“Who?” Was it some guy Naya had been set up with? How was Annika supposed to keep track of a list that long? There were five hundred people coming to this wedding, so it was more than possible to be surprised by someone’s attendance. She narrowed her gaze at her cousin.
Naya let out a long breath. “Damn, but that man is fine.”
Annika started to spin around, but Naya tugged at her arm. “Turn slowly. Don’t make a scene.”
Annika turned slowly. Time seemed to slow down and her breath caught as she watched Daniel catch stares from every woman he walked past, regardless of their age. And who could blame them?
Daniel was wearing a simple emerald-green sherwani with fitted cream-colored bottoms and matching scarf, which he simply hung around his neck. The tunic fit him perfectly, moving and stretching with his muscles as he walked toward her. He was clearly oblivious of the attention he was getting, his gaze set only on her. What was he doing here? And where did he get that outfit?
As he got closer, she noted that the green of his eyes matched the green of the tunic, and when he smiled deeply enough to show both dimples, she had to inhale deeply to get oxygen to her brain, lest her knees go out from under her. Just as he was close enough for her speak to him, Nilay appeared by his side.
“Hey, Daniel! What are you doing here?”
Daniel spared Nilay a glance but answered while looking at Annika. “I’m on the bride’s side. Friends of my grandmother.”
Try as she might, Annika could not break the hold his gaze had on her. She was supposed to be pissed off at him, but right in this minute, she could not remember why. Everything around her fell away, her complete focus on those green eyes and the man they belonged to.
“Annika, beta, there you are.” Her father’s voice snapped her to attention, and she quickly turned toward him, as if gazing at Daniel had been wrong. “And look who I found.”
“Papa.” She hugged her father, then was met with the hazel-brown eyes that belonged to one Dr. Sajan Shah. He was very handsome in a silver and navy sherwani that flattered his brown skin. The tunic was well fitting, though she thought he had a little more room to move around than Daniel seemed to. Her heart sank a bit, and she pointedly fixed her gaze on Sajan. She shouldn’t care that Sajan’s presence might hurt Daniel. “Hey, Sajan! What a surprise.”
He laughed. “Is it, though? We keep finding ourselves at all these functions. Seems almost inevitable at this point.” He leaned in for a friendly hug, and Annika stiffened. “How’s the hand?”
She held out her hand, which was now free of its bandage, aware that Daniel followed her movement. “Pretty good. No more stitches.”
Sajan took her hand in his and brought it closer to examine. Maybe it was because he was looking at it as a doctor, but his touch didn’t affect her the way Daniel’s did. “Someone did a nice job with those stitches. Who did it?”
“What?” Maybe if she pretended not to hear, she wouldn’t have to answer.
“The stitches. Who did them?” Sajan appeared amused.
“Oh, uh...well.” She lifted her hand as though the answer was somewhere on it.
“I did them,” Daniel answered for her. “Dr. Shah.” Daniel was beaming as he held out his hand to Sajan.
“Daniel?” Sajan also broke out into a huge grin as he reached for Daniel’s hand. “Sorry—it took me a minute—didn’t quite get there without the scrubs.”
Clearly, both men not only knew each other but were quite happy to see each other.
“Same here,” Daniel chuckled as they shook hands, smiling.
“So that’s your work?” Sajan raised an impressed eyebrow.
“Well.” Daniel flushed. “I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”
Annika just gaped from one man to the other.
“This is so cool.” Of course Nilay would love this. He turned to his father. “Papa, this is Daniel Bliant, my mentor.” Nilay took over, and Annika was once more grateful for her brother’s gregarious nature. “And apparently, he knows Sajan—sounds like from work.”
“Exactly.” Sajan grinned in Annika’s father’s direction. “Daniel is one of the best.”
Her father shook Daniel’s hand. “Well, first, my son can’t say enough about you, and now Sajan—you must indeed be one of the best. I am impressed that you have time to work on the helicopter with a doctor’s schedule. Quite impressive.”
“Nice to meet you, sir. But I’m actually an NP in the ER.”
Annika’s father’s smile faltered just enough to be noticeable, but not enough to be considered rude. Annika tensed. Her father was far from a chauvinist, but he was big on fulfilling your potential. And anything less than med school or law school was not fulfilling that potential. He’d had that conversation with Annika many times.
“You didn’t want to just become a doctor...or maybe you couldn’t get in?”
