Dream Wedding: Dream Bride | Dream Groom by Susan Mallery

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