Her heart flooded and so did her eyes. Again. Actually the idea wasn’t bad. She quite liked the possibility of having a van full of xylophones and swanni kazoos and drums and tambourines and noise, noise, noise. She buried her face in his chest, listened to the solid, rhythmic thud of his heart. He was so strong. His drive as a doctor wouldn’t be changing. He needed to do it, and he’d sensed that she sought something as challenging and as rewarding for herself. That she wanted to put back in to others’ lives as well as her own—just as he did. And he’d worked out a way they could do it together—he wanted her in his world and him in hers, wholly.
He breathed deeply, fingers teasing through her hair. ‘Love at first sight. Never thought it happened. Never thought it would happen to me.’
‘Tell me about it.’ She sighed, contentment cloaking her. ‘I walked into that bar and there you were looking ferocious and I blinked and my heart was no longer mine. Just like that.’ She nuzzled his neck. ‘I love you, Rhys.’
He clamped her to him, arms like a vice, as he spoke low and rough in her ear. ‘Marry me, marry me, marry me.’
They lay bonded for a long moment, listening to their qui
ckened breathing, their galloping hearts. She whispered, hardly loud enough for him to hear, hardly able to believe she could feel this happy. ‘OK.’
His arms tightened even more. ‘No getting out of it now. We’ll do it as soon as it can be arranged. The family will want big and pomp and the damn media will want photos.’
She lifted her head to look at him, humour sending a smile to her face. ‘That’s the real reason you want to marry me, isn’t it? So you can bow out of the hellish glare of life as Rhys Maitland, bachelor heir.’
‘Darling, you know me so well.’
She rolled her eyes, rolled her hand down his chest, and knew the bliss of limitless love.
The sky was clear and cloudless. One opportunity. Holding her hand tightly, he looked at her and felt an overwhelming sense of togetherness. He hadn’t realised just how alone and isolated he’d become. He had a wide circle of friends, an endless supply of dates—had he wanted them—respect and authority at work. He was invited to every party, never stuck for something to do. But, hell, he’d been lonely. There was only one body his arms wanted to encircle. Only one person he wanted to have alongside him.
‘We have to draw up a new list.’ He saw the question in her eyes and explained. ‘We never did get very far on yours. We could check them off—keep up the zest for life.’ He grinned. ‘I never want to take it for granted. Never want to take us for granted.’
‘OK.’ She thought for a moment. ‘I want to do life-drawing classes. You can be my model.’
‘OK.’ He’d always be happy to get naked for her. ‘I want to make love on a train.’
‘Swim with dolphins.’
‘Make love on a plane.’
‘Be an extra in a movie.’
‘Make love on a boat.’
‘See the pyramids.’
‘Make love on a bus.’
‘Go to Rio for the Carnival.’
‘Make love on a motorcycle.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘Shave my head.’
‘Make love in a car.’
‘Swim with sharks.’
‘Make love in a gondola.’
‘Walk on burning embers!’
Undeterred he winked and checked off his fingers. ‘Make love in a horse-drawn carriage, a hovercraft, a helicopter.’
‘I’m sensing a theme here, Mr One-Track Mind. Haven’t you run out of transport options yet?’
‘No. Make love in a blimp.’
Giggles erupted from her. ‘Gee, that sounds so romantic.’
He turned to her, leaned his face so close their noses brushed. ‘Making love with you is always the experience of a lifetime.’
Her eyes shone bright. He wanted to tell her again how he loved her, but nothing was needed. She understood. Besides, you couldn’t hear a thing above the noise of the rotor blades starting up. The helicopter rose high into the sky. She sat by the window and he was in the middle, nicely anchored with his arms tight around her. They circled around the ruins. Her profile was in the foreground, wisps of her hair fluttered across the blurry backdrop.
The view was incredible.