“You decide.”
My gaze lingered toward the windows. “I know just the place.”
Tate followed my line of sight. With a small smile, he murmured, “I see. Let me make a few calls.”
ChapterEight
Louisa
It was cold as fuck outside, but I didn’t care because I had Tate all to myself, and we were walking along the Queen’s Walk beside the Thames in London at Christmastime.
Despite the lateness of the hour, the Eye was still lit up, and we were making our way toward it. The excitement in my belly was growing the closer we got.
Across the water, the clock face on Elizabeth Tower and the Palace of Westminster could be seen, along with the Ministry of Defense and One Whitehall Place, where we’d walked from.
I squeezed Tate’s arm as we approached the London Eye. “What if it’s closed by now?”
“It’s not.”
“Are you sure? There’s no line. There’d be a line if it were open.” My excitement began to wane when I stopped at the sign with the opening times and slumped my shoulders. “I knew it. Well… it was nice to see it from this angle, at least, and the walk was nice.” I rubbed my arms through my layers of clothing.
“Lou, please. You too often forget who you’re with. Now, come on.” Tate walked me down the ramp to where a man in a suit was waiting.
“Mr. Rawlins?”
“That’s me.”
“Welcome, sir. Miss.” He waved us on, handed Tate a bottle of sparkling cider and two wine glasses, and closed the door behind us.
I glanced around the glass cabin as the wheel began to move slowly. It was decked out like a bedroom with a rug, a timber bed, and a lovely spread of food laid out on the bench in the center of the capsule.
“We’ve got the London Eye all to ourselves?”
“Yes.” Tate opened the bottle, pouring the liquid into each glass. He set the bottle on the bench beside the food and handed me one of the glasses.
“You got them to reopen it for us?”
“I rented it for the night. We get to float above London until dawn. Think of it like a revolving hotel room.” He held his glass toward me, and I clinked it with his.
“This must’ve cost a fortune.”
“Don’t worry about how much it cost. All you have to do is enjoy it and me.”
He reached down, plucked a grape from the platter, and pressed it against my mouth. The sweet juiciness of the fruit spilled onto my tongue, then Tate’s tongue was tasting it, too, as it danced with my own. I sighed into his mouth and relaxed, curling my fingers into his hair. Before I realized it, I began to lose my grip on my glass, and cider spilled across the front of Tate'’s tux.
With a gasp, I pulled away. “Oh, shit!”
Tate chuckled.
“I’m sorry, Tate.” I set down the glass. “I got lost in the moment, and—”
“Lou! It’s okay.” Tate cupped my chin and lifted my gaze to his. “All it means is you’ll have to get me out of it sooner.” My gaze flitted around the cabin.Tate automatically drew my attention back to him as he said, “Now.”
“But won’t people see us?”
“We’re alone. Who’s going to see?”
“We’re in a glass capsule on the brightest landmark in London.”