Elizabeth tried to ignore the nerves she felt. It had been so long since she had cared about how she looked and now she was going in public feeling very unlike herself. At least Lee was with her.

"Nervous?" Lee asked as they drove.

"Yeah. I just feel so different. I'm not comfortable." Her uniform was like a security blanket. She never went in public without it.

"You look great."

"Thank you." She fidgeted with her ring that hung on her necklace. "Maybe we should just get take out."

"Nope, this will be good for both of us. We need to get out."

She stared out the window and thought about how different her life was from how she had imagined it would be. She had thought that she and Trevor would be married now and possibly having a baby. She had obviously had no idea that she would be missing him for a year and a half and having trouble moving forward.

She was an independent person but when Trevor was alive, she relied on him a lot. She missed having someone to rely on. Someone that was there to support her and assure her everything was fine. She missed having someone to call when she just wanted to hear their voice.

"Beth?"

"Hmm?"

"We're here."

"Oh. Ok." He walked around the car and opened her door for her, offering his hand and then his arm to make her feel secure. He knew this was hard for her and he also knew that she was going to be pretty mad when she realized she was going on a blind date.

She gripped Lee's arm as they walked in. "Hey, not so hard, Beth." He patted her hand and smiled, trying to ease her nerves.

"Sorry." She loosened her grip and smoothed her dress again.

"You look beautiful, Beth. Please stop worrying."

"Yoohoo! Lee!" a bubbly voice called from across the room.

"Do you know her?"

"Uh yeah. I met her in my cooking class."

"You're taking a cooking class?"

"Yeah. Long story."

Elizabeth watched as the blonde woman continued to wave and yoohoo. "I feel bad for her date. She should be paying attention to him, not you." She could only see the back of the man's head, but she assumed he wouldn't be ok with her overt attempts to gain Lee's attention.

"Um actually, I'm her date." Lee walked her over to the table. "He's yours."

"What!" she whispered loudly as she stopped walking. "Lee Coulter, what did you do?"

"Good evening, Rosemary," Lee greeted. He held his hand out to shake Jack's hand, seeing a familiar face. "I'm Lee." Elizabeth had no choice but to walk over and see who she was apparently eating with. Lee gestured to Elizabeth. "This is Elizabeth Thatcher."

Jack stood and smiled. "Officer….um…ok..wow. You look…wow." He quickly let his eyes roam, appreciating what he saw.

"Jack, you said that already," Rosemary told him. "Close your mouth."

"I'm Rosemary Leavoux. This bumbling goof is my brother-in-law, Jack Thornton, but it appears you know each other?"

"She pulled me over for speeding," he explained.

"In a school zone," Elizabeth felt the need to interject.

"Why don't we all have a seat unless you'd like to eat standing up," Lee joked.

Elizabeth could not believe that her friend set her up on a blind date and didn't tell her. She

really couldn't believe that the guy she pulled over a few weeks before, was sitting next to her now on that date. What were the chances?

Jack chalked it up to pure luck. She was gorgeous in her uniform but in that black dress that hugged her curves perfectly, she was beyond gorgeous. Her hair smelled like coconut and she somehow made her eyes more blue than they already were. At this point, Rosie wasn't crazy, she was a genius.

He nudged Elizabeth's shoulder with his. "I take it, your friend didn't tell you about this?"

"Not a word. I thought he and I were just coming out for Chinese. He told me to wear a dress and…I should have known."

"What did your friend tell you?" she asked him.

"That it's time for me to get out and she knew someone who knew someone that I should meet."

"Wow, so specific. You weren't nervous? I mean what if I was a crazy person or something?"

"Honestly, I've known Rosie for a long time. I trust her to know who I would like to spend time with."

Elizabeth nodded and sipped her water. She trusted Lee too but she didn't understand why he didn't tell her about the date. "Do you do this a lot?" she asked him.

"Date? No, it's been a long time. You?"

"No." He saw her face take on some emotion, sadness or…something.

"You ok?" He leaned toward her but the waitress showed up before she could answer.

"What can I get you folks tonight?"

Elizabeth scanned her menu for a moment. "Beef with Broccoli, white rice, and a spring roll."

"Would you like hot and sour or wonton soup?"

"Hot and sour, no tofu."

"For you, sir?" she asked Jack.

"Same as the lovely lady next to me except I'll take her tofu."

"You like tofu?" Elizabeth asked him.

"You don't?"

"Its awful."

"You've never had it the way I make it. It's so good for you too. Lots of protein."

She wrinkled her nose and he thought she was the most adorable creature on the planet.

"What's your little boy's name?" she asked.

"Hunter. He's my foster son."

"How long have you had him?"

"About two years. He's wonderful."

"He seemed shy at Abby's that night."

"He is but truth is, he was a bit afraid of you and your friend."

"Us? Why?"

"He's had a rough life. The police represent some traumatic experiences that he's had. He's afraid they are going to take him away from me."

"Poor kid."

"Yeah."

"You love him." She could see it in his eyes.

He looked at her and nodded. "Very much. He needs me."

"And you need him just as much, I suspect."

"Do you have any children?" he asked her, wanting to know but also wanting to get the attention away from himself.

"No, I don't." She absentmindedly touched her necklace telling him she had lost someone and she was still hurting from the loss. He didn't feel like he had the right to ask yet, though.

Their food came then, breaking the tension a bit. The four enjoyed conversing and teasing each other. Jack and Elizabeth, both adept at using chopsticks, had great fun watching their friends who very obviously were not. After twenty minutes of trying hard to get it, Lee gave in and asked for a fork for him and Rosie.

When the check came, Lee paid for it, saying it was the least he could do for tricking his good friend, Beth.

"Yeah, you owe me, Coulter," Elizabeth told him.

Jack held the dish of fortune cookies for Elizabeth. She took one and opened it. "Love is louder than the pressure to be perfect."

Jack opened his. "If you wait too long, time will pass you by."

Rosie's said, "Choose to do something for yourself. You won't regret it."

"Wow, those are all great ones," Lee mentioned.

"What does yours say?" Rosie asked him.

"It says, "That wasn't chicken.""

All three of them burst into laughter, causing the rest of the room to turn and look at them.

"Ok, you don't owe me, Lee. I take it back. That makes the whole secret thing worth it,"

Elizabeth said with tears in her eyes.

Jack watched her laugh. Her whole face lit up making her even more lovely than before. After another minute, she caught his eye and gradually stopped giggling.

"What?"

He just shook his head and smiled. "Nothing."

…..

The four soon walked out into the cool night air of the city.

Jack and Elizabeth watched Rosie and Lee. They seemed so good together. Jack was happy for her. She tried to be patient while waiting for Mr. Right to appear, but it was hard on her. Lee seemed like a good guy too, and completely smitten by Rosie.

There was a slight awkwardness over what to do next as they all stood there looking at each other.

"Well I'm parked this way." Jack pointed to the right.

"And I'm this way." Lee pointed in the other then turned to Rosie. "Thank you for a wonderful evening."

Rosie blushed slightly as Lee gave her a hug and a sweet kiss on the cheek. "This was nice wasn't it! I guess I'll see you in class next week?"

"If not sooner," he grinned.

As their friends giggled and flirted, Jack and Elizabeth turned to each other.

"Sorry this didn't turn out how you expected."

"It's fine. This wasn't so bad. Plus it's not so bad dressing up again. I haven't done that in… well a long time." She smiled over at him, the smile he knew he'd never forget. It had an effect on him. In fact, as he looked at her, he wanted to know everything there was to know about her and how to make her smile all the time.

"Glad it wasn't too bad." He looked at her again all dressed up and decided to be a bit bold. "And as for you dressing up, I have a feeling you look lovely in anything." He gave her a dimpled grin, causing a reaction that startled her.

"Wow he's handsome… wait did I just think that? Am I allowed to think that? Wait… what did he just say about me…." Her mind was racing. She couldn't remember that last time she felt that way.

"Ready Jacky!" Rosie said as she walked over.

"You know how much I hate it when you call me that," he groaned.

Rosie laughed. "I do, that's why I do it."

Jack shook his head and turned his focus to Elizabeth. "It was very nice to meet you Elizabeth. I hope I see you again."

"As a cop or just me?" she laughed.

Jack smiled at her, his eyes taking her all in. "As Elizabeth. So whatever form that may be." He moved closer, taking them both by surprise, giving her a friendly hug.

"I'll see you later."

"You too."

"Not bad for a night out," Lee said with a smile. He burst into a fit of laughter at the sight of Elizabeth's glaring eyes. "Oh come on now, you have to admit it was fun. Jack seemed like a nice guy."

"He did but Lee, next time you want to do something like this, ask."

He stopped walking and gently took her arm. "Beth, if I had asked. What would you have said?"

"No…"

"Exactly."

"But now what, Lee? I still don't think I'm ready to date someone."

"How about you just see where this goes? If nothing else, maybe you've just gained a new friend. You two have a lot in common you know."

Lee opened her door and she slid in. She let out a deep sigh as she rested her head back against the headrest. Lee was right, and having a new friend wouldn't be so bad. She almost asked Lee what he meant when he said she and Jack had a lot in common, but decided she didn't really want to get into right then.

Jack pulled into Rosie's driveway and walked her to the door. He hadn't said much on the whole way back. Not that he needed to. Rosie was over the moon about Lee and eager to talk about it.

Jack unlocked the door for her and she turned to embrace him in a hug.

"Sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He smiled. "Thanks, I think, for tonight."

"You're very welcome! Elizabeth was nice wasn't she?"

"She was yeah." Drop dead gorgeous too, but I'm not telling Rosie that…

As if she could read his mind, she added, "It's okay if you find her attractive. That's part of moving on Jack.

He nodded, he had fun tonight. More than he expected, for sure.

"Well, I'll let you get inside." He kissed her cheek and walked back to his car. He checked in with his parents to make sure everything was fine before pulling out of the drive, heading in the opposite direction of home.

….

Lee dropped Elizabeth off at home and she went straight in and changed out of her dress and into her yoga pants and t-shirt. She collapsed on the couch, pulling her furry friend into her lap.

"I learned something tonight, Snowball… Lee is sneaky!" she laughed. "But not wrong. I guess I do need to get out a little more. But dating… no, I'm not there yet, and that's okay, right? I mean, it hasn't been that long... " she sighed getting up off the couch. Snowball was a sweet little friend, but right now Elizabeth needed someone who would talk back.

She went to her freezer looking for something sweet but found nothing but ice and a few frozen meals. Shutting the door hard, she walked back to her room and exchanged her yoga pants for jeans. Grabbing her keys and phone she headed out. She needed chocolate and a friend.

….

Jack walked into Abby's, happy to find Abigail standing behind the counter.

"Got any decaf coffee left?"

She looked up at the sound of his voice. "Well, don't you look nice! What have you been up to this evening?"

"I, uh, had a date."

"Jack Thornton, you've been holding out on me! I didn't know you were getting back out there."

"Don't get too excited. Rosie set me up on a blind date. That's all."

"Did it not go well?"

"It went… really well actually. Too well almost."

She placed a coffee in front of Jack along with a piece of pie.

"Are you trying to bribe me to talk, Abigail?" he teased.

"Not bribe, maybe encourage though."

Jack took a bite of the apple pie, "Good pie. I guess I could talk a bit."

Abigail walked around the counter and sat down next to him. Not hearing the bell over the door jingle as a new customer entered.

"Brenna and I were friends at first. We met at orientation and just clicked. Something changed down the road and I began to see her as more than a friend. Then I realized I didn't want to live without her."

"She was a good woman."

"She was."

"So what happened tonight?"

"The woman Rosie set me up with is beautiful. Very beautiful. Seems so kind and funny. She's got a smile that could cheer up anyone."

"And you feel guilty for noticing?"

"I do… I know everyone wants me to move on with my life but… "

"Jack?"

He and Abigail turned around to find Elizabeth standing a few feet behind them.

"Elizabeth… I um…" Jack looked to Abigail who simply tilted her head in Elizabeth's direction. Somehow she knew now that it was Elizabeth Jack had been out with that night. "Want to take a walk?"

"Sure."

Abigail poured two cups of coffee in to-go cups and handed them to Jack and Elizabeth. The walked out and Jack turned to walk one direction, but Elizabeth pulled him by the arm toward the other.

"Trust me, safer this direction," she smiled.

"Alright, I'll trust you. You are the cop."

"That's true." They walked on about half a block before either said a word.

"How much did you hear?"

"Enough." She had heard everything. How he found her attractive, how he lost his love. Hearing what he thought of her would have normally frightened her, but for some reason it was comforting. Hearing a tiny bit about his loss made her feel compassion. "You lost someone?"

"I did. My wife, Rosie's sister. We had been married over a year when she was in a car accident. It's been a couple years now I guess."

"I'm sorry, Jack. I know a little about that."

"From being a cop?"

"No, just from being a person." She pulled her necklace out from under her shirt. "My fiancé gave this to me. He's been gone just over 18 months."

Jack sighed, "I'm so sorry. Mind if I ask what happened?"

"Trevor, that was my fiancé, he was police officer too. It was supposed to be routine traffic stop, but the man had a record and a gun."

Jack took her hand briefly, giving it a friendly squeeze before letting go.

"I haven't dealt with it very well, I'm just not ready to move on like everyone wants me to. That's why Lee pulled his little stunt tonight."

"Rosie's the same way. Those two make quite a pair, don't they?"

Elizabeth laughed a bit. "That they do."

Jack couldn't deny the pull he felt towards this woman. It was new to him and as afraid as he was to move forward, he was now more afraid not to. He just wasn't sure what he was ready for yet.

"Listen Elizabeth, I had a great time tonight with you. You're funny and have some of the most adorable facial expressions I've even seen." She blushed. "I'd like to see you again. Maybe we can try our hand at being friends? See where that takes us."

She looked in his beautiful green eyes, feeling a sense of peace flow over her. Something she hadn't felt in a long time. She wanted to know more about him, to have more time with him. It surprised her. All of Lee's words about getting back out there and moving on flooding back. Being friends wouldn't be so bad.

"I'd like that, Jack."

"Great," he smiled his dimpled grin.

They walked back to Abby's, sharing stories and getting to know each other.