Evangeline had been planning this get together for weeks. She was looking forward to spending time with her best friend, whom she hadn’t seen in a few months. Evangeline was frantically running through the kitchen preparing dinner when her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hey girlie! Did you just jump 10 hurdles to answer the phone?”

“Not quite 10 hurdles, but I did almost drop the spaghetti sauce on the floor!” Evangeline answered Greenlee Lavery, her best friend since their undergrad days at Pine Valley University.

“Oh, you’re making spaghetti Van! You know how much I love your spaghetti!”

“Well you’ll have some once you get off the phone and make the drive here. Where are you anyway? You and Ryan aren’t still in Pine Valley are you?” Evangeline asked as she began putting the pasta in boiling water, noticing it was now 7p.

“That’s actually why I’m calling,” Greenlee began.

“Oh great. What’s the excuse? Let me guess! You’ll be late because you’re still at Fusion working on a new shade of lipstick?” Evangeline said sarcastically but friendly.

“Nooooo,” Greenlee responded with a chuckle. Greenlee was the head of her own successful makeup company, Fusion Cosmetics. It was her pride and joy.

“Unfortunately Van, Ryan and I are gonna have to cancel.”

“Why? It’s only a two hour drive, and with the way you drive, you’ll be here in an hour and 15 minutes!”

“Yeah, I know,” Greenlee began as she laughed at Evangeline’s comment. She had certainly developed a led foot and had a mountain of speeding tickets to prove it. “Have you been watching the weather Van?”

“No, what’s going on? Things look fine here. Just some light snow,” Evangeline replied.

“We’re under a winter storm advisory. The roads are already getting pretty bad here. I assume it’ll start getting bad there soon.”

“Well that’s just great! What am I gonna do with all this pasta, salad, and bread?” Evangeline asked Greenlee as she looked at all the preparations she’d made for the evening.

“Yeah, I’m sorry about that Van. And I have this delicious strawberry cake here that I picked up from the bakery. Oh well, I’m sure Ryan will take care of that in no time.”

“You know, if I didn’t know better, I’d think that you two just wanted to stay home and be newlyweds!” Evangeline stated with obvious humor.

“Well, you know we do the newlywed thing pretty well,” Greenlee began as a prideful smile swept her face. “But, as for your delicious food going to waste, I’m sure John will love it.”

“Oh come on, you know John. If it isn’t coffee, he doesn’t want it,” Evangeline said as she began laughing. “I swear that’s the only thing his body knows.”

“You two are so cute!” Greenlee chimed in.

“Who? John and me?” Evangeline asked, her interest piqued.

“Yes! You and John! You two would be perfect together. I think you’re both attracted to each other but you’re both afraid to say anything.”

“Maybe because the attraction only exists in your mind!”

“So you mean to tell me that you don’t find Lieutenant John McBain the slightest bit attractive?”

“Of course John is attractive. I never said he wasn’t,” Evangeline said in defense.

“You don’t think he’s sexy?” Greenlee asked prying further.

“Well...yeah he’s sexy,” Evangeline replied, not quite sure of what to make of their conversation.

“Gorgeous?” Greenlee asked.

“Greenlee, yes, John is gorgeous!”

“Down right delicious?” Greenlee asked with a huge smile on her face, trying her hardest to get her best friend to be honest with her and herself.

“Greenlee! You are outrageous!”

“No Van! You are! Actually both you and John are. Even more reason why you’re perfect for each other. I’m pretty sure he and Ryan have talked about you.”

“You really think John’s mentioned me to Ryan?” Evangeline asked, liking the possibility.

Ryan and John had been close friends since childhood. They were as close as brothers. Then Evangeline’s thoughts quickly changed. “Well, if they’ve mentioned me, I’m sure it was only professional,” she commented trying to save face.

“Goodness Evangeline! You’re a lawyer and you don’t even see the truth right in front of you. Are you sure you graduated at the top of your class?” Greenlee asked jokingly.

“Ha ha ha, you’re so funny Greenlee,” Evangeline began sarcastically. “Whatever! You know John and I have a professional relationship.”

“Exactly! Now it’s time to make it a professional and personal relationship! Look at Ryan and me. We had a professional relationship too in the beginning.”

“Greenlee…” Evangeline began.

“Think about it Van. You haven’t dated anyone since you and Lucky Spencer broke up over six months ago.”

Evangeline and Lucky dated for a year and were serious.

“So what! It’s only been six months. You act like it’s been 10 years! Plus, Lucky and I broke up on good terms. We’re still great friends.”

“Okay whatever. It’s time you and John became special friends,” Greenlee said with determination.

“You say this like it’s all up to me,” Evangeline began rubbing her temples. “I don’t even know if John’s interested in me. He certainly hasn’t ever said anything to me about it. And for all I know, he could still be carrying a torch for Natalie Buchanan.”

“No, there’s no way he wants anything with Natty B.”

“And you would know this because?” Evangeline questioned.

“Ryan would have told me. It’s that simple.”

“Okay, so you don’t know if John’s said anything about me to Ryan, but Ryan would tell you if John was still interested in Natalie?” Evangeline asked confused, trying to clarify.

“Yeah, what’s your point?” Greenlee asked.

“Oh nothing. Just that you’ve completely lost your mind!” Evangeline semi-yelled into the phone.

“Oh come on Van. Just be honest with me and with yourself. Tell me the truth, have you ever thought about you and John being more than professional with each other?” Greenlee inquired trying desperately to get the truth out of her best friend.

Evangeline hesitated before she answered. “Okay, yes, I’ve thought about it. I’d be a fool not to. John’s a great guy and we get along well. But the fact remains, he has yet to show me any sign that he’s interested in anything more with me,” Evangeline told Greenlee with a hint of sadness and disappointment in her voice.

“I’m telling you Van,” Greenlee began. “You two are so right together. Those late night coffee breaks that the two of you try to disguise as ‘work breaks’…give me a break! It’s like you’re both scared to admit that you possibly feel something more.”

“I don’t think that’s the case Greenlee. I’ve known John for a while now. If there’s one thing I know about him, it’s that if there’s something he wants he goes after it.”

“Yeah, that’s true,” Greenlee began, cutting Evangeline off. “Unless it has to do with his personal life. John is such a private person about that sort of thing. He and Ryan are like brothers, but Ryan has always said that John has a really private side to him regarding his love life.”

“Well that’s understandable considering what happened with Caitlyn,” Evangeline stated.

Caitlyn and John were engaged 5 years ago. Caitlyn was murdered and John felt responsible. John had been investigating a serial killer and didn’t realize that Caitlyn would be the killer’s next victim until it was too late. John has had trouble forgiving himself for the past. In turn, he kind of closed himself off to romance.

“Look Van. You’re my best friend. I want you to be happy. You deserve it! I think you and John would be great together. He’s probably not sure how you’ll react, especially since you work so closely together.”

“That’s one of the things I love about you Greenlee – You’re wild imagination.”

“Well you know, I do what I can,” Greenlee responded with a smile.

Evangeline smelled something burning in the kitchen. “Oh my God, Greenlee! I’ve gotta let you go. The garlic bread is burning. This is horrible!”

Evangeline began rushing with panic to the kitchen. “I’ll call ya later,” she said with a quickness as she threw down her cordless phone on the sofa in the living room. She’d been so into their conversation about John McBain that she forgot she’d left the bread cooking in the oven.