LITMIR.BIZ

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in her family. This gave her an added security blanket. Eggs stored for future use by her, if she needed them. What could go wrong?

      John Carter could go wrong.

      Surely there was something in the clinic protocols that said he wasn’t allowed to contact her? She’d check when she got home.

      From the corner of her eye she saw Dan signalling her. She stood up and took her position in the queue at the door. Number five seemed to be stalling. Seemed to be having second thoughts. Dan leaned forward and spoke a few words of encouragement in their ear, urging them on.

      Lily held her breath. If number five didn’t hurry up she would be tempted to give him an almighty shove. She was conscious of Carter standing almost behind her. She was sure she could feel his breath at the back of her neck.

      If it had been any other circumstances, it might have felt quite sexy. Flirting with a tall, dark, handsome stranger and then jumping out an aircraft with him. But right now all Lily wanted to do was get as far away from John Carter as possible.

      * * *

      Carter chewed on his bottom lip. This wasn’t going quite as planned.

      Maybe his attorney was wrong. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. It didn’t help that for a few mad seconds they’d actually flirted with each other. He’d never have done that if he’d realised she was Lily Grayson.

      A smile danced across his lips. That might not strictly be true. Lily was the first smart-mouthed girl he’d met in a long time. The first woman he’d felt even the slightest bit of interest in.

      Maybe now hadn’t been the best time to tell her that he was looking for her. But he didn’t like lies. He didn’t like deceit.

      She shifted in front of him and he took a sharp intake of breath. She was uncomfortable. Did she think he was some kind of madman? Stalking her from a clinic website?

      He couldn’t wait to get back on firm ground. He couldn’t wait to sit down and talk to her calmly, rationally and in an environment where they could actually hear each other.

      They shuffled forward as the nervous number five finally made his jump. Ahead of them number six stepped out as if he jumped from a plane every day. And Lily was right behind him, the bright purple suit disappearing into oblivion before his eyes.

      He felt his heart lurch. He didn’t want to lose her on the way down. He’d done enough of these jumps to know that not everyone landed in the spot they should.

      He bit his lip impatiently as number eight took a few seconds to speak to Dan on the way out. Hurry up!

      Finally, the doorway was clear. He gave Dan a salute on the way past and stepped out into nothing.

      Perfection.

      The air streamed up all around him and he spread his arms and legs wide in the cold air. Beneath him he could see the other jumpers. Lily’s purple suit wasn’t difficult to spot. She was underneath him and a little to his left.

      Carter pulled his legs and arms in, streamlining his body and pointing downwards in her direction. The least he could do was catch her up.

      Lily was finally back in her comfort zone. Adrenaline pumped through her body, her arms and legs spread wide, and she was flying.

      The cold air buffeted her cheeks and swept through the tiny strands of hair poking out from her helmet. This was freedom. This was space. This was clean air.

      Two out of three things that San Francisco sometimes lacked.

      She could see one of the jumpers pulling their chute as she streamed past. If her face could have drawn a frown it would have. It was far too early.

      She closed her eyes for a second. Plenty of time to pull her parachute. A shadow passed in front of her and she opened her eyes to see John Carter, in his borrowed, bright red flight suit coasting next to her. How on earth had he caught up with her?

      All of a sudden the space, clear air and freedom seemed to shrink around her. He was ruining everything!

      He signalled to her, giving her a thumbs-up and a wide grin. Right now she could happily stick her thumb right in his eye.

      She changed position. He was too close, and he should know that. Pulling ripcords right now could result in their lines getting tangled—the last thing any jumper wanted.

      She took a deep breath, deciding she’d moved far enough away from him, and pulled the cord. A sharp tug pulled her upwards as the brightly coloured rectangular parachute released above her, slowing her descent. She looked downwards towards the ground. Normally she would have waited a little longer to pull, but John Carter had annoyed her, he’d ruined the jump for her anyway, so what difference did it make when she pulled her cord?

      She adjusted her steering toggles to move herself towards the landing area. Her heart was still hammering against her chest and she couldn’t quite work out whether it was the effect of the jump or the effect of John Carter.

      She twisted her head from side to side. Where had he gone? She heard a shout to her right, and turned again. There he was in the sky, just above her. Anger lit a fire in her belly. What on earth did he want with her? Why wouldn’t he just leave her alone?

      Her normal, solid concentration was rocked and she heard another shout above her. Too late, she realised she hadn’t slowed her descent enough to land. She pulled sharply on both her steering toggles, trying to brake, but with little effect as she thudded to the ground. A sharp pain tore up her right calf.

      Seconds later there was a soft thud beside her and a flash of red. John Carter appeared in front of her, kneeling on the ground and starting to examine her leg. Even the lightest touch was painful. ‘Ow!’ she yelped, pulling her ankle backwards. ‘What do you think you’re doing?’

      His voice was calm and steady. ‘Examining your leg.’ He loosened the laces on her boot and gently slid it from her foot. He leaned forward and pressed the release button for her parachute, which was currently buffeting in the wind and tugging at her shoulders.

      ‘Let go of me!’ Lily shouted, fury building inside her. ‘This is entirely your fault anyway. If you hadn’t distracted me when I was landing, this would never have happened.’

      Carter stopped for a second and looked thoughtful. Then he held his hand out towards her. ‘We’ve not been properly introduced and that’s my fault. John Carter, Orthopaedist at San Francisco General.’

      She stopped and caught her breath, then wriggled her ankle experimentally. It still hurt. Did she really want to alienate the one person in this field who could probably help her? Her hand reached out and touched his. There it was again. The spark she’d felt earlier in the hangar. That weird little zing that appeared out of thin air.

      She stared at his hand. Tanned skin, blunt, straight-cut fingernails. It was a firm, strong handshake. His large hand dwarfed her small one. But it was the sensations around it that were concerning her.

      He gave a wry smile as he touched her ankle again, peeling down her sock and touching her bare skin just above the ankle. ‘I think you might be in need of my services.’

      In more ways than one. Lily’s face paled and she pulled her head back to reality. ‘You’re joking, right? It’s a sprain or a bruise, isn’t it?’

      Carter shook his head. ‘Can’t say for sure until I’ve seen an X-ray, but I’m almost sure you’ve fractured your tibia—just above your ankle. It’s pretty common for people involved in extreme sports.’

      Lily raised her eyebrow at him. ‘Extreme sports? Does this qualify? I would have thought doing a charity jump for a children’s cancer charity was anything but extreme.’

      She grimaced as he rolled her thick sock down over her ankle. Almost before her eyes her ankle started to swell. If she hadn’t seen it for herself, she wouldn’t have believed it.

      His fingers were light, delicate with their touch, realising how sensitive the

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