My Own Mr. Darcy (41 page)

Click
here to visit Karey White’s Amazon page.

One person tried Seth
Tuttle’s patience like no other. The beautiful, sweet, and totally frustrating,
Lanna Carver. She was the closest thing he had to a sister, and for the most
part, Seth adored her. But when she raised her chin in that defiant,
I’ve-made-up-my-mind-and-you’re-not-going-to-talk-me-out-of-it way, Seth might
as well beat his head against the nearest brick wall.

Or white painted
cinderblock, in this instance.

“You want to do what?”
Seth raked his fingers through his short hair as he paced across Lanna’s worn
carpeted floor.

Lanna sat on the armrest
of her faded sofa and clasped her fingers together, her large blue eyes wide
and innocent. “It’s called a bachelor auction, and I don’t want to do it. Milly
does.”

“But you’re going along
with it.”

She threw up her hands.
“I’m out of fundraising ideas, okay? Milly swears this will earn enough to keep
the afterschool program going for at least another year. So yeah, I’m going
along with it. I’m even helping as much as I can because we need the money.
Evidently the Seattle area is filled with single women, and many of them would
pay well for a date with a handsome, wealthy, and charming bachelor.” She
paused. “Like you.”

She didn’t even blink when
she said it. There was no twitching of her lips or hint of a smile either.
Lanna was serious. She actually wanted Seth to be one of the bachelors.

He groaned. “You’ve got to
be kidding me.”

“It’s for a good cause,
Seth. Those underprivileged kids need our tutoring program, especially the ones
struggling with English. They’re so far behind.”

It was a problem for which
Seth had a solution, if only Lanna would see reason and accept it. “Which is
why I’ve offered—more than once—to fund your little program. Remember? Have you
even told Milly about my offer? Because I know she’d accept the money.”

Lanna rubbed her hands
across the top of her jeans and lifted her chin. “How many times do I have to
tell you that it’s not your job to fund my projects? I’m trying to run a
charity—not be one. Milly and I can do this on our own. I want us to do it on
our own.”

“Why?”

“Because.”

Seth felt the stirrings of
frustration that came with any conversation revolving around money and Lanna.
He didn’t get it, or her. Dropping down next to her on the sofa, he placed his hand
over hers. “That’s my point. You don’t have to do it on your own.”

Lanna’s expression turned
pleading as she covered his hand with her other one. “Listen, Seth, I
appreciate the offer, I do. But ever since Mike died, you’ve been trying to
take care of me and solve all of my problems. That needs to end. I want and
need you in my life as a brother figure, not a benefactor.”

She sounded so confident,
but Seth knew from experience that Lanna needed looking out for—not that anyone
would know based on her appearance. The girl definitely knew how to dress well,
even though her clothes came from some off-price department store like TJMaxx.
But one look at her dumpy third-floor studio apartment in a slummy part of town
and anyone would know the truth: Lanna was barely scraping by.

Seth, on the other hand,
had more money than he knew what to do with. Yet would Lanna accept his help?
No. Oh, he’d tried. Many, many times. But it always came back to bite him. The
worse being when he’d attempted to anonymously pay for her rent one month. The
next day, she showed up on his doorstep, cash in hand, to pay him back. Then
she yelled at him about wasted gas money and for making her late to work.

Sometimes Seth wondered if
Mike, his former best friend and Lanna’s brother, had known what he’d asked of
Seth in that dreary hospital room all those years before.

“Seth, take care of
Lanna,” Mike had whispered from the bed. “Please.”

Seth had readily agreed.
Of course he’d look after Lanna. He’d already planned on it. Problem was, Mike
didn’t exact a similar promise from him sister. Something along the lines of
“Lanna, please let Seth help you out every once in awhile” would have been
helpful.

Looking back, Seth often
wondered if Mike had any idea how difficult his sister would end up being.
Probably. Seth wouldn’t be surprised if his old friend was looking down from
Heaven right now and laughing.

Seth squeezed Lanna’s
hand, as if the pressure would somehow make her see reason. “But that’s what
I’m trying to do. If Mike were still here and offering the same thing, you know
you’d accept the money from him.”

Lanna pulled her hand free
and stood, staring down at him. With her petite build, standing above him while
he sat was the only time she could ever tower over him, which she apparently
felt the need to do at the moment. Her arms folded as a determined look flashed
across her face. “But Mike’s not here, is he? And any day you could be taken
from me as well, especially with all the crazy stunts you like to pull. I need
to know for myself that I’m capable of doing things all on my own. Why can’t
you understand that?”

Seth rolled his eyes and
flopped back on the couch. Going up against Lanna was like taking on a brutal
workout. It exhausted him. “I’m not going anywhere, Lanna.”

“You can’t guarantee
that.”

Seth didn’t understand why
they were even talking about this. “This isn’t even about you anyway. I’m not
trying to pay your rent or the balance on your credit card. I’m trying to pay
for a charity. You say you don’t want my help, but yet you still want me to be
one of the bachelors and auction myself off like some kind of animal.”

Her expression softened,
and the corners of her mouth tugged up into a teasing smile. “Of course I do.
You’re handsome, smart, and have that confident swagger most girls find
irresistible. You’d get top dollar.”

Seth closed his eyes in
frustration. It was no use. Arguing with Lanna was like arguing with a two-ton
boulder. She wouldn’t budge.

“It’s in three weeks,”
Lanna continued, “and it’s going to be really nice. Milly’s dad is friends with
the owner of the Bellevue Hotel, so we’re having it there. We’re only inviting
a select group of women, so we’ll have complete control over who comes. It will
be classy, I promise.”

How like Lanna to refuse
to give an inch while still expecting Seth to capitulate. Well, that wasn’t
going to happen—not today anyway.

Seth stood and squared his
shoulders, looking down on her instead of the other way around. “Why is it that
Milly doesn’t have a problem taking handouts from people, but you do? Doesn’t
the owner of that hotel contribute to your cause?”

“Yes, he has been very
generous. But that’s just it. He contributes because he believes in our cause
and the good it will do for our community. You, on the other hand, only want to
donate to ease your conscience about me, which isn’t okay. I refuse to take any
money from you when your heart’s not in it. I will, however, happily add your
name to the list of bachelors.” Her expression turned hopeful, almost pleading.

Seth raked his fingers
through his hair again and resumed his pacing, wishing he could shake some
sense into her. “Sorry, but that’s not the kind of help I’m offering. No way am
I going to parade around in front of a bunch of desperate women and be forced
to go out with the highest bidder. It’s the money on the table here—not me.
Take it or leave it.”

Lanna’s expression fell
slightly, and her smile took on a strained quality. But she kept her head high.
“I’ll leave it, thanks.”

Knowing he’d be tempted to
strangle her if this continued much longer, Seth turned on his heel and walked
to the door. With one last look over his shoulder, he said, “If you change your
mind—”

“I won’t.”

His Jaw clenched, and Seth
closed the door behind him with a hard tug. Walking past the elevator, he opened
the door to the stairwell and took the stairs two at a time, needing to burn
off some of his frustration. Lanna had her sights fixed on one thing and one
thing only: to prove to the world she didn’t need any help from anyone—least of
all his.

Well, no more. Seth was
sick of it. Whether Lanna liked it or not, she would get his help. He was just
as determined, if not more so, than Lanna. After all, he’d made a promise to
Mike, and Seth always kept his promises.

Seth emerged outside and
filled his lungs with Seattle’s cool and humid January air before searching the
street for his car. What he needed now was some good hard exercise to shake
this off and figure out what to do next. Thank goodness he and his buddies had
a basketball game lined up in an hour. He could throw a few elbows, make a few
baskets, and clear his mind from all thoughts of Lanna Carver.

For now.

Grace Warren waved goodbye
to her last patient of the day and walked into the break room to get her
things. It had been a long and emotionally exhausting day. One of her patients
became frustrated with the slow progress of rehab and had ignored her advice,
went to the gym on his own, and reinjured his shoulder lifting too much weight.
Now they were back to where they’d started—possibly worse.

Typically, Grace loved her
job as a physical therapist. There was no greater reward than seeing someone
who came to her broken walk away fixed. But every now and then she’d get
patients who thought they knew better, like her patient today. Or worse, those
who didn’t have the desire or willpower to put forth the necessary effort—sort
of like her brother, Alec.

But Grace didn’t want to
think about Alec or her other patients right now. She wanted to go home, take a
soothing hot shower, put on her favorite yoga pants, and curl up on the couch
to watch her favorite TV series. A new show had aired two days before, and she
wanted to catch up. Tonight was all hers.

“Oh good, you haven’t left
yet.” Cameron, another therapist in the clinic, poked his head through the door
and gave it a shake, forcing his dark hair away from his eyes. If he’d just
trim it a little shorter, he wouldn’t have to shake his head all the time, but
Cameron preferred his hair slightly longer, the way he’d worn it throughout
high school and college based on all the pictures he had scattered around his
office. Sometimes Grace wondered if that was his way of trying to stay
connected with the past—a feeling Grace completely understood. How often had
she wished she could rewind time and go back to the day when things were
easier, simpler, happier.