Chapter 47. A Surprise Proposal

Jack had been ecstatic that she was in America. His college was in San Diego and it was just a short plane ride from there to Los Angeles.

He would turn up at the apartment her new boss had rented for her especially at the weekend and with gentle and persistent persuasion ask her to have dinner with him. She could not refuse. She had no excuse to offer anyway. She licked away her terrible pain, slowly learning to face the world with a facade of cool amusement that betrayed nothing of her inner pain, thoughts and feelings.

Jack was good company. He helped to bring her out of herself. She did not allow him to kiss her again though. She kept him at a very safe distance, making it clear that she did not want a romantic involvement until one night, out of the blue, he proposed to her.

The proposal shocked her and she turned him down as gently as she could. Her heart ached because there was no way she could not hurt him. He loved her and could not conceal it any longer and she