Federal Affair

Chapter 16

I sat at my desk typing up legal documents. It was just passed four in the afternoon and I'd been working since an hour after Monica and Nick left. I'd acquired one hell of a migraine early in the morning and decided to take advantage of not having anything on my schedule today and work from home.

Monica decided today was the day she would finally take some time to herself and splurged at the mall. Nick had hung around for another hour after Monica left. We'd eaten the entire box of doughnuts and talked about our favorite things to do in the summer, excited that warm weather was coming soon. I learned that Nick's family owned a vacation home near the beach in North Carolina. He said he loved to go sailing and had a couple boats. I told him I'd never been on a boat but I'd love to learn how to sail one day.

With two bullet points left until my paperwork was finished, I breathed a sigh of relief, watching the hands slowly circle around the clock on the wall above my bookcase. I still hadn't heard from Derek and I was starting to wonder if something had happened to him.

I could feel us growing apart and I'd begun to think it was only a matter of time until one of us officially broke off the engagement. I hadn't put my ring back on since laying it on the coffee table the day before.

I'd stopped worrying so much about which guy was better for me and started realizing just how little Derek actually cared and how much more connected I felt to Nick. I wasn't sure if that meant I was supposed to be with Nick or if I should wait awhile and see if my feelings changed or what, but I definitely didn't feel near as strong of a bond with Derek as before I met Nick.

Just as I was emailing the files I'd been working on to my boss, my phone rang. I was hesitant to answer, seeing Derek's name on the caller ID.

"Hey," I answered hesitantly, hoping Derek couldn't hear the nervous tone in my voice.

"Hey." He sounded exhausted. "I'm getting off work in a few minutes. I was thinking maybe we could go grab a late lunch or early dinner."

I briefly considered making up some excuse why I couldn't see him but I decided I'd rather not make things worse by avoiding him.

"Okay. Sure," I agreed. "What time?"

"I'll come over when I'm finished up here," Derek answered, hanging up.

I set the phone on the desk, leaning back with a groan. I wasn't in the mood to go out to dinner with him. Something about it made me feel dirty, like it was the wrong thing to do.

I wondered what Derek would say when he saw I wasn't wearing my engagement ring. I thought back to the day Derek proposed and how happy we'd both been. At the time, I'd been certain he was the one. I thought my life couldn't be more perfect and everything was falling into place. Now everything was falling apart. I missed the comfort of knowing what to expect and planning on getting married and living happily ever after. My emotions were a mess. The whole damn thing was one big mess and I was sure one or both of these men was going to walk away any day now.

I went to the bathroom, taking a quick shower. About fifteen minutes later I heard the doorbell. Derek didn't usually ring the doorbell or knock. He normally walked right in like it was his house too. I assumed he felt as awkward as I did about being around each other.

Derek was wearing his black slacks and red button up from work. His hair was tousled from the wind. It had rained off and on throughout the day, despite what the weatherman had said about a bright sunny week, and the wind seemed to continue picking up more and more.

"Ready?" Derek asked, motioning toward his car.

"One sec," I hopped around on one foot as I put my shoes on.