Susan Mallery - Dream Wedding

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!”

CHAPTER SEVEN

“YOU READY?” Arizona asked.

Chloe glanced back at the four-wheel-drive Explorer heading down the mountain. Then she looked at him. Her expression was two parts apprehension, one part honest-to-God fear.

But she didn’t answer him right away. Instead she squared her shoulders, then adjusted her backpack, raised her chin and smiled. “Sure. This is going to be fun.”

“Liar,” he told her.

Her smile broadened. “Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating. I confess, I do wish there was another way into the site or the dig, or whatever you call it, but I’ll survive. I appreciate the opportunity to see what you actually do with your day.” She paused. “Also, we’ll be able to continue our interview while we’re hiking. At least until I’m so out of breath I can’t ask questions. But your lecture series starts in three days. Will we be back in time?”

“That’s not a problem,” Arizona told her while he ignored the flicker of guilt. There was an easier way into the valley, but he wanted them to hike in. There was something going on between them—something he’d never experienced before—and he wanted time to explore that. His visit to Bradley was limited already. There were so many drains on his time.

If he were going to be completely rational, he knew there was no point in pursuing whatever attraction might flare between them. There was no way to make a relationship work. He’d sworn off casual affairs and even if he hadn’t, Chloe didn’t strike him as the type to give herself easily. Logic dictated that he should just answer her questions and ignore the rest of it. However, he’d never been one for logic. The unexplained caught his attention time after time. He wanted to know the whys. He couldn’t pass up a good mystery. In this case, there was something between him and Chloe and he was determined to find out what. These couple days alone might be his only chance.

She pulled a small tape recorder out of her jeans pocket. “I’m ready if you are,” she said.

“Then let’s go.”

He checked the placement of the sun and figured they had about six hours of daylight. Chloe wouldn’t be able to hike much more than that anyway. Not that she wasn’t in great shape. But she wasn’t conditioned for long hours on the trail.

There had been a surprisingly long stretch of relatively dry weather, so the ground was only damp underfoot. Towering trees lined the trail. The low-lying plants were bright green. Wildflowers and berry bushes were in full bloom. The air smelled clean and crisp. It was a perfect afternoon.

He started walking nearly due east.

“Where are we going?” Chloe asked as she kept pace with him. At this point the trail was wide enough for them to walk side by side.

“There’s a valley on the other side of this low range,” he said, pointing ahead. “We’ll reach the top of the rise tonight. That will be where we camp. Tomorrow we’ll head into the valley. The site is there. Just curious—was that information for you or the article?”

Her brown eyes twinkled. “Both. I have so many questions, I’m not sure where to start.”

“Does it matter?”

“I suppose not.” One corner of her mouth turned up slightly. “So, Arizona Smith, why don’t you wear a hat?”

Involuntarily, he reached up and touched his bare head. “I don’t need one here. There’s no need to protect myself from the sun.”

“I see. I thought all bush types wore hats. They do in the movies.” Her voice was teasing.

He shook his head. “That’s part of my problem. I wore one nearly all the time. Before.” He grimaced. “That movie. It changed everything. After that my lecture series became more popular. I appreciated that, but I hated the billing. A few places advertised me as a ‘real-life Indiana Jones.’”

“Did your audiences expect you to show up with a bullwhip?”

“You’d be surprised.” He thought about the women who would come to his lectures and sit in the front row. Their adoring gazes had nothing to do with him—who he really was. They were only interested in the persona.

Not like Chloe. He glanced at her. Her stride was long, her posture straight. She was gorgeous. Today she wore her curly red hair pulled back in a braid. She was tall and lean and he wished they were lovers so that he could suggest they stop for an hour or so and make love right here...out in the open.