Chapter 10 - Thirty Thousand Feet Higher
Six months later, Flight 842 was taxiing down the runway at JFK airport once more.
The cabin smelled of fresh coffee and expensive perfume. In Seat 3A, a little girl with dark curls and a white ribbon swung her patent-leather shoes against the carpet, holding a brand-new sketchbook filled with crayon drawings of Central Park, yellow taxis, and a tall man with a crooked tie holding a little girl’s hand.
Beside her, Naomi Ellis sat reading a novel, a soft, genuine smile playing on her lips.
Across the aisle, in Seat 3C, sat Dominic Moretti.
He wasn't wearing a tailored suit or a silver tie. He wore a simple black cashmere sweater, his sleeves pushed up slightly over his forearms, looking entirely relaxed, entirely free, and completely devoted.
Lily leaned across the armrest, tapping Dominic on the knee with her crayon.
“Daddy?” she asked brightly.
Dominic turned, smiling warmly as he looked down at his daughter. “Yes, bug?”
“Are we ever going back to the big scary building?”
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Dominic reached out, gently brushing a dark curl away from her forehead, his storm-gray eyes locking onto Naomi’s across the aisle with a look of pure, unadulterated devotion.
“Never, Lily,” Dominic said, his voice warm and steady as the aircraft lifted its nose toward the clouds, soaring smoothly into the bright, open sky. “We’re never leaving.”
