The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2)

by Bree Callahan

  “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,

  I never wanted to drift apart.

  Let me cook dinner for you once more,

  You won’t regret giving me this chance.

  My heart is aching for you, amore,

  Please go with me on life’s dance.

  Charity cringed. This was way too embarrassing, and when Tiffany squealed with delight, she wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. “There’s more,” Ana said, holding up her hand. She continued to read. “My dearest, Charity. Let me show you how much I want to be the man you deserve. Pick out your favorite recipe from this book and this Saturday night I will make it for you, my dear. Love, Damian.”

  “Oh…My…Gosh…” Tiffany sighed, falling against the couch. “Does he have a brother?”

  Charity stared at her sister and smile crept along Tiffany’s lips. “I’m worrying about one guy when you have two guys that are falling all over you. You have to text him. I’ll help you find a perfect recipe.” She took the book from Ana’s hands and started to leaf through it. Charity snatched the book from Tiffany’s grasp.

  “I’m telling you this only one more time. I don’t have two guys falling all over me. Derek no longer has those feelings for me.”

  Tiffany’s jaw dropped. “So…he did have those feelings for you?”

  Charity closed her eyes, she was never going to win, especially when Ana started talking to Tiffany as if Charity wasn’t even there. “I’m not completely convinced Derek doesn’t still have those feelings for your sister. In fact, I’m not completely convinced that Charity no longer has those feelings for Derek,” Ana replied with a chuckle. Charity looked away from Ana’s and Tiffany’s teenager-like conversation. She thought they were all adults and could have a discussion like adults. She was clearly wrong. When Ana took a breath, Charity made her escape.

  “I get that you both think you’re funny, but I’m not laughing.” She turned away and stormed into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her. She looked at the cookbook still clutched in her hand and tossed it down on her dresser. She tossed herself on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. This time with Tiffany wasn’t starting as she’d hoped. She was already exhausted.

  Chapter 15

  Charity kept her eyes focused on the ceiling. A shadowy spot lied in the corner and she didn’t take her eyes off of it. She couldn’t be certain how long she’d been staring at it before she heard a knock on the bedroom door. “Charity? May I come in?”

  She groaned at the sound of her sister’s voice. She didn’t want to be rude, but she also didn’t want to spend another moment arguing with her. “I suppose,” Charity replied, pulling herself up and sitting in the bed.

  Tiffany opened the bedroom door and entered the room, carrying two blankets and a pillow in her arms. She closed the bedroom door, and Charity frowned, but Tiffany quickly explained herself. “I want it to be like old times when we would have campouts in our bedrooms.” She smiled, and Charity couldn’t even deny her that.

  “Fine!” Charity replied. She watched as Tiffany put one blanket down, then laid down on top of it. She propped herself up on her elbow and settled herself into place. “Comfortable?” Charity asked.

  Tiffany nodded. “Pretty much!”

  “Good!” Charity leaned back and laid her head down on her pillo
w. “Goodnight!” Charity mumbled. She reached up and turned the light off.

  Tiffany quickly appealed the decision. “We’re not even going to talk?” Tiffany asked.

  Charity slowly turned the light back on. “I don’t want any more talk about Derek…Damian…or myself.”

  Tiffany crossed her heart. “I promise. Unless you bring it up, I won’t say a word.”

  “Good!” Charity pulled herself up and tucked her knees to her chest. “How have you been, Tiffany…truly?”

  Tiffany shrugged, slightly, then a small smile appeared on her lips. “I’ve been great!” Almost the moment the words left her mouth, she looked upset and tears started to form. “I’m sorry!” she whispered. She brushed away a trail of tears streaming down her cheeks.

  “Oh…Tiff…” Charity softly replied. She got off the bed and lowered herself down onto the makeshift bed Tiffany would be sleeping in. “What’s wrong?” Charity asked, wrapping her arms around Tiffany.

  “Nothing…” Tiffany replied shaking her head, but then she sobbed. “Everything.” Her body started to shake, and there was no controlling her crying. “I’m way in over my head. What if I can’t do this? Harvard is the big league, and I don’t think I have what it takes.”

  “What?” Charity pulled back and stared at Tiffany. “You are a strong woman, Tiffany. You can do this. You got your strong-will from Mom. Don’t doubt yourself. You’re amazing!”

  Tiffany looked up into Charity’s eyes, and Charity wiped a tear from Tiffany’s eyes. “What if I can’t? What if I fall?”

  “Then you’ll get back up, and you’ll fight harder.” Charity sighed. “We’re Parker’s, and we have a lot of fight in us, even if we sometimes lose sight of that.” Charity’s words softly trailed off.

  “I’ll be all alone.”

  Charity softened her grip on her sister. “You were already all alone. You made friends. Besides, I thought you said Paul would be there. You won’t be all alone.”

  “I don’t know. I just feel sick all of the time, and I question my decision daily. I want to do this, but what if it doesn’t work out and I fail.”

  Charity scooted back from Tiffany so they were face to face. “What if you do fail? What if everything completely crumbles and you are left in the rubble? Will you still have me?”

  Tiffany nodded. “Of course!” Tiffany replied quietly.

  “That’s right. You will still have every person in your life that loves you, but Tiffany you can’t be afraid to take a chance because you don’t want to fail.” Her words slowly hit her, and it was like a light went off. She pushed Damian away because she immediately decided her heart was attached to Derek. She wanted it to be Derek because he was the first guy she saw in that way after Joe broke her heart, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t be wrong. It also didn’t mean she wasn’t right. She was confused, and that was the reason she pushed Damian away.

  “Charity?” Tiffany asked.

  Charity shook her head, trying to get the vision out of her mind. “What?” Charity asked.

  Tiffany frowned. “You look like you have some things on your mind.’

  Charity snickered. That was an understatement. She had told Derek that she didn’t want Ana and Jesse to know. She had never told him that she wouldn’t tell her sister. She needed someone to talk to, and Tiffany was the only one there. The only problem was, Tiffany wasn’t always the best person to keep a secret, but she wanted to take that chance. “Can you keep a secret?” Charity asked softly.

  Tiffany perked up and eagerly nodded. Charity sighed and asked her the question again. “I promise I will keep it a secret,” Tiffany stated.

  Charity didn’t have any choice but to believe her. So, she confessed all. She started with the moment she met Damian and how they classified their relationship as strictly friend’s with benefits. She proceeded to mention that there were a couple of times when she suspected it could be more, especially when Damian muttered he loved her while falling asleep, but then quickly retracted that statement when she asked him. She said that for her…she didn’t want to fall for anyone, so she always pushed that notion out of her mind. Tiffany listened quietly as she explained everything about Damian and her relationship, then quickly moved onto talking about Derek.

  When she spoke about Derek, Tiffany a couple of times interjected questions or thoughts, such as, “Did you immediately know you liked him? Did he immediately make it evident he liked you? How do you feel about him now?”

  When the final questioned was asked, Charity knew she had, to be honest. “Derek and I decided not to tell Ana and Jesse, Ana’s boyfriend because we wanted to make sure what we had was real, but we’ve started dating.” She frowned at that word. “Actually, I guess it’s only been one date at his house, but things are going well between us. I do care about him, and he has expressed that he loves me.”

  Tiffany’s eyes widened. “Wow! He actually said the words.”

  Charity nodded. “Multiple times and I’ve always just smiled, and we would kiss or something along that lines. I suppose I’m still worried that I can’t trust him and when I think about Damian…” Her words fell off, and she got choked up.

  “How do you feel about Damian? Do you feel it could be love?”

  Charity shrugged. “I enjoy spending time with both of them. I really do. I’ve never been this conflicted about anything and honestly I never would’ve thought of Damian if it wasn’t for the fact that he keeps pushing for me to see what could be between us.” She covered her face with her hands. “I need guidance,” she mumbled.

  Tiffany touched her shoulder in a lovingly way. “I do have some advice,” Tiffany quietly stated.

  Charity removed her hands from her face. “You do?” Charity asked.

  Tiffany nodded. A smile touched her lips. “I got to see firsthand the way Derek is around you, and I would’ve bet anything there was something going on.” Her smile deepened. “I’m glad to see that I wasn’t wrong.” She tilted her head, and Charity expected Tiffany to say that there was no question what she had to do, but instead she sighed and said the opposite. “With that being said, I do see why you’re conflicted. I don’t know Damian, but I had the pleasure to hear his awkward words in a poem.”

  Charity laughed. “He’s not a poet, but he tried.”

  Tiffany nodded. “You’re right. He tried, and that’s saying a lot. He went out of his comfort zone to prove to you that he means his words.”

  “You’re right!” Charity whispered. She felt a tear fall down her cheek, so she wiped it away with her hand. “Derek is a good man,” Charity replied, feeling a tug at her heart.

  “He seems to like it, but you’re not at the point where you’re saying you’d choose Damian. Would it be so bad if you just took a moment and considered the idea? Maybe you need to go out with him once and see if you can get him out of your system.”

  Tiffany was right. She owed it to herself, and she owed it to Damian. She looked down at her watch. It was almost one o’clock, and she had to get some sleep. “I’ll text Damian tomorrow,” Charity finally stated.

  Tiffany leaned over, and they both hugged. “I’m sorry I was a pesky little sister earlier today.”

  Charity laughed. “I’m sorry I was so upset, but you’re right…it needs to be done.” Charity got up off the floor and got back under her covers. She felt better than she did earlier and she had to be honest with herself before she could really make her decision.

  ****

  Derek knocked on Charity’s apartment door right on time. It was Tiffany to open the door. She smiled and backed up so he could get inside. “She’ll be ready in a minute.”

  “Good.” He paused, before speaking again. “Did you have a nice night on your first night back in Maine?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I forgot how peaceful it is here. It was nice. Thanks!”

  Charity came out of the bathroom and smiled. “Hello,” he greeted her.

  “Hello!”

  Ana yawned as s
he walked out of her bedroom. Her eyes widened when she noticed Derek was in the apartment. “Oh geez…” she mumbled, pulling her robe tighter around her. “I didn’t realize you were here.”

  Charity snickered as they all ignored Ana’s concerned look. “Are you going to be around in case Tiffany needs to go somewhere?” Charity asked.

  Ana nodded, yawning again and covering her mouth as she did. “I shouldn’t need anything,” Tiffany responded.

  “Alright. You can give me a call if you need anything today.” She frowned. “Not really sure how I’ll get here with no car, but I’ll make it work.”

  “I’ll be sure she gets here,” Derek quickly stated.

  Charity shot him a look, then softened her stare a bit. “I’ll be home around five o’clock or so. I’ll call you if it’s any later.”

  She hugged Tiffany before both Derek and Charity left the apartment. He waved, right before she shut the door behind them. “Doing alright?” Derek asked as they trekked their way down the stairs of the apartment.

  “Why wouldn’t I be?” Charity asked. It came across a little harsh, but he didn’t point that out.

  “I just thought that you would be a little on edge not having your vehicle and not knowing what was wrong with it.”

  “Oh…” she mumbled. “Yeah, that is a pain. Which reminds me, I have to call them now. I couldn’t get an answering machine last night.”

  They reached the car, and she opened up her door before he even had a chance to make an effort. He got into the car and started it up as she dialed up a number. He heard her talking to the auto shop as she pulled out of the parking lot. She said a few things like, alright, uh-huh, I understand, and okay I’ll call you later. She hung up the phone and groaned. “What’d they have to say?” he asked.

  “It’s not great news. It might not be ready until Saturday morning. They’re open until noon that day, and they said they’re pretty swamped. They’re going to look at the car this afternoon and see what’s wrong with it.”