The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

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СКАЧАТЬ wanted to touch.

      She hadn’t felt a pull this strong since Harry. And that in itself was a warning: look where that had got her. She pulled herself together and unglued her tongue from the roof of her mouth. ‘Good morning, Theo.’

      ‘Ready?’ he asked with a smile.

      She nodded. Theo had given her the pre-flight instructions from the balloon company: to wear long sleeves and trousers, preferably in natural fibres; a hat to protect her head from the radiant heat of the burner; and sensible shoes. And although she felt slightly frumpy, wearing a thick fleece over one of the strappy camisole tops she favoured outside work, she understood the logic, and she didn’t want to scrape her arms on the wicker basket.

      ‘Let’s go, then.’

      She locked the front door behind her and walked with him to the tube station. It was still dark outside, and so early that the train was practically empty, apart from a couple of bleary-eyed commuters who looked as if they still wished they were in bed.

      ‘So are balloon flights always this early in the morning?’ she asked.

      ‘Apparently the air’s at its most stable in the first two hours after dawn and the last two hours before dusk,’ Theo told her. ‘So most flights are around sunrise or sunset. The ones over London are at sunrise, though we could have gone for a different take-off point and had a later flight.’ He smiled. ‘I take it that you’re an owl rather than a lark, then?’

      ‘Usually,’ she admitted. ‘Though I’m never late for my shift.’

      He laughed. ‘Hey. We’re not at work now.’

      ‘No.’

      ‘But since you’ve got my head back in doctor mode, there’s something I forgot to ask you—do you have any medical condition that means you shouldn’t fly?’

      ‘I’m disgustingly healthy,’ she said.

      ‘Good.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry, this is a very personal question…but there’s no chance you could be pregnant?’

      She felt the colour wash into her face. ‘No.’ She hadn’t actually slept with anyone for two years—and she’d regretted that. Not that she was going to admit either fact to Theo.

      ‘OK. And I’m sorry I offended you.’

      ‘No offence taken.’ Though there was one problem. Because of what he’d asked, she was thinking about sex. Specifically, sex with him. Which her common sense told her would be a very bad idea, although her libido was turning a series of cartwheels at the thought.

      In accordance with Theo’s instructions, they reached the meeting place near Tower Bridge at a quarter past six for the pre-flight briefing. Madison’s attention was caught by the balloon itself. An enormous wicker basket with six rigid poles going up to hold the burner, and then the most enormous piece of…what? Silk? Nylon? She had no idea. But it was fascinating to watch the balloon flight team putting everything together and inflating the balloon, first with a fan and then the flames shooting into the mouth of the balloon to warm the air and make the balloon envelope rise.

      When the balloon was finally upright, the pilot put the instruments and maps on board, and then it was time for the passengers to board. As they drew closer, Madison realised just how big the basket was. How deep. And, not for the first time, she wished she’d inherited the family height gene like her cousin Katrina, rather than being the shortest member of the family.

      ‘Want a hand in?’ Theo asked.

      Part of her wanted to stand on her dignity and say, no, she could manage. But the sensible side of her knew what that would mean: a head-first, embarrassing dive into the balloon—even if she managed to negotiate the footholds. ‘Thank you. That’d be good,’ she said.

      ‘I apologise in advance for the caveman bit,’ he said, and scooped her up into his arms; she was forced to slide her arms round his neck for balance until he sat her on the edge of the wicker basket. Then she twisted her legs round and slid into the basket.

      ‘Thanks. I think even high heels wouldn’t have been enough to help me climb in,’ she said brightly, trying to keep her mind off the fact that she’d just had her arms round his neck and his body had been very, very close to hers.

      ‘Apart from the fact they wouldn’t be sensible footwear.’ Theo looked all the way down her body. Head to toe and then back again to meet her gaze. And the sultry look in his eyes made Madison’s heart beat just that little bit faster.

      It was noisy in the balloon, with the burners still heating the air inside the balloon envelope—and then she realised that they were off the ground. Considerably off the ground.

      She blinked. ‘Wow. I was expecting it to be—well, bumpier than this,’ she said. ‘Like being on a boat going out to sea.’

      ‘We’re moving with the wind, so that’s why we can’t feel the currents. And a passenger basket this size is really, really stable. It shouldn’t rock or sway at all.’

      ‘Either you’ve done this before or you looked it up on the Internet.’

      ‘Both,’ he admitted. ‘I was in Australia last year and took a trip across the desert at sunrise. The sand was red and there were kangaroos bounding along, and as the sun rose the light turned all the grey saltbush to green. It was incredible.’

      ‘Sounds it. Mind you, so is this. London in the early spring—look, you can see all the trees starting to turn green over again.’ She looked down, keeping her hands firmly on the edge of the basket. The burners had gone off again, and they were just floating in the air. Everything around them was still and silent. She could hear the sound of traffic below, and gulls squawking over the Thames.

      ‘I’ve never seen London like this before,’ she said softly. ‘Even going on the London Eye is nothing compared with this. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Theo.’

      The burners sprang into life again, and Theo was forced to bend closer to her so his mouth was close enough to her ear for her to hear his reply. ‘My pleasure. Though, as one of the main organisers of the ball, you’re the best person for me to share it with anyway. You deserve a treat for all that hard work.’

      ‘Maybe.’ She rested her hands on the rim of the basket and looked out as the pilot pointed out more landmarks. Theo was standing behind her, and it felt natural for him to be looking over her shoulder, his hands resting against the basket on either side of hers. And even more natural for her to lean back slightly against him.

      The gap between their hands narrowed imperceptibly, and he moved slightly closer, cradling her body against his. And she wasn’t sure which of them moved first, but then her left hand was covering his, and his right hand was covering hers, and she was aware of every nerve end in her skin.

      ‘Would you like me to take a picture of you together?’ one of the other passengers asked.

      ‘Thank you. That would be lovely.’ Theo fished his mobile phone from his pocket and set it to camera mode before handing it to her.

      ‘Stand a bit closer together—I can’t quite get you both in.’

      Theo stood behind Madison and slid his arms round her waist, pulling her back СКАЧАТЬ