Levi’s face softened immediately.
And then, without a word, he pulled the man into a warm embrace.
It wasn’t overly romantic. No kisses or lingering touches. But it was... intimate. Familiar. One of those hugs that saidyou’re mine, and I missed you,even if no one else around them noticed.
Sydney blinked.
A strange pang tightened in her stomach.
He had a boyfriend. Obviously, he wasn’t single.
She hadn’t even realized she’d hoped otherwise.
Embarrassment bloomed hot across her cheeks, followed quickly by guilt. She hugged Banana tighter and turned away sharply, berating herself.
She had a Daddy. A great one. She’d traveled halfway across the world to achieve her own storybook ending; she didn’t need some airport meet-cute to get one.
But for a second, just a flicker of a moment, she’d forgotten.
And she hated that.
“Ma’am? You’re up next.”
The voice broke through her spiral. She looked up at the woman behind the counter, who was already motioning her forward with a polite smile.
Sydney took a breath and stepped up, dragging her suitcase behind and pressing Banana close to her chest.
She gave the woman the details of what she needed, and within minutes she was following the directions to where she could find a car that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to take her to her end location.
Chapter Three
Levi
Levi wasn’t usually sentimental about airports. He preferred the quiet stillness of the Ranch. The creak of saddle leather, the sound of boots on gravel, the call of the hawks overhead.
Airports were loud. The people obnoxious. And everything in it was too impersonal.
But today, as he stood just beyond the security area at the arrivals gate, watching travelers rush past in a blur of noise and neon signage, something tugged at the edges of his attention. It wasn’t the usual chaos that drew him.
It was her.
A slip of a thing, standing too still just outside the glass doors. People streamed past her, a few giving curious looks, but no one stopped. She was barely holding it together, arms wrapped around an old stuffed animal that had seen a thousand hugs too many. Her phone was in her other hand, but she wasn’t looking at it. Just staring at the ground. Frozen.
Then he saw the tear.
It slid down her cheek slow and helpless, and Levi felt something deep in his chest clench tight.
His inner Daddy sat bolt upright, fully awake now.
Well, hell.
He didn’t hesitate. His boots made soft thuds as he approached, crouching low so he wouldn’t loom over her. She flinched when he spoke, and Levi immediately felt bad for startling her.
“Little miss? You alright?”
She looked up, eyes rimmed red and wide as saucers, and his breath caught for half a second. She was beautiful in a lost-lamb kind of way. Fragile. Vulnerable. Her bunny clutched so tight Levi thought the seams might pop.
“Didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, hands open, voice soft. “You looked a smidge... well, overwhelmed.”
