WAKE-UP CALL
Maryah
“Maryah, wake up,” he whispered. “Maryah.”
I slowly opened my eyes. My body jerked, startled by the sight of Nathan in my hotel room leaning over me in the dark. “Nathan?”
“Shh, I’m trying not to wake Faith and Harmony.” Glancing at the clock, I saw it wasn’t even 5am yet. “I’d like to request your company on a clandestine journey before the others awaken.”
“Could you speak more mainstream? I have no idea what you said.”
“Would you like a behind-the-scenes tour of the festival?”
I had to be dreaming again. Why in the world would Nathan want me to go anywhere with him? Especially at five in the morning. I pinched my wrist, and Nathan lifted his eyebrows. I shrugged. “Thought I might still be asleep.”
“Do you always talk in your sleep?” he asked with that dizzying angelic smile.
“Sometimes.” Faith and Harmony were still sleeping—or pretending to be. We weren’t exactly quiet, and Faith wore a close-lipped grin.
“Take a few moments to collect yourself. I’ll wait for you in the hallway. Bring a coat. It’s chilly out.” He got up and left while I lay there dumfounded. I hadn’t agreed to go anywhere with him. Up at five a.m. on vacation—with Nathan: pure insanity.
After changing, and finding my coat, I quietly left our room. Nathan was leaning against the wall in the hallway.
“It’s five in the morning!” I said in a hushed voice.
“Sorry. I don’t sleep much, and this is my favorite time of the day. Tranquility and stillness hasn’t been lost due to the busyness of the world yet. Shall we go?”
How could I argue with tranquility? How could I argue about anything when he looked at me so tenderly with his heart-stopping green eyes? “Fine.”
Neither of us said another word until Nathan paused at the lobby doors. “May I assist you with your coat?”
“I’m okay, but thanks.”
He held open the door, and I stepped outside. The cold hit me like a bucket of ice water. I gasped and zipped up my jacket to my chin.
“It’s freezing out here!”
“I’m sorry, but such is the desert at night. It will get warmer when the sun rises.”
He put his hand on the small of my back. Even through my coat his touch sent a delicious shiver through me. I subtly leaned backward, wanting to feel more of him against me—even if it was just his arm. The shoulder of his jacket brushed my ear and I had to force myself to keep from whipping around and throwing my arms around him. How did I become so boy crazy?
A red Mustang with black racing stripes was parked nearby. The engine was running, and when Nathan opened the door for me, a wave of heat poured out. I practically dove into the passenger seat.
“There’s cocoa, tea, cider, or coffee for you.” He nodded to four steaming cups on the dashboard then shut my door.
I stared at them, amazed someone could be so thoughtful. Thoughtful of me.
He climbed into his seat, leaned over, and held the drink holder in front of me.
“Which one is the hot chocolate?” I asked.
He handed me the largest cup. “Some things never change.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” He threw away the remaining drinks in a nearby trash can.
He got back in, and his heavenly scent filled the car. Between him and my hot chocolate, I was almost drooling. “You didn’t want any?”
“No, but now I know which you prefer, so I won’t bother with the other choices in the future.”
The future. Did he plan on hanging out with me again? “That was really nice. Thank you.”
“It was my pleasure.”
As he drove, I glanced around his trashless, spotless interior. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.” He pushed a button and Ella Fitzgerald started singing, Someone to Watch Over Me .
“Oh my god, I love Ella!”
His expression bordered on smugness. “You seem like the type who appreciates great music.”
“Most people our age have never heard of her.”
“Yes well, maybe you and I are old souls.”
I stared at him with astonishment. “My cousin says the same thing.”
“She must be perceptive.”
“She is. I miss her.” I mouthed the words to Ella’s song in between sips of my drink. Looking everywhere, haven’t found him yet. He’s a big affair I cannot forget. “Do you prefer Nate, Nathan, or Nathaniel?”
He cocked his head, like he was giving it serious thought. “I answer to any of them.”
“You introduced yourself as Nathaniel, and I’ve heard Louise call you that a few times, but Nathan seems to be the popular consensus.”
He silently stared ahead while Ella sang my favorite line: Tell me where’s the shepherd for this lost lamb .
He cleared his throat. “No one has addressed me as Nathaniel in quite some time.”
“Okay, I’ll be different. Nathaniel it is.” He seemed more like a Nathaniel. Something about him was so sophisticated and charming, like he belonged in an earlier era when people were more well-mannered. My parents would have loved him.
We pulled into Balloon Fiesta Park. Shiloh, Carson, and Dakota waved through the glare of the car’s headlights.
“The boys are here!”
Nathaniel cut off the engine. “They’re assisting with our launch.”
“I thought that wasn’t for another couple hours?”
He opened his door. “Not the launch, our launch.”
I went rigid. The numbing revelation allowed him time to reach my side of the car. He opened my door, but I didn’t move. “You want me to go up in that balloon?”
“You’ll enjoy it.”
“But it’s dangerous.”
“It’s far from dangerous. The correct word is enchanting.” He extended his hand, but I didn’t budge.
“But it’s so dark out.”
“You know the old saying, ‘when it’s dark enough, you can see the stars.’”
I peeked out of the car at the sky. “I can see the stars fine from here.”
He burst out laughing, and that erased my fear. He reminded me of an old Jazz song I never got tired of, no matter how many times I’d heard it. The song began all sad and gruff with a saxophone and bass, but then exploded into upbeat trumpeting that made me want to dance like a madwoman.
“You have my word,” he said. “There is no danger involved. You’re in the safe hands of the most gifted crew I’ve ever had the privilege of trusting.”
I placed my hand in his. Happy trumpets kept blaring, and his touch sent surges of electricity through me again. Worrying he felt my reaction, I pulled away and stuck my hands in my coat. He leaned in toward me, and his lips parted. A white cloud from his breath filled the inches of space between us. His lips looked so kissable that my mouth watered.
“Maryah, are you all right?”
I swallowed then licked my lips, hoping to erase the magnetic pull that wanted his mouth against mine. “Yes. Just nervous.”
As I stepped away from the car, he did that thing again where he put his hand on my back. Even through my layers of clothing, warmth spread over me so intensely I thought I’d melt.
“First hot air balloon ride!” Shiloh yelled as we joined them.
Dakota elbowed me. “I’m jealous. I’d love to go up in this thing.”
Carson was already filling the balloon with air. Dakota clumsily stumbled over to help him.
Nathaniel stepped toward the basket. He stared at me while urging me forward with his hands that had barely touched me, yet made me feel ecstatic. “It’s time.”
Carson and Shiloh held onto each side of the basket acting as anchors.
I took an exaggerated breath. “Right.”
Heaven help me.
