric's wedding was a week after the state championships for cross-country. And this was putting her into a regular panic. Her grades were due the Monday before states. The wedding was the Saturday after states. Anne's bachelorette party was the same day as states.

And to make it more difficult for Eliza, Anne was too caught up in the wedding to worry about her maid of honor, Emma was in Arizona getting ready for her own wedding, and Gen Bennett was in Madrid on business for two weeks. "I'm jealous of a whole lot of people right now," she muttered to herself one day as she drove home after cross-country practice.

Just then, her phone rang. "Eliza, it's Eric. I have a weird question for you."

"Oh-kay," Eliza said slowly.

"It's about my wedding present to Anne," he explained. "Could you possibly come over to the house please?"

"Is Anne there?"

"Nope," he replied. "She has play rehearsal until nine."

"Then I'll be on my way over. But you have to feed me dinner."

"How do carrots and hummus sound?"

"I'm not Anne. I need something more than that."

Eliza could hear Eric rustling around in the refrigerator. "How does watermelon sound?"

"Frederick Alfred Wentworth, no! You know that I'm deathly afraid of watermelon."

Eric snorted. "Elizabeth, you're weird."

"Watermelon is scary."

"If you're five maybe," Eric replied.

"I'm going to tell Anne on you."

He sighed. "Eliza, I'll find you something. I do know how to make a sandwich after all."

She laughed. "I'll be there in twenty minutes."

"I'll see you soon."

When Eliza arrived at the condo, Eric's pickup truck wasn't in the driveway. However, a black Mercedes-Benz was parked there. She shrugged at the sight and headed to front door. She tested the front door and, finding it unlocked, she walked into the house. In the living room, she found the owner of the Mercedes (one William Darcy by name) sprawled out on the couch with a book over his face. On closer examination, the book turned out to be The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook. Eliza was debating between leaving him alone or waking him up when she noticed that he also had a book in his right hand that was resting almost completely on the floor. That book was William Goldman's The Princess Bride. While Eliza was a huge fan of The Princess Bride, she'd never pegged Will Darcy as the type to enjoy that brand of humor.
As she stepped further into the room, he snorted in his sleep and shifted slightly. As he shifted, the book slid off his face, and looking at his sleeping face, Eliza realized for the first time whey people thought that Will Darcy was an attractive man. His scruffy face looked calm, serene. He was almost smiling, and it was adorable.

A sudden thought snapped her back to reality. Where was Eric? The answer was in a text message on her cell phone. "Gone to Panera," it said. "Be right back."

Eliza snorted. The man told her that he could cook her dinner, but instead of making her dinner, he was going to Panera to get her a sandwich. "Lame, Eric," she muttered. "You're very lame sometimes."

"Murmph?" a strange noise came from the couch.

As Eliza turned around, she saw Will Darcy dropping his books and rubbing his eyes. "Liza?" he said blearily. "Where's Eric?"

She held up her phone. "Panera, it appears."

He nodded and sat up. "And why are you here?"

"Eric wanted to talk to me about something. But I could ask you the same question."

"I was working on the photo slideshow for the reception," he replied.

"It looked like you were sleeping. Is that what you do during the off-season, you just sleep your life away?"

Will shook his head as he stretched his long limbs. Eliza did not fail to notice the brief glimpse of his toned abs when his shirt rode up briefly. "I have trouble sleeping sometimes," he said simply. "And I was on the couch and I just conked out."

She wanted to say something to him, but she couldn't think of anything to say, so she just nodded awkwardly.

Will smiled. "So how's life these days?"

"Tiring, but good," she replied briefly.

He nodded. "How's cross-country? I hear you're going to states?"

She grinned. "This Saturday, I'm so proud of my girls."

"Did you ever get the boyfriend situation sorted out?"

Eliza grimaced and waved her right hand back and forth a touch. "They broke up. It was absurdly messy, but the relationship is over and she's more committed to running now than she was before. So I guess I'm happy."

"You're happy that they broke up?"

"Well, I'm happy that they're not dating anymore."

Will smiled. "I guess teachers must have feelings about their students' relationships even if they can't let that on to the kids."

Eliza nodded and smiled. "We have all sorts of opinions that we keep to ourselves in the teachers' lounge."

Will continued to smile. "This makes me wonder what my teachers thought about me when I was in high school."

"Well, they almost definitely had opinions about your dating life. And they might have had more opinions about your athletic career than you might have suspected."

He chuckled. "I know that my teachers had opinions about my baseball career. They thought it was getting in the way of my academic career."

"Was it?"

He shrugged. "My grades weren't as good as Eric's, but I did well enough."

Just then, the front door opening and Eric strolled in, carrying a large Panera bag. "Behold, I bring food," he pronounced as he put the bag on the coffeetable. "Drinks are in the car. I'll be back with them in a moment."

Eliza giggled as Eric hurried out the door again. Will smiled at her, and she found herself smiling back. This new side of Will Darcy was oddly endearing.

Eric wanted to buy Anne a house as a wedding present. Eliza was vaguely aware that their condo was a rental. But Eric wanted to buy a house for the two of them and their future family. "It's a sign of my commitment to staying in Michigan. Even if the Tigers trade me, Michigan will always be our-Anne's and my-home. We will always come back here."

Eliza thought it was a brilliant idea. "But the only problem is buying a house without her knowing about it."

"Exactly," he replied. "Can you help me with that?"

"Do you have to have the house before the wedding? Couldn't you just tell her that after the wedding is over, you're going to buy a house together and that house is her wedding present?"

"That was what Will suggested, but I wasn't sure about that."

"Anne is practical," Eliza replied. "That's what she would like. She would want to help pick out her house."

"I hate to say I told you so," Will piped up from the couch. "But when the occasion calls for it..."

"He told you so," Eliza finished Will's thought for him.

Will grinned at her. "Eric, I like this one. She's on my side."

"For the moment," Eliza told him. "I still don't like the idea of your mustache in Anne's wedding pictures."

"It's November," he told her. "I need a mustache."

"Not on my best friend's wedding day, you don't."

Will sighed. "You're no fun."

"Let the bride decide," Eric inserted.

"Brilliant idea," Eliza said.

"She's not going to like the mustache," Will sighed.

"That's why it's a brilliant idea."

Will shook his head at Eliza. "You're making my life difficult."

"That's why women exist."

Eliza's cross-country girls came in first place at states. She was extraordinarily proud of them, but after the races ended and the school bus had brought her and her girls back to St. Ben's, she was equally happy to drive home and relax after spending so much time around teenaged girls. And that night, she went to Anne's bachelorette party.

The party was fun. The ladies went out for dinner and then came back to Marisa Benoit's house for drinks and gifts. Late in the evening, a tipsy Emma Woodhouse plunked herself down on the couch next to Eliza who was contemplating her escape to go home and sleep. "So, Liza, I'm thinking that you and Will should get together."
"Will Darcy and me?"

"Yerp, you're the maid of honor and he's the best man. It's practically your respons-job. I'm pretty sure that it's like in the wedding rules. You guys have to get together."

Eliza winced. Emma was pretty well done for. "We have to dance together once."

Emma put a hand on Eliza's shoulder and leaned almost into her lap. "Nope, you guys need to get together. "

"Em, Will and I aren't that close. We don't get along that well."

"Lurk, I'm not saying you have to marry him. Just, you know, play some playoff baseball, if you know what I mean."

Eliza rolled her eyes, but before she could say anything else, Marisa came over to them. "Eliza, I just called George. He's coming over to take her home."

"Awesome," Eliza beamed. Then her face fell. "Crap, she drove me here because I was too tired to drive."

"Then grab her keys and take her car home-unless you're still too tired to drive."

"I could drive if I had to."

But in the end, she didn't need to. George, it turned out, had brought Will Darcy with him. And he gave Will Emma's keys with strict orders to take Eliza home and then bring back Emma's car. And he did exactly that. Other than Will congratulating Eliza on her newly-won state championship, the two passed the ten-minute drive from Marisa's house to Eliza's apartment in silence. And when Will smiled her and told her that he'd see her on Friday for the rehearsal dinner, she wasn't entirely sure why she blushed-or why he was suddenly stirring up so many fluffy, mushy feelings in her.

Chapter Six

Posted on: 2013-11-14

To Eliza's eternal relief, Anne voted against Will's mustache, which meant that it was a clean-shaven Will Darcy that she walked down the aisle with on the second Saturday of November of 2011. In fact, Eliza got to supervise the shaving of the infernal mustache on Friday afternoon before the rehearsal dinner. She sat on the counter in the guest bathroom of Eric and Anne's condo while a gleeful Eric shaved the dreaded mustache. "Good riddance to bad rubbish," Eric remarked as he started shaving.

Will sighed. "It is a great mustache. I was proud of this mustache."

"It's ugly," Eric said.

"It is glorious."

"It's a gloriously ugly caterpillar," Eric replied. "And Eliza agrees with me."

"It was a hideous caterpillar," Eliza agreed.

"It is the reason you are single," Eric added.

"Chicks dig the stache," Will protested.

Eliza snorted. "Maybe they do in your dreams."

"Amanda loved my mustache last year."

"Yeah, and look how that ended," Eric said with a snort.

Will sighed. "Amanda Ferguson can't be the only girl in the world who can love my mustache."

"Yeah, but do you want to be with that kind of girl? I mean, when you broke up with her, you said that you didn't want to be with that kind of girl anymore. You wanted to date more wholesome girls."

Will looked at Eric. "You're right. I don't want to date any more silly models. I want to date real women with real thoughts and real opinions."

"Women who aren't your baby sister's age," Eric added.

Eliza was startled to see Will blushing. "I made a mistake. We've been over this before, and I'd really rather not keep going over it, Eric. And I'd really rather not keep going over it in front of Eliza."

"Yeah, Eliza kind of doesn't need to or want to know about this," the petite brunette remarked.

"Why is Eliza speaking in the third person?" Eric asked.

"Eliza wishes to maintain a certain degree of formality," she replied.

Both of the guys smiled at her. Eliza observed that Eric's smile was more attractive than Will's. But Eric wasn't someone she could think of in romantic terms. He was her friend, and he was marrying her best friend.

The rehearsal dinner was smooth and painless. Anne's family avoided Eric's family and pretty much everyone at the dinner avoided the Elliot clan. "Too whiny," Emma Woodhouse remarked.

"Too annoying," Will Darcy remarked. "I don't know how Anne could even possibly be related to them. When I get married, I'd like to have in-laws who I want to be around."

Eliza had to admit (at least to herself) that Will Darcy looked very handsome in his gray suit and dark teal tie that matched her floor-length teal gown. And Emma Woodhouse, who remembered little of their conversation during the bachelorette party, freely told Eliza that she thought the pair of them looked quite stunning together. And while she might never say it out loud, Eliza kind of agreed with her.

But Anne was stunning and Eric looked amazing. Anne wore a cream strapless chiffon dress with a sweetheart neckline and a satin sash while her new husband wore a clean-cute gray suit with a black tie. "He's gorgeous," Gen Bennett commented to her sister. "He's absolutely gorgeous."

"And he's so happy," Eliza replied. "They're both so happy."

"He loves her so much," Gen said. "Look at how he looks at her. He adores her."

Eliza smiled. "I know. I'm so happy to see the two of them so happy together. This day is the fulfillment of so many dreams and plans."

"And that's awesome," the oldest Bennett sister commented. "Now, look at that Will Darcy over there. He is stunning."

"Yeah, but he's arrogant. He can be sweet and friendly, but he's also kind of arrogant. He think he's amazing. And he dated Amanda Ferguson."

"He dated Amanda Ferguson? She's like twenty. I mean, she has a great body, but she's twenty. And he's thirty. That's weird."

Eliza nodded. "I know. Trust me, I know."

"But you admit that he's hot, right?"

"You sound like Lydia, Gen."

Gen laughed. "I should be insulted by that comment, but I'm not."

Even Eliza had to admit that Will did a good job with his photo show. It was simple as suited the bride and groom's tastes. It was set up to play on repeat throughout the cocktail hour and dinner. Eliza was particularly delighted to see pictures from her high school years, from Anne and Eric's first go-around together. "You really captured them well," Eliza told Will.

He smiled. "Don't sound so surprised, Eliza."

"I just never took you for the sentimental type, Will."

He grinned. "There's more to me than meets the eye."

Wedding tradition dictated that Will and Eliza both had to give toasts at the reception. And a best of seven rock-paper-scissors match-up had decree that Eliza's toast would be first.

"Where to begin?" she asked. "Kindergarten sounds like a good place to start. I first met Annie Eliot in kindergarten. She wore a pink jumper on the first day of kindergarten and I wore a purple one. And thus began a beautiful friendship. Anne and I were best friends all through elementary school and middle school. We were best friends despite the fact that in eighth grade we both had a crush on Justin Timberlake and there were times when we weren't sure that our friendship could survive our shared desire to be Mrs. Justin Timberlake. But clearly, I've won that battle, since our Annie is now Mrs. Frederick Wentworth."

Looking down, Eliza saw matching grins on the bride's and groom's faces. "And then came ninth grade. In ninth grade, in 1999, history was made when Mrs. Oswald put Anne Eliot
and Frederick Wentworth next to each other in second hour honors biology. And they were lab partners for all of first semester. At first, they were just great friends, but that relationship quickly evolved into something more, something amazing. For me, that relationship was great because these two never made me feel like a third wheel. I never felt left out. I didn't lose my best friend; I just got another friend. And even when things fell apart between these two for the better part of seven years, they each remained my best friends in their own way. Each of these two has an amazing ability to be a friend. And I'm so proud to call them my friends."

"A little over a year ago, they informed me that they were reuniting. And I knew as soon as they told me that where this relationship was headed. I could see today coming oh so clearly. And I am so happy to be here for this day to see my two best friends marry one another. On their own, each of them is a wonderful person, but together they are two people who love well and show an amazing dedication to all of those they call friends. So please join me in raising your glass to the wonderful Mr. and Mrs. Eric and Anne Wentworth!"

"Eliza is a hard act to follow," Will's toast began. "But I'll do my best. Now, I haven't known either of these two for as long as she has. I met Eric six years ago when he joined the Detroit Tigers starting pitching staff. And we've worked together ever since then. But Eric has been much more than a teammate to me. He has become a brother for me. I don't have a brother, and Eric's only brother is younger than him. And we somehow became brothers over the course of the past six years. I heard many, many stories about Anne before I ever met her, but she blew all of my expectations away. As soon as I met her, I knew that this girl was perfect for my friend. Anne is the perfect complement to Eric's personality. They mix beautifully together. I enjoy being around them, and I look forward to watching them enjoy many years of happiness together. So please, once again, raise your glass to Mr. and Mrs. Eric and Anne Wentworth!"

Tradition also dictated that Eliza had to dance with Will during the bridal party dance. "I should warn you that I'm not a very good dancer," he commented as he led her to the dance floor. "I'm good at many things in this world, but dancing is not one of them."

She shrugged. "It'll be fine. As long as you can pull off the 'I'm a Little Teapot' hold and sway in time to the music, you'll be fine."

"What's the 'I'm a Little Teapot' hold?" he asked.

"Proper ballroom hold," she replied.

"Oh, where we hold hands and then you put your free hand on my shoulder while I put my free hand on your waist?" he asked.

She nodded. "That's the one."

"I think I can do that."

"Good, because these shoes might betray me at any moment."

Will Darcy smiled. "How high are those heels?"

"Four inches," she moaned. "And they're hurting my feet."

He smiled sympathetically. "Poor Eliza, first they make her wear four-inch heels and then they make her walk down the aisle and dance with the Giant Will Darcy."

"How tall are you?" she asked. She was pretty sure that she knew the answer, but she wanted her suspicions confirmed.

"Six-foot-five," he replied blandly.

She shook her head and sighed. "Man, I'm only five-three."

He blinked three times and shook his head. "You're kidding me, right? You can't really be fourteen inches shorter than me, can you?"

She nodded. "I'm really five-foot-three."

"Man oh man, well, I'll be."

"What?" Eliza asked, looking up at Will's face.

"Nothing," he replied. "I just never realized what the height difference between us was. I mean, you don't look like you're fourteen inches shorter than me."

"Yeah, well, I'm used to being short. Remember, I went to high school with Eric. He calls me shrimp a lot. He told me once that if I was a Lord of the Rings character, I'd be a hobbit."

"I hope you told him that he would be a giant."

Eliza laughed. "I didn't. I just got really angry at him and pouted a lot."

Will smiled. "I bet you were cute."

"He said I was annoying. I told him I was the little sister he never wanted."

"A little sister is good for anyone."

"You have one?" she asked.

He nodded. "Gina, she's nine years younger than me."

"You're kidding! Nine years?"

He shook his head. "Apparently, I was so much trouble as a child that my parents waited until I was in fourth grade before they had another kid."

"What's she like?"

"Awesome," he replied with a grin. "She's the best kid ever."

"Does she agree with that assessment?"

He snorted. "Heck no, she thinks she's screwed up."

"That's sad."

He nodded. "I wish she knew how great she was, but she's always more focused on her failures than her successes."

"That sounds rough."

"It is, but I try to encourage her. I try to help her to see how amazing she really is."

"Eric says that you're a good big brother."

"I try," he replied. "Now, on a different note, can I try to twirl you?"

"In these heels, heck no, I'd fall and break my neck."

"I'm sorry."

Eliza shook her head. "It's not your fault."

"Well, I hope you get to dance with someone who can safely spin you later this evening."

"I'll see what I can talk Jake Wentworth into."

Will Darcy smiled. "Let me know if you decide to take your shoes off later on. I'm sure we can make something work despite the height difference."

"I'll remember that," she replied.

"That offer also stands for George and Emma's wedding too."

She smiled. "Thanks, Will. I appreciate it."

Eliza did get to meet Will's mother as Anne had hoped. But the meeting didn't occur organically. It occurred because of the four-inch strappy heels that Eliza had insisted upon buying when she learned that she was going to walk down the aisle with Will Darcy. She wanted to make up some of the fourteen inches of height difference between them and had purchased a pair of elegant but unreliable sandals to aid her. Unfortunately, around nine-thirty that evening, the shoes gave up on their purpose and Eliza tripped and fell on her way back from the restroom. As she tripped, she could feel her ankle giving way and she yelped.

As she lay crumpled on the ground, Eliza looked up to see two matching pairs of brown eyes looking down at her. And then Will Darcy was bending down to her level. "Are you all right, Eliza?"

"It hurts," she replied.

"Your ankle?" he asked.

She nodded.

"Can I look at it?"

She winced. "It hurts."

"My mom's a nurse," he offered. "Maybe she can look at it?"

"May I, Eliza?" a soft, female voice asked.

Eliza looked up to see a middle-aged blonde woman next to Will. The woman had a kind, motherly smile. "You're Mrs. Darcy," she said softly.

The woman smiled. "I'm Kathy Darcy, Will's long-suffering mother. It's nice to meet you, Eliza. I've heard a lot about you."

"From Will?"

"And Anne," Kathy replied. "Now, can I please see that ankle?"

Eliza nodded and pulled her dress up to expose her now swollen ankle. Kathy declared "sprained, not broken" after a few moments' examination. Eliza whimpered through the whole thing like a wounded puppy.

"Do you want me to take you home?" Will offered.

Eliza sighed. "I want to stay and be a good maid of honor. And I don't want to make you leave when you're the best man."

The best man sighed. "Elizabeth Bennett, I'm taking you home. It's what Anne and Eric would want. Mom can help if it'll make you feel better."

Eliza looked up at Kathy Darcy's compassionate brown eyes and shook her head. "It'll be fine. Just help me stand up and we'll walk out to the car."

After taking the sandals off her feet and throwing them in the trash can against Eliza's protests, Will helped Eliza to her feet. But her left ankle was too sore to use and hobbling with a man who was fourteen inches taller than her wasn't going to work. "Do you mind if I carry you?"

"Yes," she replied. "I'd like to maintain my dignity."

"Well, I'm not really sure how else to do this," he said.

Eliza sighed and lifted up her arms like a small child. "Carry me, Will. And never tell anyone about this."

"You know that you could have told me before we drove over here that you lived on the third floor of a building that doesn't have an elevator," Will sighed. He and Eliza were sitting in his car in the parking lot outside her apartment building.

"I'll be fine if you can help me get upstairs," she protested.

He rolled his eyes. "You are as stubborn as a mule, Eliza. How are you going to get around or take care of yourself until that ankle heals?"

"I'll be fine!"

He sighed. "Eliza, that isn't an action plan. That's just prideful protestations from someone who is too stubborn to admit that she needs help."

"I will be fine! I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself."

"You can't even walk. How are you going to take care of yourself?

"I'll crawl," she spat at him. "I don't need help from anyone, least of all from you."

"Why don't you want my help?"

"Because!" Eliza yelled before crossing her arms over her chest and huffing loudly.

"Are you five years old right now?" Will asked as he started the car.

"Shut up! Where are you taking me?"

"To my house," he replied as he pulled out of the parking lot and onto the main road. "The guest bedroom is on the first floor. You can stay there for a bit."

"What about clothes?"

"You can wear my stuff tonight. It's late. We'll get you something from your apartment tomorrow after you've had some painkillers and we've all had some sleep."

"You're being controlling."

"It's good for you. Someone needs to reign you in when you're being this stubborn."

Eliza sighed. "I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself."

"You sprained your ankle, Eliza. You need help. Let me help you."

"Fine, but I won't say thank you."

"I wouldn't expect anything else from a five-year-old."

Eliza stuck her tongue out at him and blew a raspberry. Will Darcy sighed, wondering what he had gotten himself into.

Chapter Seven

Posted on: 2013-11-22

Waking up in Will Darcy's guest bedroom had never been on Eliza Bennett's to-do-list. But she had to admit that the bed was delightfully comfortable. She tried to stand up, but her ankle betrayed her. A pain-stricken yelp ripped itself from her throat against her will, and before she knew what was what, Kathy Darcy was in the room with her. "It's okay, Eliza. It's okay," Kathy said as she helped Eliza sit down again.

"It hurts," Eliza sighed as she leaned against Kathy's shoulder. "It hurts so much."

"I know," the older woman replied as she wrapped her arms around Eliza and pulled the smaller woman close. "You'll be all right in a few days."

"I'm not used to being useless," Eliza sighed.

Kathy hugged Eliza. "You're not useless, sweetheart."

"I feel useless."

"But you're not. Trust me, sweetie. You're not useless. Now, would you like to have some breakfast?"

Eliza smiled up at Kathy's warm, round face. "That would be lovely."

"Can I call Will in here to help you?"

"Can it wait a minute? Can we just stay here like this for a moment or two please?"

Kathy held Eliza closer against her chest. "Your mother wasn't very physically affectionate, was she?"

Eliza laughed. "My mother was many things, but she wasn't very affectionate towards me. I wasn't her favorite. So I didn't get as much love as my sisters did."

"A mother should never have favorites, dear Eliza."

Eliza snorted. "Well, mine does. She loves Gen and Lydia best of all. The rest of us fall in where there's time."

Kathy clucked. "I hope that Will and Gina know that I love both of them equally."

"You're a lovely mother, Kathy. I'm a bit jealous of your children and of Annie. You seem to have adopted her into your heart where her parents won't love her."

Kathy smiled down at Eliza. "I had to. I can't stand to think of that poor darling going through life without being loved." She kissed Eliza's forehead. "And I can't bear to think of you going through life without being properly loved either. So darling girl, you just going to have to let me love you."

Eliza sighed. "Anne was right about you. You are wonderful."

"Thank you, dear. Now, would you like me to go get Will?"

"Sure."

Will Darcy ambled into the bedroom a few minutes later in jeans and a t-shirt, a fitted t-shirt that reminded her of his athletic build. As he approached, she began to feel small and insignificant in comparison-especially considering the fact that while she was wearing a pair of his mother's sweatpants, she was wearing his 2011 Detroit Tigers postseason sweatshirt and she could have easily worn the sweatshirt as a dress.

"Ready for breakfast?" he asked.

"Is there coffee attached to that breakfast?"

"Of course," he replied.

Eliza smiled. "Then I'm ready."

Will picked Eliza up with an ease she hadn't appreciated the night before. He was strong and steady, and he had her in the living room in what felt like the blink of an eye. "Breakfast out here, if you like?" he asked as he set her down gently.

She nodded. "Please."

"You're going to be alright, Eliza," he replied.

"I just feel like an idiot for spraining my ankle in those dumb shoes."

Will Darcy smiled his almost too white smile. "You're not an idiot."

"I just didn't want you to dwarf me," she sighed. "And look where I ended up. I have crap luck, Will."

He smiled at her again. "I have full confidence that you will rebound from this minor setback in no time at all."

"You don't have to try to make me feel better. It's not your job."

Eliza ended up on crutches for a week. After her first day at Will's house, he helped her move over to Eric and Anne's condo. "I'm supposed to be housesitting for them anyway," he said. "You can just take over for me. This way I can go back to Virginia sooner."

Eliza enjoyed staying at Eric and Anne's house. It was comfortable and peaceful. As far as she knew, Will had gone back to Virginia. He had left his sweatshirt behind with her when he dropped her off on Sunday afternoon. "I don't need it," he had told her. "I've got dozens of things that say Tigers on them. You can have that one."

"Enjoy Virginia," she said. "I hear you have a wonderful house there."

"Eight bedrooms, five bathrooms, an eight-car garage, five acres," he said. "It's amazing."

"There's a lot of eights and fives in there," Eliza replied. "Are you also planning on having eight children and five wives?"

He snorted. "Why would I want eight children for? And one wife is plenty enough for one man."

"I just said eight children because you have eight bedrooms in your house and eight slots in your garage. Maybe the bedrooms are actually for your cars."

Will shook his head. "My cars are like children to me, but they live in the garage."

"So you're never going to have children?"

"Why wouldn't I have kids?"

"Well, you have your cars. What do you need children for if you have eight cars?"

Will laughed. "I do want children someday. Cars aren't people even if they are amazing things. I'm thinking two or three kids would be nice."

"What are you going to do with the rest of the bedrooms in the house?" Eliza asked in what she hoped was a teasing tone.

"Guest rooms, office space, things like that, you know," he replied.

She shook her head. "Will, you're talking to someone who grew up in a three-bedroom house. I shared a bedroom with at least one other person until I graduated from college."

"You're kidding me," he replied. "I've never shared a bedroom with anyone, not even in college, except for my ex-girlfriend, Natalie."

"Now you're kidding me," Eliza said. "You've never shared a room with anyone except a girlfriend? That's insane."

"Hey, I think it's bizarre that you never had your own room until you graduated from college."

"And I never lived alone until Anne moved out of our apartment in April when she moved into Eric's place."

Will looked at Anne. "Are you serious?"

"I mean, I've been independent of my parents for years. But I never lived by myself until April."

"Weird," he breathed.

"We're having very different ends of the world," Eliza said. "That's all I can say."

"So, how was Italy?" Eliza asked Anne in the teachers' lounge on Anne's first day back after her honeymoon.

Anne grinned. "It was amazing. Eric was wonderful. Oh, Eliza, being married is amazing. I'm so happy."

Eliza smiled at her best friend. "And I'm so happy for you. I'm so sorry that I missed the rest of your reception. I really wish I had been there for the bouquet toss."

"Emma caught the bouquet," Anne replied flatly.

"Of course she did. Doesn't she know that it's not fair to try to catch the bouquet when you're already engaged?"

"That's Emma for you, Eliza. She likes attention."

Eliza snorted. "Her wedding is in five days. She's got the guy. She should leave the bouquet toss to those of us who are not so lucky."

"Hey now, you went home with Will Darcy, little miss. You can't complain too much."

"Oh, don't get me started on him. He's a real piece of work."

Anne sighed. "What did he do now?"

"He's really rich."

"Honey, you've know that for ages."

"He's rich, and he knows it, and he's arrogant."

"Why is he arrogant?"

"He has everything he could ever want, and he doesn't understand what that's strange."

And suddenly, for the first time since Will and Eliza met in June, Anne understood why Eliza didn't like Will. Will Darcy was the man who had everything and was good at everything-and he just took those two facts for granted. He was used to being well off financially and to having life in the palm of his hands. Eliza Bennett, on the other hand, had to fight for everything she had. She worked incredibly hard (not to say that Will didn't) and nothing had ever come easily to her. She had to fight for everything she had. From Anne's perspective, Eliza was mildly jealous of what Will had, but she also resented what he had because he hadn't struggled as much as she had.

The hardest part of that realization was that Anne had no words to comfort her friend. All she could do with hug Eliza and internally decide to talk to Eric whens he got home.

"She's jealous of his success," Anne said to Eric that evening. The pair was curled up on the couch in their living room after dinner. A movie was playing in the background. But as newlyweds are wont, each of the two was focused on the other.

"Eliza is jealous of Will?" Eric said. "That's odd."

"Why is it odd?"

"How does he have anything other than money that she doesn't have?" Eric replied.

Anne leaned back into the couch and sighed. "How much do you know about Eliza's life?"

"I know she's one of five girls, her mom plays favorites and Eliza isn't one of the favorites, she was engaged once but that didn't pan out, and it took her five years to graduate from college. What else are you referring to?"

"The favoritism and the broken engagement are a big part of it," Anne replied.

Eric looked at his wife. "Low self-esteem?"

"For Eliza, life has been a war. Nothing has ever come easily for her. She came into this world fighting. You know she was premature, right?"

"Seven weeks early?" Eric asked.

His wife nodded. "According to her mother, she came too early. She was supposed to be born after the Bennetts moved into their new house, but she came before that happened. She was a girl when her mom wanted a boy. Her mom has never been kind to Eliza. And then she got engaged to someone who seemed like he was her dream guy only to have him leave her three months before the wedding. She had the ring, the dress-she thought she had everything she wanted."

"And then she lost it, which from her perspective affirmed all of her own worst fears about herself."

Anne nodded. "She's very successful professionally, but her personal life has been one rough obstacle after another. She just needs to catch one really fabulous break. And then she looks at Will."

"And he's never struggled in the ways that she has. He broke up with his high school girlfriend and found a swimsuit model immediately ready to date him. Even if he doesn't mean to, he just walks through life showing off how easy things are for him. She's understandably jealous."

Eric sighed and stretched out his long legs in front of him. "I wish I could do something to help her."

"You could explain things to him," Anne offered, looking up at her husband's long, scruffy face.

Eric pulled his wife close to his chest. "Maybe. I don't think I'll have an opportunity to do that before the wedding this weekend, but I can definitely try to have a conversation with about it soon."

Anne smiled at her husband as she snuggled against his firm chest. "I just want her to have the opportunity to have what we have."

"She'll get it someday. I promise. Even if I have to beating the living lights out of Will Darcy, I will make sure that one day Eliza Bennett will get everything she ever wants. She will get all the happiness she deserves."

Anne kissed Eric's stubbly chin and smiled. "This is why I love you, dearest. You always want what's best for other people."

The following weekend saw Marisa and Edmundo, Will, Anne and Eric, Ed Ferrars and his girlfriend, and Eliza all converge on Scottsdale, Arizona for Emma Woodhouse and George Knightley's wedding. Eric banned Eliza from bringing any heels with her to the wedding, and she didn't complain. '

Despite the fact that she had only met Emma less than two years earlier, Eliza was one of Emma's bridesmaids. The two had bonded quickly after Eric had introduced them.
Emma had originally intended for Eliza to walk down the aisle with Will Darcy, but something had led her to change her mind and send Eliza down the aisle with Eric instead. Eliza was grateful for the change and not just because she wanted to avoid Will.

Eliza, Eric, and Anne flew to Arizona just in time for the rehearsal dinner, and they were planning on leaving on Sunday as soon as they could. Anne couldn't really afford to take more time off from work, and Eliza didn't want to take any time off that wasn't absolutely necessary.

The rehearsal dinner was more of a pre-wedding party than an actual rehearsal. The wedding was taking place on Saturday evening at a local museum. For the Tigers and their families, it was an opportunity to reconnect with old friends and relax together.

Eliza found herself seated next to Will during the rehearsal dinner. His first question after sitting down was "So, you're wearing flats, right?"

She smiled. "Eric would have killed me if I wasn't. He wants to throw away all of my shoes with heels higher than two inches."

"I'm with him," Will replied. "You're plenty beautiful without high heels. In fact, I think you're downright adorable in ballet flats."

Eliza blushed. "You're trying to flatter me."

"Is it working?"

"It's making me uncomfortable," she replied.

"You don't like being flattered?"

"I teach high school boys," Eliza said flatly. "They hit on me all the freaking time."

Will smiled. "That sounds rough."

"It is."

"I'm sorry."

She shrugged. "It's not your fault."

"I know," he replied. "But I'm still sorry that you have to put up with it."

Eliza smiled. "Thanks."

Emma and George's wedding was elegant and beautiful. The ceremony was formal; the reception was black-tie. Emma's father was extremely emotional about the prospect of his daughter getting married. The entire event was perfectly suited to Emma's strong-willed personality.

"I know that I'm fourteen inches taller than you, and it could be awkward, but would you like to dance with me?" Will asked Eliza to dance during Emma and George's wedding reception.

Eliza smiled. She wasn't particularly keen on the idea of dancing with a man who was fourteen inches taller than her. Will Darcy physically dwarfed her. But he was kind, and he was asking her to dance when no one else had other than Eric who was obligated by wedding tradition to dance with her during the wedding party dance. So she put her right hand in his large hand. "I'd love to."

Will smiled at her and led her to the dance floor with the sounds of Frank Sinatra flowing from the speakers. Dancing with Will, Eliza became increasingly aware of his sheer size. He towered over her but in a safe, protective way. His hands were large as they held her small hands, but she found that to be an oddly comforting feeling.

"So how is life now that cross-country season is over?" Will asked.

"It's quieter," she replied. "I'm training for a marathon now."

"Really?"

"Yeah, that's what I do every winter. In between cross-country season and track season, I run a marathon myself."

"Wow," Will said. "That's cool."

"It's something fun to do to help me relax."

"You may be one of the only people I know who thinks that running is fun."

Eliza smiled. "And you find playing baseball fun while I find watching it boring."

"Let's agree to disagree. There are other things that we can agree on."

"The wedding is lovely but a little over-the-top."

Will laughed. "You're absolutely right about that. It really is beautiful, but to me, it's all just too much."

"That's Emma for you."

He chuckled. "So this is not your ideal wedding?"

"Heavens, no," she replied vehemently. "My ideal wedding will be small, cozy, and comfortable."

The enthusiastic smile on Will's face at that comment stirred up something inside of Eliza that made her uncomfortable. Being in his arms, she felt safe. His smile was comforting. And he was making her feel things that she hadn't felt since Jack Wickham ended their engagement more than two years earlier. To be blunt, Will Darcy scared her.

"What are you thinking about?" Will's voice startled Eliza out of her thoughts.

"The past," she replied softly.

"You look sad," he remarked bluntly.

She shrugged. "I know that I should only think of the past as it gives me pleasure, but sometimes, I get caught in melancholic moods and remember my past sadness more than I ought."

"What sadness have you known?"

Eliza shook her head. "I'd rather not talk about it."

"All right," he replied lightly. "When are you going home?"

"Tomorrow," she said.

"So soon?"

"I have to work on Monday."

"You need a vacation, Eliza," Will commented.

Eliza shrugged. "Thanksgiving is next weekend, and then there's Christmas. I'll survive."

Will would have liked to say more then, but the song ended, and Eliza started to pull away from him. He didn't get any more opportunities to talk to her that evening. The next morning, Eliza left for Michigan with Eric and Anne, and Will returned to Virginia on Monday. He didn't come back to Michigan until January when he came for Tiger Fest. Due to his schedule during that event, he never saw Eliza. Then, he left for spring training in Florida and was there until the end of March.

Therefore, after Emma and George's late November wedding, Will Darcy didn't see Eliza Bennett again until early April.

Chapter Eight

Posted on: 2013-12-02

Eliza Bennett spent her winter working. In January, she ran a marathon. In February, she volunteered to help Anne direct the spring musical. The last week of March, she helped chaperone a school spring break mission trip to Jamaica.

She went on a few dates, but no one really claimed her interest. Her February and March were quiet. Eric, Will, Edmundo, and George were in Florida for spring training. Emma and Marisa were in Florida with their husbands. Anne wanted to be in Florida with her husband.

Early April found Eliza feeling very lonely. Marisa Benoit was pregnant. Emma Woodhouse-Knightley was busy being the perfect baseball wife. Anne Wentworth was trying to get pregnant. "I need some single friends," Eliza said one afternoon to Anne. "No offense to you, but I need some friends who understand being single."

"Have you ever met Ed Ferrars's girlfriend?"

"Nope," Eliza replied. "Is she nice?"

"She's great," Anne replied. "She's really sweet."

"What's her name?"

"Elinor Dash-Woode, she's a high school science teacher in Merced, California. She came to see Edward a couple of times in Florida. She's really nice. She's a high school
swimming coach, and Eric and I were thinking you two might get along pretty well."

"Well, I'm sure I'll meet her if you and Eric want me to. It's hard for me to avoid anything that you two want me to do."

Anne smirked. "We know that you just want to make us happy."

"Yes, I'm the people pleaser of the bunch."

Eliza rolled her eyes, but Anne just raised her eyebrows. "Hey, say what you want, but I'm the one who married Eric Wentworth."

"Sometimes I wish that my students didn't trust me so much," Eliza announced as she barged into Anne's classroom after a particularly taxing Friday in late April.

"What happened now?" Anne asked.

"Kids asking me stupid questions that aren't stupid," Eliza replied as she plopped into Anne's desk chair.

"What about?"

"Divorce."

Anne blinked. "Umm, what? Did I miss something?"

"Josh Richardson just started asking me questions about custody in divorce and why people get divorced and that sort of thing."

"In the middle of Spanish class?"

"Yep."

"That is really weird," Anne said. "Are his parents divorced?"

"I don't think so," Eliza replied, leaning back in her friend's chair. "I don't think so, but I could be wrong."

"I haven't taught Josh yet, but I taught his sister two years ago and I don't see his parents heading for divorce."

Eliza shrugged. "It doesn't really matter why he brought it up. It just matters that he brought it up."

"Why does it bother you when kids ask you questions like that?"

"I don't know. It just feels like they're trying to get too personal. I want to maintain a boundary."

"And you should," Anne replied. "But think about this. Kids trust you. You are known to be one of the most popular teachers at St. Ben's. Girls will tell you anything. Boys adore you."

"Yeah, I don't get that. I'm a nerd."

"I know, but they don't care. They love you. They trust you. They feel safe around you."

"Yeah, and don't you think that's weird? I mean, you've known me forever. I'm not that cool. I don't get why my students like me or trust me."

Anne smiled. "I think that might have something to do with why they trust you. You're patient and loving towards them, but you don't try to be cooler than you really are."

Eliza shrugged. "I just want to help them to become the people that they're supposed to be."

"Well, you're doing a great job at it."

Anne Wentworth loved being married to Eric Wentworth. At the risk of sounding horribly sentimental, she had to admit that there were mornings when she felt like she hadn't woken up from a dream when she woke up to see a very tall dark-haired man in bed next to her. But he was real. She really had married Frederick Alfred Wentworth in November. She was, as he liked to term it, stuck with him for life.

"You know what the best part of being married is?" Eric asked his wife one April evening.

"If your answer has anything to do with farting, you're sleeping on the couch for the next seven nights that you're actually home," Anne replied.

Eric snorted. "See, this is why I love you. You have a great sense of humor."

"But that's not the best part of being married," Anne said flatly. "And I was serious about the couch. Now, what is the best part of being married?"

"I never have to worry that your family will be able to break us up again."

"You used to worry about that?"

Eric nodded. "They succeeded at that once. Until we were safely married, there was a small part of me that was terrified that they would convince you to leave me."

"Eric, I love you. And I've done a lot of growing up since we were in high school. There is no way I would ever leave you now."

He smiled. "And now I know that for certain."

"But you were afraid until we got married in November?"

"I mean, I've known since the October of 2010 that you love me and you want to be with me forever. But sometimes I doubted myself. Sometimes I was afraid that I wouldn't get to keep you. Sometimes, I thought that I wasn't enough for you."

Anne rested a hand on Eric's chest firmly. "You are everything I want in life. You're all I need. You're Eric Wentworth, you're my husband, and I love you."

"And that is the best part of being married," Eric replied. "But I also like being able to pass gas in bed without fear of repercussions."

"When you get back from Texas and DC, you're spending a week on the couch," Anne said flatly.

Her husband laughed before kissing her. "I love you, Annie," he said when he pulled away from her. "I will always love you."

Emma and George had adapted to married life very smoothly. From Emma's perspective, there was little difference between before and after the wedding. Her name had changed but not much else other than legal details. She was living with George just like she had before the wedding. Sure, she had to get a new driver's license and rearrange her bank accounts. But her life hadn't radically changed since she married George Knightley.

But she was Mrs. Emma Knightley. Well, technically, she was Emma Woodhouse-Knightley. But she was George's wife. And that was amazing. She loved looking at her left hand and knowing without a doubt that she was now George's wife.

"Emma isn't dumb," George said as an old disagreement came up between himself as Will and Eric. The three were sitting in a hotel bar in Houston on a Friday night after a game. Eric had pitched that day, George was pitching the next day, and Will 's game would be Sunday.

"I didn't call her dumb," Will Darcy replied with a sigh. "I just said that I don't think that she operates at the same level as Anne or Eliza."

"Anne and Eliza are teachers," George said, exasperation ringing through his voice. "And I respect that. But being a teacher requires a different set of skills than working in the non-profit sphere. And Emma is good at what she does."

"He's not arguing with that," Eric inserted. "We all agree that she's good at her job. You know what we think about her. We've been over this a dozen times before. She's a great girl, but she's too much sometimes. She comes on too strongly. She's pushy."

"And you don't like that?"

"It makes me a little uncomfortable," Will admitted. "I don't like people who try to push me around and manipulate me."

"She gets along with Eliza," George replied.

"That's great," was all that Will said. "Eliza and I aren't the same person. We're not even in a relationship. We're just friends. We don't share all of the same opinions."

"So just because Eliza likes Emma doesn't mean that you have to?"

Will nodded. "But just to clarify, it's not that I don't like her. She's a nice person and she has a decent head on her shoulders. But she's pushy, and she likes to get her way. And that's a bit more than I can handle."

"Well, you didn't marry her," George retorted.

"Thank the good lord. She's a great person and she makes you very happy. But she'd drive me to the brink of insanity."

"But Eliza doesn't?"

Will sighed. "Eliza and I aren't together. We're friendly."

Eric snorted.

Will looked at Eric. "What was that supposed to mean?"

"You're friendly towards her. She doesn't seem to like you that much."

"She's sarcastic with everyone."

Now it was George's turn to snort. "All right, Will, when we get back to Detroit, ask her out. I'd love to know what she has to say."

"You've got a deal."

A week later, Will and Eliza were both at Anne and Eric's house for dinner. After a relatively calm dinner, Eric and Anne went into the kitchen to allow Will the privacy that he had requested. Neither Eric nor Anne expected him to have much success in his endeavor, but they thought that he had at least earned the right to privacy while he tried. "You know, Eliza, I think you're a pretty great person."

Eliza looked up from her phone where she was checking the weather. "Um, thanks."

"I really like you, and I think that we could be something really great together. I mean, I know we don't have a lot in common. You're a teacher, and I'm a baseball player. And I know that's a big gap. And you don't like baseball, which I don't understand at all. And baseball is my life, which I know you don't get. But I think you're a great person, and I think that together we could be something great. So I was wondering if you'd be interesting in dating me."

"You want to date me?"

"Yeah, hasn't it been obvious? I've been interested in you since last summer."

Eliza blinked. "Will, I don't know if you remember this, but you swore off brunettes when you dumped Natalie two years ago. Eric told me about that. And when we first met three years ago, you told your cousin, Jack, that I wasn't anything special and I definitely wasn't worth giving up the single life for."

Will's face fell. "What are you talking about?"

"Three years ago, in January of 2009, at the party to celebrate my engagement to your cousin, Jack Wickham, you told Jack that I wasn't anything special and I definitely wasn't worth giving up the single life for."

Will hit himself in the head, and then excuses began to pour from his mouth. "No, oh my word, I'm so sorry, Eliza. I didn't know. I'm so sorry. I was fighting with Natalie at the time. She wanted to get married, and I wasn't ready. And she was threatening to break up with me if I didn't propose. And I wanted to be with her, but I wasn't ready for marriage yet. And I was angry with her and with the whole idea of marriage. And I don't really like Jack but my mom made me go to his engagement party because it was in Michigan and it would mean something special to him if I came. So I went, but I wasn't happy. I was really angry."

She stood up and put a hand over his mouth. "Save it, Darcy. I don't care. It doesn't matter anymore. He left me five months after that dumb party, and his parting words were 'My cousin was right. You really aren't that pretty.'"

"But he was wrong. I was wrong! Eliza, you're beautiful."

She shook her head. "Save it, Will. I have spent the past three years trying to forget that day. I never even told Eric or Anne about that."

"How did you never tell Eric or Anne that? You and Anne tell each other everything."

Eliza sighed and threw her hands into the air. "I was embarrassed! You were a professional baseball player, and you called me ugly! I wasn't about to tell my best friend that this guy who happened to be my fiancˇ's cousin AND her ex-fiancˇ's best friend thought I was ugly. That would be awkward and confusing and uncomfortable."

"Well, you are not ugly. And you weren't then. I was just angry and bitter. And my cousin is an idiot."

"Hey, you're the one that jack quoted to me when he dumped me for a voluptuous blonde."

"I'm an idiot. I'm a complete and utter idiot. It's no wonder you've never liked me."

Those words hung like lead in the air for a few moments before Eliza spoke. "Anne thinks that I resent you for being richer than me or more successful than me. She thinks I resent you because your family is happier than mine. But that's not it."

Will sighed. "It's all really because three years ago I told my cousin who was also your fiancˇ that you were nothing special and he shouldn't bother marrying you."

She nodded.

"You have every right to resent me. I never should have said that."

"It hurt." Eliza sat down in her chair like a deflated doll.

Will sat down next to her. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for what I said to my cousin and for how it impacted you. I'm sorry for what I said about brunettes. I really do think you are incredibly beautiful, and I really do love your hair. It is gorgeous."

She smiled faintly.

He continued firmly. "And I promise you that I'll never bother you again. Tell Eric and Anne that I had to leave. I'll talk to them later."

And with that, he stood, paused momentarily as if there was something else he wanted to do but didn't dare to, and then left the room.

That night, for the first time in her life, Eliza actually told Eric and Anne the whole truth and nothing but the truth about the end of her relationship with Jack Wickham.

"You guys know the basics. I met Jack in college. We dated for about three years before he proposed in 2008, at the end of my first year teaching at St. Ben's. We were going to get married in August of 2009."

"Yeah, I remember that," Eric said.

"But here's the part you don't know. Jack Wickham is Will Darcy's cousin. Their moms are sisters."

"And so last summer wasn't the first time that you'd met Will," Eric commented as realization dawned on his face.

Eliza shook her head. "He doesn't remember because we only met once, and apparently it was a rough night for him, but I remember. We met at a party that Jack's parents threw in January of 2009 to celebrate our engagement. Will was there with Natalie."

"Oh gosh, I know where this is going," Eric sighed.

"You do?" Anne asked, looking up at her husband.

He nodded. "In January of 2009, Natalie gave Will an ultimatum. He either had to propose to her or she was leaving him. She didn't make good on her threats and stayed with him for another year after that. But if that's when Eliza met Will, there's no accounting for what he might have said to her."

"He told Jack that I wasn't very pretty and that he could do better than me. He also said that Jack shouldn't bother marrying me."

"And that's what Jack said to you when he called off your engagement," Anne said, finishing Eliza's thought.

Eliza nodded. "Without even knowing what he was doing, he arranged my breakup for me. And then he goes and asks me out? He didn't even remember me."

"Want me to hit him for you?" Eric asked.

His friend shook her head. "No, I just want a hug."

"You've got it, Eliza," he replied before giving her a bear hug. After a few moments, he looked at her. "Eliza, have you ever considered seeing a therapist to talk through your breakup with Jack? It might do you some good. And it might help you in future relationships."

"I'll think about it," she said softly.

Chapter Nine

Posted on: 2013-12-28

When he got home that evening, Will Darcy decided to take a tip from the heroes of classic literature and wrote a letter to Eliza Bennett. Since he had failed to explain himself with his mouth, he decided to try using his pen-or rather his laptop. He wrote one draft of the letter by hand, but then realized that his penmanship was so terrible that it would never win him any points with Eliza but only make her dislike him more.

So sitting on his couch, he began to write.

Eliza,
I'm not really sure where to start this, but I suppose that I ought to start by apologizing to you for offending you both three years ago and last summer. I'm not always the most tactful person on earth (although that is no excuse) and you are not the first person to be offended by something I have said or done. I am very sorry for offending you and for any role that I may have had in the end our relationship with my cousin.

My cousin is a difficult subject for me. We've never been close, and I rarely understand what he does. However, during a difficult time in what was already a complicated relationship, I was jealous of people who were single. Natalie and I had an increasingly difficult relationship over the last year or year and a half of our relationship. In retrospect, that time impacted me in far more ways that I realized. It led to me saying and doing things that weren't normal for me.

The night of your engagement party was a particularly bad night for me. I was angry with my girlfriend, and I really wasn't sure why I was with her anymore. Then I saw you with my cousin. I don't know if anyone has ever told you this, but you have a certain number of physical characteristics (including size) in common with Natalie. You are both petite brunettes. I was bitter when I saw you that night. I carelessly said something that I shouldn't have. I didn't think that Jack would think anything of what I said because if I had been in his place, I wouldn't have taken his words seriously.

I had no clue that he would take my words seriously or use them against you in the later months. I apologize for all of the pain that I have caused you.
I hope that you can forgive me. I also hope that in time we will be able to meet amicably when necessary. I assure you that I will leave you alone from here on out. I will no longer try to pursue you. I wish you nothing but the best in the future, and I hope that someday soon you will meet someone who can give you the love and respect you deserve.

Sincerely yours,
Will Darcy

Will gave the letter to Eric to give to Eliza, and Eric did as he was asked. He also did his best to, per Will's wishes, keep Will and Eliza away from one another over the next several months. In the meantime, Eliza started seeing a therapist to help her move forward with her life.

Eliza found the therapist far more helpful than she had ever imagined. Here was a person who was willing to and able to help her sort out her confusion about her family. Her therapist, Marjory, helped her to realize that between her mother and her relationship with Jack, she had internalized many negative beliefs about herself. She had come to see herself the way that her mother saw her. It wasn't that there really was anything wrong with Will; she just didn't think that she was worthy of him.

"It's like I've spent my whole life refusing to let myself have things that are really good because I don't deserve them. I let myself believe that Gen or you or Emma could have good things, but I can't," Eliza told Anne one afternoon.

"Eliza, that's ridiculous. Why wouldn't you be as good as the rest of us?"

"Because that's what Mom said," Eliza replied flatly.

Anne shook her head. "My parents were disinterested most of the time, but they were never cruel to me. I still can't believe that your mother said those sorts of things to you."

Eliza shrugged. "Marjory says that it stems from something in Mom's past. She says that Mom could probably use some therapy herself."

"I could have told you that years ago," Anne replied. "And my only psychological training is four college psych classes almost ten years ago."

"But I can't make my mom do anything she doesn't want to do."

"No, but you can learn how to protect yourself from her."

Eliza nodded. "I don't think that ever really occurred to me until recently. I always thought that I just had to take it. In fact, I think that I thought that I deserved it. I mean, I screwed up her plans so many times. But now, I don't know. Now I can actually realize that I don't deserve it. I'm better than she says I am. I can try to stand up for myself."

"You're going stand up to your mom?" Anne asked. "You, Elizabeth Marie Bennett, are going to stand up to Susan Bennett. Ha, I'd love to see that."

Eliza sighed. "Fine, I might not actually stand up to her verbally, but I won't take her personally anymore. Or at least, I'm going to try not to."

Will Darcy found himself with a very busy summer. He was never in Detroit for more than ten days at a time. He didn't have time for any dating despite Emma Woodhouse-Knightley's best efforts. Every time the team was in Detroit, Emma tried to find women who she thought would be Will's perfect match. Will, on the other hand, would have preferred if she kept her nose out of his business and let him find a girlfriend on his own time.

"You need someone," she told him one night in early June at a small party at Eric and Anne's house.

"I actually don't need someone, Emma" Will quickly replied. "I'm fine on my own."

"But you're sad and lonely," she insisted. "You think you're fine, but you're not."

He just sighed and glared at her. "Emma, I'm completely fine."

"That's what everyone says," Emma said. "All single people think they're fine, but they aren't. Humans aren't made to be alone. We need companionship. It's like Eliza. She thinks she's fine alone, but she's not. She needs a man to take care of her."

Will snorted. "If there is one woman on this earth who does not need a man to take care of her, it's Eliza Bennett."

Emma sighed dramatically. "You just do not understand. I need George. You need a woman. You were so much easier to deal with when you had a girlfriend. Natalie made you so much more bearable."

"Are you saying that I'm unbearable now?" Will asked. His face was firm, and his jaw was firmly clenched.

Emma trembled slightly. She hadn't meant to upset Will; she hadn't really thought about what she was saying at all. She just wanted Will to be happy, and she thought that he'd be happier if he had a girlfriend. But Will was angry. He was very angry. She wasn't sure what to say, so she just started to backtrack. "Okay, maybe that's not what I meant to say. Maybe that didn't come out right. I mean, you need to get married. You really should get married."

"Are you calling me unbearable?" he said. "Just be honest, Emma. Do you have a problem with me?"

Before Emma could respond, Anne joined them. "Is everything all right over here?"

Will looked at her and smiled faintly. "Yeah, fine, I think."

"Fine," Emma said without attempting to make eye contact with either Will or Anne.

"Will, Eric was looking for you earlier," Anne replied.

Will made his way over to Eric who was with Ed Benoit and Ed Ferrars in the living room. "Emma is trying to convince me that I need to get married to be happy. She says that I was easier to get along with when I had a girlfriend."

Eric snorted. "You were a human nightmare when you were dating Amanda. She turned you into the dumbest possible version of yourself."

"And the last year or maybe even more of your relationship with Natalie, you two were both bringing out the worst in each other," Benoit added.

"Quite frankly, you've been a better person than I'd ever known you to be just in the past year," Eric said. "I mean, you've always been a nice guy, but you're just being a better person. I'm pretty sure that you don't need a girlfriend or a wife to be happy. You're doing great on your own."

Will laughed. "Could you go and tell Emma that?"

"Please," the catcher said. "I never try to tell her anything. She has her Principles and her Convictions. And those things are Very Important to her. She's like a dog that doesn't let go of a bone once it tastes it."

"That's such a bizarre analogy," Ferrars said. "And anyway, she can't be that bad if George married her."

Eric looked at Ed Ferrars, the newest member of the Tigers' starting pitching staff. He was long and lanky, even longer and lankier than Eric himself. He ran marathons for fun. "You don't really know Emma yet. And you're safe from her at some level because you have a girlfriend. But if you were single, oh good lord, she'd be on your back constantly. She's like a little busybody matchmaker. She's sweet, and she means well. But she's a busybody."

Ferrars looked at Eric Wentworth. "So she wants Will to get a girlfriend so he'll be happy?"

"That's her current scheme," Eric said. "She also wants Annie's best friend, Eliza, to find a boyfriend too. She really needs something to distract her."

"Well," Ed Benoit said slowly. "Marisa and I might have something to help distract her."

"Yeah, in like October when the season is almost over," Will quipped. "We need something to distract her sooner than that."

"She needs a project," Eric said.

"Doesn't she have a job already?" Ferrars asked.

Benoit nodded. "She does, but there's a big problem with it from our perspective."

"What's that?"

"She works remotely," Eric began. "So she can work from wherever she is as long as she has her laptop and wifi. So she's always around the team. She never HAS to leave us."

"Anne, on the other hand, has a job that keeps her occupied most of the time. She can only travel with the team during the summer. And she doesn't always do that even if she can," Will explained.

"Plus, even if Anne is around, she always has something to keep her busy. She's knitting or reading a book or getting ready for school the following year," Benoit added.

"And then there's Marisa," Will continued. "She doesn't have a full-time job, but she's super involved with the Tigers Community Foundation. She has projects there, and she doesn't always come on the road with us. She's found ways to keep herself out of the trouble."

"Whereas Emma is just good at finding ways to get herself into trouble," Eric quipped.

Ferrars shrugged. "I guess I've never seen that side of her. She's always been really sweet to me and to Elinor."

"Lucky dog," Will sighed.

"Someday, you'll find Ms. Right, and Emma will finally get off your back," Eric told Will, patting him on the back.

"I'd really prefer it if she'd just get off my back and leave me to sort out my own life."

Gina Darcy, Will's younger sister, arrived in Detroit on June 13 for a four-day visit to her brother. Gina was about to start her senior year at Mary Washington College in Virginia where she was studying international business. "Sometimes, I'm not sure that we're actually related," Will had once told Eric when discussing Gina's academic pursuits. "My sister wants to work in banks or major corporations in other countries. She's had a summer internship in Berlin and one in London. She's brilliant. And I'm just a professional baseball player."

But professional goals weren't the only differences between the Darcy siblings. Where Will was outgoing and gregarious, Gina was quiet and mild. She could be a true force of nature when she needed to be, but by nature she was far milder than her older brother.

Gina adored her older brother; in the eighth grade, she had written an essay about why her brother, then a minor league baseball player, was her hero. He never entirely understood why, but he knew that his little sister loved him. He understood that she loved him, but he didn't understand why she looked up to him and admired him so much. He supposed that the nine years between them might have had something to do with it. She had grown up under his protective wing.

Gina was spending four days with her brother before leaving for a six-week internship in Brussels. "My little genius," Will said as he greeted the lanky brunette in at domestic arrivals at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. "How's my Gina-Bean?"

"I'm well," she replied, hugging him. "How's my hero?"

"I'm fine."

"How's the arm?" Will had lost his two most recent starts.

"It's been better," he replied. "But don't worry about me. Let's get your stuff and get going. I've got a game tonight."

"Do I get to hang out with Anne Wentworth during the game?"

"Of course."

"Then I'll come."

Will grinned. "I love it when you come to my games."

"And you know that I'm going to bring a book with me."

"How are you my sister? How do I, Will Darcy, have a sister who doesn't like baseball? Mom and Dad like baseball. I play baseball professionally. You hate it."

Gina sighed. "I don't HATE baseball. I just think it's boring."

"You sound like a girl I got to know last summer."

"Eliza Bennett?"

Will sighed. "Hey now! How do you know about her?"

"Mom, she met her last fall, remember? She told me about her. She said that Eliza was really pretty and nice. She really likes her. I think she wants Eliza to be her daughter-in-law."

"Good lord, I can't believe that you and Mom talk about that kind of stuff."

The pair had reached the car. Gina shrugged as she climbed into the car. "Will, Mom wants you to get married. She wants grandchildren. She wants to see you happy."

"And she thinks that Eliza is the answer to that?"

Gina nodded and grinned. "Bingo."

Will sighed. "And you, what interest do you have in this? Why do you want me to get married?"

"Well, I want to see you happy, like Mom. And I can't wait to be Auntie Gina. I can't wait for you to have little kids that I can spoil rotten."

"Gina, you're twenty-two years old; you're going to graduate from college next spring. If you want to get married and have a family of your own, that's allowed."

Gina sighed and curled up in her seat. "I'm not ready for that, Will. I'm not really ready to settle down and have a family. "

"Is this about last summer?" he asked.

"Sort of," she replied.

"Care to elaborate?"

Gina shrugged again. "It's complicated, Will. After what happened last summer, I'm not sure that I want to get married."

Will sighed. "Gina, I just don't want to see you isolate yourself from the world just because of one stupid jerk. I want to see you live a happy and healthy life, a whole life. I want to see you move forward from what Reid did."

"I will someday, but Will, you don't understand."

"Gina, this past year, I've gotten to see firsthand what someone like Reid did to someone who isn't that different from you. I saw what this guy did to her. I saw how badly he hurt her."

"Will, I'll be fine. I just need time to process what happened and refocus my love life. But I'm busy right now. School has taken over my life. I need to focus on school. After I graduate and get a job, I'll deal with my love life. But right now, I have to focus on school."

Will shook his head. "Gina, this girl-my friend, she fell in love with a guy, and they got engaged, and then he left her for another girl. It's the same story."

"Was her fiancˇ named Reid Crawford too?"

"No."

"Then it's not the same story. Will, I'm not this girl. I'll be fine."

Will sighed. "Gina, do it your way if you like. But please know that I'm just trying to help you."