David brought their joined hands to his lips and nibbled on her knuckles, making her laugh. He liked her laughter even more than the smiles. He liked absolutely everything about her. After he lost Janey, he’d resigned himself to a life alone, because what woman would ever want a man who’d cheated on his fiancée and girlfriend of thirteen years?

But Daisy hadn’t held that transgression against him. Instead, she’d asked him if he’d learned from it. Not only had he learned from it, the experience had shown him what kind of man he didn’t want to be. He swore to himself—and to her—that he would never make that mistake again. She believed him, she trusted him, and she loved him. David took none of those precious gifts for granted—and he never would.

At home, he ushered her upstairs to their cozy loft above Jared’s garage. They’d talked about someday building a home of their own. Daisy thought that day was far off in the future, but he’d already talked to Mac McCarthy about putting them on the schedule for next winter.

The man who’d once been his future brother-in-law was now a friend, after David saved the lives of Mac’s daughter and later, his nephew, both of whom might’ve died at birth without his involvement. Not to mention what he’d done for Janey, putting her back together in a clinic unequipped for such emergencies after PJ’s chaotic birth.

He didn’t like to think about that day or what a close call it had been. One thing he knew for sure was that he never would’ve gotten over being responsible for Janey’s death. Thank goodness she and her baby had both come through fine, but it had been far too close for David’s comfort. The only good thing to come out of that traumatic day was regaining the respect and admiration of a family he’d once planned to be part of.

Now that he and Daisy were home and it was go-time, David was suddenly nervous. He took Daisy’s coat and hung it next to his. While she was in the bedroom, he turned on the gas fireplace, plugged in the Christmas tree lights and lit the candles they kept in the living room for what she called “romantic nights at home.” He loved those nights when they cooked dinner together, opened a bottle of wine and watched a movie or played a game or made love on the sofa. It didn’t matter what they did. They always had fun together.