She started to make her way through the crowd. As she did, bits of conversation drifted toward her.
“Oh, John, he makes it sound so exciting. Do you think we could go to South America?”
“Of course, Lily. Let’s call the travel agent first thing in the morning.”
A little farther down she heard another couple planning a photo safari to Africa. So it went until she broke free of the crowd and found herself in the relative calm of the ballroom’s foyer.
When she was in front of the bar, she reached for her small handbag.
“Can I buy you a drink, pretty lady?”
She spun toward the familiar voice and saw Arizona standing next to her. Despite all the time they’d been spending together and the fact that she’d been seeing him every day for more than two weeks, he still had the ability to make her toes curl.
“How did you escape?” she asked. “Last time I saw you, you were holding court with at least a dozen loyal fans. Including my sister and aunt.”
“I spoke to them, told everyone else I needed a couple of minutes to rest, then used a side door to sneak down the back corridor away from the crowd.” He nodded at the bartender. “What would you like?”
She gave her order. He took a glass of water for himself, then led her over to a couple of chairs in the corner of the foyer.
“I think it’s going well,” he said.
She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “There’s an understatement. You have them completely in the palm of your hand. But that’s not a surprise. I’ve seen it happen every night.” She met his gaze and smiled. “I’m impressed, as usual.”
“Thank you. I’ve been to some interesting places and people like to hear about my adventures. I’m lucky.”
It was more than luck, she thought. “You don’t just tell them what happened to you, you also inspire them. I would say at least half the people in that room are talking about taking a trip somewhere they wouldn’t have gone before hearing you. Maybe you should talk to the airlines about getting a finder’s fee or something.”
He chuckled. “Like a travel agent. There’s a thought.” He shifted his chair closer to hers and slipped his arm around her. “The truth is many of them will change their minds when they find out how much it’s going to cost, or when they get the list of vaccinations required for the travel. But some will go and seeing the world will change their lives.”
“Always a good thing,” she said, then wondered if she was wrong to want to stay here, in Bradley. Had she discovered her true self or was she simply afraid? Aunt Charity had called her a coward. She didn’t want to believe that about herself, but what other explanation was there?
“It’s not just travel that changes a person,” he said, then leaned toward her and kissed her cheek. “You’ve changed me. I’m a better man for having known you.”
His words warmed her down to her soul. “I would like to say the same thing, but I’m not a better man. In fact I’m not a man at all.”
“Brat.” He grinned, then squeezed her once and stood up. “I have to get back. We’re on for later, right?”
She nodded. They’d had a standing date for after the lectures ever since the talks had started.
“Good.” He took a step away, then returned and kissed her on the mouth. “I hate how little time we have left. I want to spend all of it together.” He kissed her again. “I wish I could talk you into coming with me. Ah, well, another time.”
And with that, he was gone.
Chloe slowly made her way back to her seat. Her head was spinning. Had he meant what he’d just said? Did he plan to ask her to go with him? No, he wouldn’t. They got along well, he cared about her and he would miss her. But that’s all it was. Arizona wasn’t about to fall in love and she…
Chloe settled down next to her sister and aunt and tried to pay attention to the rest of the lecture, but for once, Arizona’s wild tales couldn’t keep her attention. Her mind raced around as she tried to figure out what was right for her…for both of them. If the truth were told, she would like to travel some, see parts of the world. But she wouldn’t want to live somewhere else for any length of time. She wouldn’t want to be a nomad. She needed roots and family around her. Arizona—what did he need? Was she wrong not to talk about this with him? Maybe Aunt Charity was right about her being a coward. Maybe she should try to figure out a way to explain the situation so they could look for a compromise.
The rest of the lecture passed in a blur. Afterward, the three women made their way to the reception. Aunt Charity and Cassie would stay an hour or so, then leave. Chloe would be there until Arizona told her he was ready to duck out, then together they would head over to his hotel.
She’d just filled her plate from the buffet line when one of the administrators from the university came up beside her.
“Ms. Wright, isn’t it?” the elderly gentleman asked. “I’m Dr. Grantham, a vice president at the university.”
“Nice to meet you,” Chloe said, not quite sure why she was being singled out. “Yes, I’m Chloe Wright.”
“Please.” He motioned to a table off to the side. “If you have a moment, I would like to speak with you.”
“Sure.” The hair on the back of Chloe’s neck prickled. She had a sudden premonition that she wasn’t going to like what this man had to say. She glanced around, then spotted Cassie and motioned that she would be joining her shortly.
When she and Dr. Grantham were seated, he gave her a disarming smile. He was older, with white hair and thick white eyebrows. He looked like an English peer.
“Yes, well, this is a bit of a delicate thing. I hope you don’t think I’m intruding or prying. This is about our mutual friend, Dr. Smith.”
Chloe put her plate on the table. Her stomach tightened around the knot forming there.
“What about Arizona?” she asked.
“The university has offered him a full professorship. We think a man of his experience and talent would be a great addition to our faculty. We included a generous package with plenty of time off so he could continue to explore the world.” Dr. Grantham’s mouth straightened. “Much to our disappointment, Dr. Smith turned us down.”
Chloe told herself to keep breathing. That the tightness in her chest and throat was just shock and not an actual seizing of her body. She wasn’t going to die…it just felt like it.
“You offered him a job?”
“Yes. He was very polite, but said he wasn’t interested in settling in one place.” Dr. Grantham gave a humorless laugh. “I can only imagine how many other institutions have offered him as much or more. I don’t suppose we ever really had a chance, but we had to try.”
Chloe nodded. They had to try. They’d failed. Just as she would fail if she asked him to compromise so they could maintain their relationship.
Relationship! What relationship? She was simply a convenience to him.
“I was hoping,” Dr. Grantham continued, startling Chloe, who had nearly forgotten the other man was still sitting at the table, “perhaps you could have a word with him. I’ve noticed you two seem to be particular friends. You might be an influence.”
Chloe bit back a choked gasp. Particular friends. It was a gentle phrase from another time. She was willing to admit that she and Arizona were friends. Of course they were. They had fun together. They were lovers. She was in love with him. But she had no influence over him. Nor did she have the courage to tackle the subject. Not now. Not when she’d just found out that he’d been offered a chance to stay in her world and that he’d refused it. He couldn’t have spoken more clearly. When his time here was up, he wanted to leave her.
She didn’t doubt that he cared…in some way. In his way. After all, he’d warned her from the beginning that he didn’t believe in love. She shouldn’t be surprised that nothing had changed. She’d been the one to break the rules, not him.
“I don’t think I can help you,” she said stiffly as she rose to her feet. “Arizona is his own man.”
“I see.” The elegantly dressed Dr. Grantham suddenly looked like an old man.
Chloe fought against guilt. Wasn’t it enough her heart was breaking? Did she have to be responsible for the university, too? She sucked in a breath. “I’ll do what I can,” she said. “I’ll say something to him. But don’t expect a miracle.”
Dr. Grantham beamed and shook her hand. “We’ll appreciate anything you can do.” Then he rose and left her.
Chloe stared after him. She would keep her word and mention the offer to Arizona, but she knew it wouldn’t matter. Nothing mattered except the fact that in two days, Arizona would be out of her life forever.
* * *
“DR. SMITH, MY wife and I have enjoyed your lecture series so much,” the older man was saying. “You bring your experiences alive. We feel as if we’d been there, don’t we, honey?”
His wife smiled. “Yes, indeed. William and I were just saying that we should travel more. Maybe Egypt or Africa. What do you think, Dr. Smith?”
“There are advantages to both,” Arizona told them. “Go through a reputable travel agent and confirm everything in advance.”
The couple nodded eagerly and started talking about pyramids versus photo safaris. Arizona felt his attention drifting as he glanced around the room. He knew what he was searching for…make that whom. Chloe. Always Chloe. Normally he enjoyed the “meet and greet” part of the evening, but for the past couple of nights he’d wanted to run out directly after his lecture, grab Chloe and escape to his hotel room. He wanted to be alone with her, not talking to all these people.
He tried telling himself it was just sex, but he couldn’t buy it. He’d had lovers around before and he’d always been able to focus on what he was doing. In fact if Chloe told him they couldn’t make love that night, he would still be as anxious to get her alone. Yes, he wanted to touch her and hold her, but he also wanted to talk with, spend time with her. Be in the same room, listen to her laugh, watch the light in her eyes.
He scanned the line for the buffet, then saw Cassie and Charity sitting at a table. Chloe wasn’t with them. He frowned and continued to search, at last spotting her in the company of Dr. Grantham. The courtly older gentleman had approached him just yesterday, offering him a position at the university. The offer had been generous, and were he a different kind of man, he might have considered taking it and settling down here.
The long line moved forward a little and he greeted the next couple. They had a few questions about his lecture. He answered them easily and again found his attention wandering.
Chloe was so damn beautiful, he thought. Tonight she wore a simple black dress. Short sleeves, scooped neck. The style didn’t hug her body, but it was formfitting enough to be a distraction. She was shaking hands with Dr. Grantham, then returning to her sister and aunt.
He watched her walk across the room, her h*ps swaying gently, her body calling to his. What was there about her that drew him? Why did he have the feeling that leaving this time was going to be more difficult than in the past? He knew he couldn’t stay. He came from a long line of men who abandoned those they were supposed to love. First, his grandfather had walked out on his wife and son to pursue a life of adventure. While they had never wanted for material things, they’d been denied a husband and a father.
The pattern had continued in his life. While his father had loved his mother to the point of obsession, he’d allowed his only son to be raised at first by strangers, then by the man who had abandoned him. Their family tree wasn’t a shining example of healthy family relationships.
So where did that leave him? Wasn’t he smarter to avoid that which he couldn’t do well? After all, it had taken nearly thirty years for him to forgive his father. They had made tentative peace, but that wasn’t the same as actually making the relationship work.
“So you really believe in all this magic nonsense?” a gruff man was asking.
“Of course,” Arizona replied easily. “How can we not? There are many things on this earth that can’t be explained.”
The other man grunted. “I’ll admit you tell a good story, but you’re not going to make a believer out of me. I believe in what I can see, touch, taste or smell.”
“Oh, Harry,” his wife said, then tapped his arm. “That’s ridiculous and you know it. You believe in God.”
“That’s different.” Harry stiffened slightly. “A man’s supposed to believe in God. It’s in the Bible.”
“My point exactly.”
“Not the same thing at all,” Harry told her.
“You believe in love,” Arizona said. “You love your wife and your children.”
“Of course.” Harry narrowed his eyes. “What kind of man would I be if I didn’t love them?”
“But you can’t see, taste, touch or smell love,” Arizona pointed out.
“Touché, Dr. Smith,” Harry’s wife said, then linked her arm through her husband’s and led him away.
Arizona stared after them. He’d met many men like Harry in the course of his travels. Men who wouldn’t believe in what they couldn’t prove. But magic and the unexplainable were everywhere. One only had to be open to the idea.
How can you claim to believe in magic, when you ignore the biggest magic of all—the love people have for each other?
He tried to dismiss the voice in his head along with the question. That was different, he told himself, and knew he sounded just like Harry.