special than any of the other women he’d seen over the past decade. She was pretty in a very nonpretentious way. Perhaps lacking the sophistication he was used to made her a novelty? Yet she was genuine. Like the woman his brother had married.
But that would change given half a chance. Amalia could be seduced by diamonds and couture clothing, embassy parties and luxurious cruises. He knew what women liked. It was all well and good to talk about family and memories. He’d like to see her dressed in a beautiful gown, jewels glowing around her neck, hair elaborately done. He could take her to a reception, or maybe a Christmas ball. Show her a different side of Barcelona than she knew.
And then what? Move on again? It was what he did.
They were airborne at first light. Amalia had been avoiding him while they prepared for liftoff. Yet she was friendly with the crew, joking and laughing. It was only with him she became distant. And Rafael knew the others had noticed.
The balloon filled and tugged at the land-tethered gondola.
“Turn us loose,” he said. In seconds the ropes had been released and they began to soar. He kept the burners going full blast to heat the air to the maximum in the shortest time possible, and the balloon rose swiftly.
She sat in the corner, gazing up at the balloon. Without standing, there wasn’t a lot to see.
The other balloon wasn’t in sight. Satisfied he’d made a leap ahead of Vicente, he wanted to keep that lead. The farther ahead he got, the better he would like it.
By midmorning Rafael was tired of the silence. Amalia had dozed for a short time, and when she wakened, he beckoned her over.
She rose and glanced around. He could tell she was easier each day with the height. He felt a moment of regret that he’d forced someone so afraid to come up, but he’d honored the conditions of the bet.
“Take over. I’m getting a drink,” he said.
She nodded and stepped in his place.
“Want something?”
“Sure,” she said. Then she opened the throttle and the jets roared. The balloon rose even higher. Rafael smiled. She was getting used to it in a big way. Looking at a spot on the horizon, he estimated their air speed. They were being pushed by a current at a faster rate than he expected. Since the balloon gave little indication of movement, it was hard to gauge the exact air speed.
He searched for the other balloon. Taking the binoculars, he trained them behind them until he located the other balloon. It was quite a distance behind them.
“We’re going to win this easier than I thought,” he murmured.
“Great, my boss will be a bear in the office if he loses.”
“Prepare yourself.”
He raised the binoculars again and frowned.
“What?” Amalia asked.
He lowered them and looked at her. “Storm clouds on the horizon. That bad weather front they talked about might be coming.”
Amalia held out her hand in silent request for the binoculars. When she lifted them to her eyes and trained them on the distant horizon, she could see clouds. They didn’t look particularly threatening and were right at the edge of the horizon. How long before they’d catch up? Wouldn’t the air current they were on keep them moving ahead of the storms?
She asked Rafael.
“They will to some extent, but it depends on if the storm front is moving faster than this current.”
Rafael contacted the ground crew. They had refilled the propane tanks and were heading in his direction. Rafael gave their GPS coordinates and told them to contact him when they were below him, which Manuel said should be soon.
“Now what?” she asked.
“Now we see where to land to exchange tanks. And if we can outrun the storm,” he said.
CHAPTER SEVEN
AMALIA relinquished the controls and went to stand on the side facing the clouds. Staying an arm’s distance from the side, she watched as the sky gradually grew more and more cloudy, some fluffy white puffs, others long and dark. She could scarcely see Vicente’s balloon, and shortly before lunch, she lost sight of it altogether.
“Are we stopping soon?” she asked.
“No. The temperature is cooling, we can stay up longer. We have propane, we’ll go as far as we can.”
She caught a glimpse of a town. Holding on to the side, she looked at it.
“There’s a town down there.”
“We’ll push on a bit farther.”
“Good grief, don’t put down in the mountains. The chase team would never find us.”
“Sure they would. But that’s not my intent. If we can get another few dozen miles, there is an entire valley that would be perfect to set down in. And there’s a nice-size town at the head of the valley. We could have a hot bath and comfortable bed tonight.”
“That gets my vote,” she said.
Turning, Amalia watched Rafael as he stood opposite her, leaning casually against the side. She no longer feared he’d fall out. In fact, thinking back over the last day or two, she realized she wasn’t nearly as fearful as when they started, unless she looked directly down.
“Now what’s going on in your mind?” he asked.
“Just thinking that maybe, maybe mind you, this isn’t the worst that could happen to me.”
He laughed. “It’s exhilarating.”
“I still can’t look down, but I’ve stopped panicking every time the basket sways a little.”
“We can make a ballooner out of you yet.”
“I doubt that. Tomorrow will be the halfway day. After that, it’s all downhill.”
“Do you regret coming?” he asked.
“Not as much as I did,” she replied.
He nodded. “I knew I could count on you to be honest about it.”
She looked away. She hadn’t been honest about her feelings for that kiss. If he wanted the truth, she’d be hardpressed to comply. Some things were too personal to share.
“Amalia, would you go out with me when we return to Barcelona?”
She turned back at that, stunned he’d ask.
“Where?” was the only thought that sprang to mind.
“Ballet, reception, dinner for two, dancing. Wherever you want.”
For one breathless moment she wanted to say yes. Then she shook her head. “I’m so not
