Online Proposal

By Ruth Ann Nordin

Colleen O’Hara’s friend is playing matchmaker. Not only is her friend tossing her a bridal bouquet, but she has the perfect man in mind for her to marry. All she needs is Colleen’s permission to give Mr. Perfect her email address. And Drake Reed sounds wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, Colleen accepts his online proposal.

But before vows are exchanged, she will visit him. Unfortunately, there’s one small snag preventing her from her happy ending. And that snag happens to be someone he used to have a crush on in high school.

*This is a sweet and clean contemporary story that is for a quick and fun afternoon read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruth Ann Nordin
• Release date: May 5, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463831984

Ruth Ann Nordin

Ruth Ann Nordin has written almost 100 romances, ranging from Regencies to historical westerns to contemporaries. She plays with other genres from time to time, but her first love is romance. She has been happily married for twenty-two years to a sweet and funny guy, and they have four sons, who are all taller than Ruth now that they're 16, 17, 19, and 20. The good thing is she doesn't need a ladder. She considers herself very lucky to have led such a charmed life. Being able to play with characters and create stories is just icing on the cake. Hopefully, she'll get to keep doing this many years to come.

Book preview

Online Proposal

Ruth Ann Nordin

This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and also represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher.

Online Proposal

All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2019 Ruth Ann Nordin

This was originally published in 2015 under the pen name Barbara Joan Russell, and it was published in the anthology titled Bride by Design, which was published through Parchment & Plume, LLC.

Cover Images by Dreamstime.com – Used with permission.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without expressed written consent of the publisher/author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Table of Contents

Prequel

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Epilogue

Maggie’s Story

All Books by Ruth

Where To Find Ruth

Prequel

Junior Year of High School

Drake Reed rewrote the poem thirty times before he was satisfied with it. Dot Tittle was either going to love it or hate it. He leaned back in the chair at his small desk in his bedroom and reread it. By now, he practically had it memorized. He could recite it to her in person…if he had the nerve. But he didn’t have the nerve. She was one of the prettiest and most popular girls in school.

He almost crumpled the poem into a ball. This was crazy. She’d never go to prom with him. She was way out of his league. Yes, he was smart and could help her with her schoolwork, but that was all he was good for. He threw the wadded up piece of paper into the trashcan. He didn’t have a chance with her. He was a dork. Granted, he didn’t wear glasses or snort when he laughed, but he was still a dork. He was shy and mumbled when he had to talk to girls, except if it had to do with schoolwork. Only then could he manage a decent conversation.

But then Dot had said he was adorable and laughed in that cute way of hers the last time he helped her with her math homework. So maybe there was hope. Maybe she looked past his shy exterior and saw something worth going out with. He wouldn’t know unless he tried.

Taking a deep breath, he retrieved the poem and smoothed out the paper. Picking up a clean sheet, he picked up his pen and rewrote the poem, careful to make each letter perfect. Then he asked her to prom at the bottom of the paper.

He’d do it. He’d leave it in her locker. If worse came to worse, she’d say no or not answer him. Certainly, he could handle the worst case scenario.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he whispered, thinking of his older brother, Clark, who was going to go to college in Tennessee next year.

If Clark could take a risk, he could, too.

Before he lost his nerve, he folded the poem and put it in an envelope. Then he placed it inside his math book and shoved it in the backpack.

Drake, the bus will be here any minute, his mom called out from the kitchen.

Coming!

He swung the backpack over his shoulder and left his bedroom. After saying good-bye to his mom, he walked down the driveway on the rural road.

Nice of you to finally make it, Clark said.

I had stuff to do, Drake replied, not making eye contact in case Clark noticed how nervous he was and picked on him. To throw him off the trail, he added, Math homework.

Clark chuckled. You’re such a nerd.

He rolled his eyes. Whatever. Not everyone is as in love with their voice as you. As much as Drake wanted to say it, he refrained. He might have said something on another day, but this morning, he had more pressing things on his mind.

The bus pulled up, and Drake followed his brother onto the bus. Clark sat with his group of friends, and Drake sat further in the back with his friend, Zayden. Zayden already had plans to go to a college a couple hundred miles from their small South Dakota town. Drake tried not to think about it. As much as he tried to think of moving out of here like almost everyone else, he knew he’d end up living here for the rest of his life unless he married Dot. Then he’d go with her to California. Her dream was to be an actress. He already decided he’d do anything to help her realize that dream, even if it meant leaving everything he’d ever known behind.

Are you going to do it? Zayden asked him. Are you going to ask her to prom?

Drake nodded. I am. Today’s the big day.

Good. It’s about time.

It’s a big step, and not one I wanted to take lightly.

I know, but you’ve been wanting to ask her out since freshman year.

Drake glanced out the window as they came into town. She hasn’t accepted anyone else’s offer to go to prom, has she?

Not that I know of.

Good. Maybe, just maybe, she’d say yes.

The two friends remained silent on the rest of the way to school. At the front of the bus Clark was telling his friends about the last touchdown he’d made during the football game. It never ceased to amaze Drake how engrossed they were every time Clark told that story. One would think they would have gotten tired of it by now, but maybe it was in the way Clark told it. Even Drake had a hard time not hanging onto his every word. Some people had a gift with people, and Clark was one of them.

The bus came to a stop in front of the school, and Drake went to his locker. As he sorted through the books he needed for the first two periods of the day, he glanced at Dot who was talking to a couple of her friends. Her locker was just five down from his. It was nice, really. It allowed him the opportunity to see her between classes. But today, the locker would have an even more practical purpose.

He opened the math book and pulled out the envelope. After she and her friends headed for homeroom, he went up to her locker, turning the envelope over in his hand. Did he dare do it? Did he dare slip it through the slits in the door? He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. If he didn’t do it, he’d never get the chance to go out with her.

Opening his eyes, he slipped it into her locker. As soon as he did it, he immediately wished he hadn’t. This was stupid! She’d never go to prom with him. What was he thinking? He peered through the slits in the door and saw the edge of his envelope. He tried to pull it back out, but it only slid in the rest of the way. He gritted his teeth. This was going to end in disaster. He just knew it.

No. He didn’t know that for sure. He and Dot got along well enough. She said he was the smartest person in math class. Speaking of which, he was going to be late to homeroom if he didn’t hurry. Praying he hadn’t made a mistake in shoving the envelope into her locker, he rushed down the hall.

Math happened to be his second class, and toward the end of it, the teacher allowed people to work in groups, specifying that Dot should work with Drake, as he often did. Drake’s heartbeat picked up in anticipation. Had she read his poem yet?

As he turned his desk to face hers, he asked, Did you go to your locker after homeroom?

No, I haven’t been there yet, she said.

So she hadn’t found his poem yet. He didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.

I had to meet with the Drama teacher about my lines for the play before I came to this class. She flipped her blonde hair over her shoulder and smiled. I got the lead again.

Congratulations, he replied. What’s the play?

Rebel Without a Cause. I wish there were more parts featuring me. Maybe next time, they’ll do something like Grease so I can show off my talent. I can sing in addition to act, you know.

Yes, I know. I heard you sing the solo at church.

Right, I did sing there. I don’t usually sing because they want me to be a part of the choir. But I do better when I can do it by myself. That way people can listen to the wide range of notes I can hit. Not everyone is that gifted. But Renee said the choir worked better as a group, so what are you going to do?

He twirled his pencil in his hand as he tried to think of something to say. Well, you like acting more anyway, don’t you?

I do. I find it allows me to be free. Not everyone has the talent for it, just like they don’t all have a gift for singing. So many people assume acting is just reciting lines, but they’re wrong. You need to become immersed in the character and embrace the emotions they face. It’s like magic to bring the character to life, to make the audience feel everything the character does.

Wow, he whispered. No wonder she was so good at it. She had a real passion for it. You really know your stuff.

Thank you. With another grin, she straightened in her seat and gestured to her textbook. I suppose we ought to get the boring stuff out of the way. In a lower voice, she added, The teacher’s looking over here.

Drake resisted the urge to look over his shoulder. Instead, he turned his attention to the math problems and worked through them with her. Well, mostly he explained how he came up with the solution, but she was listening and that was the same as working together.

After math, he had English. And after that, it was time for lunch. But before he went to lunch, he went to his locker to drop off his books. And on his way down the hall, he saw that a group of students were gathered around Dot’s locker and laughing.

He came to a stop.

Reviews for Online Proposal

[carolyn · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This is a clean read but has a boring storyline.

[benn9314 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A sweet romance story about the lives of best friends