Mike Huckabee was one missed flight away from endorsing Donald Trump.

It was the day after February’s Iowa caucuses, and Huckabee had just dropped out of the race. He planned to make a quick stop in Little Rock, Arkansas, to drop off his daughter and her family before heading home to Florida. But then a weather-related flight delay left Huckabee with an extra night in Arkansas — and as it just so happened, Trump was coming to town the next day for a rally. The late addition of the Little Rock event to Trump’s schedule had already uncorked speculation about a potential Huckabee endorsement, and his spokesman Hogan Gidley had moved swiftly to quash the rumors, telling reporters he was “not even thinking about” backing another candidate. But The Donald was undeterred. According to two people close to Huckabee, Trump tried to lure the former governor to the event by promising he wouldn’t have to formally endorse — he could simply stop by, and, if he felt so inspired, say a few words about the issues they both cared about so deeply.

Huckabee was tempted, but Gidley reminded him that he had just emphatically ruled out an endorsement to the press: To show up at a Trump rally now would make liars out of them both, he argued. Huckabee’s other advisers were similarly adamant that he skip the event, and ultimately they prevailed. After a quiet night at home with his grandkids, Huckabee hopped the first flight out of town the next morning — but his love affair with Trump lives on.