"If you loved me once, it's still there. As I said, we've drug this engagement out too long. We'll talk tonight and set a date."
If she loved him - but he never loved her. He didn't want to talk about that. It didn't fit into the speech he was compiling. If she had ever harbored any actual love for him, it was dead now, and couldn't be resurrected. He was right about one thing, though. The engagement had gone on too long. She should have broken it off months ago. Her secret now in the open, she met his gaze with confidence.
"Nothing has changed. I'm not going to marry you."
His jaw tightened. "We'll see."
He dropped his hands and turned away, striding off to join the party.
She stared at his retreating back, relief mingling with a new ache. Was he right? Was her position at the office merely the creation of a doting father? How many times had she made the statement that the job was made for her? Was it - literally? And what about independence? Sure, she had her own apartment, but where was the money coming from, ultimately? Daddy. She released a heavy sigh. Even if she had decided to work somewhere else after graduating, getting her parents to let her sink or swim would have been impossible. Of course, she could have taken that job offer in New York. She sighed again. It was pretty bad when the only way to prevent her father from interfering in her life was leaving the state.
Memory of the land in Arkansas streaked across her mind like a comet, leaving a trail of questions in its wake. Was she so pampered that she couldn't make it on her own - far away from the guidance of her father? Could she get a job in a state where the name O'Hara blended in with all the others? Did she have the courage to leave a cushion job and plush apartment? Of course, she had the thirty-some thousand in her savings account - most of which had been allotted her when she turned twenty-one. No, that would be cheating. She had four thousand dollars in her checking account, all of which she had saved. She could use that to lease the place and live while she looked for a job.
She shook her head. She was letting Denton get to her again. Hadn't Dad told her today that she was a valuable employee? So, she worked at her father's company. He had to hire someone for the job. If she was qualified, why should he discriminate against his daughter?