She looked up at him. “Tell me the truth, Derek. Did your father set up an inheritance where you would only get it if you married within two years?”
His face turned pale. “What does that have to do with—.”
She quickly cut him off. “Was yesterday a year since your father passed away?”
“Yes, but—.”
She held up her hands to keep him from coming closer. “You can’t seem to tell the truth about anything, can you?”
“There was nothing to tell,” he argued. “The money means nothing to me.”
She shook her head. “I can’t believe that.”
“Charity, don’t push me away just because you’re scared.”
She glared at him. “I’m not scared, Derek. Last night was amazing, but I thought you were different. I’m not interested in hooking up with you, just so we can get married, have a kid, and you gain your father’s ten billion dollars.”
His jaw dropped. “First of all…who said marriage? Second of all if I proposed to you, it’d be because I want to spend the rest of life with you. Screw the inheritance.”
She tilted her head and snickered. “You don’t mean that because you’d be a damn fool. Ten billion dollars?” She picked up her suitcase and started to leave the room. Derek quickly went around her and blocked the door from her leaving. “You can’t keep me here against my will.”
“You can’t leave without hearing my side of the story.”
She looked away from him. She wasn’t staying no matter how much he begged her. “I’ve already heard your side numerous times, and I’m done.” She unlocked the door and grabbed onto the door handle. She opened it up, forcing him to get out of her way. She left the hotel room and didn’t look back.
***
Derek couldn’t have gotten dressed any faster. He had to get to the airport and explain everything to her. He couldn’t lose her, not when it was his father’s stupid rules that were causing the issue. He grabbed the two room keys and quickly made sure he didn’t forget anything, including the phone charger she left behind.
He stood at the elevator and waited and waited. The elevator took longer than expected, so he ran through the door of the stairwell and took the flights of stairs to the lobby. He hurried up to the desk and checked out, thanked them, and left the hotel. He hoped she wasn’t able to get a shuttle so quickly, then he would be lucky enough to make it to the airport about the same time she did. Driving the half hour to the airport seemed slower than he remembered, but eventually, he did arrive.
He parked the car in the rent-a-car lot and ran into the airport. He made his way to the desk and dropped off the keys to the car. They marked it as returned and he then went to gate where the flight was to leave. “I need to cancel my flight for tomorrow and reschedule it for the next one to go out. The names Derek Worthington.”
The woman typed on her computer, and she finally shook her head. “I’m sorry, that flight has finished boarding, and they’re getting ready to take off.”
“Can’t you stop it? I have to get back to Maine,” he argued.
“I’m sorry, but once the doors have closed…there’s nothing I can do.”
He sighed. “Can you tell me if Charity Parker got on the flight?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, personal information can’t be released, but I can tell you that she credited your credit card for going from first class to economy seating. You’ll get a credit of two hundred dollars.” She smiled, but he still felt a pit in his stomach.
He hit the counter and nodded. “Thanks anyway.” He stepped away from the counter and went over to the window, where a plane’s propellers were twirling and slowly the plane lifted off the runway. He stared at it. If she was on the plane, she was flying away from him, and he couldn’t do anything to stop her.
Hello fans! Thank you for reading my debut novel. I look forward to hearing what each and every one of you have to say and believe me…YOU have a voice. I have grown attached to these characters and I look forward to hearing what you have to say about how you want them to evolve. Nothing is set in stone and maybe your ideas and thoughts will be the next plot. Do you have a preference between Damian or Derek? Also, if you click here I will enter your name into some amazing drawings and you will be eligible to receive my next book for free, just by asking to join the mailing list. What are you waiting for? Prizes and updates are available to you. Also, I would love for you to leave me a review and if you do…let me know and you’ll automatically get a free book from one of several indie authors. You get to pick from a list of ten authors and if you don’t like any of the choices, you get to pick one of your own!! Who doesn’t enjoy free books? Thanks again for reading and I look forward to hearing from you.
The Proposal will be available August 30, 2016
Pre-order it here
The Inheritance (Forever Bound #1) Page 27
