Elizabeth Scott was so excited as she stepped out of the limo.  Of course, she and Dave weren’t entering via the red carpet, but still…she was at the Golden Globes!

            “Having a good time?” Dave asked her, extending an arm and smiling.

            “Having a great time,” Elizabeth answered with a grin from sea to shining sea.

            Elizabeth had been pleasantly shocked when Dave VanEyck had called her two months before to ask her to be his escort for the 2002 Golden Globes.  She and Dave had been friends since high school.  There had always been a flirty undercurrent to their friendship, but circumstances always had prevented them from getting together.  At the time, Dave had a girlfriend, but she was back in Philadelphia, busy studying for the GREs, so she was unable to attend.  So Dave had asked Liz.  Liz had always had a little bit of a crush on Dave, so it was fun to kind of be his “date” for something.

            She was enthralled by the splendor of Merv Griffin’s Beverly Hilton.  The theater inside was gorgeous.  Of course, she and Dave were sitting upstairs, in the peon section, looking down on all the big stars.  The only reason Dave was there was because a film he had done some animation sequences for, Mogadishu 1993, had been nominated for some technical awards. 

            “Dave, look!” she exclaimed excitedly, grabbing his arm.  “It’s the cast of All of Us!”

            All of Us had been the number-one sitcom for the past eight seasons.

            “Oh, yeah!” Dave replied, equally excited.  “And hey, there’s that guy who played Jennifer’s assistant…what was his name?”

            “Zach!” Elizabeth cried.  “Oh, my gosh! Dave, he is so cute!  Where is he?”

            “Right there,” Dave said, pointing.

            Right at that moment, the actor who had played Zach-in her awestruck state, Elizabeth couldn’t remember his name-looked up and made eye contact with her.  He had blue eyes!  He had blue eyes!  Black hair, and blue eyes!  For eons, Elizabeth had been going around telling people that her soul mate had black hair and blue eyes.  She’d been laughed out of more than one party.  Why hadn’t she ever discovered that Zach had black hair and blue eyes when she’d been watching All of Us?

            Wait.  He was getting up.  He was heading toward the theater lobby.

            “I’m going to go meet him,” Elizabeth announced, standing up.

            “Liz!” Dave hissed.  “Are you crazy?  You can’t just go up to one of the people with tickets for the VIP section!”

            “Dave, there was something there when our eyes met,” Elizabeth said.  “I felt it.  I have to try.  If it doesn’t work out, at least I won’t be kicking myself for the rest of my life for not having tried.”

            “OK, OK,” Dave said, dismissing her with a wave of his hand.

            Elizabeth mingled among the other Golden Globe guests in the theater lobby.  She wasn’t surprised when she saw a thick velvet rope meant to keep the peons (her) from the elegant royalty that was the stars (that hunky guy who’d played Zach on All of Us).  Now where was he…?

            There!  Talking to a security guard!

            “I know she’s not in our section,” he was saying, “but I have to meet her.  She’s about five foot four, thick, brown, curly hair, the most amazing…blue…never mind.  I see her.  She’s right over there.  Could you let her know I want to talk to her?”

            Elizabeth looked around.  Who could he possibly be talking about?  Of course, Elizabeth was five feet, four inches tall, with thick, brown, curly hair.  Her eyes were blue, but she’d hesitate to call them amazing…

            “Miss?” someone asked, grabbing at Elizabeth’s elbow.

            She jerked, surprised.  “Oh!  I’m sorry,” she said as her elbow hit the security guard right in the ribs.  “Are you all right?”

            “Sure,” he ground out.  “There’s a young man over on that side of the rope who would like to speak with you.  If you’re agreeable, I’ll escort you over to him.”

            Elizabeth was shaking inside as she allowed the security guard to lead her over to where Zach was standing.  OK, so his name probably wasn’t really Zach, but she was still too nervous to remember his real name!

            “Hi,” he said with a devastatingly handsome grin.  “I’m Evan Callahan.”

            Of course you are, Elizabeth thought, mentally smacking herself for not being able to remember his name sooner.  “Liz Scott,” she said aloud, shaking his hand.

            “I never do this,” he said.  “Well, I’ve never been to a major awards ceremony before…”

            “Me, neither,” Elizabeth said.

            “Anyway, I’m not usually in the habit of just going up to girls that I see in a crowd,” he continued, “but when our eyes met in there…”

            “I know,” Elizabeth said softly.  “I felt it too.”

            “Would you be interested in coming down and sitting with us?” Evan asked.

            “Oh,” Elizabeth replied, hesitating.  “I…I really can’t.”

            “Are you here with someone?” Evan asked.

            Elizabeth nodded, biting her lip.

            “Oh,” he replied, his face falling.

            “No, no,” Elizabeth corrected him.  “It’s not like that.  I mean, we’re just friends.  He’s a friend from high school.  His girlfriend couldn’t be here this weekend.  But I wouldn’t feel right just…ditching him, you know?”

            “I understand,” Evan said.  “Do you have plans for after?”

            “Well, he worked on Mogadishu ’93,” Elizabeth explained, “so we’ve probably got stuff going on with Sony.”

            “Oh,” Evan said, thinking.  Then his face lit up.  “Do you live here in LA?”

            “No,” Elizabeth replied.  “I live in upstate New York.”

            Evan’s face brightened again.  “Really?  I spend a good portion of the year in the City.  I grew up there.  My parents and sisters live there.  How far upstate?”

            “Plattsburgh,” she chuckled.  “Way up.”

            “Wow, that is way up,” he said.  “My sister went to Plattsburgh State.”

            “I live right down the street from the Plattsburgh State campus,” she told him.

            “Have you been to any of their hockey games?” he asked.  “They’re incredible.”

            “Not yet, but I keep hearing about them,” she replied.  “It’s on my list of things to do.”

            “Oh, you have to go see them,” Evan said.  “Especially when they play Oswego.”

            “Why when they play Oswego?” Elizabeth asked.

            “When Plattsburgh scores their first goal, the fans throw tennis balls on the ice,” Evan explained.

            “Tennis balls?  Why?” Elizabeth asked, incredulous.

            “Oswego sucks at hockey.  They might as well stick to tennis,” Evan said, totally deadpan.

            Elizabeth laughed out loud.

            “Anyway,” Evan said, “the ceremony’s about to start.  Do you have a cell phone?”

            “Yeah,” Elizabeth replied.  She pulled a business card out of her purse and wrote her cell phone number on it.

            “Thanks.  Here’s mine.  Hopefully we can meet up a little later tonight.”

            “I hope so,” Elizabeth said.  She walked back to her seat upstairs, a little dazed, with a silly grin plastered to her face.

            “What’s with you?” Dave asked when she got there.  “Did you meet him?”

            “Uh-huh,” Elizabeth replied, nodding, the same silly grin still plastered to her face.

            “What was he like?” Dave asked.

            “Charming,” she said.  “I think I’m going to meet him later.”

            “Are you serious?” Dave demanded.

            “Yeah,” Elizabeth said.  “We exchanged cell phone numbers.”

            “Listen, Liz, if you want to meet him right after…” Dave said.

            “Are you sure?” Elizabeth asked.  She put a hand on his arm.  “I don’t want to ditch you, sweetie.”

            “I’m positive,” Dave said.  “I have friends I can hang out with at the Sony party.  I won’t be alone.”

            “Kate would kick my ass,” Elizabeth protested.  Kate was Dave’s girlfriend.

            “Kate would understand,” Dave promised.  “Send him a text message.”

            “OK,” Elizabeth said, taking a deep breath.  She pulled out her cell phone and started pushing buttons.

            “im blowing off the sony party,” she sent to him.

            “really,” he sent back.

            “yeah.  can we meet at the same spot after?” Elizabeth sent.

            “i think so,” Evan replied.  “if not ill call you.”

            “ok,” Elizabeth sent.

            Elizabeth was hardly aware of what happened during the awards ceremony.  She was in a daze, desperately waiting for the end of the evening so that she could see Evan again.  She applauded when people would go up on the stage.  She was aware that she laughed at some things people said in their speeches.  But she was giddily distracted by the idea of spending time alone with Evan.

            The show was over almost as soon as it had begun.  It was like it had lasted forever and it had lasted a second all at the same time.  As they gave a standing ovation to the cast and crew of A Beautiful Mind, which had just won for Best Picture, Elizabeth leaned over and hugged Dave and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

            “Thanks for being so great about this,” she murmured in his ear.

            “Liz, it’s no problem,” Dave said gently.  “You know I think that if anyone deserves to be happy, it’s you.”

            “You know that if you didn’t have Kate…” she half-joked.

            Dave chuckled.  “I know,” he said.

            Elizabeth went out into the crowded lobby and looked for Evan.  Three times, someone stepped on the train of her iridescent red dress.  Finally, she saw him, across the velvet rope.  She got as close to the rope as she could, and then he reached for her hand.  Holding hands across the rope, they walked until they found a security guard who could let Elizabeth through.

            “Sir, is this young lady with you?” a guard asked, smiling.
            “Yes, she is,” Evan said.  “Can you let her through, please?”

            “Of course,” the guard said, detaching the rope just long enough to let Elizabeth through.

            “I parked in a lot about ten miles from here,” Evan said.  “I had a limo shuttle me here from the lot.”

            “OK,” Elizabeth murmured.  She was having trouble taking her eyes off of Evan.  He was lean, but his hands were really strong.  She wondered briefly what he would look like without a shirt on.

            “I really want to take you to Venice,” Evan was saying.  “There’s this amazing little coffeehouse there that has the best chai tea.  Have you ever had chai tea?”

            Elizabeth shook her head shyly.

            “You’ll love it,” Evan promised.  “I guarantee it.”

            They got into a limo and headed for the parking lot where Evan’s car was.

            “You’re so quiet,” Evan said, smiling gently.  “Are you OK?”

            “Yeah,” Elizabeth replied.  “I just…I feel like I should be waking up any second.  I’m afraid that if I say anything that-poof!-it’s just going to be over.”

            He reached over and took her hand.  “It’s real, sweetie,” he said.

            “Is it OK for me to ask what you’re working on now?” Elizabeth asked.

            “Sure,” Evan replied.  “I’m working on a feature film.”

            “Really?  Cool!” Elizabeth exclaimed.  “What’s it about?”

            “The 1980 US Olympic hockey team,” he said.  “But that’s really all I can say.”

            “Oh, my God,” Elizabeth said quietly.  “Well, you have to let me know when it comes out.  My parents got to see that team play.”

            “Really?  Oh, yeah, Plattsburgh’s kind of close to Lake Placid, isn’t it?” Evan asked.

            “Yes, it is, but I grew up in the Albany area,” Elizabeth said.  “My aunt lived in Saranac Lake at the time.  She got them the tickets.”

            “Oh, cool,” Evan said.  “Here we are.”

            They got out of the limo and into Evan’s Hummer.  It took them about forty-five minutes to get to Venice.

            “Did you have a good time at the ceremony?” Evan asked Elizabeth in the car.

            “Yeah,” Elizabeth said.
            “But…” Evan prompted.

            “Well, in a way it kind of flew by, but in a way it kind of dragged and dragged,” Elizabeth said.  “It was like all I could think about was going out with you afterward, so I wasn’t really present in the moment.”

            “Yeah, I understand,” Evan said with a grin.  “I couldn’t stop thinking about being with you, either.  So, how did you end up here?”

            “In LA?” Elizabeth asked.

            “Yeah,” Evan said.

            “Well, like I said, my friend Dave is an animator and he worked on Mogadishu ’93,” Elizabeth explained.  “His girlfriend couldn’t be here, so he called me and asked me to go to the awards with him.”

            “And Dave’s not your boyfriend?” Evan asked, for clarification.

            “No,” Elizabeth said firmly.  “I would never go out with a guy who was in a long-term relationship with someone else.  Seriously, though, Dave has always had a thing for me, but we’ve never actually gotten together.”

            “Is he the only one who had a thing?” Evan asked, amused.

            “No,” Elizabeth admitted.  “I’ve kind of always had a crush on him, too.  But he’s had a girlfriend, or I’ve had a boyfriend, or I was eight hundred miles away at college...see, he was a freshman when I graduated.  We didn’t hang out that much that year, but a couple of years later, when I decided I was going into education, I started hanging out with our old choral director from high school.  I ended up going to a lot of their performances, and all those freshmen that I’d been friends with my senior year were seniors.  Dave and I hung out a lot that summer.  That’s when we really started to be friends.”

            “Eight hundred miles away at college?” Evan asked.  “Where on earth did you go?”

            “The University of Kentucky,” Elizabeth divulged.

            “Kentucky?  How on earth did you end up there?” Evan demanded.

            “I met the professor I studied voice with at a performing arts camp I went to in high school up in New York,” Elizabeth explained.  “When you study music in school, your whole experience hinges on the quality of your studio professor.  So I went somewhere where I already felt comfortable with the person who would be my studio professor.  I think it gave me a real advantage.”

            “Wow, you studied music?  I envy you.  I play a little guitar, but I really don’t think I have much musical talent,” Evan said.  “So you were a voice major then?”

            “I doubled in performance and music ed,” Elizabeth told him.  “What about you?”

            “Well, I majored in acting in high school.  I went to the LaGuardia School,” he said.

            “The Fame school?” Elizabeth asked excitedly.  “You know that performing arts camp I was telling you about?  One of the girls I met there went to the Fame school.  What year did you graduate?”

            “’95,” Evan said.

            “Erin graduated in ’93,” Elizabeth said.

            “Wait, are you talking about Erin Browning?” Evan asked.

            “Yes!” Elizabeth squealed.  “Did you know her?”

            “Know her?  I dated one of her best friends.  This is too weird.”

            “No kidding!” Elizabeth said.  “So anyway, you were saying…”

            “Right,” Evan said.  “Well, I started working on a BFA in acting from NYU, but then I started getting work, so I decided to move to LA to go on auditions.  Things kind of snowballed from there.”

            “Wow,” Elizabeth breathed.  “See, I used to want that for myself.  You know, to get…discovered.  I thought I was going to be the next Renee Fleming.”

            “I love Renee Fleming,” Evan said.

            “My sister went to college with her,” Elizabeth said proudly.

            “At Crane?  Wow, your family must be really musically talented,” Evan remarked.

            “Eh, we do all right,” Elizabeth said with a cheeky smile.

            “Here we are,” Evan said as he pulled in at the coffee house in Venice Beach.

            They sat at a table, and Evan hung up Elizabeth’s coat.  “I’ll be right back with those chai teas,” he told her.

            They drank tea and talked for hours.

            “Liz,” Evan said finally.

            “Yes?” she replied.

            “I just wanted you to know…I’m really not the kind of guy who just…picks up girls wherever he goes.”

            She covered his hand with hers.  “I know.  I could tell,” she said.

            “It’s just…when I looked up there…and our eyes met…something clicked inside me,” Evan said hesitantly, looking into her eyes for reassurance.

            “I know.  I felt the click, too,” Elizabeth said softly.

            “It kind of scared me,” Evan said honestly.  “I’ve been through a bad breakup…very recently.  I got hurt…kind of…well, I don’t want to use the word viciously, but it was pretty serious.  I don’t really trust my heart right now.”

            Then why did you bring me out here? Elizabeth wondered to herself.  Aloud, she said, “I think I understand.  Evan, I’ve been hurt before, too.”

            “Wait.  I’m not saying this right,” he said.  “I just…Liz, I want to see you again.  I have to see you again.  I can’t not see you again.  I just found you, and I know you’re going to get on a plane tomorrow, and go back to Plattsburgh, and go back to your life.  And I want to be a part of it.  But I’m scared that I’m not going to be able to handle a long-distance relationship.”  The words were tumbling out and tripping over themselves.

            “Evan.  Slow down,” Elizabeth said, gently caressing the back of his hand with her thumb.  “I have a week off from work coming up in three weeks.  My best friend lives in New York City.  I’m going to visit her.  Will you be in the City then?”

            “Let me check,” Evan said.  He pulled out his Palm Pilot.  “Yes.  Yes, I will.  Could I see you?”

            “Absolutely,” Elizabeth said.  “I have your cell phone number.  I’ll call you.”

            “Do you and your best friend already have plans for while you’re down there?” Evan asked.  “I don’t want to infringe on your time.”

            “She just got married last June,” Elizabeth explained.  “Alex and Ian will be thrilled to do some couple stuff.  We just tracked down an e-mail address for another friend of mine from high school who plays in a couple of bands, and we’re trying to find out what he’s doing that first weekend so maybe I can go see him play.  We’re hoping that he’ll be playing at Alex’s sister’s bar.”

            “Your best friend’s sister has a bar?  How cool.  Where is it?” Evan asked.

            “On the Lower East Side,” Elizabeth replied, “at the corner of Allen and Stanton.”

            “Are you talking about the Living Room?” Evan demanded.  “I love that bar!”

            “Yeah!” Elizabeth exclaimed.  “Alex’s sister Jen owns that bar.”

            “Wait, who’s your friend from high school that plays there?” Evan asked.

            “Nick Mancini,” Elizabeth said.

            “Of the Nick Mancini Collective?  And the Kitchen Sink?” Evan demanded.

            “You’ve heard him play?” Elizabeth asked.

            “Hell, yeah, I’ve heard him play!” Evan cried.  “I love him.  He’s a brilliant jazz vibraphonist.”

            “I know,” Elizabeth said.  “I’ve been friends with him since I was a sophomore in high school.  He’s been a brilliant percussionist for a long time.  His undergraduate degree is from Crane.”

            “Really?” Evan asked, wrinkling his nose.  “I thought he went to the Manhattan School.”

            “His Master’s is from there,” Elizabeth corrected him. 

            “Oh, my mistake,” Evan said.  “But, anyway, if he’s playing while you’re there, I’ll definitely go with you to see him.  He’s fantastic.”

            “Great!” Elizabeth exclaimed.  “Oh, I am so looking forward to this.”

            Evan grinned.  “Me, too,” he said.

            Elizabeth yawned, and then looked at her watch.  “Oh, my God,” she whispered.  “It’s almost eleven.  I’m flying out at six in the morning.”

            “Where are you staying?” Evan asked.

            “The Westin LAX,” Elizabeth said.

            “OK,” Evan said.  “That’ll take us about twenty minutes from here.  Let’s go.”

            When they stood, Evan reached for her hand.  It seemed like the most natural thing in the world.  Their fingers laced, they walked out to the Hummer.

            When they pulled up to the door of the Westin, Evan said, “I had a really good time with you tonight.”

            “I did, too,” Elizabeth said, smiling shyly.

            Evan leaned over and kissed her cheek, and then she turned her head, cupped his cheek with one hand, and kissed him on the lips.  It was a light brushing of his lips against hers at first, mouths closed, but then he wound his hand around the back of her neck and deepened the kiss, tracing the inside of her lower lip with his tongue.  She gently met his tongue with just the tip of hers, and he pulled back.

            “Sweetie?  Are you OK?” Elizabeth asked, stroking Evan’s hair gently.

            “Yeah,” Evan sighed, smiling bashfully.  “I just…this is going so fast.  I just wish I could stop time.  I don’t want to let you go, but like I said before, I’m scared to trust myself.”

            “One hour at a time,” Elizabeth said tenderly.

            “Do you want me to drive you to the airport tomorrow?” Evan asked.

            “Oh, I don’t know,” Elizabeth said, hesitating.  “Dave might get really upset.”

            “I thought there was nothing between you,” Evan said, confused.

            “There isn’t,” Elizabeth said quickly.  “It’s just…he’s really protective of me.  He might pitch a fit.”

            “It was OK with him if you went out with me, right?” Evan asked.

            “You know what?  There’s nothing he can do about it,” Elizabeth said emphatically.  “If he wants to have a say in whom I date and who I don’t, he can dump his girlfriend and ask me out.  I would gladly accept a ride to the airport in the morning.  But wouldn’t it be easier if you just stay here?”

            “Liz…” Evan hesitated.

            “I mean, we wouldn’t have to do anything,” Elizabeth said quickly.  “I’ve got two double beds.  You wouldn’t even have to stay in the same bed with me.  I just…I’m not ready to let you go.”

            He leaned in and kissed her gently.  “I’m not ready to let you go either,” he whispered.  “Go upstairs and get ready for bed, but don’t go to sleep.  I’m going to run home and get some things.  I’m flying home to see my parents tomorrow too.”

            “Really?  Do you fly into LaGuardia or Kennedy when you go home?”

            “I usually fly into LaGuardia.  It’s cheaper,” Evan answered.  “But I’m flying into Kennedy this time.”

            “I connect through Kennedy,” Elizabeth said, excited.  “What airline are you flying?”

            “US Airways,” Evan said.

            “Me, too!  Maybe we’re on the same flight!” Elizabeth said.

            “No,” Evan said.  “I never leave at six in the morning.  Listen, let me go home and get my stuff, and when I get back, I’ll see what I can do about getting the two of us on the same flight.”

            “What?  Evan, no,” Elizabeth said.  “I can’t let you do that.”

            “Just let me see what I can do,” Evan said.  He leaned in and kissed her cheek.  “Go upstairs and get ready for bed.  I’ll be back in a little while.”

            Evan drove at breakneck speed back to his apartment in the Hollywood Hills.  He threw his stuff into a suitcase quickly and raced back to the Westin.  He was still in awe over meeting Liz.

            She was beautiful.  She was five feet, four inches tall, with light brown, curly hair, and the most amazing, soulful blue eyes he’d ever seen.  She wore glasses, and he imagined what she would look like with them off.  He hoped that maybe he would be able to see her eyes better.  Her eyes lit up when she smiled (revealing gleaming white, even teeth, by the way), but there was a depth to them that intrigued Evan.  There was a deep-seated pain there.  He could see it.  Although his last girlfriend, may she rot in hell, had hurt him deeply, he felt safe giving his heart to her.  He knew…somehow, deep inside, he just knew…that she would never hurt him.

            That scared him.  It had taken him months…months…to admit to himself, much less to Keeley, that he’d loved her.  And now, he’d known this girl for what…a couple of hours?  And he was ready to admit to himself that he was in love with Liz?  God, was he crazy?

            Those were his thoughts as he pulled into the parking garage at the Westin LAX.  He pulled out his cell phone in the lobby and called Liz.

            “Hello?” she answered.

            “Hey, it’s me,” Evan said.

            “Hi,” she replied, her voice immediately warming.  He could hear the smile in her voice, and it made him feel so much better.

            “What’s your room number?” Evan asked.

            “817,” Elizabeth replied.

            Evan’s heart was pounding as he went up to the eighth floor on the elevator.  He didn’t know why he was nervous.  He’d been with Elizabeth all evening, and it had been easy and fun.

            Maybe it had been the kiss.  He was really afraid he’d freaked her out when he’d pulled away from that kiss.

            It’ll be OK, it’ll be OK, he told himself silently as he stepped off the elevator.  He walked down the hallway and, taking a deep breath, stopped in front of the door marked “817” and knocked.

            “Wow,” he said when she opened the door, his eyes practically popping out of his head.  “You look absolutely gorgeous.”

            “Thanks,” she replied, smiling shyly.

            “You’re so much prettier with your glasses off,” he said, smiling.

            She looked hot!  She was wearing this slinky lavender satin peignoir.  It was knee-length, but it had a plunging neckline and spaghetti straps.  And there was lace at the top of the bodice.

            “I missed you,” she sighed as Evan wrapped his arms around her.

            “Oh, sweetheart, I missed you too,” he whispered as he lowered his head to kiss her.

            This time it was the deep, passionate kiss that Elizabeth had wanted in the first place.  They continued to kiss for several minutes, and then Evan disentangled himself from their embrace.

            “What are you doing?” Elizabeth asked.

            “I’m going to make some phone calls and try to get your ticket changed to a later flight with me,” Evan said.

            “Evan, please don’t,” she said.  “As much as I want to spend more time with you, I really don’t feel comfortable with you doing that.”

            “Come here, sweetie,” Evan said, pulling her into his arms again and kissing the top of her head.  “Please let me do this.  I need to be with you for as long as possible.”

            What he didn’t say was that he desperately wanted to tell her that he loved her, but was terrified to say the words.  The longer he spent with her, the more time he would have to screw up his courage.

            Elizabeth was silent for a long moment, trying to come up with something to refute Evan.  However, it was late, she was tired, and there was just no fight left in her.  She sighed.

            “All right,” she said.  “Go ahead.”  Secretly, she was growing desperate about their time together dwindling.  She told herself it was silly; they were going to see each other again in three weeks.  Yet, she was glad that Evan wanted to delay their separation as much as she did.

            “Thanks,” he said, grinning.

            “But seriously, I need to get some sleep,” she said.  “I’m going to fall over.”

            “OK,” Evan said.  “Is there room for me in that bed of yours if I want to sleep with you in my arms?”

            “Absolutely,” she said, smiling.

            Evan went to the phone, and Elizabeth crawled into bed, pulling the beige Vellux blanket tightly around her.  She fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, but a lazy smile curved her lips when she felt Evan climb into bed beside her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist.

            “Good night, Liz,” he murmured, kissing her temple.

            “Good night, Evan,” she whispered back.