“Marry me.” She said it with confidence, but her body betrayed her as her hands shook slightly. She gripped his arms tighter to steady them. “I don’t know how not to love you. I can’t remember a time since we met that I didn’t love you, and I can’t imagine ever not loving you in the future. I want to be there for you to lean on, on this journey of healing. I want to lean on you. I want to laugh with you, I want to grow old with you, I—”

“I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning.” Daniel paused. He cradled her face in one hand as he reached into his pocket with the other. He held the diamond ring up to her. “I want to have children with you.”

She gave a small gasp as tears filled her eyes. “Is that a yes?”

“No.” He shook his head and leaned down to her. He pressed his lips to hers in a kiss that could leave no doubt as to his answer. He pulled her in to his body as she melted into him. He’d never be done kissing this woman. “That’s a yes.”

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THIS BOOK WAS born from the idea that, broken though we may be, we all deserve and can find happiness. I’d like to thank my agent, Rachel Brooks, for believing in this idea—and in me—and encouraging me to investigate it. My editor at HQN, Brittany Lavery, loved just about everything about this book, and it’s a fabulous feeling to have these two women wholeheartedly supporting me.

Every story, every book needs new knowledge. I met Crista Lenk when she spoke at a Maryland Romance Writer’s chapter meeting, and it was listening to her talk about being a flight helicopter medic that gave me the idea to make Daniel’s second job be just that. Crista has answered all of my questions for years as I crafted this book and Daniel’s character. Thank you to Crista for your help and patience!

Sarah Storin answered many questions about nurses, nurse practitioners and emergency rooms. Nilay Patel, my favorite firefighter, walked me through what the fire department and EMT would do in these situations. Dr. Dahna Goldberg answered my questions on miscarriage and loss. And last but never least, Dr. Swati Jain for helping figure out when/if/how a baby could be born in a moving car!

To understand a father’s loss of a child, I referred to the book Grieving Dads: To the Brink and Back by Kelly Farley with David DiCola. There is great insight in this small book and, quite frankly, it’s almost the only thing I found that dealt specifically with a father’s loss of a child.