Love & Roses by Suzanne D. Williams

Author:Suzanne D. Williams
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary fiction, Christian fiction, romance, second chances, police drama, clean & wholesome, short stories, inspirational
Publisher: Suzanne D. Williams
Published: 2022-02-11T00:00:00+00:00

“Dance with me,” Ian took Allison’s hand and tugged her onto the dance floor, curling her in his arms. The tune, some slow, dreamy love song was appropriate for the moment.

She nestled her head on his chest, and they swayed, unspeaking. Minutes later, the song switched to another of similar pace.

“You were great,” he mumbled in her ear.

She raised her head and looked up at him. “Was I?”

“Mmm. I think Rick would’ve been proud. I was.”

She smiled crookedly. “Rick would have been proud of me, and incredibly jealous right now. You should be glad he’s gone, Ian McKinney.”

Startled, he drew his brow tight.

Her joy faded somewhat. “What? Something’s bothering you?”

“No, but ... I can’t figure out how you’ve changed. You’re ...”

“Confident?” she asked.

“Yeah, I guess. Why?”

She laid her cheek back to his chest. “I was thinking this afternoon about the last time he and I came to this, and it occurred to me he was a bit of a bully.” Her head popped back up. “A loveable one, mind you. But he always acted like this was his night, and I was there as decoration. It made me angry, frankly. I’d forgotten how frustrating he could be. It’s like he died, and suddenly, his life was rose-colored. But, no, it wasn’t. He was precise about so many things, and yet he couldn’t hang up his towel? He’d spit in the sink after brushing his teeth, but he couldn’t turn the water on and rinse out the bowl?”

She dropped her head again. “I still love him, but he wasn’t perfect. He was human. I should never have let myself forget that.”

“I’m just as bad,” Ian said. “I wanted the perfect marriage, the perfect wife. Therefore, knowing things weren’t going like I’d planned, I tried too hard to fix them. If I’m being honest, I knew she was cheating. There were all the signs. She wouldn’t take my phone calls. When we were together, she ignored my advances.”

Allison curved one arm around his back. “I can’t believe she would ignore you at all.”

Their words fell away. One song later, Ian whispered in her ear. “How ’bout we get out of here?”

She nodded, and he led her to his car.

“Mind if we go somewhere?” he asked, his hand on the key.

She shook her head, her gaze on him, and he cranked. Some minutes later, he pulled up before his apartment building, indecision niggling at him. Was this the right thing or would she misinterpret it?

He glanced at her. “I should explain.”

Shadows hid her face, adding to his inner turmoil.

“I’m not ... making a move on you. But I wanted you to come in ... I wanted you to see ...” He quieted.

“To see what?”

“The difference.” He inhaled. “I’ll take you home. This isn’t going right.”

She reached across and took his hand. “No. I’m not afraid of you. I get it.”

He blew out his held breath. “If you’re sure.”

It was a few minutes’ walk through the lobby to the elevator and a few more to his floor.

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