Page 18 of Forcing Her Hand

Roger really was a wonderful dancer, and she relaxed as she let him lead her around the dance floor, weaving expertly between couples. Dancing was always one of the things she’d enjoyed doing most with him. He never stepped on her feet or ran her into anyone.

“How are you?”

“I’m doing well,” she said. “Ready to finish my last semester of school.”

“How’s the job going?”

“Still loving it, to my parent’s dismay.” Allison grinned up at him, and he laughed. “I might even stay on there after I graduate. I really like the people I work with, and Human Resources is fascinating.”

“Yes, I can’t see you staying at home and spending all your time planning fabulous parties, although I’m sure you’d be good at it if you wanted to.”

Allison made a disgusted face, and he laughed again. It was nice to dance with Roger, sharing jokes and conversation again. She realized she liked him quite a lot, but as a friend, not a romantic interest. Despite her yearning for Todd, she’d missed Roger’s company, just not for the same reasons.

“How are you doing?” she asked. “Is my father treating you all right?”

“I think he was a little disappointed,” Roger said, his voice lowering and softening. “But he doesn’t treat me any differently.” His hand tightened around her waist for a moment, and Allison sighed. At least their breakup hadn’t changed anything significant for Roger. “Are you sure we… there’s nothing…”

“No.” She winced and shook her head, speaking in a low voice. “I like you a lot, Roger, and I can’t deny I’ve missed your company, but in the way I miss Diana when she’s not around. I like spending time with you and care about you as a good friend, but there’s just no spark for me.”

“There doesn’t always have to be a spark,” he said.

Startled, Allison looked up into his eyes. They were soft, warm, intelligent, with a hint of a spark, but she realized that was just sexual chemistry, not a romantic spark. It was a hidden side of him, he never brought out to play with sex. At that moment, she realized Roger’s feelings for her didn’t actually go any deeper than hers for him. He cared about her, loved her as a confidant and friend, wanted her to be happy—heck, wanted to make her happy—but sweeping romantic love? That wasn’t in his eyes.

Surprising him, Allison grinned. “You aren’t in love with me either,” she accused.

Roger shrugged but couldn’t help laughing at her. “I don’t think I’ve ever beeninlove.”

“Oh,” she said, taken aback by that momentarily.

“I’m pretty sure my parents aren’t in love, either, but they have a warm, wonderful, caring relationship. They’re a good match. We are, too.”

Allison thought about that for a minute, looking away from him. She saw Diana watching them with a look of speculation. Veronica was bright red and angrily glaring, looking ready to start spitting venom, and her parents were watching with speculation of their own, standing next to each other but not touching. Allison realized, for the first time in her life, she’d never seen any hint of her parents being in love, either. They were socially acceptable, compatible, and seemed to care for each other, but there was no romance between them… no spark.

She shivered, suddenly cold. Was that what she could expect for the rest of her life? A warm marriage with no real passion, trapped by the social expectations of her family and peers?

Then her eyes settled on Diana again. No, she’d seen Diana’s parents. That was a true love match. They were happy. It’s what she wanted. Allison shook her head and looked back into Roger’s stunning green eyes.

“That’s not enough for me. I don’t think either of us should have to settle. You deserve more than that, Roger.”

“We have wealth, status, power… almost anything we want,” he said softly, his eyes entangled with hers. “I’m not settling, but there has to be some trade-off. One person can’t have everything.”

“I’d give up the rest of it for love,” she said stubbornly.

Roger laughed again, the soft look on his face fading into real amusement and delight. “I bet you would. Other than you and Diana, I don’t know of any other woman in our social set completely supporting herself.”

She gave him a look of mock-shock. “You mean Veronica doesn’t have a job?”

“Now, don’t be mean,” he chided as the song ended, then escorted her back to her seat. Diana smiled impishly at him when they got there.

“Brought her back to me?” Diana asked.

“Hello, again,” he said politely. “And, yes. Unless you’d care to dance?”

“I’d love to,” Diana said enthusiastically, obviously surprising him. She grabbed his hand and probably would have dragged him to the dance floor, but he put his arm around her waist and slowed her down to his pace. Allison saw her friend look up at him with surprise, and she almost laughed. Roger might be a gentleman, but he wasn’t a pushover.

As she watched them whirl around the floor, she thought they made a pretty interesting couple. Diana was so petite, even in her high heels, she barely came up to his chin, and her long dark hair was a contrast to his blonde good looks. Diana looked incredible tonight too, with her hair flowing freely over her green and gold cocktail dress, the chiffon skirt swirling around her pretty tanned legs as Roger spun her around. She already had him cracking up at something she was saying, so much so, she actually saw Roger stumble for a step.

“You stay away from him, you bitch,” a voice hissed in her ear. When Allison swiveled her head, she wasn’t surprised to see Veronica’s angry hazel eyes.

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