Elizabeth nervously folded and refolded her cloth napkin that draped over her lap as she waited for her date to show up.
He was ten minutes late which really wasn't too huge of a deal since Carson and Faith were there to keep her company.
"Beth, he'll be here," Carson assured her. He picked up his phone. "In fact, he just texted. His babysitter was late but he's on his way."
She nodded and opened her napkin again.
"Elizabeth?" Faith said, grabbing her hand. "Don't be nervous. Its okay."
"Says the woman who's married to her soulmate already. Imagine finding Carson and losing him and having to start all over again."
"Hey," Carson said, teasing a bit.
"Sorry. I never wanted to imagine losing Jack either, but I lost him and here we are."
"You are an amazing, strong, independent woman, Elizabeth. You are a treasure to anyone who knows you."
"Stop. You are going to make me cry, Faith."
She was close to tears by the time he showed, doubting every bit of this blind/double date. Until she saw him.
He walked up and shook hands with Carson, and she felt frozen and yet overheated at the same time.
Holy moly, he was smokin, like Carson had said. Dark hair, well dressed, thin build and over six feet. But his chocolate colored eyes and his dimples that were mostly hidden behind his beard….wow.
"Hi," he said, holding out his hand for her to shake. "I'm Lucas."
"Um, Elizabeth I am…I mean…"
Faith laughed, snorting. "My friend, Yoda."
Elizabeth blushed, vowing silently to give her BFF a swift kick later. "Nice to meet you, Lucas."
"You too."
He pulled her chair out for her and sat next to her, removing his suit jacket. "So, have you been here before?" he wondered.
"Yes." She left off the part where she and Jack had had their wedding reception there.
He nodded and smiled. "What is your favorite thing to eat?"
"Surf and Turf. Medium rare steak, garlic butter on top and shrimp scampi."
"Sounds great. I'll have what you are having."
"So Faith said that you work on the Oncology floor?"
"Yes, I do. That's how Carson and I met. He was visiting a patient he had sent down to me."
"It must be hard. Working with cancer patients?"
"It can be but you're a nurse, right? So it can be hard for you too."
"True."
"I promised myself, after I lost my Dad to lung cancer that I'd do everything I could to find a cure and help people get through their illnesses. So I chose oncology."
Ok, so not only was the man super handsome, but he was obviously smart, loving, and a hard worker. Wow.
"What?" he asked. She realized she'd been staring at him.
"I'm just glad that you're here. I'm looking forward to getting to know you."
He held her gaze and smiled. "Me too."
……
A week later
Elizabeth was eating her lunch in the nurse's lounge and reading a novel when she felt someone sit down across from her. She looked up.
"Hey."
"Hi," Lucas said, unwrapping his sandwich.
"So, how's your day been?"
"Busy but good. Yours?"
"Same."
She took a bite of her leftover pasta and closed her book. "Lucas, would you like to have coffee with me sometime?"
"Yes," he told her with a nod. "I'm sorry I haven't texted. My daughter has been under the weather and with work…its been crazy. I pretty much just fall into bed every night."
"That's alright. How old is your daughter?"
"Seven."
"Is she feeling better?"
"Yes. Its just a cold. I had to stay home a few days until she didn't have a fever because her babysitter didn't want the other kids sick."
"Being a single father is challenging, I bet."
"Yes. Somedays…I just wonder if I'll get through it." He took a bite of his sandwich and stared at his hands.
"Been there. I mean, I'm not a parent yet but I lost my husband a little over six years ago. There were days like that for me too."
"Are there still? I mean where you question whether you'll be able to juggle everything and be even remotely happy?"
"I have figured out how to live alone and deal with things like holidays and anniversaries alone. I downsized my home so I could afford it. I'm also very blessed and grateful I have Carson and Faith."
"Are you happy?"
She hesitated a moment to think. "I'm not not happy, if that makes sense."
"It does." He felt the same way. He may be stressed currently because he had just moved and he didn't have his mom to help with Aria and the new job was crazy sometimes…
"Its still hard though," she said. "And now, you met me and…well, if it's too crazy to go out, we don't have to."
"I want to," he told her without hesitation. "I do, really. I want to see if this will work."
"Me too."
His pager went off, grabbing his attention. "So much for taking a break," he mentioned, taking another bite and throwing the rest away. "I'll text you. I promise."
"Alright. Have a good day, Lucas."
"You too."
That evening, around 8pm, he did just that and she was happy to chat back.
……
A few days later…. nurse's lounge
"Look at you, all smiles," Faith said, watching Elizabeth texting. "Is that Lucas?"
"Yep." Elizabeth ate her salad and tried not to blush like a teenager. She failed.
"When are you going out?"
"Well, I'm not sure. The next night we both have off isn't for a few weeks so we are going to try coffee."
It didn't matter if it was coffee or dinner or a movie. She just wanted to see him again.
"Hi, Lucas," Faith said, looking over Elizabeth's shoulder.
Elizabeth turned and smiled. "Hey."
"Hey," he said, grinning back. His beard was getting longer and it was so dark and looked very soft. She wondered….
"You alright?" he asked. She was doing that staring thing again.
"Yep. Right as rain."
"I'm going to eat my lunch outside," Faith said, grabbing her stuff.
"Okay," Elizabeth said with a shrug.
Lucas touched Elizabeth's shoulder and sat down, this time next to her. "So…tomorrow, coffee around 9am? I don't work until noon."
"Me either."
"Great."
His pager went off. "Shoot." He stood up and bent down and kissed her temple, surprising her a bit but she wouldn't complain. He smelled awesome and she liked it when he was close, even for a second. "Text you later."
"Okay."
She watched him walk away, admiring the man in his scrubs. Then she went back to her lunch, a smile on her face. She felt like a teenager and her first crush.
He texted her that night and they agreed to meat at 9am for coffee at Joe's House, the coffee shop just outside Fall River.
The next morning, she was surprised that not only was he on time, but he had a little tag-a-long with him. A lovely little girl, she assumed was his daughter.
"Hey," she said, getting out of her car to greet them.
"HI," the little girl said, waving and smiling. "I'm Aria. Are you Daddy's friend?"
"I am. I'm Elizabeth."
"You can call her Miss Thornton," Lucas told his daughter.
"Hi, Miss Thornton."
"Hi, sweetie."
Lucas smiled at her and winked, leading them into the coffee shop.
"My babysitter couldn't watch her this early so…"
"Its fine," she told him. She meant it even though, she had really looked forward to having him all to herself.
"Are you gonna go on a date with my Daddy?" Aria asked, looking up at Elizabeth.
"Maybe. How do you feel about that?"
"Fine. I think you're pretty and my Daddy is sooooo handsome. You guys are like Barbie and Ken."
Elizabeth giggled and Lucas just turned red.
"Do you have Barbies?" Elizabeth asked her.
"Mmhm…I have a dark-haired barbie and a light-haired barbie. And two Kens and they got married and they have lots of clothes and a pink car. Are you married?"
"I used to be."
"Did you get divorced?"
Lucas' eyes got big. "Aria May…"
"What?"
"I'm so sorry, Elizabeth. She talks a lot." Elizabeth just smiled.
"Daddy says I'm full of silliness and he doesn't know what to do with me."
As soon as they got up to the counter, Aria got excited. "Oh! Daddy, can I have hot cocoa? With extra whipped cream and sprinkles?"
"I'm not sure if they have sprinkles, baby, but we can ask."
Elizabeth was beginning to see why Lucas might be overwhelmed sometimes. Aria May as he called her was definitely full of silliness and energy, but she was so cute. She was already making her way into Elizabeth's heart.
As they made their way over to the tables, Elizabeth saw a familiar figure out of the corner of her eye. Nathan in uniform sitting close to another woman in uniform. Must be Fiona. They were only paying attention to themselves and smiling, Nathan's arm around her.
She was certainly beautiful and Elizabeth could see the attraction that Nathan and herself had never really had together.
"Something wrong?" Lucas asked.
"No. I'm sorry." She sat so that she was facing away from the couple in the corner.
"Someone you know?" he wondered, taking the seat next to her.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I'm here, I promise."
"Ex?" he guessed.
"Yes but…honestly, we were just friends, even though we were together a long time."
"How long?"
"Four years."
"So….after your husband…"
"He was my husband's partner."
Lucas saw the uniform and nodded. "I see."
"Beth? Hey," Nathan said, leading Fiona by the hand to their table. "Fiona, this is Beth."
"Nice to meet you," they said in unison.
"This is my friend Lucas. Lucas, Nathan and Fiona."
"I'm Aria," she said, not wanting to be left out. "They are going to go on a date," she informed them, making Lucas turn red again and Elizabeth too.
"That's great, Beth. Really. Its good to see you."
It had been a few weeks. Their friendship had already changed and she missed him. Missed talking to him and getting his advice on things. Missed his constant presence in her life.
"You too, Nate."
"Well, we need to get going. Have a nice day," Nathan said, nodding at Lucas.
"Are you sure you were just friends?" Lucas asked quietly, leaning closer to her. "I mean, it seemed like there was more."
"We were best friends, but he is in love with Fiona, not me. I was never in love with him. He was just there for me after Jack."
"You miss him."
"Yes," she told him honestly. "We knew that our friendship would change once we moved forward and it has. I'll be fine."
"If you need more time…"
Elizabeth shook her head. "No, it was awkward but…I'm ready for this," she told him, gesturing between them.
"Alright."
Lucas wasn't convinced necessarily but he'd see what happened next. He wanted to get to know Elizabeth Thornton, even if it meant waiting a bit longer.