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“Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta,” I read the sign out loud. “I’ve always heard about this and seen gorgeous pictures. Have you been here before?”
“I haven’t.”
It makes my heart happy that we’re both experiencing something together for the first time. I’m sure there aren’t many things that Max hasn’t done. Our first stop is coffee and a breakfast burrito. There are lines all around us and I relax when no one pays any attention to us.
“This thing is huge,” I say, holding up the foil-wrapped burrito that has to be at least five pounds. “We could have split one.”
He shakes his head. “Hell no. I’m eating all of this.” He unwraps his. “You can’t get a better green chile burrito anywhere else. Don’t worry, I’ll eat what you don’t.” His gaze moves to my burrito.
I pull the warm burrito to my chest. “Since you put it that way, maybe I don’t want to share.”
My response amuses him. “Spiteful and confident. Two of your sexiest traits, Tink.”
I take a sip of my coffee and lift a brow over the rim. “You can sweet talk me all you want, you’re still not getting my burrito.”
Glancing around when his laughter is drowned out by a loud noise, we notice a crew of people rolling out a balloon, laying the basket on its side. “Oh! One is being blown up. Let’s go watch before it’s too late.”
“Babe. There are over two hundred balloons that will take off during the first wave. We can miss one,” he jokes.
My eyes widen. “How many waves are there?” He takes a large bite of his burrito right when I ask so he holds up two fingers. “Okay, then let’s sit and eat.” He nods in approval, taking another large bite.
When I’ve had all I can manage, I sigh, handing him the other half of my burrito. He smiles and accepts it. “Did you at least like it?” he teases.
“Yes. It was delicious, but it was a lot of food.” I rub my full belly and take a sip of coffee, to wash down the spicy taste of green chile. He takes four bites to finish the last half.
Wiping off his mouth, he steps out of the picnic table. “Ready, beautiful?” God, I love when he sweet talks me.
I hop off the bench, nodding in excitement. I’ve been eyeing the balloons as they pop up for fifteen minutes. There are rows and rows of colorful balloons. We’re able to walk right up to them. The heat from the blow torch thing they use blanket us in warmth. The anticipation builds, while observing them. We back up as one of the workers tilt a basket upright. The crew works feverishly to keep the balloon in one place so it doesn’t take off or take out the balloon going up next to it. I tear my eyes off the impressive sight to glance around.
“No way! There’s Smokey the Bear!” I point to the head of a bear that everyone learns about in grade school. “Only you can prevent wildfires,” I say, repeating the slogan my students learned. Max chuckles at my teacher’s voice.
There are rows and rows of balloons. Many kissing each other as the field overflows with the most vibrant primary colors. I cheer with the crowd whenever one lifts off. Max just stands back, enjoying my enthusiasm.
When he glances down at his watch, he says, “Time to go.”
I freeze in place, my smile falling. “It’s only eight. We have four hours before I have to be anywhere. Why are we leaving?” I whine.
“We’re not leaving, Tink. We just need to keep moving.”
“Oh.” I shift from foot to foot. “Sorry. Totally misread that.” I shrug, stepping into his chest. He wraps his arms around me.
“There’s no way I’d leave now. I’m having too much fun watching all the different emotions cross your face.” He slips his fingers through mine and we continue walking down a row. One by one, until the sky is filled with clusters of balloons. I wince when two of them seem like they’re about to collide but blow out a sigh of relief when one operator pulls up, and the other goes down. Geez, it’s intense up there. I hear Max chuckle next to me.
“That could have been a disaster.” I pinch his arm for making fun of me. “I’m a little passionate.”
“A little?” He quips, stopping at a balloon being rolled out. One guy from the crew stares at us. Oh, no. He recognizes us.
“Maybe we should keep going,” I whisper to Max, knowing he saw the guy too. I turn to walk away, but Max wraps his arm around my waist, stopping me.
“Max, it’s good to see you,” a deep voice booms over the crowd.
My head jerks back around to see Max and the guy shaking hands. “It’s good to see you, too. It’s been too long. Brecken, this is Sydney.”
His knowing eyes jump from mine to Max’s with a questioning glance. “Now you know why you signed an NDA,” Max states. He nods in understanding. I wish I knew what was going on.
“Got it.” His gaze turns back to me. “Sydney, great meeting you.” He holds out his hand and I slip mine into his leather-gloved palm.
“Brecken runs a security team here in Albuquerque,” Max explains.
