It was past ten o'clock when they got off the plane.
Ian Monroe had been incredibly energetic on the plane, but he was clearly less lively after they landed.
They had gone straight from kindergarten to the airport without even eating dinner.
"We'll eat once we get to the hotel," Evan Fairchild said softly, looking down at Ian Monroe.
"Is Mommy at the hotel?"
"No, Mommy doesn't know we're here yet."
"Are we going to give Mommy a surprise?"
"A surprise?" Evan Fairchild smiled and nodded. "Good idea."
He bent down and lifted Ian Monroe into his arms.
"I can walk on my own," Ian Monroe said, a little unaccustomed to being held.
This was the first time Evan Fairchild had ever held Ian Monroe. An unusual feeling stirred in both their hearts—indescribable, yet utterly marvelous.
To Ian Monroe, this embrace felt different from his mother's.
He didn't like being too physically close with people, and at first, he had been resistant to his father as well.
