Still, it was hard to fall asleep. Finally dropping off, she felt she slept for ten minutes before there was a banging on the front door to the flat.
She sprang out of bed and raced down the hall, almost colliding with her brother when he came from his room, both scrambling to don robes.
“Is it a fire?” he asked, following her to the door.
“I don’t know. Maybe a neighbor needs help.”
Throwing open the door, Amalia stared in astonishment at Rafael Sandoval. He appeared to loom over her, dressed in the black-and-red jumpsuit, his hair tousled and his eyes flashing.
“You’re not dressed and, I expect, not packed. The shuttle buses stopped running now that the festival is over. I came to get you.”
Jose greeted Rafael as if his awakening them in the middle of the night was a normal occurrence.
“I told you I’m not going,” Amalia reiterated stubbornly.
“Going where?” her brother asked.
“Ballooning—on the long jump,” Rafael said. “And yes you are. I’m not losing this race on a technicality. Get your stuff.”
“Wow, how cool. You get to go with Rafe in the hot air balloon?” Jose said, turning a beaming face to Amalia. “You’re so lucky.”
“I’m. Not. Going,” she repeated slowly. Were they both deaf?
“Amalia, you have to. What a great chance this is. Tell me all about it when you get back. How many people get this chance? You have to go.” Jose was clearly excited. Why couldn’t he be the one to go, instead of her? Perhaps she could suggest that to her boss?
“Yes she does have to go. If you convince her, I’ll give you a ride when we get back,” Rafael said, checking his watch. “You have ten minutes before we leave. Unless you want to travel the next few days in your pajamas, you’d better get going.”
Amalia studied his implacable expression for ten seconds, then turned and walked back to her room. She was not going! Slamming the door behind her, she switched on her light and sat hard on the edge of her bed. If her boss and Rafael Sandoval thought she could be ordered about to fit into their feud, they were wrong.
“I can’t leave Jose,” she yelled.
She could hear the two of them talking in the living room. Didn’t her brother think it totally crazy that a man would show up in the middle of the night to abduct his sister? She looked at her clock. It was almost five. Rafael had better get to the launch site or he’d miss takeoff himself.
She crossed her arms over her chest. Dare she go back to bed with him still in the flat? Not that she could sleep. Her blood pounded. Her heart raced. For one insane moment she actually considered going off for a week with Rafael Sandoval. Ha. It was likely, if she didn’t die of fright on ascension, she’d deck him the first chance she got. She was amazed Teresa had lasted all four days without injuring him!
Jose knocked on her door. “I brought you one of my duffel bags and a backpack,” he said. “And I can manage myself while you’re gone. I’m almost eighteen. Besides, Rafe said he’d have his housekeeper come to cook my meals. How cool is that!”
“I can cook your meals,” she said, annoyed Rafael seemed to think he could get everyone to jump to his commands by a snap of his fingers.
The door banged open and Rafael stood in the opening, seeming to fill the space. Jose stood beside him. Both looked at Amalia.
“I’m serious. If you don’t come willingly, I’ll bring you however I can. You will be on that balloon for the next seven days,” Rafael said levelly.
She glared at him. “I’m afraid of heights.”
“Oh, yeah, I forgot about that,” Jose said.
“So sit in the bottom of the basket and keep your eyes shut. You now have five minutes left until we leave.”
CHAPTER THREE
AMALIA fumed as she sat in the passenger seat of the sports car. Rafael ignored her as he quickly sped through the almost empty streets. She wasn’t at all happy—with either Rafael or Jose. Why did men band together whenever it suited them? She’d expected better of her brother.
“There will be coffee and food at the launch site. I don’t want to stop before that,” he said at one point.
She ignored him. Hunger was the least of her worries. The closer they drew to the field, the more anxious she became. He could not be seriously planning on her joining him.
Of course he was. She wouldn’t be in the car if he weren’t.
“What happened to your girlfriend?” she asked, surreptitiously wiping her palms against her pants. Her fear increased. She could not go up in a balloon. For heaven’s sake, she had trouble going above the fifth floor in high-rise buildings! And there she was encased in glass and steel. Yet Rafael expected her to dangle from a large balloon in a flimsy wicker basket high above the earth? She couldn’t do it.
She glanced at him when he didn’t answer right away and saw the anger simmering. With a flick of his eyes her way, he replied, “She wanted a golden band on her finger. That was not in the cards, so she bailed. Good riddance, I say. She complained more than anyone I know. I need someone I can count on. If she’s that unreliable, what would happen if she ditched me halfway through? At least this way, I was able to get you.” He glanced at her. “You don’t have to do anything but go along for the ride. A lot of people would love the opportunity.”
Amalia cleared her throat. “I can’t go. Truly. I really am very afraid of heights. I’m likely to faint or throw up or something that would impede your flight. You have to explain that to Stefano and get someone else.”
“If you faint, do it in a corner so you won’t be in my way. If you throw up, do it over the side. I can think of nothing Vicente would love better than for me to have no one to accompany me. Instant forfeit.”
She stared at him. He couldn’t be so coldhearted as to ignore a truly serious phobia!
“It’s just a stupid bet,” she muttered rebelliously.
“You wouldn’t say that if it was your reputation and money on the line,” he returned.
“I wouldn’t have made the bet in the first place.”
A flicker of amusement flashed on his face, replaced almost immediately by the fierce concentration she was growing to know.
“I bet there a lot of things I do that you wouldn’t,” he said.
A short time later Rafael turned into the road that led to the field. Dawn was just a lightening of the sky in the east. The sun wouldn’t rise for another half hour or so. Amalia looked at the startling difference from when she was here before. There were only two balloons, both glowing from their burners in the darkened sky. As they were almost fully inflated, she knew she didn’t have much time to convince this man she really couldn’t go.
“You
