A test of Love - Navaura Campbell (best management books of all time .txt) 📗

it until now. Glancing up into her face, he broke out into a smile, trying to match the one she held on her own.
"Did you sleep well?" He inquired, his southern drawl sweet to her ears. She shifted her body and stretched, sounds escaping her mouth like a cat. "I slept like a baby."
He laughed softly, "More like a kitten."
Denise laughed, "Yeah, if you say so."
Jordan continued to stare at her fingers, taking in the oblong shaped nails. "I do say so." His thumb ran over her fingernails, feeling the softness of them.
"What are you doing?" She inquired, her gaze drawn to his lips.
"Thinking." He stated.
"About what?"
He smiled, "I can't say just yet."
"Why not?" She inquired.
His eyes went to hers, "I'm thinking about how I want you to marry me."
Denise's stomach dropped and she stared apprehensively. "What?"
"I was thinking about how my mother's ring would look on your nice, long, beautiful fingers."
Denise stared wide eyed, shocked. Since when?
As always, he answered her question without her asking. "Since, we had Nicholas."
Denise felt the lump form in her throat and her chest thump out the rhythm of her heart. :"Jordan."
"Denise." His eyes darkened and he whispered, "I still love you, Denise. You know that." Denise tried to inhale, but couldn't seem to get that breath to go further than her throat. Giving up, she closed her eyes, told herself not to panic and counted to ten. She couldn't understand why she was panicking,
when he was the one whom her heart belonged to. The one she'd always wanted to be with. None of this made sense.
Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten:
Some time later that afternoon, when they'd both gotten up to make lunch, Jordan opened the door to his mother's room. Flipping the switch, he glanced around and stared at the clothing that lay on the unmade bed. He could still smell his mother's perfume in clinging to the air. Going to the bed, he ran his fingers over a pair of slacks she'd worn when cleaning. He could see her tall thin frame standing in the stretch pants, a t-shirt and a scarf tied around dark brown hair that hung at her shoulders. He inhaled deeply and went around the room, touching a bit of everything. He really missed her. She'd been a great person, inside and out. The most beautiful woman he'd ever known. Taking a deep breath, he stooped below the bed and pulled out a box that was lodged underneath the right corner of the bed. Pulling it upward, he opened it.

Denise finished making the fruit salads with hotdogs for their lunch. She grabbed two glaces and set them out on the table. In front of them, she sat forks. Grabbing the towel that hung on the bar of the stove, Denise wiped her hands. Turning around, she made her way up the stairs and to his room. When finding his room empty, she turned to his mother's room. Knocking on the door, she called out his name. There was no answer. She knocked on the door a second time, calling his name louder. "Jordan, it's time to eat." After a few minutes, she heard movement in the room. Pulling away from the door, she stood in the hallway as it opened. Jordan glanced down at her with red rimmed eyes.

He cleared his throat and with a bright smile, inquired, "What's for lunch?"
Denise sighed, ignoring the tale tell signs of tears. "Food."
He laughed, "What do you mean food? I bought some stuff a couple of days ago."
Denise shook her head disagreeing, "No, I saw what you had with you and that wasn't food. That was scrapings."
Jordan sighed, "Scrapings?"
"Yeah. I didn't like that."
"What did you do?"
"I went home and stole some of the food I bought for our house."
Jordan swallowed, putting a hand on her back, "Don't you guys need that?"
Denise shook her head, "Nope."
"Really?"
"Yep."
"What did you get it for then?" He inquired as they walked to their chairs at the table. Denise sat down in front of him. Glancing up at him, she answered his question, "I'm an impulsive shopper Jordan. If I see a sale, no matter how much I may not need, I always get it."
Jordan laughed, "When did this start kicking in?"
Denise shrugged her shoulders, "It's always been there. I've just never had the money till now to get what ever I want."
"Oh. You're making the big bucks now, huh?" Jordan teased.
Denise glanced up with a flirtatious grin. "I guess you could say that. What about you, Jordan?"
Jordan shrugged, "I work back in Chicago."
"Really?"
"Yes, I work for a small company."
"Really? What kind?"
Jordan sighed, "A company that constructs buildings."
"Really?"
"Yeah, it's called Rinsdor Construction Company."
"Rindsor?"
"Yeah, it's a company that just took off about five years ago."
"Is the money enough to live off of?"
Jordan raised a brow, pausing in the middle of his second hotdog. "That's an inappropriate question, Denise."
Denise felt her cheeks sting with embarrassment. "Sorry."
Jordan watched her with a smile on his face. Some things never changed. "Yes, it's enough to live off of and then some."
Denise nodded, "Good."
"What about you, Denise? Are you and Derrick dating?"
Denise shook her head no. "We're not dating."
"Why not? He seems like your type."
Denise cleared her throat. "He's ok, I guess. So, are you still going to school for Law?"
Jordan nodded, "Yeah, I'm majoring in civil studies and then I'm going to go for Civil Law."
"Hmm, that's interesting." Denise stated, pushing her empty plate away, so that she could reach for her fruit salad.
"Why do you say that?" Jordan sat back in his chair, both plate and bowl empty, his stomach simi full.
"I just thought that lawyers were all criminal law."

Jordan shook his head rebutting, "No, not all of them. There's way more than criminal law."
Denise smiled at his fuse of passion when talking about Law. He went on into all the details of law and although she was supposed to be listening, she couldn't concentrate on his words, because his body was taking over the spotlight with dramatic gestures, a determined gleam in his eyes and the most sensual of all was the way his mouth moved. She tried to zoom in on his words, but for the life of herself, couldn't focus. Instead, she turned her attention away from him, to the fruit bowl. Just when she was starting to decipher some of his words he stopped talking. It took her a minute to feel the stare he was giving her. She glanced up to see his eyes shining with irritation. Swallowing, she said, "I'm sorry."

"If law's too boring for you, Denise, just say it." He stated, grabbing his dishes and taking them to the sink. Denise rolled her eyes, annoyed that he'd think she'd be that foolish. "I was trying to concentrate." She defended herself.
"You were doing a great job." He replied sarcastically. This caused Denise to laugh. Jordan glanced over at her, his cheeks heated, "You know, I don't like history all that well, infact, I hate history but I atleast provide you the curtesy of listening to the most dry subject there is."

Denise sighed and stood up, "History is fundamental ok. And anyway, I couldn't concentrate on what you were saying because the way your body moved when describing that was quite interesting. I was drawn in to that."

Jordan set the dishes into the sink and turned around, facing her. "What?"
Denise began chewing on her bottom lip, her tone soft "I was distracted because I was too busy watching your hands move about, the twinkle in your eyes, the smile that looked so enthralled by it and your mouth as you spoke."
This caused him to narrow his lids, speechless. Denise swallowed her anxiety. "I love the way you were so animated. I could see the happiness there, it's beautiful."
Jordan felt something in his heart loosen up. Exactly what, he wasn't sure. He hadn't even known there was something weighing him down. Staring at her, he said, "Denise Renee Calloway. I do believe that's the sweetest thing you ever said to me."
Denis smiled, "Yeah." She turned away from him, her gaze going to the wall next to the doors that led into the living room. She couldn't explain why, but she felt really embarrassed.

Jordan stood there by the sink for a few seconds smiling. She really did have a heart. Sweet. Sighing, he walked up behind her. He watched as the tiny hairs on the back of her neck stood up. He let out a deep breath and laid a kiss on the back of her neck. A soft sigh was heard. He whispered, "Let me hold you." Denise didn't say anything. She didn't move. He slowly wrapped her in his arms. Immediately, her body relaxed into his, the tension in her shoulders was released. He stood over her, placing kisses in her hair.

Denise closed her eyes and reveled in the sweet feel of his strong arms wrapped around her. She couldn't explain it, but she felt a sudden gulf of pain grip her heart. Swallowing, she placed her hands on his arms, signaling to him that she wanted this, needed this, she released the pain, tears falling down her eyes. His arms held her tighter. He listened as she bawled her eyes out.

Chapter Ten

Jordan felt the ache in his heart unlike ever before. It decended upon him in that moment like a tidal wave crushing the tiniest sea creature. Grasping Denise's shoulders, he turned her around to him, pulling her into his arms. Reining kisses all over her head, cheeks and face, he whispered, "I'm sorry, De-De. I'm so sorry." He felt the tightness she wrapped him in, her body racking with sobs, letting out everything she'd kept in over the past two years.

Diary,
I cried so hard today. Harder than I ever had over the past two years. I thought I was done with those tears, but I guess not. I had been saving them up. Ironically enough, for not having seen him in two years, I feel closer to him than I did the last time we were together. I am glad I did get a chance to do that, because he was so sweet. He held me and apologized the whole time. When I finally did stop crying, we talked about reasons why I was crying and then we talked about the house and why I'd been keeping it clean. Stuff like that. By the time I left from over there, it was around seven o'clock. I wasn't in the mood to eat. I just came