Dream Wedding(125)
“There’s no good time to lose one parent, let alone both,” Cassie said, and Ryan remembered too late that Cassie had lost family before. Her birth mother had given her up for adoption.
“I’m sorry,” he said quickly.
“Don’t be. I don’t mind talking about this.” She looked at him. “Sometimes I think the worst part of our parents’ death was the fact that Chloe and I were separated for nearly three years. Aunt Charity was left as guardian, but she was traveling and the lawyer couldn’t find her. So Chloe and I were put into different foster homes. I stayed in Bradley, but she was sent to another town. I think meeting Joel is what saved me.”
“Joel?” What did he have to do with anything?
She nodded. “He and I went to the same high school. We met our sophomore years. At first we were just friends, but then we started dating.” She held up her hand. “Please spare me the psychobabble on what that means. Chloe has been over it a dozen times.”
She piqued his curiosity. “What’s Chloe’s theory?”
“Chloe thinks I’m settling. That I suffered a traumatic loss at a formative age and Joel got me through it. Therefore I have misplaced loyalty toward him. She thinks that marrying Joel would be a mistake.”
Chloe was a very sensible woman, Ryan thought, not daring to question his reasons for suddenly liking Cassie’s sister. “What do you think?”
He’d expected a quick response, either telling him that none of this was his business, or saying that Joel was the love of her life. Instead she leaned back into the corner of the sofa and stared at him.
“I don’t know anymore.”
Her words hung in the silence. Inside he felt a quick jolt of pleasure, which he instantly told himself he had no business feeling.
“Sometimes it feels so incredibly right,” she said. “We’ve known each other for years. There aren’t any surprises, but that’s not always a bad thing. We get along, we respect each other. It’s comfortable.” She drew in a breath. “But sometimes I want the fantasy.”
He knew he probably shouldn’t ask, but he couldn’t help himself. “What fantasy?”
“No, you’ll laugh.”
“I promise I won’t.”
Her gaze skittered away from his and he sensed her sudden tension. More intrigued than he had the right to be, he leaned toward her and pressed for a reply. “I really won’t laugh. Tell me. What is your fantasy?”
She drew in a deep breath. “The Bradley family has this magic nightgown.”
Ryan stared at her, certain he’d misunderstood. “A what?”
“A magic nightgown. A long time ago, there was this gypsy woman. She was being attacked by a mob of drunken men.”
He listened while she explained the legend of the nightgown. “I don’t know what to say,” he told her when she’d finished. “I’ve never heard anything like this before.”
“I know it sounds strange, but I can show you the nightgown.”
“No, that’s not necessary. I’m sure it exists.”
She ducked her head. “At least you didn’t laugh.”
He didn’t know about spells and gypsy promises, but he did know that Cassie had just shared something very important to her. “Why would I? Just because I don’t have a similar family tradition to tell you about doesn’t mean that I’d make fun of yours. So you’re counting on this legend?”
She nodded quickly. “I want the legacy to be true for me. I want to wear the nightgown on my twenty-fifth birthday and I want to dream about the man I’m supposed to marry. Chloe wore it and dreamed about Arizona. They met the next day and if it wasn’t love at first sight, it was the next best thing. I want that, even though I’m afraid it’s not going to happen.”
Magic nightgowns and a promise of happily-ever-after. She really was an innocent. “Why wouldn’t it happen for you?”
“I’m not a real Bradley,” she reminded him. “I’m adopted. I have high hopes, of course, and Aunt Charity says believing is enough, but I don’t know.”
He wanted to tell her it was going to be fine, that she would have her special dream on her special night and everything would work out the way she wanted. But what did he know?
“What does Joel think about all this?” he asked, wondering how any fiancé would feel about the possibility of being usurped by a mystery suitor.
She finished her brandy and placed the snifter on the coffee table. “Not much. He’s very low-key about the whole thing. Joel believes I’m going to dream about him. I suppose he’s right, but sometimes I wish…” Her voice trailed off.