“Good surprise, huh?” he asked, his voice deep and gruff.
“Great surprise!” she said. “It’s so beautiful!”
The balloon was a bright blue with yellow stars and a curved quarter-moon decorating the fabric. The flame beneath the giant sphere glowed bright in the waning light as a man inside the basket pulled a cord and sent fire shooting up into the neck of the balloon.
“I was starting to think you weren’t coming,” he yelled in greeting.
“Sorry we’re late,” Sed called. “We had a hard time getting away from the reception.”
“Congratulations on your marriage,” the man said.
“Thanks. As far as wives go, I think I did all right,” Sed said.
Jessica elbowed him in the ribs.
Standing beside the basket, Jessica stared up at the enormous balloon, her mouth agape with wonder. She’d seen hot air balloons in the sky before, but never up close. She couldn’t believe how big it was. “Wow,” she said.
“I’m Gary Bastion. I’ll be flying our craft this evening.”
“It’s so big!” Jessica said.
“That’s what she said,” Sed quipped under his breath.
“First time?” Gary asked.
“Oh no, she hasn’t been a virgin for a while,” Sed said.
Jessica elbowed him in the ribs again. “It’s my first time in an air balloon,” she said.
“You’re in for a treat,” Gary said. “You’re lucky the storm passed early.”
“Lucky, he says,” Sed murmured.
“We do have a few things to go over before we can lift off, but we need to hurry.”
Jessica and Sed listened to his safety spiel. They even practiced the tuck and kneel position they were supposed to assume should they be in for a rare rough landing.
“Careful,” Sed said as Jessica flattened herself face down on the ground. “You’ll squash little Sed.”
“Is she pregnant?” Gary asked.
“Yeah. We sort of started our family early,” Sed said, giving Jess’s belly an affectionate rub. “Couldn’t wait for the honeymoon.”
“How far along are you?”
Jessica looked up into Gary’s concerned face.
“About ten weeks,” she said. “Why?”
“We don’t allow women in their third trimester to fly at all,” he said. “There’s always a slight danger of a rough landing, one that could trigger early labor.”
“Should we cancel?” Sed asked, a mixture of concern and disappointment on his face.
“I’ll leave that up to you. I’ve never had a rough landing—though there’s a first time for everything—and she’s not close to giving birth or anything. Have you had any complications with your pregnancy?”
“No,” she said. “None.”
Gary nodded, but his expression was serious. “The chances are slim that there will be any issues with the landing, but there’s always a chance.”
Sed looked to Jessica and squeezed her hand. She really wanted to ride in the balloon and she was far from her third trimester. How rough could a balloon landing possibly be? She couldn’t imagine it being too extreme.
“I really want to go,” Jessica said. “You went to all this trouble to arrange it and the danger is slight. It is slight, isn’t it?” she asked Gary.
“Almost nonexistent.”
She nodded at Sed. “Let’s do it.”
“If you’re sure,” Sed said. “I won’t be upset if you’re worried and want to cancel.”
“I don’t want to cancel. I’m not worried at all.”
Sed smiled and nodded. “Everything will be fine.”
“All right,” Gary said. “Climb aboard.”
Sed helped Jessica climb the ladder, and Gary gave her a hand over the edge of the basket and inside. Sed was soon standing beside her looking up at the balloon with as much wonder in his expression as she felt.
“Give me a minute to talk to Gary man-to-man,” Sed whispered in her ear. She had a feeling he’d let his wallet do most of the talking, but she did want to make love to her husband floating high above the earth. She hoped Gary was accommodating. Sed and his wallet could be very persuasive.
Jessica leaned over the basket and noticed a woman sitting in the grass near one of the tethers. Jessica waved at her and got an enthusiastic wave in return. A cool wind rustled though Jessica’s hair, and she rubbed her hands over her upper arms, wishing she’d thought to bring a sweater. But how was she supposed to have known that she’d need one when Sed refused to tell her his plans for that evening? A warm, hard body pressed against her side, and Sed wrapped an arm around her lower back.
“Cold?” he murmured into her ear.
“A little,” she admitted, but that wasn’t why she was shivering. It had been a very long day and she very much needed to get lost in her man’s arms. “Well? What did Gary say?”
“He doesn’t allow that sort of thing to go on in his balloon while he’s watching.”
“Oh,” Jessica said, her voice flat with disappointment.
“But for a couple thousand dollars, he promised to look the other way.”
With his sensual mouth, he caressed the skin just below her ear—nibbling, licking, suckling that delicious spot until her knees went weak and she groaned.
He stepped away. “Dinner first,” he said. “Then dessert.”
“I want dessert now, “Jessica said.