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“While you’re as driven as if this really meant something. Which it must, but I can’t figure out what. You don’t want the money, you’ve already said you’d donate that. So what do you get out of winning?”
“The satisfaction of beating him, and ramming home the point in front of the entire Barcelona Business Alliance.”
“Is this some kind of revenge?”
He hesitated a moment, then said, “Just a way to put a man in his place.”
Amalia thought about that for a while. She knew the company had had dealings with Rafael’s company since before she began to work for Stefano. But she’d seen no sign of bad feelings between the two men—if she discounted the tension surrounding their meetings. Was it pure competitiveness? Each wanting to be the alpha male? She experienced a bit of that with her brother and his friends. Always jockeying for leader position of their group, they were friends yet rivals.
Yet something more than that drove Rafael, she was sure of it. What was it?
“I can almost see the wheels spinning in your mind,” he said. Taking a last swallow of coffee, he put the cup in the bag and fired the burners for a few seconds to maintain their altitude.
“I can’t figure you out,” she said with some vexation.
“And you need to because why?”
“I like things tidy.” She scrambled to her feet, pitching her own empty cup into the small bag and then cautiously looking around. The other balloon was some distance away. Other than that one, the sky was empty. It was another lovely cloudless day. She wondered if there would be bad weather later.
“Let’s just say it balances things out,” Rafael said at last.
Sounded cryptic to her. She watched the horizon for a while, then went to sit back in her corner.
Amalia was getting used to the slight motion and the alternating noisy and then quiet times. She was also getting a bit bored, sitting where she could look up and see the balloon, or looking around and seeing the four sides of the wicker basket and the man who had brought her along.
“Tell me more about your family,” she said after a long stretch of silence.
“What’s to tell? I have a mother, a father and a brother. He’s married and has two children.”
“The end? That’s all? I’ve read about your father, but I don’t know much about your mother.”
“There’s no reason you should.”
Feeling rebuffed, Amalia lapsed into silence. She would go bonkers if something didn’t liven up the day. Maybe she could call Maria on the radio and have a decent conversation. But not a private one, she knew. And she didn’t quite see Rafael meekly allowing her to monopolize the airways.
In fact, she couldn’t envision Rafael ever being meek.
“I had my parents until I was in university. Their death was unexpected, but we had a strong family bond until that moment,” she said. Maybe if she started the conversation, he’d open up.
“Lucky you.”
He stooped down beside her. Amalia glanced at him. “Shouldn’t you be watching—where we’re going or how close to the ground we’re getting?”
“We’re going where the wind takes us. We’re high enough not to worry about obstacles, and when you think we need to rise some more, you can handle the burners.”
She scooted a bit to the left, not wanting to be so close to him. It was uncomfortable that her body seemed to think Rafael was the greatest thing since sliced bread while she knew intellectually that he was far beyond her league. She was no comparison to the lovely Teresa Valesquez for instance. And she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to be. The idea of being escorted around for a few weeks or months and then left behind when he moved to another woman was too uncomfortable to imagine.
Amalia waited a moment, then stood, keeping as close to the center of the basket as she could. They were quite high. Still, a check of the gauge showed the interior air had cooled and she daringly reached up and turned on the burners for a half-dozen seconds.
Rafael watched her but said nothing.
She felt quite competent!
They talked through the morning. Amalia couldn’t help jumping up more frequently than Rafael did to check their height from the earth. And scan around for anything that could impede their trip. The other balloon seemed lower and was veering in a different direction. One time she ventured to look straight down. Her heart caught in her throat and she felt an impending urge to keep moving over the edge of the basket and fall to earth. She dropped to the floor and tried to catch her breath.
“You okay?”
“I looked down,” she said, her eyes tightly closed. She was not going to fall out of this balloon. Patiently she waited for the waves of nausea to pass. She would not look down, she’d be okay if she didn’t look straight down.
Rafael grasped her shoulder with one hand. “Amalia, you’re perfectly safe here. I would never let you come to harm.” His hand rubbed her gently. She opened her eyes. He was right smack in front of her. Close enough to give comfort and a feeling of security.
Close enough to kiss. The thought popped into her mind and she almost groaned with the temptation. His dark eyes watched her carefully, trying to calm her nervousness.
The fear of falling faded and another emotion took charge. One of tempting the attraction she felt to push the boundaries and see if Rafael had any interest in her. It wouldn’t be the same as in Barcelona. No press was hounding them. They were alone for hours at a time. She could let down her guard a little and see what happened.
Which would be totally stupid. Sanity regained the upper hand.
“I thought you were doing better,” he said.
“I was, then I looked straight down.”
“So don’t do that.”
She nodded. “You’d think I’d remember that.”
“Come on, have a drink and take the burner, take your mind off your phobia.”
“Heights don’t bother you?”
“No.”
“Is it true you scaled Mont Blanc a few summers ago?” she asked, reluctantly standing back in the center, hoping she could concentrate on other things besides the huge amount of empty space between her and the earth.
“I did.”
She had read that recently in one of the reports on the Internet. “Wasn’t that a bit scary?”
“I’d have called it exhilarating.”
“Dangerous, rather. You could have fallen and been killed.”
“Danger gave it an extra fillip of excitement. I never thought about dying on the mountain.”
“But it could happen.”
“Of course it could. But I could also be killed by a truck crossing a street in Barcelona,” he replied, leaning casually against the side of the basket.
“I guess. But to deliberately put yourself in danger, that’s just weird.”
He laughed. Her heart skipped a beat.
“I like some excitement in life. No crime in that.”
“Reckless,” she commented.
He shrugged, his eyes dancing in amusement. “Maybe. But it’s my life to do with as I will.”
“Since you have no family to worry about.”
“Families are overrated.” The amusement vanished in an instant.
She blinked. “If I hadn’t had my brother when my parents died, I don’t know what I’d have done. We don’t have any other family, just long-term family friends. Which in a way could be considered an extended family. You’re lucky, you still have both your parents and your brother.”
He took another swallow from his can, then studied it a moment before looking at Amalia.
“You were stuck raising a boy when your parents died. Where’s the luck in that? You’re still young. You should be out having fun. Doing a job you love instead of working for Vicente.”
“How do you know I don’t like that job?”
“You said you’d change it if you could.”
“I love my brother. I told you, if not for him, I’d be alone in the world. Though I do hope to marry someday.”
“Ah, the great panacea for life.”
“What do you mean by that?” she asked curiously.
He crushed the empty soda can and put it into the small trash bag. Looking around, he made sure things were going according to plan and then looked back at Amalia. She looked around, trying to see what he did. Should they go up some more? She opened the throttle and the jets roared. The balloon rose.
He watched her, making her feel funny. When she felt the balloon move, she realized they’d risen into another current. The basket actually swayed a moment, and she fought to keep her balance. Fear flashed. She took a deep breath, reassured by Rafael’s casual pose. Once they stabilized, she grinned. She’d held her ground. Quite an accomplishment for her.
“Don’t you believe in marriage?” she asked then.
“It seems to be all right for some, but not all. Look at my parents—they married in the heat of passion when young. Once the passion faded, they didn’t even like each other much. Too bad they didn’t think of that before having two children.”
“Yet you wouldn’t be here if they had,” she murmured.
“Would the world be worse off because of that?” he asked.
She was shocked. It was not something she had ever considered—whether the world was better off because she lived.
“Maybe not, but you have the opportunity to do good.”
“Oh, oh, Miss Crusader. Like what?”
“If nothing else, you’ll donate a lot of money to a children’s charity. And I know your company gives to various organizations in Barcelona,” she ended triumphantly.
“So how does my father benefit mankind?”
She laughed. “I’m not saying everyone has to. Maybe his sole purpose was to produce you.”
Rafael laughed at that. “Right. And my mother’s sole purpose? Besides seeing how many men she can marry before she’s too old to appeal to anyone.”
“Oh, you are so cynical. Maybe she’s searching for happiness and doesn’t recognize it when she’s got it.”
“Pop Psychology 101,” he retorted. “Maybe she’s just a wealthy, bored woman looking for thrills. I like mine on the mountain side.”
“Or in a hot air balloon,” she answered.
He inclined his head in agreement. “It’s a different kind of sport but satisfying all the same.”
Rafael watched as Amalia assimilated his comments. He could tell she still had starry ideas about marriage, love and happy ever after. He wished her good luck with that. In his experience it was truly rare.
Maybe that was the problem. His experiences were limited. If Amalia were anything to go by, he’d missed an entire category of women. She was unlike anyone he’d dated in the last ten years—maybe ever.
Of course their circumstances were unlike any other. She didn’t want to be with him. Was it the novelty of that idea that intrigued him? He’d become accustomed to the attention of beautiful women. Was he jaded? It would be unreasonable to expect all women to fall over themselves for a chance to be with him.
But it irked him that Amalia didn’t. He could offer her so much more than anything she’d had so far in life yet she remained aloof and distant. He didn’t understand her.
“I feel sorry for you, Rafael,” she said slowly. Her eyes showed the sympathy.
He felt a flash of surprise. “Why?”
“Because you’re missing out on the best part of life. Finding someone to share your joys and sorrows and to go through life together. My parents loved each other very much and my mother once said she could put up with anything as long as she had my dad in her corner. Who do you have in your corner?”
CHAPTER SIX
“ANY one of a number of friends,” Rafael said calmly.
But was it true? He had many business acquaintances, some casual friends to go to parties with or sail with. But except for Phillip Stanton and Marco Valdez from school days, he had a superficial relationship with most people. It had even been a number of months since he’d spoken to Phillip or Marco.
Or his brother.
For a moment he wondered what special tie connected Amalia and her brother. Banding together in the face of tragedy? Would he put his life on hold if Andreas needed him? Rafael liked to think so, but he began to wonder if Andreas would reciprocate.
“Good for you,” she said, looking out at the other balloon. “How long before we stop again?”
“Another two hours, I hope. The air is cooler today, meaning it’s easier for us to get lift with the hot air. As long as the propane lasts, we’re good to go.”
She sighed.
“Hey, this is a perfect chance to see Spain from the air. You’re missing a lot by not taking advantage.”
“Like heart attack, nausea, fainting.”
He laughed and crossed to her side. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her closer to the side. “I’ll hold on to you to keep you safe,” he said as he positioned her near the wicker, but not too close. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her back against his chest, leaning over slightly to rest his chin on her shoulder. “Look at that. It’s hard to imagine all that open land when we live in such a crowded city.”
Amalia slowly let her eyes drink in the view. It was breathtaking. Rafael had been right, it was lovely. Slowly she turned her head to see as much as she could. When she turned it the other way, she bumped into Rafael’s face. His cheek was warm. She could feel him smile.
“Nice, huh?”
What, the view?
Or being held by him, feeling safe and secure and almost cherished? She savored the moment. His arms held her securely to his rock-solid body. His feet were braced to balance them in the slight sway of the basket. She could let go of her fear and enjoy the spectacular vision spread out beneath them.
And her senses were far more attuned to the man holding her than to her fear of falling. It was a delight to savor the moment. She closed her eyes and tried to imprint every detail on her mind to remember through the rest of her life. Soaring over Spain, held by Rafael, her real life faded into the background. For these few moments, this was real.
By the time Rafael found a spot where he could safely put down the balloon, Amalia was more than ready to stop. A person could only stand being on edge for so long. She wanted to run on the ground, get away from his disturbing presence and touch base with reality.
Her boss’s balloon had put down twenty minutes earlier. She was beginning to suspect he didn’t carry as much fuel as they did. So they, once again, gained some distance, but Stefano could easily catch up and pass them while they exchanged tanks. They were still too close to predict any clear-cut winner.
The chase crew was already in the clearing, which Amalia found amazing.
Once the balloon was down and secured, a festive picnic lunch was served and quickly eaten as everyone stood. Using a GPS indicator, Rafael calculated the distance they’d already gone.
“Think we can make another one hundred miles this afternoon?” Julio asked.
“If the wind holds. It kicked up once or twice.”
“A problem?” Manuel asked.
“No.”
Amalia finished her meal and jumped up. “I’m going for a quick walk. Being in that confined space gets to me,” she said. Maria offered to go with her.
“Thanks, but unless you really want to, I’m fine. I’ll look at the scenery from ground level and relish not being airborne for a while.” She flicked a glance at Rafael.
“We leave in ten,” he said.
She started off along the road the truck was parked on. It was dirt, but packed hard and easy to walk on. It had grown warm and she left her jacket at the picnic area. There was plenty to do to ready the balloon for the next leg, but the others were far more competent than her.
And she needed some time to herself. Being with Rafael felt like a roller-coaster ride. She disliked being in the balloon yet she was captivated by her pilot. She resented his autocratic ways yet she yearned for a kiss.
That stopped her. She shook her head and started walking again. The very last thing in the world she needed was to be kissed by Rafael. She had a feeling it would spoil her for any man in the future.
And for him it would merely be another woman in a long line of women. He’d probably forget her name by Christmas.
Sighing softly, she tried to count her blessings and hope something would happen to speed up the race.
Amalia was just about to turn around when she heard a vehicle behind her. Stepping to the side of the road, she stopped. It was the chase truck. Rafael was driving. He stopped even with her and looked at her through the passenger side window.
“You walking home?” he asked easily.
She shook her head and opened the door. Climbing in, she looked at him.
“I was just walking. Has it been ten minutes?” She wasn’t wearing a watch, but surely she hadn’t been gone that long.
“Nine. We’ll be back in a sec and take off again.”
“Did you really think I’d try to walk away?” she asked. She hated being his partner, but she would not let him down, because she was starting to believe her boss needed taking down a peg or two.
“No. But if you twisted your ankle or something, it would have been hard for you to get back. Feeling better for the walk?”
“Yes,” she said.
It took only a moment to return to the balloon. Maria had a phone to her ear. When she saw the truck, she said something to Paolo and then headed to meet Rafael.
Amalia hopped out of the truck and watched as Maria came up to Rafael.
“The office is trying to reach you,” she said, holding out the phone.
Rafael took it. “Make it quick,” he said. A moment later he bit out an epithet. “Under no circumstances tell her you’ve talked to me. If she calls again, tell her you’ll relay the message and that’s all. Put Jaime on the phone.” Rafael walked away talking to the man on the other end.
Maria grinned at Amalia and said, “Girlfriend troubles.”
“Teresa Valesquez?”
“Yes, she keeps calling. I think Sophie is getting fed up with all the messages she’s left. Guess now Miss High and Mighty wishes she hadn’t thrown away her chance for the long jump after all. Though she was not a ballooner—you never heard such complaining!”
Amalia vowed to keep her own thoughts about ballooning to herself. She may not like it, but she wanted to give no cause for gossip.
Rafael was impatient to begin the ride. Amalia scanned the sky. There was no sign of the other balloon. Maybe they would maintain their lead.
Once in the basket and beginning to lift, she asked Rafael, “Do you think Stefano will have reporters there again tonight?”
“I wouldn’t put it past him,” Rafael said, eyeing the balloon. Amalia was not able to judge their rate of ascent since she kept her eyes inside the basket and had nothing to gauge it by. She enjoyed watching Rafael when he was concentrating on something else.
When he turned off the burners, she looked around. Still no sign of Stefano’s balloon.
“So we got a jump on him this leg,” she murmured.
“Enough to keep the lead, I hope.”
Amalia stood in one corner and leaned against the propane tank.
Rafael took the map from one of the storage pockets and began to study it.
“Shouldn’t you be watching?” she asked.
“I’ll check it soon. You let me know if we’re going to crash into anything.”
She looked at the empty sky. They were far too high to worry about power lines, even if there had been any around. The other balloon was lifting in the distance.
“The scenery aside, there’s not much to do, is there? Are the festivals like this, too?”
Rafael shook his head and began telling her about the ones he’d attended. She liked listening to him as he talked, closing her eyes to concentrate better.
“Am I putting you to sleep?” he asked.
“No, I listen better with my eyes closed,” she said. The last thing she felt around him was tired. She could feel the heat from his body. She could smell the unique scent that would forever be imprinted in her mind as Rafael’s. Wishing she could record his voice to listen to years down the road, she smiled as he told her of the antics and contests at the festival. His description was romantic and dramatic, and surprisingly the stories did not all feature him as the star.
He fired up the jets and she opened her eyes to watch him. He was tall and slender, with broad shoulders and a tapering waist. His hair had been permanently disheveled since they started. She liked it. It made him seem that much more approachable.
By the time he switched to the last propane tank, dusk was drawing near. Rafael constantly scanned the horizon, but there was no place in sight to set down. The last thing he wanted was to have to land in the dark. There was no telling what dangers there would be.
Maria called him on the radio, the signal poor and staticky. “Lost sight of you … different direction … we can find.”
“Say again,” he replied.
“You are going in a different direction from the road. We cannot find a way to cut over. Do you see a landing site?”
“Negative.” He glanced behind him but did not see Vicente’s balloon. The man had been behind all afternoon and had probably put down at the wide area Rafael had seen about a half hour ago. He looked ahead again. Still nothing suitable.
Static again. Then “… us your GPS coordinates. We’ll find …”
Rafael glanced at the GPS device and then relayed the coordinates, saying them slowly and then repeating them.
“Got it.”
Rafael clicked off the radio and glanced at Amalia. He expected to be reproached or have her complain or say again she was frightened.
But she watched him calmly. Was that trust he saw in her eyes?
“So I’ll do the burners if you watch for a place to land,” she said, stepping close to him.
He let her hand brush against his when she reached for the lever. He was playing with fire to entertain any thoughts of getting involved with Amalia. She was content in her life and had her brother to raise. Heck, she probably didn’t even have a dress suitable for some of the places he liked to take women.
Though that would be no problem; he could buy her whatever she needed. He knew enough from the talk at social events who the leading designers were, where their gowns could be purchased. But maybe he’d take her for a weekend sail, just the two of them on the sea.
Frowning at the way his thoughts were going, he took advantage of her offer and rummaged in a side pocket for the binoculars he carried. Finding them, he began to scan the direction they were going. There had to be something opening up soon.
Had he been with one of his chase team who had experience in the balloon, he wouldn’t be as concerned. Meeting all challenges was one of the things he liked best about the sport. One couldn’t plan out as with plane flights, but meeting the unexpected and handling it was exhilarating. Or it would be, if he wasn’t constantly aware of his passenger and her fear of heights. The last thing he wanted was to give her any reason to fear during the flight.
There, in the distance, he saw an opening in the trees. He lowered the binoculars and tried to gauge how far it was and when they should start down. They had far outdistanced Vicente today. Tomorrow he’d get even farther.
In less than twenty minutes they were on the ground. Amalia jumped over the side and grabbed a tether rope. There wasn’t the need to find an anchor quickly this time, as the balloon was deflating, with nothing nearby to cause a problem.
Once the tug from the breeze died, he jumped over the side with her and took another rope, securing the basket.
“So we just stand here?” she asked.
“For a few minutes. The envelope is already almost down.”
“It’s not going to cover us, is it?”
“It won’t hurt if it does, we can just crawl out. But, no, it’ll go the other direction. There, it’s almost down.”
When the nylon was lying on the ground, Rafael dropped his rope and indicated Amalia could do the same.
She did so, hesitantly.
“Good job,” he said, joining her.