A Bridge to Dreams (8 page)

She grinned. “Then why are we wasting it on this silly discussion?”

“Because every once in a while, you obviously need to be reminded how important you are and that you deserve to be taken care of.”

“Yes,” she said more seriously. “I suppose I do.” For the first time in her life she was actually beginning to feel that way. She felt as if she were Cinderella at the ball, but like the fairy-tale heroine who'd finally savored magic, she felt as though she were watching the clock tick away the final seconds of her dream. A part of her wanted to cling to the excitement she was discovering with Brad, but another part knew when the time came, she would have to let it go.

* * *

As if he'd caught her melancholy mood, Brad planned a day designed to touch the romance in her
soul. He took her on the spectacular Seventeen Mile Drive along the rugged coast of the Monterey peninsula. Each setting they passed was more breathtaking than the one before. Finally, he pulled into a parking lot designated as a lookout point. It was crowded with tourists snapping pictures of the glorious scenery. Thrilled by the view, Karyn leaned back against the convertible's seat and sighed.

“It's beautiful,” she declared softly.

“I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you'd been here before, but it was the closest I could come to Hawaii on short notice. It's not exactly the same, but you do have beaches and endless vistas of deep blue water.”

Tears filled her eyes at the sentimental thought. “You really brought me here because you wanted me to experience Hawaii?”

He brushed a strand of hair back from her face, his fingertips caressing her jaw. “I want you to experience everything. Will this do for a start?”

“It's almost perfect.”

“Almost?”

She grinned at his indignant tone. “The only thing missing is the scent of frangipani,” she confessed wistfully. On rare special occasions she indulged in scented bath salts that filled the steamy bathroom with the fragrance. Then she'd lie back in the tub and soak, imagining herself on an island beach surrounded by the soft, sweet scent of plumeria blossoms. She looked at Brad and caught a flicker of satisfaction in his eyes.

“That's where you're wrong,” he said, clearly gloating as he reached into the backseat for a box that he'd hidden from view.

Karyn's eyes widened when she saw the name and address of a Waikiki florist embossed on the side. “But when? How?”

He laughed at her astonishment. “You were in that shower long enough for me to fly to Hawaii and back,” he teased.

“Seriously, where did you get it?”

“I called first thing yesterday and had it flown in. It really did arrive while you were in the shower. I ran down and tucked it into the car while you were dressing.”

With trembling fingers, Karyn awkwardly opened the box. The remembered scent of the waxy, fragile blossoms wafted up. She lifted the lei gently from the box and held it to her face, breathing deeply.

“Oh, Brad, it's the nicest present anyone's ever given me,” she whispered. “They're just the way I'd always imagined.” She turned eyes that were misty with tears toward him. “Thank you.”

“You don't have to thank me, sweetheart. The look in your eyes is thanks enough. Let me put it on for you.”

Brad settled the lei around her neck, then kissed her on each cheek. Then, while staring deep into her eyes, he must have seen her longing or perhaps what he saw there merely mirrored his own desires, because slowly, he bent his head and his lips deliberately covered hers. Instead of satisfying the yearning, though, the kiss merely fueled the keen awareness of the textures of his skin, the silky moistness of his lips, the faint stubble on his cheeks. A sweet, insistent ache spread through her and she moved closer still, seeking the fulfillment that her body somehow knew Brad and only Brad could provide.

Lost in the building passion, Karyn was unaware that the fragile blossoms were being crushed. When Brad reluctantly pulled away, his body taut, the touch of his fingertips still lingering against the sensitive peak of her breast, only then did she see that the petals of her extravagant gift were damaged.

But nothing—nothing, Karyn thought with a sense of wonder and conviction—could harm the love that was flowering between them.

K
aryn had a good, long, heart-to-heart talk with herself before Brad picked her up for the next-to-last day of their vacation. She reminded herself that when it was over, he would go back to his life and she would return to hers. She was merely a diversion for a man used to a more sophisticated woman. Even those who dined regularly on caviar and beef Wellington occasionally yearned for fish and chips—and vice versa. Happily ever after only happened in storybooks.

There were to be no regrets. She had indulged in a once-in-a-lifetime dream. She had savored each moment of delight stirred by his kisses, but that's where it had to end. Even Brad seemed to understand that and had not pushed for a deeper intimacy. The day before he had even chosen activities that had kept them safely amidst people—from the vast displays of Asian art at the De Young Museum to the twisting, jumbled streets of Chinatown. If their other adventures had touched her heart and soul, yesterday's had reached out to fulfill her thirst for knowledge.

In front of each intricately carved jade figure, as they had looked at each delicate painting on silk, Karyn had questioned Brad endlessly about Asia. He had answered tirelessly. Worlds that she had only known through books came alive through his eyes. They had settled for a time into the comfortable roles of tutor and student. She had been grateful, not only for his enthusiastic teaching, but for the chance to regain her equilibrium, to forget the delightfully enticing way it felt to have his arms around her, his breath whispering against her cheek.

Once more today, sleeping late had been ruled out. Brad had insisted that the day begin with a hot-air-balloon ride over the Napa Valley. Flights lifted off just after dawn, which meant that the night had been all-too-short. Drowsy and still flushed from sleep, Karyn was waiting in the lobby when Brad arrived with a picnic basket.

“Comment allez-vous?”
he asked, his eyes lighting up at the sight of her.

She blinked sleepily at the unfamiliar language. He grinned. “How are you?” he translated. “I was just trying to get you ready for our trip to France.”

“Let me know when we get there,” she mumbled unappreciatively and climbed gratefully into the car. “This vacation stuff is wearing me out. You may be used to burning the candle at both ends, but I'm not used to late nights and early mornings.”

“Believe it or not, neither am I anymore.”

“At least you look alive.” Actually, he looked quite a bit better than that. With a teal-blue sweater over a bright yellow polo shirt and hip-hugging jeans, he looked as devastatingly handsome and virile as ever.

“You'll feel that way, too,” he promised, pulling her into his arms and raining gentle kisses on her forehead, eyelids, cheeks and finally her waiting lips. Her pulse quickened at once and her senses were instantly alert. It was better than any alarm clock she'd ever owned and twice as addictive as caffeine.

“Amazing,” she whispered, linking her hands behind his neck.

A faint smile curved his lips and a quizzical look flitted through his eyes. “Isn't it, though?” he murmured. “Karyn…” he began, then shook his head. “No. Not now.”

“What?”

“Nothing. We'll talk later. Right now we need to get on the road.”

They drove through the darkened streets at Brad's usual breakneck pace, crossing the Golden Gate and heading north on U.S. Highway 101. As they came to the narrow, two-lane roads that took them into the heart of the Napa Valley, he finally slowed down.

“Have you ever been ballooning before?” Karyn asked.

“Once, over France. It's a gloriously free feeling to be soaring just above the earth.”

“Not like being in a plane?”

“No. For one thing you're not nearly as high up. Nor are you going anywhere near as fast. And it's just you and maybe a few other people up there all alone. You can feel the air rushing past. You feel as though you could touch the clouds. The weather has to be just right, the clouds no more than wisps. I think we're going to be okay today. It looks as though it's starting out to be a perfect day.”

When they arrived at the site, several balloons were stretched out on the ground being slowly filled with air. Couples and families were sipping coffee and waiting for the last streaks of a pink and golden sunrise to give way to endless blue. Fascinated by everything that was happening, Karyn plied Brad with more questions. When he ran out of answers technical enough to suit her, he laughingly introduced her to the pilot of the balloon he'd hired for the morning.

Moments later Brad lifted her into the gondola and followed her in. Filled with anticipation, Karyn held on to the side and peered down, then up into the vast interior of the cloth balloon. The tethers were removed, flames shot up heating the air and they were off. Theirs was the second balloon to rise slowly from the ground. More cumbersome than she'd anticipated, it quivered and jostled them until it was fully aloft. Then it floated, drifting through the morning sky like a colorful cloud.

Karyn's breath caught in her throat as the earth fell away. Eyes wide, she clung to Brad's hand. It was only when they'd been in the air for several minutes that she shifted her gaze from the panorama below to Brad's face. He was watching her intensely, his eyes mirroring her excitement.

“Happy?” he asked quietly.

“I'll never forget it,” she said, touching a fingertip to his cheek. It was morning-shave smooth and warmed at once beneath her touch. “Thank you. No one has ever had such a special vacation.”

“It's been special for me, too. Seeing things through your eyes has reminded me how important it is to stop and find the joy in living again.”

“I'm glad, if I've given you that,” she said. Their gazes met and held, unblinking, searching. Yet another timeless moment was captured forever in her memory. Then she remembered that she'd brought along her camera. She could fill her scrapbook with images of Brad and years from now, when life seemed tedious and mundane, she could look at the photos and remember magic.

As Karyn tried to break away, Brad held her hand more tightly. “Up here, you can't run away,” he teased lightly, though there was an intensity underlying the words that she didn't fully understand.

“I'm not going anywhere,” she said, sidestepping wherever he was heading with the pointed remark. “I just wanted to get my camera from my purse.”

With an indulgent amused expression, he watched as she took the inexpensive camera out and aimed at the distant fields below, then at the magnificent balloon above.

“Now you,” she said, positioning him where she could capture his dimpled smile.

“Now one of us together,” he insisted, turning the camera over to the pilot. He pulled her back against his chest and they faced the camera. Just before the shutter clicked, he tickled her so that the snap captured her gasp of surprised laughter.

“I think that's the one I'll carry with me always,” he said. “Maybe I'll have it blown up and put on the wall in every one of my offices.”

“First you have to get the negative away from me,” she reminded him.

“No problem.” He reached over and with no effort whatsoever plucked the camera out of her unsuspecting grip and tucked it into his pocket.

She lunged after it before she realized the precarious balance of the gondola. When it dipped and swayed, she fell against the solid wall of Brad's chest.

“Yet another way to get you into my arms,” he said delightedly, holding her tightly against him. “I'll have to remember it.”

Little did he know that he could get her into his arms with just the slightest hint that he wanted her there. He would never know the power he had gained over her in just a few short days. She would walk away from him with dignity, her pride intact, even if her heart was in pieces.

The whole day was a collage of such moments, a sudden burst of melancholy counteracted by carefree laughter, heart-stopping embraces followed by breathless chases that always ended in yet another embrace, another fiery memory.

After the balloon ride they toured half a dozen vineyards and ate their picnic lunch with the warmth of the sun beating down on their shoulders and the warmth of the wine curling seductively inside.

Karyn stretched out lazily on the blanket Brad had brought, her face turned toward the sun. “What a rare treat this is,” she said, and sighed with pleasure.

“And this?” Slowly, Brad lowered his mouth to hers. She could taste the burgundy they'd had with lunch, the full-bodied flavor almost as intoxicating as the caress of his lips.

“Definitely a treat,” she murmured, though the words were lost in yet another stolen kiss, this one deeper and far more urgent. His fingers slid beneath her shirt, lingering against bare flesh before seeking the tautness of
her breasts. Her breath caught as his insistent strokes stirred wonder deep inside her.

Aching with a need more profound than any she had ever known, she turned sideways until her body was aligned with his, her hand resting against his chest where she could feel the heat of his skin and the quickening beat of his heart.

“I want to make love to you,” he said quietly, searching her expression for a response. She tried desperately to cling to reason in the face of his entreaty, but the heartfelt plea in his eyes matched the yearning that was growing inside her.

“It would be a mistake,” she said, trying one last time to make him see what was so very clear to her.

“Why?”

“Because after tomorrow you'll be gone. I don't want that much of my heart to go with you.”