Determined: To Love: (Part 2 of the Determined Trilogy) Read Online Free PDF

just riled me up.
    “Why would you do that? Are you ashamed of what I do for a living? Just so you know, I am fully capable of getting a full time job on my own. I just happen to like working for Curtis.” I hissed.
    “Whoa, whoa, slow down baby.” His voice was steady and measured. “To answer your question, no I am not ashamed of you. Quite the opposite. I think you’re smart and focused, and I really admire that about you. I am confident you’d have your choice of employers, if you were so inclined. Just think of the offer as my selfish attempt to keep you nearby.”
    Okay, I have to admit, I melted just a little, but I didn’t let him know. I held firm on the phone.
    “Are you sure? Why did you bring Jenna into it?”
    “I didn’t. I mean, not on purpose. We chatted over the holiday about this. I didn’t know she’d bring it up today.”
    Part of me wanted to call bullshit; he was much too savvy of a business man to not know exactly what he had been doing with Jenna. But he continued.
    “But Samantha, really, it was all with good intentions. I don’t just respect what you do as a job, but I respect you as a person, as well. I’d never want you to do anything you aren’t one-hundred percent comfortable with. Even if that includes coming to work for me. Really.”
    His words were working. I was starting to calm down.
    “Promise?”
    “Promise. You know you are the most important thing in the world to me, right?”
    I paused. “Yeah.”
    “So please, forget about this. Go enjoy your breakfast. I’ll see you later tonight.”
    “Okay. I love you. And thanks for the mimosas”
    “You are welcome. Love you, too.”
    I pressed end on my phone and went back into the dining room.
    “Sorry about that,” I said as I eased back down to the table.
    “Is everything okay? I didn’t mean to upset you, Sam.”
    “Everything is fine. Just a mis-understanding. It’s all resolved now.”
    Jenna stared at me as the waiter came to refill our coffee. “Do you know how much he loves you?”
    I looked up, startled. God, how much did these two share with each other?
    I tried to keep my expression even. “What do you mean?”
    “When we were up at Dad’s place for New Years. He and I were out getting firewood.”
    I nodded, not wanting to interrupt.
    “He said he was worried.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You have to understand, I mean, you know he’s had a lot of tragedies in his life, right?” I nodded. “He said he was worried because with you,” she looked at me pointedly, “he felt like he was getting more than he deserved. He didn’t think it was possible to be this happy.”
    I died a little inside. My David. My sweet David. No wonder he was so eager to protect me. He thought I was a fleeting moment. I resolved to do everything I could to prove him wrong.
    “I’m going to be such an awesome sister-in-law,” Jenna said as she jammed a forkful of home fries in her mouth.
    I just shook my head and smiled.
    ~
    Later on at the gallery, I had the short shift, which was great because I needed to get ready for our weekend trip. David had insisted I didn’t need to pack anything, but I still wanted to run by my place to pick up a book I’d been meaning to read.
    Elliot picked me up at the gallery and whisked me over to my studio, where I darted in quickly to grab my book. On my way back out to the street I started absent-mindedly reading the blurb on the back cover and almost knocked into someone on the path.
    “Oh, hey, Greg. Sorry, I wasn’t looking at where I was going.” He was headed back toward the street from Clark and Leslie’s front porch. He must have been visiting with them.
    “No problem, Sam. It’s actually nice to run in to you.” His warm southern accent was enchanting. He seemed unusually pleased that I had almost knocked him over. “I was beginning to think I’d imagined having such a pretty neighbor.”
    I blushed and glanced around. Luckily Elliot was firmly ensconced in the