“I know that,” he said. “But it’s a job. The only one I’m trained to do and I’m nothing special.”
“Yes, you are,” she said.
“You think so?” he asked her.
She could tell he wasn’t sure if she was joking around with him and that bothered her.
“Yes, of course I’m sure,” she said.
They got back on the bike and finished the drive. There were three other couples waiting to go up in the hot air balloon. Jay had signed them up for a two-hour flight across the valley, and it had sounded fun to her until they climbed in the basket and she saw how fragile the basket was as they started to rise.
“I’m not sure about this,” she said.
“What aren’t you sure about?” he asked.
“That we won’t fall,” she said.
“It’d be bad for business if I let you fall,” the pilot said with a laugh.
Jay moved to stand behind her, wrapping his arms around her body. He leaned down close to her ear and said, “I’ve got you and you know I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She relaxed against him. She might not be sure whether he would stay with her forever, but she knew that he’d protect her with his life. It was still and quiet as they rose up from the valley floor. The sun was just starting to peek over the mountains below. They floated higher and she was almost afraid to speak; the only sound was the occasional hiss of the fire used to inflate the balloon.
“Do you know which vineyard is Paulo’s?” Jay asked.
“I don’t,” she admitted. “I haven’t been to visit him and Frida because I’m always so busy at the bakery.”
“You work too hard,” he said.
“I’m a small-business owner,” she said. “If I don’t do it, no one else will.”
“I don’t like that you have to work so hard,” he said. “You don’t have enough time for yourself.”
“That’s just the way my life is. You work hard, too,” she pointed out.
“But that’s different.”
“Why? Because you’re a man?” she asked.
The pilot chuckled at her tone and Jay tightened his arms around her. “I know better than to answer that question. I just wish that I could pamper you a little bit.”
She did like the sound of that. “That’d be nice, but I like my job. If I wasn’t working at Sweet Dreams I’d be baking at home and then what would I do with all the baked goods?”
“If I were there I’d eat them,” he said.
If he were there.She tried to live for the moment, but she couldn’t. She had the feeling he’d already made up his mind to leave. She knew it.
“Time for your champagne brunch,” the pilot said, handing them each a glass flute filled with sparkling wine.
Jay took his glass and she took hers. As she stepped out of his arms the gondola rocked a bit, making her reach for him to steady herself. He let her and then arched one eyebrow at her. “What are you doing?”
“I wanted to have a toast,” she said.
“Okay,” he said.
“To the best ten days we’ve ever had together,” she said at last.
He clinked his glass against hers and took a sip and she did the same. They drank their champagne quickly and Jay pulled her back into his arms. When the pilot told them to look upand smile they did. He handed them a photo a few minutes later; they looked happy, she thought. They looked like a couple who were planning a life together.
