She looked down at the table, feeling the pink light up her face. She was a woman and appreciated the compliments, but they never seemed to get easier to accept. He reached out and touched her hand, and she didn’t pull away. She looked up into his eyes and smiled. Things weren’t getting any easier.
****
Who is that guy? Why does he look so familiar? Why was Charity going out to eat with him? He couldn’t focus on being at the restaurant with Jesse because he couldn’t stop thinking about the man that Charity seemed comfortable with. “Derek? Derek? Deerrreeekkk?”
He jerked out of his trance and glanced at Jesse. “What?” Derek asked.
Jesse laughed. “Um…you didn’t answer my question.”
Derek didn’t want Jesse to know that he was completely blowing him off, so he threw out a completely random answer. “Oh…the answer’s yes.”
Jesse’s eyes widened. “Interesting! Very interesting, in fact.”
Derek frowned. “Why?” he asked.
“Well…I asked you how things are going with Charity working back at your office?” Jesse smiled and took a drink of his coffee. “You answered with yes. So, does that mean things are going well?”
Derek looked down at the dark pool of his coffee. “Oh. Things are going fine,” he casually replied. Jesse didn’t initially drop it, in fact, he pushed inquiring Derek to go a little deeper with his response. Derek didn’t want to get too much into it, but he did have some advice he wanted to look to his friend to receive. “Charity and some guy are out to lunch right now.”
Jesse tilted his head. “Okay. Does this guy have a name?” Jesse asked.
“Damian,” Derek replied. “The thing is…he looks vaguely familiar like I might’ve seen him somewhere before.” Derek just couldn’t pinpoint where that somewhere could’ve been.
“It’s a small town,” Jesse replied matter-of-factly.
“Yeah…I know, and that’s what he said, too.” Derek shook his head, still having that nagging feeling.
“So, how do you feel about the fact that she’s out to eat with some other guy?” Jesse asked. His tone was quiet, and he was looking for an honest answer. Derek shrugged. He was about to give away too much information. Jesse continued. “You don’t look happy about it. Have you tried expressing these feelings to her before?”
“I feel like we’re replaying the same song,” Derek replied. “I told you…I’ve mentioned to her that I love her. She has to know that I wasn’t pleased to see her talking to some other guy.” Especially since I thought we were on the same page to see where our relationship could go, he wanted to add. Instead, he just took a sip of his coffee.
“Have you shown her by actions and not just words?” Jesse asked.
Derek narrowed his eyes. He hadn’t thought about that, but he just assumed that eventually, they would fall into line with one another. He didn’t consider he had anything to change, but Jesse was right. He hadn’t made an effort, besides more kisses and a few extra texts for her to see that he was thinking about her. He could definitely improve some things. He was excited to start. “You’re right!” Derek jumped up from his table.
Jesse laughed. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to use your advice. See you later!” Derek tossed some money down on the table and took off.
The first stop he made was to the florist shop that was next to the restaurant. He ran in and very tentatively asked for a dozen roses. The woman behind the counter seemed all too eager to oblige. When she handed over the roses, she beamed at him. “Lucky woman,” she said. He smiled back at her and handed her some money for the roses and a tip. She looked down at grinned. “Thank you, Mayor Worthington.”
He nodded and with the flowers in hand, he hurried out of the flower shop. He got into his vehicle and drove back to the office building, vicariously holding onto the flowers as she drove. He turned into the parking lot and pulled into his spot. He was headed towards the front door when he spotted a motorcycle pulling up in front of the building. He noticed her skirt right away. He stopped inside the parking garage and watched her get off. She handed the helmet to him. They talked for a few moments, and he braced himself to see what would happen next. She touched Damian’s arm, and he brushed a strand of hair from her eyes. He silently begged her not to kiss him and to his relief, she didn’t. She waved Damian on and headed into the building.
He watched the bike heading out of his view and it dawned on him. He’d seen Charity at Damian’s house. The motorcycle was parked in the driveway. He slowly walked across the street and headed into the lobby. The elevator doors were closing, so he held back until he was certain he wouldn’t stop the elevator from going up. He touched the up arrow and waited for it to drop her off and then come back down to get him. He stepped into the elevator and practiced the speech he wanted to say to her.
“Will you go out with me?” It was so simple, yet so hard to find his way to ask her the question. The only time they’d gone on what someone could call a date was the night he invited her to his place for supper. If they were going to be a real couple, then they needed to go out.
The elevator door opened, and she looked up. Her eyes widened as she stared at the flowers. “Beautiful roses,” she replied. She closed the drawer where she put her purse. “Are they to brighten up your office?” She smiled to show she was teasing.
He snickered. “They aren’t quite the décor I go for in my office, but I thought they would be beautiful on your desk.”
She grinned. “They are beautiful. Thank you so much!” He handed her the flowers, and she leaned in and kissed him. Her soft lips were supple against his. He never wanted to part from the kiss, but she, unfortunately, decided they needed to. She turned away from him and left the desk. He wondered where she was going, but then she returned with a vase. She placed the flowers in the water, then placed them on her desk. She nodded with appreciativeness. “Perfect!”
“You are…” he softly whispered. She looked up, and a smile touched her lips. He had already decided he wasn’t going to mention the guy because it wasn’t his business and if she wanted to tell him…she would. “So, what are you doing on Saturday night?” he asked.
She cocked her head and kept her smile embedded on her lips. “Why?” she asked.
“I would like you to go out with me.”
“You mean…like a date?” she asked.
He laughed at her sweet question, and he nodded. “Would anything be wrong with that? After all, I thought we were going to attempt to see where things could go. I want us to progress and not stay stagnant. Would you be alright with that?” he asked.
She nodded slowly. “Where where will we go?” she asked.
“You let me handle the details.” He smiled at her, giving her a genuine wink as she sat down at her desk. Her eyes remained connected with his, and she appeared intrigued. He, so far, was doing his job, and he couldn’t wait to go out on the town.
****
Charity was excited when Derek asked her out on an official date. She didn’t even care who would or wouldn’t see them together. Then as a day passed, then another, she got a text message from Damian, asking her out on Friday night. While Tiffany kept commenting about how lucky Charity was, Charity knew that the decision was about to come to a head. She had to make the decision for her own sake.
She got dressed and ready to go out with Damian. Tiffany stood in the doorway, still telling her how lucky she was. Charity finally had to turn around and glare at her sister. “When are you leaving?” Charity asked. Tiffany’s eyes widened, and she shrugged. “I love you, Sis, but you really need to stop saying that I’m lucky. I’m sick to my stomach here, and you’re going on and on about how I should be over the moon. Newsflash…I’m not!”
Tiffany backed down. “Alright. I’m sorry.” Tiffany left the entrance of the backroom and Charity finally felt like she could breathe. She turned back around and finished getting ready for her first date.
When she was fi
nished with her hair, she left the bathroom and found Tiffany on the couch. She started to apologize to Tiffany for snapping at her, but Tiffany quickly stopped her. “No. I’m sorry. I’ve extended my stay way longer than I anticipated. I should’ve left a long time ago.”
Charity felt bad that she had asked Tiffany when she was leaving. She liked having her there, and she definitely didn’t want Tiffany to leave, because she thought that’s what Charity wanted. “I want you to stay as long as you want to, but I’m just a little surprised you were able to extend your stay like this. I thought you’d have to start packing up to go to Massachusetts.”
“I do. I guess I was just prolonging things, but you’re right.”
Charity reached out and touched her sister’s shoulder. “Know that I want you to stay as long as you need to. You always have a place here.”
“I know,” she replied with a smile. She then looked at Charity’s outfit. “That’s hot, Sis.”
Charity laughed, looking down at her black dress. It had a slit up the side of her right thigh, and Tiffany was correct. It definitely was more revealing than what she usually wore out. “I should go change,” Charity quickly stated.
“Don’t you dare!” Tiffany replied.
She was too late to bother changing anyway. So, Charity kept the outfit on and just went ahead and said goodbye to Tiffany. “I’ll be home when…”
“You’re home,” Tiffany finished for her. “I got it! Have fun!”
Charity smiled and left the apartment. The nerves were no longer there when she went to meet up with Damian, so she was happy about that, but that didn’t mean she didn’t feel a certain amount of guilt every time they met up. Damian told her that he had a romantic evening planned for her. That worried her a bit, as several of their dates were more surrounded by fun, but she tried not to think about it.
He asked her to meet at his place but said they would leave from there, whatever that meant. Over the course of going out with him over the past couple weeks, he told her of a shortcut. She enjoyed taking a lot of the backroads to get to his place. It gave her more time to think. When she got to his driveway, she noticed it seemed darker than she usually found his place.
She parked over enough that he would be able to get past her and grabbed her purse. She got out of her car and headed up to his door. When she reached his steps, she noted the music that played inside of his house. She waited briefly before knocking on his door. He opened it up, standing in a suit she’d never seen him in before. She smiled. “You look gorgeous,” he stated before she had the chance to acknowledge his look.
She washed her hands over his outfit. “You look amazing, Damian.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the house. His lips went to hers, and they kissed while the door shut behind them. When the kiss ended, she noticed the candles in the living room. She opened her mouth, and he covered her mouth with his finger. “Follow me.” He held her hand and slowly pulled her along behind him.
When she got in the living room and found the setup he had of rose petals on the ground and candles all over the room and a small fire in the fireplace, she stopped him. “I don’t understand. I thought we were going out.”
He smiled. “Change of plans. I hope you’re not disappointed.” She glanced around the room. It was like they time-warped into a romance comedy.
“Not disappointed. Just confused.”
He smiled. “Hopefully, I can take away your confusion.” He pulled her to him and wrapped his hand around her neck. They kissed in the living room, with a soft melody playing in the background and flickering candles all around them.
“Damian…” she whispered, softly kissing him a few more times. “What’s going on?” The longer they stood there, the more convinced she was that something was going on, and she needed answers. It was one thing to bring on romance, but this was over the top. The rose petals were a nice touch, but it confused her all that much more.
“Let’s have some champagne,” he replied, changing the subject.
She looked down at the champagne bottle, as he poured them each a glass. “Champagne? That was the drink for celebrations, not a date. “You got champagne?” she asked softly.
He handed the glass to her. “I want to toast.” Again, he pretended like she said nothing. “Charity, you and I have had passion from day one. I suppose I’ve always known we were good together and while I know that it has taken you longer to get there…I’d like to believe that you have found your way. I love you more than life itself. I toast this tonight for our bright future, and I look forward to many more dates with you, my love.” He clinked her glass, then took a drink, but she stood motionless.
It was like he was having this conversation with someone else. “Damian, I…” she started, but he already interrupted her.
“I don’t want to wait all night to ask you this burning question.”
Her mouth opened. “Damian, don’t…” she whispered.
It was too late. He got on one knee and removed a small box from his suit coat. She still had the champagne glass in her right hand and with her left hand, she covered her mouth. He was doing this. He opened the box, and a shiny diamond sat in the middle of the box. “I can’t imagine my life without you. I need you by my side, and I will never break your heart. Charity, will you marry me?”
She couldn’t even believe this was happening. She felt the room spinning, and she needed to sit down. She put the glass down on his coffee table and she sat down on the couch but still stared at him. “What are you doing?” she asked. It wasn’t the response she was sure he wanted to get, but it was the response she had to start with. His eyes watered over. “Please get up,” she quietly begged him.
He did stand to his feet, then grabbed the spot next to her. He closed the box and put it down on the table. “Ouch,” he murmured.
She shook her head. “How could you think it would’ve gone any other way?”
“We’ve been getting closer.”
She nodded. “We have, but come on Damian…I haven’t even made a decision yet. I haven’t even said I love you.”
“I know, but that’s only a matter of time. You’ll get there, and I thought maybe this would push you in that direction.”
She covered her face with her hand. The words kept running through her mind. She would’ve never expected a marriage proposal. “Damian, I won’t lie to you. I do feel a connection with you, but I also feel that connection with Derek. I’m going on a date with him tomorrow, and I expect to have an answer by the end of it. You have to trust me that I won’t string someone along.”
“I do,” he replied quietly. “I just need you to know where my heart is.”
She raised an eyebrow. “That was never a question. I know how you feel, but proposing to me…you took me by surprise.”
“I saw the ring and immediately thought of you.”
She picked it up from the coffee table and opened up the box. It was a beautiful ring, but it was way too soon for that. “It’s a gorgeous ring, Damian.” She started to hand it back to him, but he quickly pushed it back into her hands.
“Keep it. You don’t have to give me an answer right now.”
She didn’t think it was the smart move to hold onto the ring, but she dropped it in her purse. He smiled. “I shouldn’t stay.” She got up from the couch. He stood to his feet, and he touched her arm.
“You don’t have to go. I have all this food.”
She snickered. “I can’t stay. It wouldn’t be fair to you, and it wouldn’t be fair to Derek.”
“Right!” He looked down like he was a dejected puppy dog.
She touched his chin and forced him to look at her. “I’ll call you later.” She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek. She then grabbed her purse and left the living room. Once she got to her car, she just sat there. He turned the lights on in his house as the romantic evening was over. A couple of tears fell down her cheeks, and she couldn’t stop trembling. She was finally in a position whe
re she could see marriage in her future, and she couldn’t even say yes. She didn’t know how she was going to face Derek when an engagement ring was hidden away in her purse.
****
Derek signed his signature on the agreement, and he felt an overwhelming weight lift off his shoulder. He didn’t need the pressure holding him down. He knew it was what he wanted to do. He put his pen down and started to leave the living room. He needed to get ready for his date with Charity. He gave Mary the night off, just in case they decided to come back to his place, and now he had to get dressed.
As passed the front door, he heard a knock on his door. He moved to the door and opened it up. His jaw dropped. “Charity? What are you doing here?” She was dressed in a pair of jeans and a shirt. She looked nice, but it wasn’t the attire he expected for a night on the town. Plus, he was scheduled to pick her up. “I was just about to get ready, so I could come pick you up.”
She put her hands in her pockets and looked uncertain. “I know, but I was hoping we could stay in.”
He honestly didn’t care what they did for their date. He just wanted them to be together, but he didn’t have anything prepared for them to eat. He stepped back and she entered the house. “That’s fine, but I’m surprised. I mean, I gave Mary the night off so we’ll be eating peanut butter sandwiches.”
She laughed, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “That’d be fine. I’m not picky.”
He laughed and then realized he hadn’t greeted her properly. He leaned in and kissed her. At first, the kiss was cold, but then she slowly warmed up. He pulled back. “We could order pizza in.”
She grinned. “I’d be fine with that.”
She seemed a little on edge, and it wasn’t like she was nervous, it just seemed like she had a ton of things she was thinking about and he wasn’t really one of them. “Do you want to watch a movie tonight? I have a pretty good movie collection. You could pick?”
She shrugged. “Sure. Sounds great!”
He smiled. “Alright. The movies are in the den, along the wall. You could pick a few out, and I’ll go order the pizza. What’s your favorite?”
The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2) Page 21
