Anna stared at him, her earlier panic dissolving into stunned silence.
"You—" she breathed. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
He walked toward her slowly.
"I wanted it to be a surprise," he said.
She looked around again, taking in the lights, the candles, the effort.
"You turned off the entire garden just to scare me?" she demanded, though her voice wavered between annoyance and awe.
"I turned off the lights so I could turn them on properly," he corrected.
Anna placed a hand over her chest, trying to calm her racing heart.
"I thought something happened to you," she admitted quietly.
Daniel's expression softened instantly.
He stepped closer and gently took her hands.
"I'm sorry," he said sincerely. "I didn't mean to scare you."
She looked up at him.
"You called me three times," he added with a faint grin. "I had to hide behind the hedge."
Her eyes widened. "You were hiding?"
"Yes."
She stared at him for a second longer before lightly hitting his arm.
