head slightly, she saw the faint lines radiating from the outer edges of his eyes, as if he squinted in the sunlight a lot. His skin was tanned and taut, covering high cheekbones. His dark eyes sparkled with the excitement of planning where he’d try to take their balloon.
He glanced at her, and Amalia quickly turned back to the map, trying to quell her rapid heart rate. Surely he could hear her blood pounding through her veins? Better if he thought she was suffering from fright than the true nature of her feelings. She was too much attracted to the man!
“Any questions?” he asked.
“How did you get involved in this?” she asked, daring to look at him again.
“This race or hot air ballooning?” he asked, standing and doing a 360-degree scan.
“I know how you got into this race, I meant the entire sport.”
“It was something new to try and I liked it once I did.”
“Flying airplanes and scuba diving isn’t enough?” she asked.
He raised one eyebrow in silent question.
She refused to admit she’d been interested enough in him to look him up and find out about him before the race.
“I like challenging myself,” he said at last. “And exploring unusual things. I’m thinking of taking part in an archaeological dig in the Holy Land next spring.”
“At least that would be safer than depending on hot air to keep you above ground,” she said. “Doesn’t your family worry about your recklessness?”
He laughed. “No one worries about me,” he said. “And I’m not sure they’d consider what I do reckless, anyway. I’m not, you know.”
“Now, how would I know that? I scarcely know you.”
“I’ve been doing business for Vicente since before you were hired.”
“Maybe, maybe not. I’ve worked for the firm for more than seven years. It’s only the last three I’ve been Stefano’s PA.”
“And before that?”
“I worked for another company. It didn’t offer the chances for advancement that I needed. I do have my brother to care for, remember.”
He nodded, his expression becoming thoughtful.
“What?” she asked as he kept quiet.
“I was wondering if my brother would have put his life on hold to watch out for me if we had been in your situation.”
“Why wouldn’t he?” she asked. “It’s what families do.”
“Not all families. Some families don’t stick together.”
“I know your parents are divorced,” she said. “Your father’s mentioned enough in the papers.”
Rafael laughed. “And you don’t approve.” He knew that for a fact from her tone of voice. Her expression supported it, as well.
“His life has no bearing on mine. But don’t you think it’s not in good form for him to be dating women younger than you are?”
“As long as we don’t get our wires crossed and date the same woman, then, no, I don’t care.”
“I would. Parents are supposed to be a good example to their children.”
“I’m hardly a child,” he said.
“You were at some point.”
Not liking the trend of the conversation, Rafael rose and looked over the side of the basket. They were gradually losing altitude. Vicente’s balloon was farther to the west, and it was difficult to gauge if he was ahead or behind, since Rafael had lost track of where they were by talking to Amalia.
“Bring the map and let’s figure out where we are,” he said, opening the burners and heating the air above them.
Amalia slowly got to her feet and stepped closer, holding it out for him.
“Can you check the terrain and see what you think?” he asked.
“No.” She thrust the map at him and reached for the controls. “You figure that out, I’ll keep us afloat.”
She didn’t trust the amusement in his eyes, but didn’t try to figure out what she’d done. Reaching for the knob, her hand brushed his and she felt the touch as if it had been a caress. Oh, oh, bad, bad, bad. She drew a deep breath and looked everywhere but at Rafael. She was not going to get some stupid crush on the playboy. That would be the dumbest thing she could do. Her immediate goal was to get back to earth in one piece and have a good night’s sleep. Maybe tomorrow something would happen to end the race and let her return home.
Rafael calculated where they were and called the chase team. When he’d notified them, he handed her the walkie-talkie. “Press this button to talk, release to listen,” he said.
“What do I have to say?”
“Anything you want, I merely want you to know how to use it.”
“Why?”
“In case something happens to me, of course.”
Amalia felt a flare of panic. “What could happen?”
“Nothing, this is just in case.”
She stared at him as she pressed the button. “This is Amalia. Will we stop near a town that has a good restaurant for dinner?” It was inane, but the only thing she came up with.
“We can hope, Amalia,” Marie responded. “And we hope for a decent hotel with hot shower and comfortable beds. Over.”
Rafael took it back. “We have air mattresses. No time to be locating five-star hotels. We have a long-distance race to win. Out.”
He heard their laughter before the radio went silent.
“We’re sleeping on the ground?” she asked.
“Not if I can help it. But it keeps them on their toes.”
She nodded. He had a good relationship with his ground crew. Did he operate his business that way? It was far different from the way Stefano ran things. He was the boss and he wanted everyone to know that.
The other balloon remained in sight all afternoon. Amalia felt more courageous and, as long as she didn’t look directly over the side, she was able to keep her fear of heights under control. She enjoyed the distant views, watched the other balloon when it would move up or down, trying to see if Stefano or Rafael’s PA was at the controls. Most likely Stefano. He didn’t like to share the spotlight and would want bragging rights if he won.
At one point Rafael peered over the edge and called the chase team. It was time to switch out the tanks again and there were several wide-open spaces he thought would work.
This time the team was waiting when the balloon settled to the earth. Once again Amalia was amazed at the precision exchange. They were airborne again within thirty minutes.
Late in the afternoon, Rafael called the ground crew.
“I see what I think is San Paolo up ahead. If so, there’s a large soccer field on the outskirts. I’ll see if we can touch down there.”
There was momentary discussion among the ground crew, then Manuel came on and confirmed Rafael’s estimation. The small resort town was in a valley between two mountain ranges. Amalia had heard about it, but never thought to visit. It looked as if Maria might get her five-star hotel after all. Surely they wouldn’t camp out if a hotel was that close?
She looked at the other balloon.
“Do you think they’ll keep going?” she asked. Already Rafael was descending.
“I have no idea, but this is the best landing area around. I for one wouldn’t take the chance on finding