I watch her run off.
The pilot lifts his chin, as if to say,I told you so.
I jam my sunglasses back on rebelliously. “What?” For all he knows, I really am a celebrity in disguise.
He extends a hand. “Nathan Stuart at your service.”
I hesitate before accepting his handshake. Yeah, he helped me out, but I don’t want him to think I welcomed his lecture.
He drops his hold, but that quirky corner of his lips slides up and down a couple of times. “After all that, you’re not going to properly introduce yourself?”
I push my shades atop my head to meet his mocking gaze directly. “You’re the one who told me it’s not my job to make others happy.”
“Well, you’ve failed.” Nathan’s half smile opens into full bloom. “Because it makes me happy that you’re taking my advice.”
My icy glare melts under the warmth of his beam, and I can’t help laughing at the irony. “As a people pleaser, I call this a win-win.”
“Touché.” Nathan studies me, his smile thinning into contemplation. “And what do I call you?”
This is where I either tell him my name or escape into anonymity. Though I’d claimed to feel like a winner, it’s still been an embarrassing first day that I’d prefer to keep from becoming airline lore.
My longing to succeed wars with my desire to make others happy, but as Nathan already stated, not trying to make him happy still makes him happy. Thus, I’ll bid him adieu and hope that we never work a trip together and he never learns my identity.
“Claire Holloway.” My name echoes over the loudspeaker.
I startle. So much for refusing to introduce myself. “What’d I do now?”
Booming voice: “Please claim your luggage at carousel eight.”
Oh. Of course.
Nathan grins in triumph. “Nice to meet you, Claire Holloway.”
I give a resigned shrug. “Why settle for a proper introduction when I can wait for yet another embarrassing moment?”
He chuckles. “Go get your luggage. I’ll watch your carry-on.”
I narrow my eyes. They say you’re not supposed to leave luggage with people you don’t know. Then again, I suppose we’ve been introduced, however awkwardly.
Still cautious, I walk backward toward carousel eight. “Are you just trying to keep me from causing more chaos on my first day?”
He grins. “Somebody has to.”
Chapter Two
Nathan
Acertain amount ofopposition isagreat help toaman.Kites rise against, notwith, thewind.
—JOHNNEAL
I’ve met incompetent flight attendants before, but that’s not the word I’d use for Claire Holloway. She apparently obsesses about being competent. In fact, I’d wager she’s used to being so completely competent that it’s thrown her to try something new. Why else would she consider herself a failure for making one mistake?
Inexplicably, I’ve never seen a passenger so happy to miss a flight. “That was a pretty amazing response to giving bad directions,” I call after her. “Someone’s looking out for you.”
“You?” she challenges.
I’m only keeping an eye on Claire in order to make sure she has a plan to get her oversized suitcase to her crash pad or wherever she’s staying. I don’t want her to beat herself up more when she fails to wrangle all that luggage onto the light rail—or worse, uphill in the rain.
