The Mills & Boon Sparkling Christmas Collection. Kate Hardy

time his head managed to overrule his heart where his mouth was concerned. ‘I’m asking you as a colleague and potential friend,’ he said.

      She smiled. ‘Then thank you. I’d like that. I’ve never been in a balloon.’

      ‘Then let’s synchronise our off-duty. When are you free?’

      She took her diary from her handbag. ‘Thursday or Friday?’

      ‘Not this week. How about next week?’ he suggested.

      ‘Tuesday and Wednesday.’

      ‘Wednesday it is,’ he said. ‘I’ll book the flight and find out what we need to know.’

       CHAPTER THREE

      THE night before the balloon trip, Madison couldn’t get to sleep.

      She must have been crazy, agreeing to this in the first place. Quite apart from the fact she wasn’t a morning person and she’d arranged to meet Theo at the crack of dawn, Theo Petrakis wasn’t relationship material.

      Sure, he ticked all the boxes. He was an excellent doctor, kept the team working beautifully together, and his calm, confident manner on the ward managed to calm even the most nervous parent-to-be. And, as just about every female in the hospital would attest, Theo Petrakis was drop-dead gorgeous.

      But he was only here on secondment, covering Doug’s sick leave for six months or so. Then he’d move on, and Madison was perfectly happy here in London.

      She’d already made the mistake of rushing into a relationship without a future, and she had no intention of repeating it and letting her world fall apart all over again.

      All the same, she couldn’t get Theo out of her head. Those dark eyes with the unexpected green and gold glints—eyes that always seemed to be full of sunshine. That incredibly sexy smile. The dark hair, brushed back neatly from his face, that made her want to slide her fingers through it and make him look all sexily rumpled. His incredibly gorgeous mouth…And even though it had been a week and a half since the ball, she could still remember exactly how his lips had felt against the pulse point in her wrist.

      ‘Stop being ridiculous and go to sleep,’ she told herself loudly, plumping her pillow and keeping her eyes firmly closed, even though she felt wide awake.

      A feeling that didn’t last when her alarm shrilled at an unearthly hour. She had to hit the snooze button three times before she could drag herself out of bed, and she was only just ready when the doorbell rang.

      ‘Kalimera, Maddie. Good morning.’

      Oh, lord. Theo always wore a suit, shirt and tie at work under his white coat. In jeans, a sweater and a black leather jacket, he was absolutely stunning. Touchable.

      And she really, really wanted to touch.

      She hadn’t felt a pull this strong since Harry. And that in itself was a warning: look where that had got her. She pulled herself together and unglued her tongue from the roof of her mouth. ‘Good morning, Theo.’

      ‘Ready?’ he asked with a smile.

      She nodded. Theo had given her the pre-flight instructions from the balloon company: to wear long sleeves and trousers, preferably in natural fibres; a hat to protect her head from the radiant heat of the burner; and sensible shoes. And although she felt slightly frumpy, wearing a thick fleece over one of the strappy camisole tops she favoured outside work, she understood the logic, and she didn’t want to scrape her arms on the wicker basket.

      ‘Let’s go, then.’

      She locked the front door behind her and walked with him to the tube station. It was still dark outside, and so early that the train was practically empty, apart from a couple of bleary-eyed commuters who looked as if they still wished they were in bed.

      ‘So are balloon flights always this early in the morning?’ she asked.

      ‘Apparently the air’s at its most stable in the first two hours after dawn and the last two hours before dusk,’ Theo told her. ‘So most flights are around sunrise or sunset. The ones over London are at sunrise, though we could have gone for a different take-off point and had a later flight.’ He smiled. ‘I take it that you’re an owl rather than a lark, then?’

      ‘Usually,’ she admitted. ‘Though I’m never late for my shift.’

      He laughed. ‘Hey. We’re not at work now.’

      ‘No.’

      ‘But since you’ve got my head back in doctor mode, there’s something I forgot to ask you—do you have any medical condition that means you shouldn’t fly?’

      ‘I’m disgustingly healthy,’ she said.

      ‘Good.’ He paused. ‘I’m sorry, this is a very personal question…but there’s no chance you could be pregnant?’

      She felt the colour wash into her face. ‘No.’ She hadn’t actually slept with anyone for two years—and she’d regretted that. Not that she was going to admit either fact to Theo.

      ‘OK. And I’m sorry I offended you.’

      ‘No offence taken.’ Though there was one problem. Because of what he’d asked, she was thinking about sex. Specifically, sex with him. Which her common sense told her would be a very bad idea, although her libido was turning a series of cartwheels at the thought.

      In accordance with Theo’s instructions, they reached the meeting place near Tower Bridge at a quarter past six for the pre-flight briefing. Madison’s attention was caught by the balloon itself. An enormous wicker basket with six rigid poles going up to hold the burner, and then the most enormous piece of…what? Silk? Nylon? She had no idea. But it was fascinating to watch the balloon flight team putting everything together and inflating the balloon, first with a fan and then the flames shooting into the mouth of the balloon to warm the air and make the balloon envelope rise.

      When the balloon was finally upright, the pilot put the instruments and maps on board, and then it was time for the passengers to board. As they drew closer, Madison realised just how big the basket was. How deep. And, not for the first time, she wished she’d inherited the family height gene like her cousin Katrina, rather than being the shortest member of the family.

      ‘Want a hand in?’ Theo asked.

      Part of her wanted to stand on her dignity and say, no, she could manage. But the sensible side of her knew what that would mean: a head-first, embarrassing dive into the balloon—even if she managed to negotiate the footholds. ‘Thank you. That’d be good,’ she said.

      ‘I apologise in advance for the caveman bit,’ he said, and scooped her up into his arms; she was forced to slide her arms round his neck for balance until he sat her on the edge of the wicker basket. Then she twisted her legs round and slid into the basket.

      ‘Thanks. I think even high heels wouldn’t have been enough to help me climb in,’ she said brightly, trying to keep her mind off the fact that she’d just had her arms round his neck and his body had been very, very close to hers.

      ‘Apart from the fact they wouldn’t be sensible footwear.’ Theo looked all the way down her body. Head to toe and then back again to meet her gaze. And the sultry look in his eyes made Madison’s heart beat just that little bit faster.

      It was noisy in the balloon, with the burners still heating the air inside the balloon envelope—and then she realised that they were off the ground. Considerably off the ground.

      She blinked. ‘Wow. I was expecting it to be—well, bumpier than this,’ she said. ‘Like being on a boat going out to sea.’

      ‘We’re moving with the wind, so that’s why we can’t feel the currents. And a passenger basket this size is really, really stable. It shouldn’t rock or sway at