Married This Year 2: Simmering Love Read online

  “It’s my job to get the safety video out of the way. I want you to pay attention to this one—it’s not like when you take a commercial flight and everyone ignores the safety briefing. We take safety very seriously here at Blue Sky Diving. It’s our job to make sure you have fun and that you do it safely. I’d be quite upset if one of you didn’t make it today.”

  Rachel gasped as his words sank in and he let out a loud laugh. “Sorry, I couldn’t resist! You all look so serious!” His enthusiasm was over the top, and Lori’s head swinging toward her didn’t go unnoticed. “Come on, ladies, you don’t need to look so terrified. You came here willingly, right?”

  Both women nodded and Rachel thought she heard the woman in front of her mumbling about being tricked into coming. After a pause, when it seemed the instructor was waiting for something, she filled the silence. “How many people don’t make it, out of interest’s sake?”

  He laughed and looked even more relaxed. “We haven’t had a fatality here in the eight years we’ve been operating. That’s not to say there haven’t been minor injuries, but each of those were instances in which the student panicked. Whatever you do, don’t grab the plane when it’s time to jump out, or lock your legs around your instructor and refuse to let go, so he can’t pull the chute. No passing out—and absolutely don’t pee your pants, okay?” he laughed again, but only the men in the front joined him.

  They’re having a great time. Pity I can’t feel quite that level of humour right now.

  “Anyway, my name is Brian. We’re going to watch a video, and then we’re going outside to practice some movements you’ll need to know. When you’re comfortable with that, we’ll get you suited up and you’ll be on the plane. I expect this to take about an hour, and then you’ll be ready to go. Each of you has opted for tandem jumps today, so all you need to do is pay attention, follow instructions, and relax. Your instructor will take care of everything and make sure you all have a great jump. Okay?”

  He turned toward the television and pressed a button on the remote. The video started and Rachel concentrated as hard as she could. This was getting serious, and she wanted to know everything she had to do to survive the jump.

  ***

  At the end of the video, Brian ushered them out another door, and the six would-be skydivers found themselves in a hangar. The offices had looked a lot smaller from the carpark, and Rachel imagined it would look tiny from the sky. A feeling of excitement had settled in the pit of her stomach and she was surprised to note that she was impatient to make her first jump, even if she was still terrified.

  Lockers lined one side of the hangar and an instructor waved them over to him. They stood in a semi-circle as he introduced himself and started the demonstration. The group lined up and practiced bending their knees as he showed them. Rachel stood beside the couple making snippy comments at each other and laughing. The two men were taking things seriously, now, and they paid close attention to every instruction.

  She pulled her eyes away from the tallest of them. She’d noticed him in the carpark and also in the office, with his dark brown hair and broad shoulders. A ready smile was constantly on his face, and she found herself smiling along with him and his friend as they joked together. There’d been no introduction within the group, so she still didn’t know anyone’s name. These things often began with everyone getting to know each other, but today there hadn’t been time. It looked like she wouldn’t get to learn his name before it was time to jump.

  In what seemed like no time, the girls were stepping into overalls and getting packed tightly into tandem harnesses. They were introduced to their jump partners and were shown how the harnesses worked. Rachel noticed Lori wasn’t saying a word and her tight smile hadn’t left her lips.

  Ha! She’s regretting this now!

  Imagining the rest of the afternoon spent lying on her couch to recover from this insane activity, Rachel followed the others into a tiny shed where they sat on benches facing each other. Her leg wouldn’t stop bouncing and her heel tapped the floor as she swallowed over and over, trying to dampen her fear.

  Who would choose this over cooking lessons? I must be mad!

  She longed for a pen to hold as her fingers drummed against her leg. A nice pen with a satisfying click was what she needed. It would drive the others mad, like it did in meetings at work, but it was preferable to clicking her fingers, which was what she’d started doing now. The woman next to her stared at her hand, which she then pushed under her bouncing leg.

  I have to get out of here!

  The women sat on one side and the men on the other. All three men were attractive, Rachel noted as she watched the two who had come together laugh and joke about going up and jumping out of a perfectly good aircraft.

  Like we haven’t all heard that one before.

  The third man made faces at the woman next to her, crossing his eyes and trying to make her laugh. She didn’t bite, instead turning to Rachel to make conversation. “Do any of you know each other?”

  “Nope. Never seen them before in my life,” Rachel answered, indicating the men in front of her.

  “Well, do we all want to introduce ourselves?” she asked.

  The man in the middle spoke up first. “You want to chat before you fall to your death, is that it?”

  Rachel gasped, “Don’t say that! If we have an accident, it’ll be all your fault!” She craned her neck to see out onto the runway, looking for the plane; she'd heard so many stories about skydiving planes being barebones and unsafe. She looked back at them, as her uncertainty over this idea threatened to take her tongue, “I don’t know about you guys, but I’m freaking out.”

  Please let us make it out of this alive.

  The man who’d spoken looked guilty and he thrust out his hand. “Okay, then, introductions. I’m Jack and this is Henry.”

  Ahh… his name is Henry. It suits him.

  “My name is Rachel Canales, and this is my friend, Lori Shore.”

  Why are you giving out your surnames, you weirdo? Get your nerves under control!

  The cute blonde guy on the end spoke up. “I’m Luke and this is Jordan.”

  “Are you two married?” After all, the two of them laughed together, like a married couple.

  “No way. We are absolutely not married. We’re friends.” Luke smiled at her and the woman beside her stared at the floor.

  Henry piped up next. Rachel’s eyes met his and widened as he asked, “Want to make this interesting?”

  “What did you have in mind?”

  What the hell could be more interesting than this death-defying new experience?

  “Well, you’re single, right?” She nodded and he grinned at her. “So far, so good. How about, if we survive this, you and I get married?”

  Rachel burst out laughing. It was such an unexpected question that she couldn’t help but guffaw. She’d thought they’d be making a bet over who would back out or scream the loudest on the way down. Henry seemed nice and had a good sense of humour, and she had been watching him for the better part of two hours. Their exchange took her mind off her fear of what was to come, so she played along, silently thanking him for the distraction.

  “I don’t think I can trust you to follow through on that promise. I’m gonna need you to propose now, before we go up.” There, that would stop him from looking so smug. Beside her, Lori giggled. Luke snickered to himself, more amused than the rest of them by Henry’s words.

  To her surprise, Henry jumped out of his seat. “Deal!” He sank to one knee right there in front of her and held out his hand. She grinned, but resisted the urge to put her hand in his and kept it under her leg.

  Too late! He’s speaking again. What’s he saying?

  “Rachel Canales…”

  he remembered my name…

  “would you do me the honour of being my wife, assuming we survive the next forty minutes of flying in a shaky tin can and being strapped to a complete stranger who packed our chute and assured us w
e wouldn’t die today?” He paused for breath before he continued, “If we survive all of that, will you take the next challenge and marry me?”

  She smiled at him and put out her hand as they both grinned like idiots. No harm could come from playing along. After today, she’d never see him again. “I’d love to, Henry. If we live, I’ll definitely marry you.” The others laughed as the two of them inclined their heads to their rapt audience. Rachel looked back to him and added, “I want you to buy me a ring on the way home, though.”

  Henry surprised her by smiling broadly. “I promise.” He said it with a serious tone, as though this was a real proposal.

  Before she could snatch her hand away and bring them back to reality, their instructor appeared in the doorway. “Okay, jumpers, here we go. Everyone into the plane.”

  ***

  The plane trip and the actual jump were a blur to Rachel. It seemed to take no time at all to get to the altitude they would jump from. Henry sat beside her in the plane after his hilarious proposal and tried to make conversation.

  He made her laugh with his jokes until he had to shout to be heard over the wind and the engine. He soon gave up, and once the distraction of talking was gone, she watched with a giggle as he went pale and twitched nervously. Like hers had earlier, his fingers drummed on his leg as they got higher and higher.

  They were strapped to their instructors and it was soon time to jump. Jack jumped first, followed by Henry. Jordan went next, then Luke, and after him, Lori shuffled toward the open door. She waved to Rachel, and behind her goggles, her eyes looked like they might fall out of her head as she left the plane with a scream.

  For a split second, Rachel wanted to tell her instructor she’d changed her mind. Now that everyone had left the plane, though, she couldn’t bear the thought of being the only one not to do it. She allowed herself to be led to the opening, where the air rushed past her ears and the open expanse of nothingness that she was expected to step out into, stretched before her. Making a mental note to do an internet search to find out who the first idiot to jump out of a plane was, she took a deep breath and stepped out.

  The sensation of free falling was exhilarating and terrifying all at once. She screamed for a few seconds, but then she clamped her mouth shut. Her instructor yelled into her ear for her to look around, and she remembered he was there to keep her safe. The ground rushed toward them so fast that she thought she might pass out from the sight of it. Visions of broken legs, ambulances, and plaster casts danced in her head as she squeezed her eyes shut. She fought for control of her nerves and then made herself open them.

  I’m never doing this again, so I’d better see it all this time.

  The chute was pulled and she was jerked upward. As they slowed, she looked around and enjoyed the sensation. It was over all too fast, though, and the landing zone rushed closer as she ran through the safety video in her head and tried to recall the instruction she’d gone through. She remembered how she had to bend her legs when she landed and start running the moment she hit the ground.

  It sounded oh, so simple back in the hangar!

  The others had landed and she was the last to make it to the ground. The target got larger as she watched it and the instructor yelled into her ear again. They touched down with a thump and she ran the way she’d been told. After a few steps, her legs gave way and she fell over, laughing hysterically, glad to be on the ground and alive. Her instructor held onto her and they were soon sitting on the ground as she giggled and rubbed the dusty grass.

  “Made it!” she said to no one in particular. She was unclipped from her partner and pulled to a standing position. The group of jumpers were huddled on one side of the runway and she had an awful feeling that someone had been hurt. Now that the roaring in her ears had gone away, she could hear someone making a lot of noise.

  Oh, please don’t let it be Lori.

  She rushed to the group and pushed to the front. When she saw Luke on the ground squealing and babbling, she laughed along with the others. Lori moved to her and hugged her and Rachel squeezed her friend. Luke had tears on his cheeks and it was so funny that she couldn’t help but laugh as Jordan helped him up. They watched as Jordan let him lean on her on their way to the hangar to get changed; all the while his legs wobbled and he talked so fast that no one couldn’t get a word in.

  ***

  When the women had changed out of their overalls, they returned to the office to sign themselves out. They were chatting and laughing together—the exhilaration of the jump had an immediate effect on their moods and they couldn’t keep the smiles off their faces.

  The receptionist pulled them to the side and offered them a range of photos and a video of each of them jumping. Rachel considered which photographs to purchase as the receptionist continued to give her options.

  How do they get them ready so soon after the jump?

  While they were looking through the photos, Henry appeared at her elbow. He leaned over her shoulder, pointing, and whispered into her ear, “You should get that one, if you get nothing else.”

  She jumped and turned to look at him, only to discover that he was right behind her. Close enough to smell, in fact. Before she could think straight, her mouth opened and the words blurted out, “You smell like cookies.” A wide grin stretched across his face and she groaned inwardly.

  Why the hell did I say that?

  “Well, I was baking this morning, if you must know.”

  She stood awkwardly, wishing her way out of this embarrassing situation. All she could do was look up at him and visualise him in the kitchen with an apron wrapped around his trim waist. She turned away before he could guess where her thoughts were leading. “So, you think I should get that photo? Why?”

  “It’s the look on your face. You look happy and brave and like nothing this exciting has ever happened to you before. I like it.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled at him, then faced the photos again.

  I like that. He didn’t comment on my looks.

  He leaned closer and murmured, “Since we’re going to be married and everything, I wouldn’t mind that photo hanging in our home.”

  She laughed out loud at his words. While she’d thought about them a few times in the hour since he’d said them, she was sure he would have forgotten by now. She’d expected him to race to the car without a backward glance, keen to escape before she could claim the ring he’d jokingly promised her on the way home.

  “Don’t laugh—I’m serious. Get that one. I’ll buy it for you, if you like.” She could hear by his words that he was grinning again, and she rolled her eyes, impressed with his enthusiasm. He was fun to be around.

  “No need. I’m a big girl—I can buy my own.”

  “Okay, but can I buy you lunch?” She turned to look at him again and noted the hope in his eyes.

  He hasn’t forgotten!

  “I guess. I drove Lori in my car, though. Maybe I can meet you there?”

  “Can Lori take your car? I can drop you home afterward. Jack only lives two minutes from here, so we’ll drop him off first and then find someplace nice to eat.”

  “Uhh… okay,” she stammered as she turned back to the photos to hide how flustered she was. A blush crept up her neck and she pointed to a couple more photos to go with her video. Her head was spinning from all the turning back to him, and she was relieved when he moved away to look at the souvenirs. The receptionist took the opportunity to move in and try to upsell the package Rachel had chosen. She needed to choose one more photograph to get a few more for free and on a whim, she asked if she could have two prints of the photo Henry had admired. She planned to give him it to him to remember her by after he dropped her home.

  Lori chose her photos, and they paid and headed outside. Henry was choosing his, but he kept a close eye on her. As Lori opened the door, he turned and called out to Rachel, “You’re waiting for me, right?”

  She blushed again and ignored Lori’s surprised look. “Yes, Henry, I’m waiti
ng for you. You’re not going to be a control freak husband, are you?”

  “Not a chance. I’m merely making sure you don’t get away before you find out how awesome I am.” He chuckled and finished his purchase as Lori dragged Rachel outside.

  “What was that about? Are you making plans with him?”

  “I am. He asked me to lunch and I’ve decided to go. You have to drive my car home.”

  “Now? You just met him. What if he’s a weirdo?”

  “Well, he does seem a little weird—but in a good way, not a ‘murder me and dump my body in the forest’ kind of way. He smells like cookies and he’s going to drop me off afterward, so you don’t need to worry. He’s nice, don’t you think?” she said the last words in a whisper, worried he would burst through the door and hear her.

  “He is nice. As well as cute.” Rachel rolled her eyes as Lori continued, “He seems to be your type, too. What was he saying to you by the photos?”

  “He said I looked happy and brave.”

  “Nice. If you think it’s safe to go, then I hope you have fun.”

  “He’s completely harmless. I’ll wait for him to say how pretty I am and ruin my illusions and then I’ll get dropped at your place to pick up my car, okay?”

  “Don’t jinx it before you even start, Rachel! I’ll be waiting to hear all about the mystery date, so don’t make me wait too long. I don’t want to have to call your mother and tell her you survived the skydiving, but were killed on the way home by a stranger who jokingly proposed to you in a sweaty shed.” Lori grinned at her and dangled the keys, “Last chance to change your mind and come home with the sane person.”

  Before Rachel could answer, the door burst open and a relieved Henry strode toward them. “Oh, you did wait. I thought you might not.”