The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2) (18 page)

“You are?” Charity asked.  “That is awesome!”

This time, Tiffany shot her daggers.  “In my dreams, Channing and I are very close.  My point is that there is obviously more to your story than you’re letting on.”

“Just a boss helping their co-worker out.”

Tiffany tossed her head back and laughed.  “Keep saying that, but I highly doubt Bill would’ve hopped in his car to help you out.”  She then frowned.  “That’s probably a bad analogy because Bill was pretty nice and he probably would have.”

Charity smiled.  “Tiffany was right about that, but that was so off the point.  Derek was simply trying to help her out, or at least that’s what she had to make Tiffany believe because she didn’t want everything blown out of proportion.

****

Before Charity officially asked him to come help her out, he was headed towards the airport.  The whole way he silently cursed the traffic to get out of his way, and he didn’t totally breathe until he was turning into the parking lot. 

He scoured the lot and finally noticed section G.  It didn’t take him long to find Charity’s car, and he pulled up in front of her.  She got out of the car and so did the woman in the seat next to her.  Before he could even say hello to Charity, her sister approached him. 

“Hello…my name’s Tiffany.”

She outstretched her arm in front of him, and he shook her extended hand.  “Hello…Mayor Worthington, but you can just call me Derek.  It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Tiffany started giggling, and he snickered and noticed Charity’s mortified expression.  “Hey!” she coolly replied.

“Hey!”  He figured she wanted to still keep this on the down low, so he made sure not to mention that Charity and he were technically dating.  “Go ahead and up your hood.”  She went back to the driver’s side of the car and pulled the switch for the hood, while he did the same for his.

“I really do appreciate you coming here.  You didn’t have to, but it was…nice.”

He smiled and shrugged it off.  “No worries.  I had nothing going on.”  He winked at her, making sure it was discreet, and Tiffany didn’t notice the action.  Charity smiled, looking down at the ground.

He grabbed the jumper cables from the back of his car and attached them to each of their batteries.  She slid into her car and turned the key in the ignition.  The car sputtered, but then stalled.  He frowned.  “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Well, maybe it isn’t the battery.”  He went to the back of his car and pulled out a battery tester.

She seemed intrigued.  “You really do come prepared.”

He laughed.  “You never know.”  He approached her battery and attached it to the tester.  He turned it on and shook his head as the dial kept going until it hit the mark proving it wasn’t her battery.  “I’m sorry, but it’s not the battery.”  He removed the tester.  “It could be the fuel pump.  Ever had that replaced?”

She frowned, then laughed.  “Um…I’m going to say no, but I could be wrong.”

He grinned.  “I’d say get it towed in and have it worked on tomorrow.  I’ll take you home.”

She glanced over at Tiffany, and he noticed their secretive exchange.  She then explained it to him.  “They said it would be at least three hours.  Do you mind waiting that long?”

He shrugged.  “I have no plans.  Who would be coming?” he asked.

“Main Street Towing.”

He grabbed his phone from the dash of his car and dialed up their number.  She watched him as he made the call.  A woman answered the phone.  “Hello, this is Mayor Derek Worthington.  I have a friend stuck at Portland International Jetport.  I need a tow truck out there right away.”

“Oh…yes…of course.  They’ll be there in ten minutes.”

He told the woman where they were parked, then hung up the phone and put it back into the front seat of his car.  He turned around to find Charity’s jaw dropped.  “What’d they say?” she asked.

“They’ll be here in ten minutes.”

She laughed, and he felt a little guilty for using his name, but it wasn’t like he was doing evil.  They had the resources to get out there earlier, and he just made sure they utilized them.

Tiffany snickered.  “It pays to know someone, that’s for sure.”

He smiled at her reply.  “I’ll move my car into a parking spot, so they can easily have access to your vehicle. 

He had to drive to the next aisle over, but then he parked and headed back to where they stood.  They were talking quietly, until he approached them and Charity looked up, instantly breaking off the conversation.  “I don’t think I can ever repay you,” Charity replied.

He brushed her words away.  “Don’t be silly.  It was no big deal.” 

The next few minutes was kept with Tiffany making most of the conversation.  She was more talkative than her sister, but they both had very similar features in their mannerisms.  He noticed that right off.  He didn’t mind hearing Tiffany chatter away, as it kept him from glancing at Charity and showing Tiffany exactly how he felt about her sister. 

When the tow truck got there, Derek gave his information, despite Charity profusely arguing with him.  He held up his hand and silently told her he would talk to her about it later.  The driver said that he had to take the vehicle to the nearest shop, but Derek talked him into taking it to the Lowell’s Automotive, which was just into Buxton.  That way Charity didn’t have her vehicle too far away.  As the guy drove the tow truck, with her car on the back, out of the parking spot, Charity, Derek, and Tiffany all walked back to his car.  He opened up the trunk, so Tiffany could put her luggage in the back.

Tiffany started to get into the passenger seat, but Charity cleared her throat, causing her to rethink her decision.  Derek chuckled, and they all loaded up into his BMW.  He heard Tiffany mumbling about never being in such a nice vehicle, but he chose to ignore it.  “Ready to go?” he asked.

Both Charity and Tiffany mutually agreed that they were ready to get out of the airport parking lot.  He pulled out of his parking spot and Tiffany started to talk away once more.  Periodically he saw Charity’s amused expression and he relaxed and enjoyed the ride to her apartment.

****

Charity and Tiffany got out of the car.  Derek helped Tiffany with her luggage out of the trunk, then they all stood awkwardly, standing around and gawking at one another.  That was until Charity broke the ice.  “Thanks again for coming to the rescue.”

He snickered.  “You would’ve managed just fine, but it wasn’t a problem at all.”

She wanted to kiss him and give him the proper thank you he deserved, but she couldn’t; at least not with Tiffany standing at her side and observing every move.

Derek started to reach for the luggage, but Charity stopped him.  “We have it.  I’d hate for you to be detained much longer.”

He reluctantly pulled back from the suitcase, but she saw a flash of disappointment on his face.  “I’ll come pick you up tomorrow about seven thirty.  Does that work?”

For a brief moment she was about to question why he had to pick her up, but then it dawned on her.  The car wouldn’t be available to drive.  It made sense, but she felt bad she had to rely on him anyway.  “That would be fine.  I’ll call the shop as soon as I get upstairs so I can give them my contact information.”

“Sounds good,” he softly replied.  His eyes drifted over to Tiffany, who looked like she was just enjoying the view in front of her.  She didn’t move.  She didn’t talk.  She just stood there.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” Charity mumbled.

He turned to Tiffany and reached out to shake her hand.  She beamed from ear to ear.  “It was a pleasure to meet you, Mayor Worthington,” she said, as they shook hands.

“The pleasure was all mine, Tiffany.”  He looked between Charity and Tiffany.  “Enjoy your night.”

“You too!” They replied in unison.  Charity watched as he got in his car, that was still running and pulled out of the parking spot.  He waved out the window.  When he was out of the parking lot completely, Tiffany turned to face Charity.

“The Mayor?  Are you kidding me?”

Charity frowned, picking up one of Tiffany’s suitcases.  “What are you talking about?” She nonchalantly asked.  She pretended to be struggling with the suitcase and moaned as she shifted herself.  “How long are you saying for, anyway?” Charity teased.

“Whatever!”  Tiffany had to hurry to catch up to Charity.  “You know what I mean.  You and Mayor Worthington seem way too comfortable with one another.  It’s not just a boss/employee relationship.  Admit it!”

They stopped at the top of the steps, and Charity dropped the suitcase to the ground.  “Will you lower your voice?”

Tiffany laughed.  “I’m right.  Aren’t I?”

Charity shook her head.  “I’m sorry to disappoint little sister.  We’re friends, but that’s as far as it goes.”  She picked the suitcase back up and ignored Tiffany’s disgruntled pleas for Charity to admit it was more than friendship.  Charity started to fumble with her keys when the door flung open.

“A phone call would’ve been nice,” Ana sarcastically stated.

Charity gave her an apologetic look.  “I was busy.”  Tiffany and Charity pushed through the threshold of the apartment, nearly knocking Ana out of the way.

“She was busy with Mayor Worthington,” Tiffany quickly stated.

Charity shot a glare towards her sister as Ana whirled around and looked shocked, as she should’ve been.  “Derek?” Ana asked as if there was more than one Mayor Worthington.  “Did he come to the airport?”

Charity stopped gawking at Tiffany and shrugged.  “There was no one else.”

Tiffany snickered.  “They looked mighty cozy if you ask me.”

“Tiffany…butt out…” Charity snapped.

Ana raised an eyebrow at Charity’s rough words.  She didn’t say another word about Derek.  She cleared her throat and turned to Tiffany.  “It’s been a long time,” Ana replied.  She hugged Tiffany and Tiffany agreed that it’d been too long.  When they parted, Ana glanced at Charity.  “You got another delivery today.”  Charity rolled her eyes.  She’d never hear the end of this.  “it’s on the coffee table.”

“Delivery?” Tiffany asked, intrigued and completely forgetting about badgering Charity about Derek.

“She’s been receiving these gifts and juicy poems.”

Tiffany’s eyes widened.  “A secret admirer?” Tiffany asked.

Ana shook her head.  “Nope.  She knows this guy.”

Then Derek immediately came back into the conversation.  “Wow, Sis…you have two guys after you?  Derek Worthington and a mystery guy that I’m dying to meet?”

Charity shook her head.  “I have no guys after me.  They’re both simply friends.”  Charity headed over to the coffee table, where a package was lying.  She picked it up but didn’t open it.  She learned her lesson, and she was going to wait until she was in the safety of her bedroom.  She then remembered the Tiffany was sharing that bedroom, so it wasn’t going to be easy.

“A friend that sends you steamy poetry?  I think not,” Ana huffed.

Tiffany rubbed her hands together.  “I’m excited.  You can’t stop there.  Open it up.”

Charity tried desperately to change the subject, but neither Ana or Tiffany was interested in dropping the subject.  “If I open the stupid package, will you please just drop it?” Charity begged.

Tiffany and Ana looked at one another, then they both in unison said the same word.  “Nope!”

Charity wanted to just barricade herself in the room and open the gift so they would get fixated on something else, but she couldn’t do that.  She hadn’t seen Tiffany in awhile, and she found herself giving into peer pressure.  She braced herself but willingly opened the package.  She found a cookbook.  She frowned but then chuckled lightly.  “Interesting!” she mumbled.

“A cookbook?” Tiffany asked, scrunching up her nose.  “Does he know that you have trouble boiling water?”

Charity shot her an annoyed look, but then she laughed out loud.  “Uh yeah…he does!”  It did seem like an odd gift to give her.  She opened it up and on the front cover, he had written her a poem.  She wasn’t surprised by that.  She quickly closed it up and looked up at the two of them.  “Well, that’s the secret…it’s a cookbook.”

“I don’t think so.  Not so fast.”  Ana snatched the cookbook out of her hand before she could stop her.  She opened it up and found the poem, then read it aloud.

A broken heart, a broken dream

An emptiness in losing you

A heavy heat with steady stream

crying a river from missing you

How did we get here?

How did we lose our way?

Where did my love steer?

Why did you feel the need to go away?

I spend my days seeking you

I spend my hours dreaming of you

I spend my nights craving you

I spend my minutes thinking of you.

When I think about your beauty,

I think about your heart.

My love for you is a rarity,