Daylight

Chapter Sixteen

Ava: Getting our luggage now :)

"Luca, hold onto me," Ava instructed her young son. Crowds stressed her out, it was so easy for kids to get lost. With one hand she pulled her suitcase and with the other, she held onto him.

"Is Sebastian here?!" Luca asked excitedly.

"He's here somewhere," she replied, following the herd of people leaving baggage claim to meet their loved ones out front. "It might take us a little time to find him, so just be patient please."

Sebastian smiled at his phone as he stood in the airport with a ball cap on, wearing a tee, jeans, and his leather jacket. He knew his agent would be mad, but he didn't care. His little family meant more.

As soon as he saw her face, his eyes let up. "Ava?" He called. "Babe!"

She looked up as she heard her name and her eyes darted from person to person until she found those beautiful blue eyes and instantly her face warmed and began walking in that direction. Luca found Seb too and without a second thought, he took off from beside his mother to run as fast as he could and close the distance between them.

"Seb!" he exclaimed as he threw his arms around the taller man. He clung to him tightly, not noticing the cameras as they began to click.

"Hey buddy." Sebastian bent and picked Luca up, hugging him tightly before kissing his cheek. He looked towards Ava, seeing tears in her eyes. "Hi."

"Hi," Ava replied, her expression melting as she stepped up to him and to embrace him, up on her toes to find his lips.

He gently kissed her as he wrapped one arm around her. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Very much," she replied with a soft chuckle, resting her head against him for a long moment before she stood up from her lean and grabbed both her suitcase and Luca's.

"Sebastian!" Paps were almost always at the major airports, especially in New York and California. "Sebastian!"

Brushing her hair behind her ear, Ava stayed close to Seb as they made their way out of the airport.

Sebastian waved at them, being respectful, but kept moving to get everyone into an Uber that was waiting. "Just ignore them, baby."

"I know," she murmured, looking down at the ground. After years of being in hiding, this was... very much the opposite. It would take some getting used to. She slipped into the car so that she could take Luca from Sebastian and settle him into a seat.

"Why are people taking our picture?" the young boy asked, looking inquisitively between the two adults.

Ava looked at Sebastian as she came up with an explanation Luca would understand. "Well, Sebastian is a famous person and famous people get their picture taken a lot."

"People always want to know what I'm doing and what I'm up to, so my picture is taken all the time," Seb added as he closed the door once he sat beside Luca.

"Does that mean we're gonna get our pictures taken too?" he asked, wrinkling his nose a little.

Ava exhaled softly and nodded. "Sometimes," she shared honestly, eyes turning to Sebastian. "Does that bother you?" She was ready to shield him in whatever way she needed to.

He shrugged like a young boy would. "Not really. I mean, kids at school will probably be jealous."

Sebastian chuckled. "It's possible." He looked up as the Uber driver ran into traffic. "It should take twenty to thirty minutes to get home if traffic cooperates."

"That sounds like a big if," Ava said with a soft chuckle. "That's okay. We just wanted to get to you and you're here." Reaching across the back of the seat, she rested her hand on Sebastian's shoulder, lightly squeezing him there.