Dream Wedding(51)
Something dark and ugly flashed in her eyes. Regret came on the heels of his anger and he was instantly sorry. But before he could say anything, Jeff pulled open the helicopter’s door and motioned for her to step inside. Arizona followed.
They fastened their seat belts. The pilot glanced over his shoulder and when Arizona gave him a thumbs-up, guided them into the air.
Normally Arizona enjoyed flying. Helicopters hugged the ground, allowing him to see things not visible from planes. But today the scenery didn’t interest him. He looked at the woman sitting stiffly next to him. Her gaze was firmly fixed on the window.
“Chloe?”
She didn’t respond. It was noisy and she might not have heard him. Or she was ignoring him. Arizona leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. They were stuck with each other until they arrived back in California. At some point in the journey he would get her attention and explain it all to her.
* * *
HE WAITED UNTIL they were seated in the first-class section of the plane. While other passengers were busy stowing luggage and finding their seats, he leaned close and reached for her hand. She tried to pull back, but he wouldn’t let her.
“Chloe, you have to listen to me.”
She stared out the window. “No, I don’t.”
“Unless you start humming loud enough to drown out my words, you’re going to hear me anyway, so why not listen?”
He took her silence as grudging agreement.
“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I was a complete jerk. I should have told you about the helicopter and given you the choice. I really didn’t take you out in the woods just to take advantage of you. Obviously I hoped we would become lovers, but my main goal was to spend time with you.”
She didn’t say anything, but he thought she might have relaxed slightly. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “I’m not sorry we made love. I’ve wanted you from the first moment I met you. You’re beautiful and exciting. I’m lucky to have met you. I’m arrogant enough to think you might have wanted me, too. Even if you didn’t, the lovemaking was spectacular enough to have changed your mind.”
A faint smile tugged at her lips. She turned to look at him. “Even if you do say so yourself.”
He shrugged. “You weren’t going to say it.”
She took a deep breath, then let it out. He squeezed her fingers. “I didn’t set you up.”
“I know,” she said softly. “It’s just, when I realized we could have flown in, I felt really cheap and stupid.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want that.”
She nodded. “It’s okay. How long can I throw stones? I had a condom with me, too.”
“I remembered that, but I wasn’t going to mention it.”
“Probably a wise idea.” She studied him. “I’m fine. I understand and I’m not angry.”
“Or hurt?”
“That will take a little longer to get over.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to keep apologizing. I’m fine. We’re fine.”
But they weren’t. He could hear it in her voice. “You’re not telling me something. What is it?”
She was silent for so long, he thought she wasn’t going to answer. Finally she shrugged. “It’s nothing. I just wish…”
Her voice trailed off.
What did she wish for? That things were different? That they were different? Did she want more than he was capable of giving? Women usually did. Normally that made him feel annoyed with them, but with Chloe he felt a sense of panic, that if he couldn’t provide what she needed, he would lose her.
But how could he lose what he didn’t want and had never had?
“We’re fine,” she repeated. “We both went into the situation aware that it was temporary. Neither of us wants to get involved and we’re not. We had fun. What’s not to like?”
She gave him a big smile and squeezed his hand. It didn’t work. She was hiding something. But as surely as he knew the sun would come up in the morning, he knew she wouldn’t tell him if he asked.
As the plane taxied to the end of the runway, he leaned toward her. Chloe rested her head on his shoulder. He couldn’t escape the feeling that he’d really messed things up between them, but for the life of him, he couldn’t figure out what…or how. And until he knew that, he couldn’t begin to make things better.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHLOE PULLED INTO the driveway and stayed sitting in her car. This was not how she’d wanted the past couple of days with Arizona to end. She’d hoped they would be fun and pleasant and something she could be excited about remembering. The worst part was she couldn’t exactly explain what was wrong.