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Thea looked up at Lucas. ‘She’s going to London, for her sister’s wedding. She can’t miss it.’
The woman had put her phone back into her bag and was wiping tears from her face, trying to smile. ‘It’s not the end of the world.’ She reached for Sara. ‘You have tickets, though? You’d better go.’
Thea shot an imploring look at Lucas and he reached inside his jacket. ‘Here.’ He put an envelope bearing the airline’s logo into the woman’s hand. ‘Where’s your husband?’
‘He’s coming back here.’ The woman stared at the envelope as if it had suddenly floated down from heaven into her lap, then offered it back to Lucas. ‘But I can’t… You can’t.’
Lucas shrugged. ‘Yes, we can.’
The woman gave up on Lucas and tried Thea. ‘Really, we’ll be okay.’
‘Take them, please. You can’t miss your sister’s wedding, and little Sara needs to see her grandparents. I want you to take them.’
The woman hesitated, and then clutched the envelope to her chest. ‘Thank you. I don’t know what to say.’
‘Just call your husband, and tell him we’ll meet him at the flight desk.’ Thea stood up. ‘Come on, Sara, you’re going to London.’
* * *
They’d seen the couple through the departure gates and the woman had kissed Thea. She still didn’t know her name, and the woman didn’t know hers, but a hastily scribbled note gave the name of her husband’s brother, who lived in Mumbai, and his phone number.
‘I suppose we could call the number. We need to find a hotel if we’re not going to get a flight today.’
‘Could do.’ Lucas looked up from his phone, which had been holding his attention on and off for the last ten minutes now. ‘Or we could do this.’
He handed her his phone. On the small screen she saw a picture of a comfortable bedroom, tastefully decorated in the ornate style of India.
‘That looks nice. Where…?’ Thea swiped her finger across the screen for more details. ‘This is in Delhi!’
‘Yep. There are a couple of rooms available as late bookings, and flights go pretty much every half-hour from here. And it’s only a couple of hours to—’
‘The Taj Mahal.’ Thea narrowed her eyes at Lucas and he grinned.
‘Don’t you want to see one of the seven wonders of the world?’
Of course she did. Going to a world-famous monument to love with Lucas, on the other hand, was something that needed careful and lengthy consideration. All of the risks. All of the temptations.
‘Or we could find a hotel in Mumbai
for tonight and go home tomorrow. That’ll give you three whole days to get ready to go back to work on Monday.’ Thea’s heart sank at the thought. If Lucas was bluffing, he was making a great job of it.
‘As against dropping out of circulation and visiting the Taj Mahal.’ Risky and tempting was sounding more and more delicious by the moment.
‘Yep. That’s the choice.’
She grinned up at him. ‘Let’s do it.’
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE HOTEL WAS thirty minutes’ hectic taxi ride from the airport, and they arrived hot and wide-eyed. The monsoon had turned arid countryside into green hills, cloaked in mist at the tops, and the vivid colours of flowers and saris were everywhere.
In comparison the hotel was quiet and cool. They were welcomed with garlands of sweet-smelling flowers and led up the stairs and through a succession of arches and small lobbies, each of which served two or three rooms, finally stopping at an intricately carved door.
‘Is this my room?’ The porter had opened the door and was depositing Thea’s luggage inside.
‘Looks like it.’ Lucas grinned, running his hand over the golden wood. ‘Fabulous door. Is twenty minutes enough time to get settled?’
‘Yes, I’ll call you. I’d love to explore this place.’ The hotel was a maze of walkways and balconies, not quite grand but quietly opulent.
