Sinners at the Altar (Sinners on Tour 6)

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.

He captured her mouth in a heated kiss. Her entire body thrummed with pent-up sexual energy as she kissed him desperately.

He tugged away and leaned close to whisper in her ear, “I’m worth the wait.”

She was well aware of that, but spanked his ass for being so full of himself.

He left her standing there and went to sit at a small rattan table next to one edge of the basket.

“Are you coming?” he asked, gesturing toward the seat across from him.

“Not yet, unfortunately,” she grumbled under her breath.

But the table built for two was inviting—though not quite as alluring as its occupant—so she rubbed the chill out of her bare arms and took her seat. The table felt a bit awkward. The seats were higher than a normal chair—more like tall beanbags than anything—and when she was seated, the table was very close to the tops of her thighs. She wondered at the strange configuration until she peered out over the edge of the basket and realized she’d be able to see out while they dined. That would explain why the cushions were high, but why was the table so low in comparison?

Gary came to stand near the table. “My wife is an excellent cook,” he said proudly. “She’s gone to retrieve your meals from the warmer in the SUV. Once the food is on board, we’ll cast off, and she’ll follow us in the chase car. You’ll have to serve yourselves, I’m afraid. I’ll be keeping the balloon on course. And we have to land before it gets dark.”

“Why is the table so low?” Jessica asked.

“So your dinner doesn’t fly overboard and spook the vineyard grapes,” Gary said and then laughed.

“Oh,” she said, smiling. “That makes sense.”

“Is this your first dinner cruise?”

“Nope. My wife proposed to me on a dinner cruise,” Sed said, nodding at Jessica. “But it was on a boat.”

“She proposed to you?” Gary’s eyebrows lifted comically.

“Yeah, she was a little desperate, I think.” Sed grunted when she kicked him in the shin.

“You’ve got it all wrong. I proposed to Pes, remember?” Jessica said.

Sed laughed. “He’s my evil twin.”

“Is that why you put this together?” Jessica asked. “Trying to one-up my proposal dinner?”

“Of course not. I wanted to give you a wedding night you’ll never forget.”

She reached across the table and took his hand. “You know what it does to me when you’re uncharacteristically sweet, don’t you?”

He wiggled his eyebrows at her. “I am well aware of that, Mrs. Lionheart. I might have a few ulterior motives here.”

“Boats are romantic,” Gary admitted with a shrug, “but I think your husband might have you beat with the hot air balloon. Not that I’m partial or anything.”

“We’ll see,” Jessica said. “If so, I’ll have to come up with something even more splendid to reclaim my title as biggest romantic fool.”

“Gary! A little help, please,” a woman’s voice said from the opposite side of the basket.

Gary went to help his wife load two lightweight Styrofoam coolers into the balloon.

Sed tilted his head at Jessica while they waited. “You look chilled.”

“I have a feeling it’s going to be even colder once we take off,” she said.

“I’ll be back.”

“Where are you going?”

“Patience, love,” he said with a grin.

Next thing she knew, Sed spoke a few words to Gary and was gone. She craned her neck to watch him jog across the field to the car. A moment later he was on his way back carrying his leather trench coat. Oh yeah, she knew what that meant. He only wore the trench coat when they were trying to keep their public liaisons as clandestine as possible.

Jessica looked up and smiled at Sed when he dropped the coat over her shoulders a few minutes later.

“Better?” he asked, placing a kiss on her temple.

She snuggled into the coat and inhaled the scent of leather and Sed—a heady combination. She felt instantly warmer, more than half of it due to anticipation, not the garment. “Yes, thank you. I’m glad you remembered it was in the car.”

He took the seat across from her again, and Gary’s wife approached the table. “You’ll have to serve yourself,” she said, “but everything that’s warm is in the cooler with the red tape and everything cold is in the blue-taped one.”

“What’s on the menu?” Jessica asked, leaning over to

lift the lid of the red cooler. The lid slammed shut before she could get a look at or a sniff of the contents. Sed’s hand rested on the cooler, blocking her inspection.

“Patience, baby,” he said.

“But I don’t have any patience,” Jessica said.

Gary’s wife opened the blue cooler and placed a plastic bucket of ice in the center of the table. Jessica wondered if everything in the balloon was kept light or soft to prevent injury. Either that or Gary and his wife were cheap.

Gary’s wife retrieved a bottle and forced it into the ice bucket, rattling and crunching ice as she pressed down.

“Utensils and glasses for your toast are in the basket there,” she said, pointing behind Sed. “I think that should cover everything. Enjoy your evening. And congratulations on your marriage.” She glanced specifically at Jessica when she asked her next question. “Was this really all your husband’s idea?”

Jessica nodded. “It was a complete surprise.”

“I think you have a keeper.” She winked and turned to give Gary a kiss before climbing over the basket to leave.

“A keeper, huh?” Jessica said, grinning at Sed, who was looking very pleased with himself.

He cocked his head slightly, looking so sexy that Jessica had to cling to her squishy chair to keep from leaping across the table and tackling him.

“Was there ever any doubt?” he asked.

She chuckled. “Not in your mind.”

Jessica felt increasingly light-headed and she realized that the balloon was free of its tethers and rising. She hadn’t even felt it lift off. The burner roared as Gary pulled some rope that made the flames shoot high into the interior of the balloon.

“I’d think the thing would catch fire,” Jessica said nervously.

“You’re safe,” Sed murmured.

He always made her feel safe. “I know.”

She watched the earth slowly fall away as Sed rattled around in the basket and produced a pair of plates, utensils, and champagne flutes. She melted when she saw that their toasting glasses were engraved with a pair of wedding rings tied together with a ribbon, her and Sed’s names, and the date. He’d thought of everything. He really was a keeper. Well, most days. Some days he was positively infuriating, but those days were becoming increasingly rare.