The Proposal (Forever Bound Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

face went red.  “Um…so, you really feel that way?” she asked.
    He didn’t even need a millisecond to answer that.  “I’ve never been so strongly about anything.  I love her.”
    Their eyes connected and he saw that he got to her.  “I’ll try calling her, but I don’t know if she’ll listen to me any more than she’s listened to you.”  She paused, before continuing, “As far as Jesse goes…I’m just hurt he didn’t tell me.”
    He nodded.  “I know, but it wasn’t his fault.  Plus, in his defense…he wasn’t dating you back then.  Don’t fault him because I asked him to do this.   You two belong together.  I’ve never seen Jesse happier.”
    She barely made eye contact as he tried to convince her to talk to Jesse.  Finally, she just shrugged.  “I’ll see, but in the meantime we have to get Charity to listen to you, right?”
    Derek wanted to say that there was no reason they couldn’t all be happy, but he couldn’t bring himself to focus on Jesse and Ana when he did want to get things fixed on his own end.  “So, will you call her today?”
    She nodded and stood up from the couch.  Derek shook her hand, as he stood to his feet.  “Thank you, Ana.  I appreciate this.”
    She nodded slightly.  “See you later, Derek.”  She walked him to the door, and he left the house.  He felt like perhaps he was that much closer to getting Charity to talk to him.  At least, he hoped so.  He went to the office as he had some responsibilities to deal with and when he got to his office, he noticed a message flashing on his phone.  He leaped towards the phone and grabbed it, dialed in the passcode and waited for the message.  It was Charity’s voice that came on the other end.  His face fell as he listened to her message.  Not only was she not coming right back to work, but she was also telling him she would pay him back for the rent.  She didn’t need to do that.  He hung up the call and dialed up her number, but again it eventually went to her voicemail.  He sighed but remained listening to her recording so he could leave his message.  At the beep, he did just that.
    “Hey, Charity…got your message.  Your job will remain available for as long as you need to take off.  You don’t owe me back for the rent, as I am happy to do it.  I miss you, and I beg of you to call me back.  Please.  Bye.”  He hung up the phone and heaved a sigh.  Now, he had to figure a way to get through the rest of the day.
     
    ***
     
    Charity stared at the list of advertisements for jobs on the internet.  A box of figurines laid on the table, as she had already started packing.  She only had a week, and she hoped to be packed and with another job in hand as soon as she possibly could.  She didn’t have a moment to spare on either part.  “Daycare Attendant needed.”  She read aloud, then settled on reading over the job descriptions.  It sounded promising.  She clicked on the button to apply and started to fill out the online application when her phone rang again.  She groaned, expecting another call from Derek, but then discovering Ana’s name on the phone.
    She stopped filling out the application and answered the call.  “Hello?”
    “Hey, there.”
    “Ana…I should’ve called you when I got back in town.  Sorry about that,” Charity quickly started to apologize.
    Ana laughed on the other end.  “No worries.  I was wondering if you could maybe meet me for lunch today. Unless, you’re too busy with work.”
    Charity stared at the cursor on her computer screen and chuckled lightly.  “Definitely not too busy at work.  I can make it.”  They set up a schedule to meet at the restaurant and decided to meet in twenty minutes.  She had enough time to quickly submit her application, get out the apartment, get to her car, and head to the restaurant.  By the time she got inside, she had noticed that Ana was already there.  She waved at her from the door and made her way