at the thought.
In accordance with Theoâs instructions, they reached the meeting place near Tower Bridge at a quarter past six for the pre-flight briefing. Madisonâs 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 ofâ¦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 sheâd inherited the family height gene like her cousin Katrina, rather than being the shortest member of the family.
âWant a hand in?â 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 balloonâeven if she managed to negotiate the footholds. âThank you. Thatâd be good,â she said.
âI apologise in advance for the caveman bit,â 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.
âThanks. I think even high heels wouldnât have been enough to help me climb in,â she said brightly, trying to keep her mind off the fact that sheâd just had her arms round his neck and his body had been very, very close to hers.
âApart from the fact they wouldnât be sensible footwear.â 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 Madisonâs heart beat just that little bit faster.
It was noisy in the balloon, with the burners still heating the air inside the balloon envelopeâand then she realised that they were off the ground. Considerably off the ground.
She blinked. âWow. I was expecting it to beâwell, bumpier than this,â she said. âLike being on a boat going out to sea.â
âWeâre moving with the wind, so thatâs why we canât feel the currents. And a passenger basket this size is really, really stable. It shouldnât rock or sway at all.â
âEither youâve done this before or you looked it up on the Internet.â
âBoth,â he admitted. âI 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.â
âSounds it. Mind you, so is this. London in the early springâlook, you can see all the trees starting to turn green over again.â 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.
âIâve never seen London like this before,â she said softly. âEven going on the London Eye is nothing compared with this. Thank you so much for sharing this with me, Theo.â
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. âMy pleasure. Though, as one of the main organisers of the ball, youâre the best person for me to share it with anyway. You deserve a treat for all that hard work.â
âMaybe.â 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 wasnât 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.
âWould you like me to take a picture of you together?â one of the other passengers asked.
âThank you. That would be lovely.â Theo fished his mobile phone from his pocket and set it to camera mode before handing it to her.
âStand a bit closer togetherâI canât quite get you both in.â
Theo stood behind Madison and slid his arms round her waist, pulling her back against him.
âNow, smile.â
Smile, when her knees had just melted and her temperature had risen about ten degrees? But she managed it. Just.
The woman took a photograph, and a second âjust in caseâ, then smiled at them. âYou make a lovely couple.â
âThank you,â Theo said.
For the return of the phone?
Or for the compliment?
Maybe theyâd just hit a patch of particularly thin air, because she definitely couldnât think straight. âThank you,â she mumbled.
Theo stayed close to her for the rest of the balloon trip. And although theyâd been warned that in four out of five flights the balloon landed on its side, and theyâd braced themselves for the impact, she still wasnât prepared for the fact that the basket tipped over and she landed on top of Theo.
Full length.
Plastered against him.
His arms automatically came round her. It was the obvious thing to do, to keep them stableâbut then again heâd spent most of the balloon ride with his arms round her.
If she lifted her head from his shoulder, she was close enough to kiss him.
And if they hadnât had the other passengers from the balloon and the pilot with them, she knew she would have done it. Teased that gorgeous, sexy mouth until he was kissing her back and his hands were sliding underneath her fleece and her camisole to encounter bare skin. And she wouldâve been just as quick to rip his clothes off.
Oh, lord.
She could feel her face burning, but Theo didnât make any comment. He merely joined the others in helping to roll up the surprisingly heavy balloon and loading it into the back of the Land Rover that had followed the balloon across London to Alexandra Palace and obtained clearance for them to land.
âSo, did you enjoy your first balloon ride?â he asked as they walked through the park towards the tube station.
âIt was amazing. Iâve lived in London for twelve years now, but itâs made me see the city with new eyes. There are so many places I havenât explored.â
He
