We weren’t alone.
The pilot was still very much there. Just a foot or two behind us.
Theo cleared his throat and his arm dropped from my waist, stepping back just enough to put space between us again—like he was only just realizing what we’d been doing.
I turned back toward the edge of the basket, my grip tightening slightly as I tried to steady myself.
Had we almost kissed?
Was that what it had been?
Because it had certainlyseemedlike it.
My heart picked up again at the thought, a warm rush spreading through me that had nothing to do with the height.
I swallowed, forcing myself to look out over the horizon like everything was completely normal. Like my brain wasn’treplaying that moment over and over again to make sure I was interpreting it right.
“All right,” the pilot called after a while. “We’re going to start heading down.”
“Okay,” I said, another swell of nerves filling me.
“Landing instructions are simple,” he continued. “Face away from the direction we’re moving and bend your knees slightly. Just in case we get a little bump.”
“Hopefully, it’s just a little bump,” I muttered under my breath.
Theo huffed a quiet laugh beside me.
We followed the pilot’s directions, turning and bracing ourselves as the ground slowly rose up to meet us.
There was a small bump when we landed.
Thankfully, nothing dramatic, just enough to make me wobble slightly before catching myself. And then we were back on the ground.
“That was fun,” I said, turning toward Theo.
“Yeah,” he said, a small smile tugging at his mouth. “It was.”
And for a second, neither of us moved.
“All right, you can step out one at a time,” the pilot said, motioning toward the side of the basket.
We climbed out carefully, thanking the pilot as our feet hit solid ground again.
Before we said goodbye to the pilot, Theo pulled out his wallet and handed him what looked like a generous tip, earning an appreciative nod in return. Then we made our way back toward the parking area where Theo had parked his Volvo earlier.
40
NORA
“Mindif we stop by the store on our way home?” Theo asked as he climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. “I was thinking it might be nice to drop something by Amanda’s house for her son.”
“Sure,” I said, fastening my seatbelt. “I’m sure they’d appreciate that.”
And they probably would.
But I couldn’t help wondering what exactly had prompted the idea.
Was it just Theo being thoughtful? Because he was a dad and knew how much something small like that could mean when your kid wasn’t feeling well?