“I have never stopped loving you. I know it’s not fair after all this time, after what I did, but I had to tell you—I had to see if you still loved me, too.”

Annika could not speak. There was so much to process, so much to feel all at the same time. She needed to think.

Sadness or disappointment flickered in Daniel’s eyes at her silence, but he quickly replaced it with hope and amusement. “That’s a lot for me to lay on you.” He treated her to a smile. “Let me get Aaron back to his mother, and I’ll take you to your car.”

“Yeah, sure.” She handed the baby to Daniel and stepped back. “He’s beautiful.”

The conversation in the car on the way home was easy and comfortable. Almost as if months hadn’t passed. It was as though they decided to pretend that Daniel hadn’t just proclaimed his love for her and she had said nothing.

He pulled up next to her car at the school. She waited a moment, stalling, but couldn’t think of one thing to say to prolong her time with him. She quickly thanked him and got out.

Daniel leaned toward the open window. “See you soon?”

“Yeah, sure.” Wow! Wasn’t she full of words today? One kiss from Daniel and her brain became mush. “I have the wedding—Naya’s getting married. Did you hear?”

“Yes, I heard.”

“So, I have that next week.” She smiled at him, memorizing his face for a moment before turning and getting into her car.

WEDDING PREPARATIONS TOOK up every single moment she had that she wasn’t teaching. Forget sleeping and eating—Naya was getting married. One would think Annika would be too busy to think about Daniel, but thoughts of him managed to wriggle their way into her mind. Not that she was trying in any real way not to think about him. She hadn’t heard from him, but he was probably doing round-the-clock shifts at the ER and the chopper.

Everyone was up early on the big day—hair and makeup had to be done, after all. Naya had insisted that Annika have hers done as well, even though she wasn’t the bride. Annika finally relented, if for no other reason than to stop the nagging. The hair and makeup artist was incredible, and sure enough, she had Annika feeling like a bride herself.

“You look beautiful!” Naya gushed. “Aren’t you glad I nagged you?”