The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2) (12 page)

Charity wanted to say no.  She wanted to push him away and tell him to never talk to her again, but that’s not what came out of her mouth.  “Okay,” she squeaked out.

His eyes widened.  “Okay?”

She nodded.  She wasn’t sure it was the correct choice to make, but it was what she wanted to do.  “I will have supper with you.”

He smiled.  “Alright.  How about Friday night?”

She nodded.  “Friday night it is.”  She paused and added, “On one condition…”

He frowned.  “What?”

She turned around to see if they were being watched.  The crowd had thinned out, and she saw Jesse and Ana across the field.  “I don’t want them to know.”

“You don’t want me to tell Jesse?”

She shook her head.  “If we can’t keep it between the two of us, then I don’t think it will work.  Please do that for me.”

He nodded.  “Anything!”

She sighed.  “Alright.  Then we better meet somewhere.”

“Are you up for a home-cooked meal?” he asked.  “Mary has the best baked spaghetti recipe.”

“Sounds good!” she replied.  “What time should I be there?”

“Seven?” he asked.

“Okay.  I’ll see you then.”  She turned away from him and headed out of the field and to her car.  Once inside the car, she looked at her reflection in her visor mirror.  “It was a mistake,” she slowly replied, but she didn’t care.  Friday night she was going on a date with Derek, and she was mildly excited.

She started her car and pulled away from the curb.  She drove back to Damian’s house.  He lived closer to the construction site, so she didn’t have far to think.  She’d left a note stating she had to go out, as he was still sleeping when she left.  She pulled into his driveway and shut the car off.  She walked up the front path and used the key he had given her to unlock the door.  When she got inside, she heard the soft noise coming out of the living room.  He looked up when she got into the living room.  He turned the television off and smiled slightly.  The smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“Hey,” she softly greeted him. 

“Hey.”  He stood up from the couch.  “Where were you?” he asked, moving closer to her.  He had on a pair of Batman lounge pants.

“Just had to go check on something.”

He nodded.  “Check on what?” he asked.  He was acting strange, and it wasn’t like him to be so persistent to find out an answer.

“I needed to make sure Ana remembered to turn the stove off after she made breakfast this morning.  You were sleeping, so thought I’d run out.”

He raised his eyebrows at her response.  It was lame, and she cringed at the lack of creativity.  “Did she?” he asked.

She nodded.  “Yep…no worries.”

He smiled.  “Too bad you couldn’t have just called Ana.”

Charity shrugged.  “No biggie.  Like I said you were sound asleep anyway.”  She stood on her tip-toes and kissed his nose.  “Good morning.”

He grinned.  “Good morning!”  He wrapped his arms around Charity, and the expectation was they would just go back to where they left off the night before, but then his words stopped her.  “So, you stopped at the ribbon cutting after you checked on the apartment?”  She fell out of her hold and stared at him.

“What?” she asked.

He pointed to the TV.  “The ribbon cutting was live on the television.”  She felt her face drain of all its blood.  “I saw you there.”

“Oh…” she slowly replied.

He continued.  “It’s no big deal, but if you wanted to go, you should’ve woke me.  I would’ve gone with you.”

She was grateful he hadn’t seen her talking to Derek, because he would surely start to question if something was going on between the two of them.  “It’s exciting for Buxton,” she quickly stated. 

He nodded.  “I know, and that’s why I would have gladly gone with you.”

She wrapped her hand around his neck.  “I should’ve told you,” she quietly replied.  She leaned in and kissed him softly, hoping the subject would be dropped.

“I’ll forgive you,” he replied with a chuckle.  He deepened the kiss, and a sigh of relief went through her body.  He didn’t ask any more questions, and she could rest easy that he still didn’t know the real reason she quit her job.

Come Friday, Charity sat nervously on the living room couch.  Jesse and Ana were going out, which she was grateful for, but it seemed like Ana was dragging her feet to get ready.  The TV was blaring out a medical drama that Ana had recorded on the DVR.  Charity glanced at her, then glanced at her watch.

“What time is he picking you up?” Charity asked.  She felt like she’d asked that question at least a dozen times, so she knew the answer, but it was nearing that time, and Ana hadn’t made an attempt to get ready.

Ana gave her weird look, then laughed.  “Six o’clock,” she replied, for the umpteenth time.

Charity fidgeted in her seat and looked over to where Ana was.  She wore jeans and a t-shirt, it was a far cry from what she usually wore when going out with Jesse.  She tentatively questioned what she was thinking.  “Um…are you going to change?”

Ana raised an eyebrow, then snickered.  “Real nice, Charity.  I spent hours picking out this outfit.”  She laughed to prove she was obviously teasing.  “Tonight is a very relaxed night.  We’ll probably grab some fast food and then head to the mall in Briar Ridge.”  Even the sound of Briar Ridge made Charity nervous.  She’d been avoiding Damian’s calls, other than vaguely telling him that she was needed at home.  She blamed Ana having some family drama and needing a friend.  He didn’t even question it, whether he was disappointed or not.  Charity just didn’t feel it was nice to string Damian along when she had this meeting with Derek.  She had stopped calling it a date because too many expectations were expected with that one word.

“Mall?” Charity asked.

Ana glanced away from the TV.  “Jesse’s brother’s birthday is next weekend, and I’m helping him shop for it.”

“Oh…sounds like fun,” Charity replied softly.  Ana just nodded and turned back to the television screen.  Charity hated interrupting another time, but she did have one final question.  “So…how long do you think you’ll be out?”

Ana shrugged, but her eyes never left the screen.  “I’m not sure.  Jesse said afterward we might find a cozy place to just talk.”  The smile on the corner of her mouth was evident.  She turned the television off as the ending credits ran through, then turned to Charity.  “We’ve really been getting closer and…” her words fell off, and a shadow crossed her face.

“And…” Charity started.

“I just hope you’re alright with it.”

Charity laughed.  “What?  Why wouldn’t I be?”  She didn’t need Ana to really answer that question, as she continued.  “You shouldn’t have to be away from the man you love just because of how things turned out with Derek.  I want you to be happy.”  Charity felt a heaviness in her chest.  She wanted to tell Ana the truth about how she was going over to Derek’s house, but she didn’t want Ana to get the wrong idea.  She wanted to wait to see how things went, before bringing it up.

Ana smiled.  “He makes me happy, Charity.”

Charity nodded.  “That’s what matters.”

There was silence in the living room until a knock sounded on the door.  Ana jumped up from the couch and hurried to the front door.  Charity turned towards the door to find Jesse at the door and wearing a very similar outfit to Ana.  Ana and Jesse kissed their opening greeting, then Jesse waved to Charity. 

Charity stood up from the couch.  “Hey, Jesse.”

Ana grabbed her purse from the table and turned around to Charity.  “Do you have plans tonight?” Ana asked.

Charity shrugged and glanced around the living room.  “Maybe I’ll binge watch a NetFlix show.”  She laughed.  “You two have fun!”

They all waved to another and then Jesse and Ana were out the door.  Charity breathed a sigh of relief as Ana left.  She hurried into her bedroom and grabbed her things for a shower.  She had a lot to do and no time.  She just wanted the evening over.

****

Derek entered the kitchen and took in a whiff of the baked spaghetti that was still cooking.  “Wow…it smells amazing, Mary.”

She looked up from the kitchen counter where she was putting together a salad for the evening.  She smiled.  “You look nice.”

He looked down at his suit and shrugged.  “Just something I’ve thrown together.”

She laughed.  “Right and the Taj Mahal was something that was just thrown together.”  She grinned and Derek turned away from her enthusiastic look. 

He reached his hand out for a cucumber before she tossed it in the salad and she smacked his hand away.  “Ouch!” he teased.

She laughed.  “You’re like a little kid in a candy store.”  She went back to cutting up the veggies, then turned her attention back to Derek.  “So…never heard of this woman before.  You said her names Charity?”

Derek nodded, moving away from the counter.  He didn’t want a bunch of questions to have to answer, but it was clear Mary had other ideas in mind.  “Yep.  She used to work for me.  She took Lilly’s position.  I’m sure I’ve mentioned her before.”

Mary shook her head.  “Nope.  I think I would notice the light in your eyes, should you have talked about her before.”  She winked at Derek and Derek felt redness creep up his neck.

“We’re just friends,” Derek replied quietly.

Mary looked back up and lifted an eyebrow to question if that was true.  “You said she used to work with you…as in no longer?”

Derek initially ignored the question.  He wanted that to be in past-tense.  He wanted to think that soon he would be able to say she worked in his office, but he didn’t want to push her into doing something she didn’t want to do.  “She got another job,” he finally admitted.

“Oh.”  She cut some carrots and threw them into the salad, but continued her thought.  “You’re going all out for someone that is merely a friend.”  She giggled but kept her back to him.  He looked down at the floor and thought about everything he wanted to come out of their date that night.  He also didn’t want to get his hopes up, because anything could happen.

“Please keep your dysfunctional thoughts to yourself.  I would hate for Charity to get the misunderstanding about tonight.”

She turned around and leaned against the counter.  She wiped her hands on her apron.  “Want some advice?” Mary asked.

He snickered.  “If I said no, does that mean I can leave this kitchen and not listen to it?”

She laughed heartily.  “Uh…no.”  She chuckled, before continuing with her advice.  “One needs to be a friend with someone before there can be more, so you are headed in the right direction.”

He laughed.  “That’s your advice?”

“Well…” she paused, before adding, “don’t let your pride get in the way.  If you like this woman, as I suspect you do, just be honest with her.  You’ll be surprised how perceptive a woman can be.”

Derek didn’t bother pointing out that he’s been as honest as he could be and she didn’t seem to believe him, but it was a good sign that she accepted his invitation.  “I’ll remember that.  Thanks, Mary.”

She smiled.  “It’s part of my job description.”  She twirled around and went back to her salad.  Derek glanced at his watch.  She was due there at any moment, and his nerves kept creeping back in. 

He left the kitchen and went into the dining room, where Mary had already adorned the table with decorations to enhance the ambiance.  A bouquet of flowers was laying at her place setting.  He hoped it wasn’t over the top, but the florist told him it was their bestseller, and he took a chance.  He ran a hand over the back of her chair and jumped when the doorbell sounded.

He left the dining room and headed towards the door.  He took a deep breath, before opening the door.  When he did, his breath nearly escaped him.  Charity stood in front of him wearing a sparkly blue dress, and her hair was over one shoulder.  She looked breathtaking but nervous.  “Hello!”  He stepped back from the door and let her come in.  Once the door was closed, he turned back around and smiled.  “You look absolutely breathtaking.” 

She looked down and bit her lower lip.  It was so cute that he wanted to comment about it, but chose not to push too quickly.  “Thank you!” she finally commented, looking back up.  She waved her hand at him and smiled.  “You look rather nice, yourself.”

He grinned.  He didn’t expect a compliment, but he wouldn’t take it for granted.  “Thanks!”  They stood there for a few awkward seconds before he leaned in and hugged her.  She didn’t back down, in fact, she raised her arms, and graciously accepted the hug.  When they pulled away, their eyes connected and a friendly light lit up her face.

“Supper should be finished soon.  I’ll show you to the dining room and tell Mary you’re here.”

“Thank you!” she muttered.  She followed Derek down the hallway, and he pointed her to the room.  “I’ll be right back.”

He hurried into the kitchen as Mary pulled the entrée out of the oven.  Mary turned around and smiled.  “Go entertain your guest and It’ll be five minutes.”

He shot her a smile.  “Thanks again, Mary.”  He left the kitchen and went back into the dining-room, where he found Charity holding the bouquet of flowers.  She turned around and faced him.

“Are these for me?” she asked.

He chuckled, nodding.  “Of course.”  She took a whiff of the floral scent and grinned.  “I hope you like them.”

She nodded.  “They’re beautiful.  Thank you!”

He smiled at her response and moved closer to her.  “Mary can put them in water.”

As if on queue, Mary arrived at the dining room, with the salad in tow.  She smiled at both of them.  Derek walked over to the chair and held it out for Charity to sit down.  “Thank you!”  she said, still holding the flowers in her hand.

“You’re welcome!”  Derek walked around to the other side, where he took his place.  Mary put the salad bowl down on the table, and Derek made the introductions.  “Mary, this is Charity Parker…Charity, this is my housekeeper and friend, Mary.”

Mary walked around to Charity’s side, and they shook hands.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mary,” Charity replied.

“Likewise, Hon.  I hope you enjoy your meal.”  She glanced down at the flowers.  “Let me put those in water for you.”

“Thank you!”  Charity responded, handing the flowers to Mary.

Mary shot Derek a knowing look, but Derek pretended not to notice.  She walked out of the dining room and Derek reached across the table and uncorked the bottle of wine.  “I hope you like red wine.”

She nodded.  “Perfect!”  She lifted her glass to the bottle, and he poured it until it was half full.  His eyes locked with hers.  He then pulled the bottle away and poured some into his own glass. 

“I’d like to make a toast.”  He lifted his glass, as did she.  “To friends slowly getting reacquainted and seeing what might come of this evening.”  He paused, before continuing.  “Charity, I’m so thankful you agreed to get together with me, and I would do anything to make it up to you.”

She smiled, clinking the glass with his and then slowly taking a drink.  He didn’t want to tear his eyes away, for fear he would suddenly realize this was all a dream and lose her once again.

****

The chemistry she felt between Derek and herself when she first met him, was still there.  She found herself laughing at things that a normal person just might not find funny.  She felt it all seemed so strange.  She wanted to continue to hate him because it would just be easier, but the more and more she spent time with him…the more and more she realized she was tired of hating him.

She took another drink from her wine glass and just enjoyed the moment.  Derek smiled at her and then switched the conversation up, turning things from funny to more serious.  “I was nervous today,” he quietly admitted.”

“Nervous?” she asked.  “What do you mean?”

He sighed.  “I didn’t want to say the wrong thing.  I didn’t want to do the wrong thing.”  She listened to his words and didn’t immediately judge as she had been doing this whole time.  “My feelings for you are as strong as they ever were.”  That statement only meant one thing.  He was clearly stating he still loved her, and she was now open to hearing his words.  “I had no plan of bringing this up tonight because I worried it would push you away.”  He smiled in the way that a mischevious schoolboy would smile.  “Have I made things weird?”

She considered that question, then shook her head.  “No…not weird.  In fact, I—.”

Her words were interrupted when Mary stepped into the dining room.  “Do you need anything else?”

Derek glanced at Charity.  “How about you?”

Charity smiled and looked up at Mary.  “No, but thank you.  Everything was great.”

Mary smiled.  “Not a problem, dear.  Maybe I’ll see you around.”

Charity just smiled in response to Mary’s statement.  Mary said she was heading up to her bedroom and when she left Charity turned to Derek.  “She’s a sweet lady.”

He nodded, grinning.  “Yes.  Mary’s more like family.”  She looked down at her empty glass.  Then Derek proceeded.  “Before she came in you were in the middle of saying something.”

She didn’t forget what she was going to say, but she questioned whether she should have even gone there.  Bypassing her worries, she continued.  “I’ve had much of the same thoughts as you, Derek.  I was nervous tonight and over the past few days I’ve gone back and forth and nearly canceled tonight.”  He opened his mouth, but she didn’t give him a chance to butt in.  “I was confused as to whether this was a date or just simply two people meeting up for supper.”  She hesitated and chuckled, before retracting her previous statement.  “Actually, in my heart, I knew this was a date.  Or, at least, I figured that’s how you saw it.  I just didn’t know how I wanted to see it.”