Page 114 of Lovers' Dance: Vol. 2

Matt held my left hand, his fingers absent-mindedly rubbed my rings.

“Jolly good.” Matt said. “I trust there were no unforeseen problems?”

“Oh no, Mr Bradley,” Peter was quick to reassure him. “Here we are. Mind your step on the way out.” Peter held the door open while Matt herded me out.

“What’s going on, Matt?” I asked, surprised by the lack of people. I knew it was a weekday, but still, there should be a lot more people here.

“Patience, poppet.” was all he said with that secretive gleam in his eyes.

“Mr Bradley,” A matronly woman strode over, hand out in greeting. “Hello, I’m Linda and we’re all set up for you.”

Matt shook her hand. “Thank you, Linda. This is my wife,”

I smiled politely, starting to freak out a bit. What had Matt done?

“Right this way, Mr Bradley.” Linda started leading us towards the walkway.

“Oh, Matt,” I whispered softly when I saw the table covered in white lace with three chairs in the centre. Matt tugged me closer and I turned my head to peer at him.

“Lunch date.” he said before walking us forward.

All mushy feelings receded as the panoramic views hit me and my toes reached the edge of glass flooring. Fuck.

“Uh,” I stammered. “How high up are we again?”

“42 metres above the Thames.” Linda advised in a chirpy voice.

Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.I glanced down, shouldn’t have done it, but I did. Now, I’m not afraid of heights, not my version of kryptonite. But I had a healthy respect for the laws of physics. A very healthy respect. And in theory I was excited about this, in theory yes. Inreality, well I hadn’t wet myself as yet, but there was still time.

“Umm, and the glass,” I gulped. “It’s not compromised, right?”

“Poppet,” Matt groaned softly, embarrassed I think.

“Of course not, Mrs Bradley.” Linda said with a laugh.

It was a valid question. Why the heck was she laughing? And would Matt be offended if I pointed out it was DuMont-Bradley?

“But it broke last year, days after it first opened.” I said. Did I sound shrill? “It was on the news. Someone dropped a bottle on the glass then a woman with stilettoes walked over it and, look, they closed it down to repair it. Is it safe?”

“Are you scared?” Matt teased, a blatant challenge ran through his tone.

“No.” I shot back and took the first step onto the walkway. Oh my God. “I’m just slightly concerned. I mean, I’ve got these heels on and, uh,” Another few steps, four more in total. I was not going to be branded a scaredy-cat. “I want to-” My stupid gaze dropped to the ground. Oh God. The people looked like ants. Ants! “Matt.” I hissed.

His laughter came from behind. I was frozen to the spot. Staring down at the moving traffic that resembled toy cars.

“I’m right here.” Matt murmured after he followed me onto the walkway and pressed his body against my back. “Lovely, isn’t it?”

“Mhmm.” I turned carefully into his waiting arms. “Should I take my heels off?”

Matt laughed for a full minute, the corners of his eyes crinkled up nicely. “Oh sweetheart, you’ve brightened my day considerably with that one question.” Then he sobered up and looked over to where Linda stood. “Have our meal brought out in fifteen minutes.”

“Yes, Mr Bradley.” she nodded.

“Oh and Linda,” Matt called, stopping her from scurrying off. His gaze flickered to what I assumed were security cameras. Matt nose lifted haughtily. “Everythingis as I requested.”

Linda’s eyes jumped to where Matt had been looking and she nodded vigorously this time. “Yes, Mr Bradley. Absolutely. Complete privacy is a given.”

Matt gave her a benevolent tilt of head before turning back to me. He settled his strong hands over my hips. Linda had been dismissed and she disappeared from view.

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