Are you sure you want to marry into this family?" she teased. "It comes with a few jackasses," she nodded toward Daniel."I'm sure. I don't plan to lose you a second time." He slid on the ring, fully aware she hadn't said yes.

This was a first date. A step in the future. So why was she staring so hard at her past?

The alarm woke them up in the same position they fell asleep in. Daniel's arm was numb where Anna's head rested, and he smiled into her own sleepy eyes. Though he couldn't say what possessed him to do it, he rolled her to her back and him to his side. Then he gently cupped the side of her face and kissed her.

...it just reinforced that they were over. They'd been apart too long this time. There was nothing left.

He caressed her face and pulled her into a tight, desperate hug. She held him back just as tightly because she knew in her heart that it was the last time she'd let him this close to her.

She turned and smiled at him. Was it his imagination, or did the smile not reach her eyes?

God, he loved this woman. Ever so gently, he tilted her chin to his and lightly kissed her lips. It wasn't for lust or show, but simply for comfort, for both of them. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the car.

God, he loved this woman. Ever so gently, he titled her chin to his and lightly kissed her lips. It wasn't for lust or show, but simply for comfort, for both of them. He scooped her into his arms and carried her to the car.

The man was a mystery; she didn't like mysteries.

He wanted the one woman he couldn't have. The one female who had grown immune to his good looks and his bad-boy charm. The only one he felt, he had ever connected with on a deeper level.