She’d pulled her long curls up on top of her head, securing them in a large clip. The ends fell to the back of her neck and danced against her bare skin. Her dress was simple. A scoop-neck, long-sleeved velvet dress. The soft burgundy fabric came to midthigh, exposing a lot of leg.
Overtly sexy wasn’t her usual style, but then neither was a man like Arizona. She was attending a reception in his honor. She figured she needed all the help she could get just to maintain some kind of power base in the relationship. If only she weren’t so attracted to him, she might have a fighting chance. But she was attracted. She shivered at the thought of being near him again. Of seeing him and talking to him. Lord help her if he asked her to dance. She would probably become a giant puddle right there on the dance floor.
“I hate being short,” Cassie said with a sigh.
“You’re five-five. That’s average, not short. Besides, I would love to be petite.”
“Me, too.” Cassie patted her hips. “Instead, I’m curvy. You get to be tall and slender and beautiful. If you weren’t my sister, I think I’d hate you. I might just hate you anyway.”
Chloe smiled and kissed her cheek. “You know you love me. I love you, too. So we’re even.”
The doorbell rang downstairs. Cassie glanced toward the door. “That will be Joel. You know we’re going out to dinner before we come to the reception, right?”
“Why? There will be food at the party. You can eat there.”
Cassie slipped out of the bathroom. “You know how Joel is. He’s concerned that with Arizona’s reputation and his world travel, the university will be serving something exotic. Joel doesn’t eat exotic things. We’ll go to our regular restaurant and join you later.”
Chloe resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What on earth was Cassie doing with Joel? Why couldn’t she see she was simply settling? There was a whole world out there just waiting to be seen. But instead of speaking her mind, Chloe forced herself to smile. They’d had this discussion a hundred times. Cassie knew her sister’s opinion on the subject, and she was old enough to make her own decisions.
“Don’t change your mind about coming,” Chloe said. “I really want you there.”
“I wouldn’t miss it. I promise.” She waved, then left to meet her date.
Chloe lingered in the bathroom for a few minutes, touching up her makeup and spraying on perfume. As a rule, she didn’t put much on her face during the day. A little mascara, sunscreen and powder. But for events like this, she went all out. At least she had the satisfaction of knowing she looked her best. She would need the confidence to face everyone at the reception.
“It’s really dumb to lie to myself,” she said, and she collected her tiny evening purse. Okay, she would tell the truth. She wanted to look her best to give herself the confidence to face Arizona...and because she was female enough to want to knock his socks off. It wasn’t going to happen, of course, but a girl could dream.
Thirty minutes later, she accepted the car claim ticket from the valet and stared up at the front of the hotel. The welcome reception was being held in the grand ballroom. Bradley wasn’t that big a town and most events like this were held here. She knew the approximate layout of the room, at least half the guest list and who was likely to get drunk and embarrass themselves. She was here both as a reporter and as a guest. The former role meant that she would need to spend at least part of the evening talking to Arizona.
“Talk about a hardship,” she murmured under her breath. She made a promise to herself that no matter how good he looked in his tux, she would not swoon, then she squared her shoulders and headed for the ballroom.
The huge room was much as she expected. Bright lights glittered from a dozen chandeliers. There were crowds of people in tight conversation groups. Her name was checked against the list of invitees, then she was admitted.
Chloe made her way to the bar in the east corner and ordered a glass of white wine. It was false courage at best, but she had a feeling she was going to need all the help she could get.
As she sipped the tart liquid, she glanced around. While she told herself she was just checking out who was wearing what, she knew she was actually searching for him. Damn. She couldn’t even pretend she wasn’t interested for five minutes. What hope did she have of pulling off the professional act? Well, she was going to have to figure out a way. Maybe if she walked around for a while and chatted with some other people she might figure out how to pull this off. If she—“I thought you were never going to get here.”
The voice came from behind her, but she didn’t have to turn around to identify the speaker. Even if she hadn’t recognized him from how he sounded, her body instinctively knew. Was it his scent, his heat or something more basic than that? She wasn’t sure. All she knew was that there wasn’t going to be enough time to get her act together.
Fake it until you make it, she told herself as she turned so they were facing each other.
He’d had a recent haircut and shave. She filed the information away as she drank in the sight of him. Strong, handsome features, green eyes that twinkled with amusement and what she hoped was appreciation. He wore a black tux, obviously tailored, and a crisp, white shirt. He was tall, dangerous and too sexy by far. The only thing that gave her hope of surviving the evening without making a fool of herself was the fact that he seemed to be studying her as completely as she had studied him.
“Well,” he asked and did a quick turn, like a fashion model. “What do you think?”
“You clean up very nicely, Dr. Smith.”
“I could say the same, but it wouldn’t do justice. You always look lovely, but tonight you’re radiant.”
He brought her free hand up to his mouth and kissed her knuckles. The old-fashioned gesture nearly drove her to her knees. She had to consciously remind her body to keep breathing.
“We are,” he said as he tucked her hand into the crook of his arm, “a fabulous-looking couple. Everyone will be jealous. It’s our duty to walk through the crowd, spreading our attractiveness among them. They will expect it. They might even throw money.” He gave her a wink.
His outrageousness made her laugh and his easy smile calmed some of her nervousness. “How noble of you,” she told him. “I’m terribly impressed by your concern for the little people.”
He leaned toward her. “Seriously, I expect you to protect me. I hate parties like this. Everyone wants to impress me with their exotic travels. Some even bring pictures. I never know what to say. I don’t do the celebrity thing very well.”
His confession both surprised and pleased her. “I’ll do what I can to keep you safe.”
They began to circulate through the room. Chloe had been prepared to introduce Arizona to the local dignitaries, but he already seemed to know them. He greeted the mayor and most of the city council by name.
“How do you do that?” she asked when they’d excused themselves to go sample the food. “How do you know who everyone is?”
Arizona collected an empty plate for each of them and led her to the buffet line. “I met the mayor and her husband at the airport. There was a city council meeting yesterday and I attended.”
Chloe glanced at the food spread out before them.
