Five days, three hours, and twenty three minutes since I left New York. I had been cooped up in the hotel room for five days, and I was ready to kill. Dean brought me whatever kind of food I wanted, and I had free reign of room service and the coffee cart in the library, provided I wore the blonde wig whenever I opened the door.I hated it. The weather outside was slowly getting warmer, the sunshine teasing me with happiness. I went out in the hotel courtyard several times, but there was always a businessman on his phone, or a family planning their drive back through Nebraska. I wanted to be alone, not silently sharing strangers’ lives, so I tended to stay in my room and pull the drapes.I watched more TV in those few days than I had in my whole life. I suddenly understood the allure of reality TV, or at least the mind-numbing time-killing ability of it. It was at least a way to pass time while I waited for my world to settle enough that I could go back into it.Dean kept his distance

"Thank you for a lovely evening, but it is time for us to retire," Mrs. Saunders said as Emma sat down. She rose and stood behind Mr. Saunders' chair. The old man was struggling to keep his eyes open, seemingly exhausted by the dinner and toast. Emma jumped up and gave Mrs. Saunders a friendly hug. She was determined to win Jack's mother over eventually. Mrs. Saunders returned the affection and Emma bent to give Mr. Saunders a kiss on the cheek. He beamed up at her, and waved as Jack's assistant, Rachel, wheeled his chair away. The table watched quietly as they disappeared around a perfectly manicured hedge and into the deepening night."I think we'll hit the hay too," my dad said as he pushed his chair out. He stood and shook Jack's hand before giving Emma a kiss. Mom gave them both a hug, her eyes bright. Her baby girl was getting married, and she was so incredibly proud and excited. She kissed my head as she walked past. I watched my parents walk hand and hand down the stone path,

The next morning, I awoke a sweaty mess. Owen had invaded my dreams, and I had a feeling he would occupy my thoughts for the rest of the day as well. Still, I had taken my first flight on an airplane in order to be here, and I was going to make the most of this vacation. Tomorrow evening I would be back on a miserable flight to Iowa, so I might as well make some memories while I was here.I knew that Emma would probably be exhausted from partying and everything else that goes along with a wedding night, so I just grabbed a book and headed out to the beach. It was quiet on the resort, as all the guests were sleeping off the party. A tree caught my eye as I wandered toward the water, and I went to investigate. It was a funny little tree, with bunches of beautiful five petaled flowers. I picked one blossom from a branch, and held it to my nose. It was the sweetest flower I had ever smelled. I tucked one behind my ear, feeling very pretty.I went down to the beach, not terribly interested

As I entered my hotel room, the word still rang in my head. Sweetheart. Did that mean we were a couple now? Was this just a way to keep him in my good graces for the rest of the time I was here at the resort? I was so confused.I had only brought three dresses on this vacation. One was my bridesmaid dress, and I couldn't wear that. I had a slutty red dress that I could use to really impress him, or...I picked up my favorite dress in the world. It looked like it was out of the 1950s, like it could be in some Marilyn Monroe film. It was light pink with warm brown dots all over it. It had a pretty belt that went around the waist, and it flared out at the bottom. I put it on, the fabric soft and light, perfect for a tropical evening.I carefully did my makeup, going with a light, natural look. I didn't bother doing anything special with my hair, instead just tying the long dark locks up in a simple ponytail. We were going to be out on a boat, and I had seen enough TV to know there would

My feet hurt so much I was tempted to crawl through the parking lot to get to my car. It was almost 8:00, but the ER had been so packed I hadn't been able to escape any earlier. My boss was not going to be pleased with all the overtime. Maybe she'll stop pestering me to take extra shifts, I thought. Nah, not gonna happen in this lifetime. The phones had been ringing off the hook, but the desk secretary promised none of the calls had been for me. I had been able to stave off disappointment until I got to my locker and saw I had no messages on my phone.So much for Owen's call.As I stepped out of the main ER doors, the frosty night air stung my face. It smelled like it might snow later. I adjusted my scarf to keep the draft out of my coat and began the long walk to my car. I was just hoping it would start with the bitter cold and a semi-dead battery. Note to self, I really needed to get that fixed. Just as I reached the curb, my phone began to buzz.A grin cracked my face as I didn't e