Page 106 of Something True


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Chapter 42

Already, I was on my feet. Ignoring the musicians, I looked to Derek and said, "What's going on?"

His face was pale, and his eyes were red-rimmed around the edges, like he'd just gotten off a two-day bender. He took a deep breath and said, "I'm proposing."

My mouth fell open. "What?"

He looked to the musicians, who were still playing. I didn't recognize the tune, but it was slow and obviously intended to be romantic.

It didn't sound romantic to me, not under the current circumstances. It sounded more like the soundtrack to a horror movie, starring myself – because Iwashorrified.

I eyed the door to the conference room. If I bolted now, would they all chase after me? Cripes, if they kept on playing, we could form our own little parade.

But before I could make any such move, Derek dropped to one knee, pulled out a small black box, and opened it up to reveal a massive diamond engagement ring. He visibly swallowed before saying, "So, will you marry me?"

I stared down at him. "No."

Instantly, the music stopped, ending on a jumble of notes that didn't quite mesh.

Into the silence, Derek said, "Are you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure." I made a sound of frustration. "Now, will youpleasestand up?" I looked to the musicians, who were now making a point to look at anything but us. I cleared my throat. "That was really nice, but, um, would you mind giving us some privacy?"

I didn't have to ask twice. They practically bolted for the door, carrying their now-silent instruments with them, I looked back to Derek. He wasstillon one knee, and he was still holding the ring box. In his other hand were the roses, gripped loosely, as if he'd forgotten they were there.

He wasn't getting up. Instead, he took another deep breath and said, "Just listen. We've always been good friends, right?"

"Not lately," I muttered.

"And if we get married," he continued, "we'll be even better friends. And just think, your money problems, they'd be gone. We could fix up your house, and do whatever you wanted." He gave me a smile that looked half-crazed. "Wouldn't that be nice?"

If I'd been hoping for words of love – which happily, I wasn't – I would've been sadly disappointed.

Nowhere in my wildest dreams, did I ever envision getting a marriage proposal that centered around finances and home-improvement projects.

I couldn't help but compare all of this to Joel's proposal – so raw and wonderful, right there in the open doorway to my house. There'd been no violins or flowers, or even a ring. But it was a million times better than this.

Joel's proposal had touched my heart. Even at the time, with everything else going on, I could clearly see the love in Joel's eyes – a love he must've seen mirrored in my own.

But with Derek, I had no idea what I was seeing. I didn't even know why he was doing this. No matter how I sliced it, it was pretty obvious that something was terribly off.

I squinted at his face. "Have you been drinking?"

"No."

I leaned a little closer. "You are such a liar."

"Alright, fine," he said. "So I've been drinking. Big deal. A guy has to get up a certain amount of nerve to propose, you know."

Well, that was sexy.

"Yeah," I said, "especially when he doesn't want to."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

I had a theory. And the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I said, "Your dad made you do this, didn't he?"

"What?" Derek gave an awkward laugh. "No."