Nikki Logan - Her Amazing Boss! - The Daredevil Tycoon

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?”