Hallmark movies are an escape for faithful viewers, lovely stories with predictable obstacles along the way but still happily ending, no big surprises. This one still followed that formula, but I felt it was a little more realistic than other Hallmark films in illustrating the messiness of life and love. The young widow, grieving the loss of her soldier husband, and feeling guilty about the escalation of a relationship with their mutual best friend before his death. Some reviewers felt it wasn't necessary and tarnished Erica's character, but to me it just showed that everyone is human. While her "official" relationship with Marc may not have seemed to add anything to the story, I thought it was necessary. Perhaps Erica didn't see, or didn't want to see that Marc really wasn't her "person." I think she believed that relationship was the expected path and timing for someone who had been widowed to move on. Still, her uncertainty first surfaced when she arrived home and her mother (who I thought was horribly miscast) asked about she and Marc buying a condo. There were other indicators ... him hiding in a closet to cover a work call, rushing back to Chicago ... it didn't seem like Erica was a priority for him. Combined with her spending more time with Nate it all added up to the realization that she didn't belong with Marc. No one is perfect when dealing with the impact of trauma (like losing a spouse), managing the complexity of emotions that comes with it, and how all of that translates to our actions. This movie and the actors, I felt, did a great job of telling that story. Other than Erica's mother, I thought the acting was genuine it wasn't forced or over the top, the actors were real -- I loved the fact that Scott wasn't the usual hunky male model type Hallmark uses, but just a regular and imperfect guy madly in love with his soon-to-be wife, it made him all the more endearing and likable. Overall, I hope Hallmark continues producing movies that are more like this one.