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He talks for a while, summarizing the results and discussing his take on them.
Heidi comes into the room as Saxon is finishing up, and I say goodbye to him and tell him I look forward to catching up with him at Huxley’s wedding.
As Heidi climbs on the bed, I close the laptop and lean it against the bedside table, then take the mug she passes to me. “Thank you.”
She smiles and curls up next to me, pulling the duvet over her legs. It’s cooler in here now, although her cheeks still hold a touch of the flush that bloomed in them while we made love.
“All good?” she asks.
“Yeah. I was teasing him because Huxley emailed me and told me Saxon got drunk last night and did a striptease in a bar.”
She laughs. “And my brother didn’t leap to his rescue and stop him?”
“Nah, he stood there and watched. So did Mack, by all accounts. It sounds like it ended well.” I tell her about the redhead.
“Aw,” she says afterward, “that’s a shame. She did a Cinderella?”
“Sounds like it, except she didn’t leave the glass slipper behind.”
We study each other for a moment. I hold my arm up. She moves closer to me, and I lower my arm around her.
“So Saxon isn’t with anyone?” she asks.
“No. His girlfriend moved out a while ago. She said he didn’t spend enough time with her. It’s tough when you work long hours and you give your all to your job, and then your partner resents you for it.”
She looks up at me. “Are you speaking from experience?”
“Maybe.”
“Are you talking about Claire?”
I hesitate. I am, but it doesn’t feel right to criticize her.
“It’s all right,” she says softly, “you don’t have to say anything.” She kisses my cheek. “You really are very sweet sometimes.”
I put my empty mug on the bedside table, and she finishes off hers and does the same.
“Come on,” she says. “You look tired. We’ve got an early start tomorrow. Let’s get ready for bed.”
We clean our teeth and turn off all the lights. It’s warm, but Heidi turns the fan on, and we snuggle under the duvet. I cuddle up to Heidi’s back, pulling her against me.
“Goodnight,” she murmurs.
“’Night, sweetheart.” I kiss her hair.
I could have told you this would happen. It was obvious from the way you spoke about her.
I sigh, and close my eyes.
*
Five thirty a.m. on Sunday finds us at an airfield close to Exeter Airport, watching the huge red balloon being filled with hot air.
Alan and Vicky are coming with us, and they join us in the wicker basket. William, who’s taking us on our adventure along with his wife, Ria, opens the blast valve that adjusts the burning of the liquid propane, and the balloon rises gradually into the sky that’s filled with the blush of early morning.
Heidi stands close to me as we lift into the air, and I put my arm around her. “I forgot to ask if you were scared of heights,” I say.
“Not like Oliver,” she replies. “But it still makes my heart race, all the same.”
