One More Time - Louisa George Page 0,35

less.’ Damn right she had enough strength to do that.

‘Deal.’ He gave Jason, the jump master, the thumbs up. ‘Ready when you are, boss.’

But Gabby held on tight to the rail. She peered over the edge to the streets below, where ant-sized people went about their normal lives rather than self-inducing heart attacks at the top of the tallest tower in the southern hemisphere. Oh, and the building was swaying too. Great.

Then she slowly lifted her head and gazed out across the panorama of the city buildings and further still to the ocean. Another cruise ship was docking—it seemed tiny from this height. ‘But why? Why this?’

‘Two reasons.’ He grinned. ‘Firstly, it’s a rite of passage. You can’t come to Auckland and not do this.’

‘You want to bet? I’m sure there’s plenty of people who have never done this. I want to be one of them. I like never having done this.’ The wind whipped up harder now, making the platform shake. The noise of the rattling metal echoed her erratic heartbeat.

‘Then they haven’t lived.’ His hand covered hers and squeezed. ‘And, secondly, it’s about trust.’

‘Now I’m really confused.’ She’d started to shiver.

Putting his arms around her, he drew her close. She hesitated slightly, but he nodded and she went into his embrace—as far as the wires and the harness and the clips allowed.

There was something so protective about him—his regular breathing, the heat of his body, the way he held on to her as if he’d never let her go. Ironic, then, that he wanted her to jump into nothing, supported by a flimsy wire. He whispered into her hair, ‘Would I do anything to hurt you?’

He’d already hurt her once with careless words. ‘I don’t know.’

‘Okay, not quite the answer I was hoping for.’ He blinked. ‘Do you trust me?’

‘No.’ That she did know, categorically. How could she trust a man who said she was nothing? But, then, at least he was trying to make up for it. In a spectacularly lofty way.

‘Do you want to start trying?’

‘It’s too hard.’ She wanted to believe he wouldn’t hurt her. But she’d been there before—trusted a man—and it had ended in way more than tears.

He tipped her chin up and gazed at her. ‘Trust me on this, Gabby. This is the best fun you’ll have in years. You won’t believe you found the courage to do it, but I know you’ll ace it.’ Jason tapped his watch. The sun had started to dip below the horizon and if they were going to get the most out of this they’d have to do it now.

She watched Max edge to the front of the deck. There was little now between him and the ground, many, many metres below. The closer he got to the edge the more her stomach felt like it was dropping.

As he stood with his toes hanging over the thin platform, her heart rate went into overdrive, her legs barely held her up. He craned his neck round and winked. ‘You can do this, Nurse Radley.’

This was exciting. Life-affirming. She shuffled forward, caught an intake of breath as she pressed her palms on his back. Caught her own scream as she forced all her frustration, her fear, her anger, her excitement...her growing need for him into her hands.

And pushed. ‘See you at the bottom, Maitland.’

Then he disappeared into the air and for a second she thought of all the bad things that might happen. But that wouldn’t. That this was indeed about trust. He wanted her to let go.

He’d brought her here to do this because it wasn’t just an epic adventure, it was something fun they could share. A platform on which to base a friendship. Do you remember that time you pushed me off the Sky Tower? I remember your screams as you flew.

A platform for trust. A beginning.

Slowly, slowly.

Then it was her turn.

God. It was such a long way down. Such a leap of faith; in the wires and technology, in Max. In herself. Her courage almost failed her. She couldn’t do this, didn’t have the guts. She didn’t.

So, she could remove the harness and go back inside to safety, or she could embrace this danger. She could turn it into a line, a line drawn between what had gone before and whatever happened next.

Old Gabby would never have done this. Old Gabby would never have been allowed to step out on here and risk her life, risk anything. But new Gabby—well, she could do anything