by Mona Shroff
Once inside the dimly lit reception hall, he scanned the room for Annika. Naya’s words sat lightly on his heart. If all went well, she’d be family soon. He felt for the ring in his pocket and relaxed at the solidity of it.
He and Annika really hadn’t had any time together today, and maybe someone else’s wedding wasn’t the best place to propose, but he’d waited long enough. Tonight, after all the wedding hoopla, he’d ask her to marry him.
He scanned the crowd again but saw no sign of her.
“Hey, there.” A gentle slap on his shoulder, and Daniel turned to face Nilay and Anil-uncle.
Warmth flooded over Daniel as he caught Nilay in a hug. “Hey, yourself. Do you really still need those crutches?”
Nilay grinned. “There are some advantages.” Daniel followed his gaze to a group of teenage girls clustered together on the dance floor.
Daniel chuckled and turned to extend his hand to Anil-uncle. “Sir. Good to see you.”
Anil-uncle took his hand in a firm handshake, a smile playing at the edge of his mouth. He pulled Daniel in and clapped him on the shoulder. “You can drop the sir bit. You asked for and got my blessing—sir may be too formal for us, don’t you think?”
Nilay rolled his eyes. “He didn’t ask her yet.”
“How do you know?” Daniel raised an eyebrow at the young man. He hadn’t, but how could Nilay know?
“Because if you’d asked her, Mummy would be taking notes and already have your wedding half planned.”
Anil-uncle and Nilay chuckled, but Daniel had no idea what was so funny, because right then he caught sight of her. She had changed outfits but kept the color the same. The sari she’d had on earlier was conservative for the ceremony. But now her skirt was slung low on her gorgeous hips and trailed lightly on the floor. She had donned a dupatta across a very short beaded blouse, allowing it to hang loosely by her hip, but it was so sheer it hardly did anything to hide the delicious curve of her waist. His fingers tingled in anticipation of running them along that soft skin. She’d let her hair down from the complicated style she’d piled on her head earlier, allowing her curls to flow down her back and frame her face. Either way, she was easily the most beautiful woman in the room. His heart thudded in his chest, and everything else faded away.
She was chatting with some aunties, but almost as if she could feel the force of his gaze upon her, she turned toward him and smiled. It was the smile she reserved only for him, and it warmed him to his core. All her love for him was apparent and right there for everyone to see. He let himself become wrapped up in her smile, her gaze and her love. She was everything.
When finally he started toward her, he was waylaid by a couple of the other groomsmen, who had already had a few drinks. By the time he shook them off, he’d lost track of her. He spotted her talking to the wedding planner, a slightly grim expression on her face. He caught her eye, and she tipped her chin at him.
Daniel was frozen to his spot as he watched Annika brush aside her hair. Her henna-covered hands were gently clasped together, and she was fidgeting with one of her rings. He watched more closely as she bit her bottom lip and nodded her head just a tad too fast. She started to take a step in his direction, and the planner stepped with her. She was trying to get to him. He grinned, satisfaction taking over his nerves for a moment. A final nod to the planner, and she started toward him. Just then the DJ announced that everyone should take their seats for the arrival of the bride and groom.
He caught her eye and tilted his head toward the long table reserved for the wedding party, and they made their way separately through the crowd to the table. Daniel and Annika were seated at opposite ends. Hmm. It was quite possible Naya had done that just to mess with him.
Daniel attempted to make his way to her end of the table, but the lights dimmed, and the DJ prepared to announce the new couple, so he found his seat and sat down. He tried to make eye contact with Annika, but she was deep in conversation with an auntie.
Naya and Ravi were announced to great applause and cheering, but Daniel only half heard what was going on. He kept trying to catch Annika’s eye. It was taking all his self-control to stay seated and not run to her. There were lovely speeches about Naya and Ravi, their courtship and their future lives together.
They were the longest speeches in the world.
A beautifully decorated five-tier cake was rolled out. Naya and Ravi cut the cake to the tune of “Pour Some Sugar on Me,” laughing as they fed each other. By the time Naya and Ravi took to the dance floor for their first dance together, and the DJ finally invited couples to join them, Daniel was about to jump out of his skin.
He fought the crowd and finally made his way to Annika. She was even more beautiful up close. He inhaled her floral scent and lost the ability to speak. She was talking to another auntie, but Daniel did not care. Not trusting his voice in any case, he simply held his hand out to Annika in silent question.
She immediately answered him with a smile and a blaze in her eyes as she took his hand and stood. Her gaze heated him as she unabashedly looked him up and down. “You should wear tuxedos all the time.”
If it meant she’d look at him like that, tuxedos were now his new favorite attire.
She led them to the dance floor, where Daniel was finally able to take her into his arms. His thumb grazed the soft, warm skin of her back that was left exposed. He stifled a groan but definitely heard her breath catch.
“Hi.” He kept his voice low, just loud enough for her to hear.
“Hi.” She tilted her chin up at him, her brown eyes dancing. He’d never seen her this happy.
Silence stretched between them, ripe with all things unsaid.
“You are more beautiful every day.” The words simply tumbled out of him.
She flushed.
He glanced over her head, then met her eyes. “I never once stopped loving you all this time. I have no right to expect anything from you, but I need you to know. My heart is yours. Always. To do with what you will. I—”
She silenced him with a finger to his lips. Just that touch was enough to melt him. “Daniel. I’m a big girl. I know your leaving was about what you had to do.” A tear escaped her eye. She allowed him to wipe it away. “I’m just so happy that you did it.”
“But?”
“But...I tried to move on. I had to because I...I couldn’t wait around to see if you still wanted me.” Her voice shook, but her gaze never left his eyes.
His heart fell. He was too late. What had he expected anyway, that she would just melt right back into his arms because he apologized? “I still want you. I will always—”
“Marry me, Daniel.”
He stopped dancing. They stood still on the dance floor in each other’s arms, as his mind tried to process what his heart had wanted to hear. “What?”
“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 bo
rn 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.
My readers, Carrie Lomax, Delancey Stewart, Emily Duvall and Shalia Patel—thanks for amazing feedback and helping me to craft Daniel and Annika’s story.
A shout-out to my amazing writing chapters, Maryland Romance Writers and Washington Romance Writers—could not have gotten here without you.
Shout-out to friends Dr. Jyothi Rao-Mahadevia for answers to medical questions and Kosha Dalal for listening to me go on and on about Daniel and Annika when I was just getting to know them.
As always, a special thank-you to my wonderful family: my sisters-in-law, Tina, Hetal, Monica; my brother, Satyan; and my brothers-in-law who like to annoy me like brothers, Prakash and Prashant. To my parents and parents-in-law, whose support is constant and solid and true.
A special thank-you to my daughter, Anjali, my favorite teacher-to-be, for making sure I got all the teacher parts correct. Shout-out to my son, Anand, who really is a light in my life.
And last but certainly not least, my personal romantic hero, Deven. Your support is without measure.
ISBN-13: 9781488077746
Then There Was You
Copyright © 2021 by Mona D. Shroff
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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