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I was tempted to chip in with my own, just aimed at a different location. Ugh! What was it with men and their gorilla rituals?
“I bet you have war stories to tell,” Madden went on eagerly. “Hey, the guests would love that.”
I shook my head. What if Nash hadactualwar stories? What if he didn’t want to share them?
That didn’t stop Madden from enthusing, “What do you think, Henry? We have a free spot in the balloon today.”
I glared at Henry. If he said yes, I would scream.
To his credit, Henry shook his head. “We need Nash to learn the ropes with the ground crew.”
Madden scoffed as if that were beneath a real man.
My fingers twitched. Lucky for him, I had no talent for magic. Maybe I could hire someone who did and have him turned into a toad.
That was the thing with supernaturals in Sedona, though. It was hard to tell the wannabes from the real thing.
“Happy to contribute any way I can,” Nash repeated in that same, measured tone.
But, shoot. I could see the bromance flourish already. Madden chumming up to Nash. Nash completing a fast-track ballooning certificate and using his thousands of hours of flight time to edge me out for a piloting spot — if he stuck around long enough.
Either way, my dreams would be grounded. Literally.
I slapped my work gloves against my jeans. Time to get to work. And I didn’t have to like my new colleague to do that.
I pointed Nash to the bundled balloon. “We need to unroll this. Get that side. I’ll take this one.” Then I called Chico and John, our ground crew. Neither of whom aspired to fly, God bless them. “Ready, everyone? On three…”
Chapter Five
NASH
Crap. That motorcycle guy was Erin’s father?
I’d nearly died at her mic-drop moment. Even now, my cheeks felt hot. But, hell. How was I supposed to know?
Still…her father was a goddamned warlock? A motorcycle-riding, gang-leading warlock?
That explained some things about Erin but raised a thousand questions too.
And, crap. She was my boss now. A boss who hated me to the core.
So much for landing an easy, low-drama job.
“That way. A little more. Good. Now, let me check it.” Erin leaned in, tracing every line and hose in the dim dawn light.
I stepped back, giving her space to do her thing. And man, did she know what she was doing. Every movement was quick and efficient, every order delivered in a firm, even tone — and a glare at me.
We’d unrolled the first balloon and filled it with a huge fan, but it was still lying on its side.
“Now, we need to get it erect,” John said.
Chico chuckled. I rolled my eyes.
Erin muttered without taking her eyes off the basket’s steel frame. “You can borrow the fan if you need to get anything else erect, John.”
“Ooh. Busted,” Chico jeered.
John, to his credit, laughed too. “Good one, boss.”
