“I will. Bye.” She ended the call and walked into the living room. Oscar was kneeling beside his impressive LEGO castle. Placed in a line beside the drawbridge were some of his favorite toy dinosaurs.
“Look, Mom! The drawbridge works!” he exclaimed, as he showed her how it moved up and down.
“That’s amazing!” She was impressed that he’d been able to make it work. “You did a fantastic job.”
He grinned proudly. “Next, the dinosaurs are going to stomp, stomp, stomp into the castle!”
She laughed softly. “That sounds exciting.”
“Will you play with me?” he asked hopefully.
Chloe sat cross-legged beside him. “I’d love to. Which dinosaur can I be?”
Oscar studied his dinosaurs. “You can be the Microraptor. It was the smallest dinosaur of all.” He gave her a dinosaur that looked like an eagle. “It used to live in trees. You can fly into the castle and tell the other dinosaurs where to go.”
“That sounds like a good job to have.”
“It is,” Oscar told her. “Especially if they get lost.”
As Chloe made whooshing noises, she held her dinosaur in the air, then lowered it to the top of the highest point of the castle. Oscar paraded his dinosaurs along the brick drawbridge and Chloe thought about Liam’s meeting in San Francisco. If she thought talking to Paul would be difficult, Liam had an even bigger decision to make—and she didn’t want to be the reason he gave up on his dreams.
Liam grippedthe steering wheel of his truck as he navigated the winding, icy roads back to Sapphire Bay. By some miracle,he’d flown back to Montana on an earlier flight. It still hadn’t gotten him back to Sapphire Bay in time for Owen and Harper’s wedding but, if he was lucky, he’d be able to congratulate them at the reception and surprise Chloe.
As he descended into the familiar valley, the twinkling lights of Sapphire Bay welcomed him like old friends. The town looked like a Christmas winter wonderland, thanks to the lights and decorations on Main Street.
He parked the truck near the church. When he opened his door, music and laughter spilled out into the chilly evening air. Taking a moment to straighten his tie and smooth his jacket, he took a deep breath and headed inside.
The main reception room was decorated with strings of lights and vases of flowers. Guests mingled around elegantly set tables, and couples danced to the music played by the live band. Scanning the room, Liam’s eyes settled on Chloe sitting at a table with Oscar, talking to Mabel Terry. Her blonde hair shimmered under the soft lights, and her smile lit the room.
Oscar spotted him first. “Liam!” he shouted, jumping up from his seat.
Chloe turned, surprise flashing across her face before it softened into pure joy.
He grinned, weaving his way through the crowd toward them. “Surprise!” he said warmly.
She stood up, her eyes wide with disbelief. “I thought you weren’t coming back until later tonight!”
“Someone didn’t show up for their flight, so I got their seat.”
Before he could say more, Chloe closed the gap between them and wrapped her arms around him. “I’m so happy you’re here.”
He held her close, the familiar scent of her hair bringing a sense of home he’d missed. “Me too,” he replied softly.
Oscar tugged at his sleeve. “Did you take some photos of the plane?”
Liam chuckled, releasing Chloe but keeping an arm around her waist. “I did. Would you like to see them?”
Oscar nodded and Liam found an empty seat at their table. With Oscar close beside him, he pulled out his cell phone and showed him the pictures.
“Did you see the pilots?” Oscar asked excitedly.
“Not for this flight, but I saw others pilots and cabin crew at the airport.”
While Oscar studied a photo Liam had taken of one of the airline’s parking bays, he said hello to the other wedding guests at the table. When the band started playing a slow song, he smiled at Chloe. “May I have this dance?”
She glanced at Oscar. “Do you mind if I dance with Liam, sweetheart?”
Mabel Terry was sitting beside Chloe. “You go and have fun. Allan and I will look after Oscar.”
