While she waited for the flight to board, Iris kept glancing toward the airport entrance. She was afraid Lucas might suddenly appear and stop her. But somewhere deeper, she almost felt like she was waiting for him to show up. The feeling was so strange. Even she was startled by her own contradictions. But by the time the boarding announcement for her flight crackled over the airport speakers, neither Lucas nor anyone from his camp had appeared. She let out a breath. She told herself it was relief. But the faint sting of disappointment was there too.
The flight took off without a single hitch. Kevin dozed off in the seat beside her. Iris stared out the window. The lights of New York shrank into the darkness below, and the sight of it stirred something familiar in her, a ghost of a feeling
