Cassie glanced down at her mug. “I see. You didn’t trust me.”
Her words and her stiff posture screamed her hurt. The knot in Chloe’s gut doubled in size. “I knew you’d be upset. You have every right to be mad at me, Cass. I can’t explain what I was thinking except I was stunned by what had happened.”
Cassie didn’t look at her. She shook her head back and forth, making the gold heart earrings catch the light.
Chloe stretched her hand across the table and touched her sister’s fingers. “I never meant to hurt you. You are my closest friend in life. I was very upset by what had happened and I didn’t want to talk to anyone about it.”
At last Cassie looked at her. “Besides, I was the one so excited about the legend. If I’d known you’d dreamed about Arizona, I wouldn’t have been able to keep the information to myself.” A smile tugged at her lips. “Imagine if I’d blurted it out that first night he was here for dinner.”
“It would have given us something to talk about.”
Cassie nodded. “I understand, Chloe. I’m a little hurt, but I’ll get over it. Let’s talk about you and what happened. You dreamed about him, and then you met him. Was that like the dream?”
“Not the meeting.” She quickly explained about going into work that morning and finding out that Arizona was her new assignment. Everywhere she went, pictures of the man stared back at her. She described seeing the scar on his arm in her dream, then finding out he had the same scar.
“How did you know about the scar?” Cassie asked. “What was he wearing in the dream?”
Chloe cleared her throat. She could feel herself blushing. “Nothing. We made love, several times. It was amazing.”
Cassie laughed. “No wonder you were stunned the next morning. There’s nothing like finding out your fantasy lover is a real person to get your day started.”
“Exactly. It was so spooky. You know I don’t believe in the legend. I’m a reporter. I want to be able to prove my facts. I couldn’t figure out what was going on and it frightened me.”
“Plus you wouldn’t want Arizona to know too much,” Cassie said. “After all, he spends his life exploring the mystic. You couldn’t be sure what he would make of the whole nightgown legend once he found out he’d been the subject of your dream.”
“Exactly.”
Cassie took a drink of her cocoa, then placed the mug on the table and cupped it with her hands. Her eyebrows drew together. “I still don’t see the problem. You and Arizona get along well. I think you like him. I know he likes you. You made love and I’m guessing it was lovely. So why are you so upset?”
“Because it’s all too strange. Yes, we get along and have fun together. The sex was amazing.” She didn’t want to think about that, about how she’d felt when he touched her. “That’s not the point. It’s more complicated. I refuse to fall in love with anyone ever. I won’t let myself feel that kind of pain again. Arizona might believe in myths and stories, but he doesn’t believe in love, romantic or otherwise. He’s the kind of man who wants to spend his life roaming the world. While I want to travel, I do also want to settle down and make a home. Eventually.”
“You already have a home.” Cassie waved to encompass the kitchen and the entire house beyond. “You have roots. You’re from Bradley.”
Cassie’s tone was light, but Chloe heard the envy in her sister’s voice. She never knew what to say about that—about the fact that she’d inherited the house.
Cassie shrugged. “Where you settle isn’t important. So he wants to travel, possibly more than you do. Compromise. Couples have been doing that for generations. How do you think marriages last?”
“No one is talking about getting married. That’s the last thing I want to do.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. I refuse to love him. I don’t want to get involved with anyone. We’re friends and we had a great time together.”
“Then why are you crying?”
Chloe couldn’t answer the question. Nothing made sense. She wanted to explain about the helicopter and feeling tricked, but she’d had time to think and she didn’t believe Arizona had deliberately set out to deceive her. She’d overreacted. Probably because she was feeling a little overwhelmed by her reaction to him.
“I don’t know what to think. Maybe if we hadn’t made love things would be more clear.” She rested her elbows on the table and cupped her head in her hands. “I feel like I’m caught up inside a tornado. Every time it sets me down, I have to get my bearings all over again. Just when I get that all figured out, I’m caught up again, with no control over my destiny.”