Sure, he didn't.I gave Derek a pleading look. "Will youpleasestand up?"
"Not 'til you say yes."
"Well then you'll be kneeling there forever," I said, "because the answer isn't just a no. It's a hell no. And you know what?"
"What?"
"Somewhere, in that thick skull of yours, you're doing a little happy dance, because you don't want to marrymeany more than I want to marryyou. Just admit it."
But hedidn'tadmit it. Instead, he launched into another marriage sales pitch. This one centered on uniting our two families like our parents had always wanted.
What a crock.My parents had mentioned no such thing, at least not to me. And even if theyhadwanted this, so what? I knew for a fact that they'd want me to be happy. And there was no way on Earth I'd be happy with Derek.
Besides, he wouldn’t be happy with me either.
If this were a genuine proposal from someone who truly loved me, I'd feel terrible saying no. But all I felt now was pure annoyance.
I said, "Get up."
"No."
I looked at him for a long moment. Part of me – an evil, twisted part of me – wanted to kick him in the face. But instead, I stepped around him, grabbed my purse off the table, and stalked toward the conference room door.
When I passed through it and turned toward the reception area, I spotted a silver-haired man – Derek's dad – poking his head out of a nearby office. At the sight me, he flashed a hearty smile and said, "So, are congratulations in order?"
What an asshole.
"No," I said, and kept on walking, passing him without another word. Stalking past the reception desk, I saw the musicians milling around, as if waiting to be called in for an encore. Or who knows, maybe they were just waiting for their check.
Either way, I was done with the whole scene. As I drove back to my house, I considered my theory – that Derek's dad had been behind the whole thing.
The more I thought about it, the more I decided I'd been right. In that case, Derek owed me a huge favor.
Someday, maybe I'd collect. But for now, all I wanted was strong black coffee and a dozen chocolate donuts. But in my kitchen, I found no donuts – even though I'd picked up a couple dozen yesterday – and the only coffee I had was decaf.
Deciding it was better than nothing, I made a pot anyway and stood in the kitchen waiting for it to finish brewing. While waiting, I happened to glance around and noticed something that made me curse for a whole new reason.
The safe – the one the brothers had left – it was missing.
Holding my empty coffee cup, I stared down at the bare counter-top, where the safe should've been. I tried to think. When was the last time I'd seen it? Last night? Or was it yesterday morning?
I couldn’t be sure either way. But it was definitely gone.
I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to think. The timing was awful. As luck would have it – meaningbadluck – the brothers were planning to swing by later this afternoon to pick up the backhoe and take it to the other side of the state.
I still had no idea what the safe contained, but Ididknow that the brothers had been adamant about it not being moved. Now, it wasn't just moved. It was gone entirely.
I wasn't looking forward to telling them. Deciding I'd rather tell them in person than on the phone, I waited nervously for them to show up. I wasn't sure when they were coming, but I prayed it would be soon, only to get this over with.
It was nearly four o'clock when my doorbell finally rang.
But when I went to answer it, it wasn't the brothers at all. It was their sister, Luna.
