Читать книгу Dream Wedding - Susan Mallery, Susan Mallery - Страница 15

CHAPTER SIX

“OH, MY GOODNESS, the man has a fan club!” Cassie said as she pointed at the computer screen.

Sure enough, an Internet search on Arizona’s name had unearthed an assortment of references, including a link to a fan club.

“We have to check this out.” Chloe clicked the arrow on that entry. She was at her home computer, continuing her research on Arizona, which she was starting to think was just a way of avoiding starting the actual writing. Once she figured out the first sentence of the article, she knew the rest of it would come fairly easily. But so far she was in the dark about her beginning.

Cassie pulled up a chair and sat down next to her. “I can’t believe it. I’ve never known anyone with a fan club before.” She laughed and touched her sister’s arm. “We could write him a letter. You could talk about how great he dances. Maybe you could talk about the other stuff, too.”

Chloe glanced at her sharply. “What other stuff?”

Cassie puckered up her lips and made kissing noises. “I saw what you two were doing out there on the patio last night. I figured we had better come interrupt before things got too hot and heavy. There wasn’t a whole lot of privacy.”

“Nothing happened. It was just a kiss.” She flinched, half-waiting for lightning to strike her down. It had been a whole lot more than the kiss—which was part of the problem. It should have been pleasant or even very nice. Instead it had burned her down to her soul. She wasn’t even sure if she was relieved or disappointed that he hadn’t followed up that first kiss with a second. Once they’d gone back inside to the reception, Arizona had been swept away by interested guests and Chloe had finally left alone around midnight.

“It looked like some major passion to me,” Cassie said, and leaned her elbows on the desk. “I wish Joel would kiss me like that.”

“Doesn’t he?”

Cassie shook her head. “Joel and I have a very comfortable relationship.”

“Comfortable is okay for year thirty of marriage, but you guys are still dating.”

“I know.” Cassie shrugged. “I don’t want to talk about it.” She pointed at the computer screen. “Look.”

The computer had located the web site for Arizona’s fan club. There were photos of him, a bulletin board on which to leave messages, letters to Arizona and a map showing all the places he’d visited.

“Imagine how much money we’d make if we could get a picture of him naked,” Cassie said thoughtfully. “We could sell copies. What do you think?”

Chloe laughed. “I think he would probably want to be cut in on the profits. Are you going to be the one to ask him?”

“It might go better if you did that.”

Chloe ignored her. She clicked on various pages of the web site and made notes. “These people need to get lives.”

“It’s romantic. He’s a very exciting man. You know, you should post your article here when you finish it. I’m sure they’d really like it.” She sighed. “He’s just so great. Gracious and funny. I really like him. I think you do, too. Wouldn’t you like to travel around the world with him? He’s just—” She clapped her hands together. “He’s exactly the kind of man I want to dream about when I wear the family nightgown. Don’t you agree?”

Chloe felt a surge of irritation. She was having enough trouble controlling her raging desires without her sister throwing logs on the fire. “Number one, you’re supposed to be engaged to Joel. Number two, I actually have work to do and that would be a lot easier without your editorial comments.”

Cassie stared at her for a second, nodded, then rose to her feet. “Sorry. I leave you to your research.” She walked out of the room without looking back.

Chloe returned her attention to the web site, then groaned. She was turning into a witch.

With a couple of clicks, she logged off the Internet and returned to her word-processing program. After saving her work in progress, she rose to her feet and headed down the hall. Cassie’s bedroom door was open. Her sister was curled up on the bed reading a book.

Chloe watched her. She didn’t know exactly what to say. At this point, she wasn’t willing to risk the truth. She didn’t want to admit that part of her problem was that she had dreamed about Arizona, and it was making her insane.

“I’m sorry,” she said at last. “I had no reason to snap at you. I have a lot on my mind and I’m just not myself.”

Cassie looked up. “I know. This article is very important to you. It’s your ticket out.”

Chloe entered the large room with pale pink walls and a lacy bedspread on the full-size mattress. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Cassie patted the bed, indicating that her sister should have a seat. “It’s true. Come on, Chloe, it’s time for you to leave. It’s what you’ve always wanted. Sometimes I think you’ve stayed because of me, but I’m practically your age and I’ve been all grown-up for a long time. Aunt Charity and I will be fine without you. Of course we’ll miss you, but it’s time for you to move on. We can take care of the house until you’re ready to come back.”

Chloe reached out and squeezed her sister’s hand. “You’re way too nice a person. Why do you put up with me?”

“Beats me.”

Chloe smiled. Then her humor faded as the familiar guilt took its place. She knew that Cassie would take care of the house for her. Cassie wouldn’t think twice about it, but she, Chloe, was annoyed that it was an issue. Their parents had been wrong, she thought, as she had dozens of times in the past. They should have left everything to the girls equally. Instead Chloe had inherited the house and a small trust fund. Cassie had inherited a large trust fund—equal in value to Chloe’s inheritance—but not equal in spirit. The message had been clear. Their only blood heir had received the family home.

Chloe knew that Cassie put on a brave face; she never said anything. But Cassie was the real traditional one in the family. She was the one who believed in the legend—she was the one who loved the house. It should have been hers. She also knew that on some level Cassie had been hurt by the will. But Chloe didn’t know how to talk to her about it.

There was a knock on the open door.

“Chloe, there’s a call for you,” Charity told her. “It’s Arizona.”

Cassie made kissing noises again. Chloe rose to her feet. “I’m ignoring you,” she said as she crossed to her sister’s desk and picked up the extension. “Hello?”

“Chloe, it’s Arizona. I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“Not at all.” If the nerves soft-shoeing inside her stomach were anything to go by, she was very happy to hear from him.

“Something’s come up. I’ve been doing some research about a lost tribe up in the Pacific Northwest. I just got a call from some friends of mine working up there. They’ve found something I need to take a look at. The lecture series doesn’t start for a few days and I don’t have much holding me here, so I thought I would go and see what they’ve found.”

“I see.”

He was leaving. She’d always known that he would—it was the nature of the man. But she hadn’t expected it to be so soon. The nerves in her stomach fizzled into a cold knot of disappointment.

“I’ll work on the article while you’re gone and save any questions I have until you get back,” she told him, hoping she sounded calmly professional.

“That’s one scenario,” he agreed. “However, I thought it might be interesting for you to come along. You could observe what I do firsthand.”

She wanted to jump up and down shrieking “Yes, yes, oh yes!” at the top of her lungs. Instead she drew in a deep breath. “An interesting idea.”

He was probably coming on to her, a voice in her head said. As lines went, it was a good one, but still a line.

“I hope you don’t think I’ve made this up simply to get you alone in the wilderness. Actually I’m just not that creative, otherwise I would have. But the artifact is legitimate. I can give you a number to call to check it out.”

He could read her mind. Why was she not surprised?

Of course she wanted to go. Desperately. She wanted to spend as much time with Arizona as possible and she refused to question her motives. “I’ll need to run this past my editor,” she said. “Can I call you first thing in the morning?”

“Sure. I’ll be hoping for a yes.”

Me, too, she thought. “I’ll be touch. Bye.”

When she hung up the phone, Cassie was dancing from foot to foot. “You’re going away with him. This is so cool. You’ll be in wilderness. It’ll be romantic. Maybe you’ll see him naked and we can get that picture for his fan club!”

Chloe’s heart was pounding and she wanted to jump up and down like her sister. Instead she shrugged. “It would be okay to go. I think it will add some dimension to my article.”

“Article-smarticle. I’m talking about adding some dimension to your life! Chloe and Arizona sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G.”

“I’m ignoring you,” Chloe said as she walked out of the room.

“Confess,” Cassie called after her. “You want to see the man naked.”

“I’m sure he’s not that impressive.”

“Liar!”

But Chloe didn’t know if the accusation came from her sister or her conscience. After all, she had seen Arizona without his clothes, and it had worked for her in a big way.

* * *

“I’M NOT sure what he’s going to look at,” Chloe continued nervously. “But I think seeing an archaeological dig and watching him work will add depth to the story.”

Jerry didn’t even look up from the papers he was reading. Her editor made a grunting noise low in his throat. She wasn’t sure what that meant.

“So you want me to go?” she asked.

Finally, he spared her a quick glance. “Yes, I want you to go. Keep track of expenses. The magazine will reimburse you for the reasonable stuff. Don’t go ordering any expensive wine with dinner. Don’t sit in poison ivy.”

“I think I can handle that.”

“Good.” His gaze narrowed. “How’s the guy? Is the piece gonna be decent?”

She thought about telling Jerry all she’d learned about Arizona, about the fan club on the Internet, the inherent charm, the way he actually believed in magic. But she didn’t think her boss really cared about the details. He would find all that out when he read the article.

“It’s going to be great,” she told him.

“Better be.” He grimaced. “Nancy said you were on the right track and I trust her. Not that I should. Pregnant. Do you know she actually expects time off after the kid is born? I asked her what for. She says she wants to breast-feed. Can you believe it? Like a bottle’s not good enough. What is it with women today?” He shook his head in disgust and glared at her. “Don’t you have a story to write? Packing maybe? Get out of here.”

“Yes, Jerry.” Despite herself, Chloe grinned. Jerry acted so tough all the time, but he would be the first one at the hospital after Nancy gave birth. He would be cooing like everyone else over the newborn.

She made her way back to her desk. She had her permission. She was really going away with Arizona. Out into the wilderness, where anything could happen.

* * *

CHLOE STARED AT the clothes folded neatly on top of her bed. “I don’t know what to take,” she admitted. “I’ve never been camping.”

Cassie sat in the chair by the desk and smiled. “You’ll do fine. Take jeans and underwear. Shirts and sweaters. You’ll want to layer if it gets cold, but you won’t want anything bulky.”

“Arizona says we’ll have to hike in the last part, so I have to carry everything with me.”

Cassie leaned forward, picked up the blow-dryer and waved it in the air. “In that case, I’d leave this behind. It’s big, heavy and you’re not going to have electricity.”

“I know. I just thought—” She shuddered. “I don’t know what I was thinking. It was a hideous mistake to agree to this. I’m completely out of my element.”

“You’ll be fine. Arizona will keep you safe.”

Chloe didn’t know whether to laugh or scream. What her sister didn’t understand was that Arizona was part of what she was afraid of. But she couldn’t say that to Cassie without going into detail. And how was she supposed to tell her sister that she had indeed had a dream the night of her twenty-fifth birthday and that the man in her dream had been someone she’d met the very next day? How was she supposed to confess that every time she was near him her body went up in flames, and that all the time they were apart, he was all she could think of?

Besides, not all of her fears were about Arizona. Some of them were about herself. She didn’t know what was wrong with her. She felt herself changing. Nothing was as it should be. She wanted... Chloe sighed. That was the problem. She didn’t know what she wanted.

Cassie stood up and walked to the bed. She opened Chloe’s cosmetic bag and dumped the contents.

“Toothbrush and toothpaste,” she said. She rummaged through the rest of the items, then eyed her sister’s long hair. She picked up a wide-toothed comb and a cloth-covered rubber band. “Don’t worry about makeup.” She fingered a tube of sunscreen. “This has moisture in it.” She added a tiny bottle of shampoo to the small pile. “Arizona will bring soap, I’m sure. Use his.”

Chloe stared at the half-dozen items. “How do you know this stuff?”

“I work with preschoolers. If nothing else, I’ve learned to improvise.” She pointed to the piles of clothing. “Want me to do the same on that?”

“Please.”

As Chloe watched, her sister sorted through jeans, shirts and sweaters. She picked up a waterproof windbreaker, a thin, high-tech fabric pullover guaranteed to keep Chloe warm, two flannel shirts, a spare pair of jeans and underwear.

“Take extra socks,” Cassie told her. “Your feet might get wet.”

“That’s it?” Chloe asked.

“It is if you really have to carry it on your back. I know this from personal experience. I’ve baby-sat too many kids who didn’t want me to bring the stroller. I told myself it was just a quick trip to the mall and that they didn’t weigh all that much. After about five minutes I learned they got heavy very quickly, and I always regretted my decision.”

“I’ll take your word for it,” Chloe said. “You’re obviously the expert.”

“I might have some shampoo samples,” Cassie said. “You know those little flat packages? Let me check, because they would be lighter than this bottle. I’ll be right back.”

After she’d left, Chloe looked at the small pile of clothing and wondered what on earth she was getting into. Would she and Arizona be alone for any part of their trip? That thought both terrified and excited her. She didn’t know what was going to happen.

Nerves fluttered in her stomach. Actually, that wasn’t true. If they were alone together for any length of time, she knew exactly what was going to happen between them. Was she ready for that?

She wasn’t sure. She thought about her sister and wished she could tell her what was really going on. She would like someone else’s opinion on her best course of action. Unfortunately, Cassie was a classic romantic and would only see the potential for love, not the probability of heartache. Chloe might firmly believe that love wasn’t for her, but that didn’t mean her emotions couldn’t be engaged under the right circumstances. So far, Arizona had everything going for him.

She thought about having a few words with Aunt Charity. No, Chloe told herself. That would never work. She couldn’t confide in the older woman. Arizona had been accurate and perceptive when he’d picked up the fact that there was trouble in the house. Chloe didn’t trust her aunt. Maybe it was childish, but she’d never forgiven her for not being there.

Chloe walked to the window and gazed out at the lawn. There had been a time in her life when she’d wondered if she would ever see this perfect view again. She reached up and fingered the locket hanging around her neck. Her thoughts drifted back to that horrible time when she and Cassie had lost their parents in a car accident. One minute everything had been fine, the next they were alone in the world. They’d clung to each other until the courts, unable to find their legal guardian, had split them up and sent them to different foster homes.

Three years, Chloe thought grimly. The family lawyer had looked for three years until he’d finally found Aunt Charity, their father’s sister. As soon as she’d been told what had happened, she’d flown back to America and had brought the girls home. Cassie had been grateful, but for Chloe the rescue had come too late. She’d been all of two months from her eighteenth birthday when she could have returned home on her own.

Chloe knew that logically it hadn’t been Aunt Charity’s fault that she’d been traveling the world. No one expected her to sit at home in case her brother died unexpectedly. But logic hadn’t helped Chloe get through those years apart from Cassie and away from the only home she’d ever known. So even though she desperately wanted someone to talk to, she wasn’t about to confess all to her aunt.

So she was going to have to be a grown-up and take care of herself. That or she was going to have to accept the consequences of her actions.

“I knew I had them,” Cassie said, walking back in the room. She held out a handful of cosmetic samples. “I found a couple that are face cleaners as well as two shampoo packs, so take them all.”

“Thanks. I really appreciate the help. I would have packed all wrong without you.”

“No problem.”

Chloe looked at her sister. Cassie had a very innocent expression on her face. She stood with her left hand tucked behind her back.

“What have you got there?”

“Nothing.”

“Don’t give me that. What is it?”

Cassie grinned wickedly. “Well, it won’t take up much room in your backpack and it will certainly give you two something to talk about over roasting marshmallows.”

She pulled her hand free. A condom rested on her open palm.

Chloe felt color flare on her cheeks. “I didn’t know that you and Joel had been intimate.”

“Oh, we haven’t been,” Cassie said easily. “But I do like to be prepared in case we ever decide we’re ready. So, do you think one is enough for you and Arizona, or do you want to pack the whole box?”

Chloe stared at the protection and didn’t know what to say. It was absurd to assume she and Arizona would become lovers. They hadn’t known each other that long. But like her sister, she had been raised to be prepared.

“Nothing’s going to happen,” she told her sister firmly, even as she took the condom and stuck it in her small cosmetic bag.

Cassie grinned. “If you’re very lucky, you just might prove yourself wrong!”