#Sunday snippet from Take Me Now

I've not done a Sunday Snippet for ages so... here's a little snippet from Take Me Now. 

This excerpt comes from Chapter Seventeen and it's the first time Aela has heard Nairn mention Paris...

Enjoy!

“Two short hops to organize for tomorrow.”

Nairn was, as usual, succinct.

Well, they had stayed put in the London office for a couple of days, Aela reckoning it was par for the course that they were off again - and truth be told she was excited by the prospect of being on the move. Nothing untoward had happened yet it seemed the whole office, and warehouse staff, were walking on eggshells since knowledge of the earlier incidents had affected everyone. Unfortunately, no evidence had been uncovered.

“The Netherlands first for a meeting in Rotterdam with a hot air ballooning company representative. I’m negotiating to add ballooning to our repertoire of European activities. Ever done any balloon trips?”

Her smile was huge. “Just one. Floated over Ayers Rock and the Australian desert for a bit out at Alice Springs. It was one of the highlights of my Australian leg of the world trip. I splurged out a heap of dollars, but it was so worth it! Can you imagine drifting up in the hazy grey-blue alongside the MacDonnell ranges? Then, when the muted colours of pre-dawn seep into the oranges of sunrise, the kangaroos start bouncing across the rugged landscape.” She sighed dramatically with the recall of it. “The birds were pretty fabulous too.”

“I’ve got to say that in Europe ballooning is more at the vagaries of weather conditions, but I’d like to get my fingers in that particular pie, as well.”

She shared Nairn’s amusement since he was showing he remembered lots of things she had said or done when she’d first met him. “You’ve done some ballooning?”

“A bit like you. A totally memorable trip over the Kalahari in Africa, but I’ve ballooned in other places, too.”

Her pencil was poised ready for details. “Ah…the joys. But back to organizing. Rotterdam then fly back to London?”

“Not quite.” Nairn was back to an enigmatic expression and mischievous tone. “When the Rotterdam meeting is over we’re moving south to Paris, to meet with a guy who is looking for investors to support a new facility he wants to build.”

“Paris?” Her squeal of excitement could probably have been heard all the way to L’Arc de Triomphe. Nairn grinned at her enthusiasm.

“Ever heard of Bun-J-Ride?”

“Can’t say I have.”

“It’s a cross between a bungee jump and skiing- or cycling - off a ramp over a valley, or a canyon.”

“Wow! Sounds scary.” Her eyes goggled at the vision: her one and only bungee jump had been a bit daunting. “And then back to London tomorrow night?”

Disappointment probably peppered her gaze but she couldn’t help it because Paris was such an exciting prospect to visit.

“No. We’ll stay over in Paris since the second meeting isn’t till four p.m. and I’ve no idea how long I might want to thrash that one out.”

She’d spent three days in the Netherlands, mainly around Amsterdam and Den Haag, managing to zip through quite a number of the tourist attractions, adoring the quaint style, including the canals. She’d love to see more, though, and another fleeting visit appealed a lot.

But Paris? That was even more attractive.

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Slainthe!