Two hours later, Jack was slouched in the backseat of Hayley March’s Subaru. Josh was driving, and Hayley was in the passenger seat, passing Jack a bottle of water.

Jack thanked her and Josh profusely for picking him up from the downtown bars.

“No problem,” Hayley said. “We weren’t busy.”

“Well, not in the traditional sense,” Josh said. He nudged Hayley, who giggled.

Jack sniffed. “It smells good in here.” Puzzled by the fresh lavender scent, he sniffed again and leaned forward. “Why does it smell so good?”

They laughed.

“We were taking a bath, buddy,” Josh said. “Hayley’s got a hell of a nice tub, and it’s a great way to end the day.”

“Aww,” Jack said. He was buzzed enough to speak freely and uncensored, although not drunk enough to slur his words. “That’s so darn sweet. Me, on the other hand, not so sweet. I was trying to pick up a woman.” He was buzzed enough to speak freely and uncensored, although not drunk enough to slur his words. “I’d much rather be taking a bath. Not with you two, obviously.”

Eyes light with amusement, Josh looked at him in the rearview mirror. “With who, then?”

“Elizabeth, of course.” Jack looked out the window at the soft snowflakes coming down. “Beautiful Elizabeth. Not one of those women tonight could hold a candle to her.”

“Elizabeth Armstrong? My friend, Elizabeth?” Hayley asked.

“The one and only,” Jack said. “The prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Laughing, Josh and Hayley exchanged a glance.

“Are you seeing her?” Josh asked.

“No,” Jack said.

“Do you want to?” Hayley asked.

“Yes.” Stupid question, Jack thought. “The answer to that will always be yes.”

“Why don’t you call her?” Hayley said.

“You think?” Jack asked hopefully. Tom would have said no. Tom would have said it was a bad idea. Thankfully, Tom wasn’t there. “You think I should, Hayley?”

“Definitely!”

Drunk enough to think this was a good idea, Jack got out his phone and found Elizabeth’s number.

“Liz!” he said when she answered. “It’s Jack! Hey, can I call you Liz? Where are you? Are you standing by the window?”

There was silence on the other end of the line.

“Elizabeth?”

“I’m not standing by the window, Jack.”

“Oh.” That made him feel sad. “I liked it when you were standing by the window.”

“If you liked me by the window, then why did you completely blow me off tonight, Jack?”

“Oh!” That’s right, he’d left her. What an idiot he was. “Because you’re so beautiful. Because your eyes are so blue.”

“I guess my brother likes blue eyes,” Josh said to Hayley.

“I guess so,” she said.

“Shhh,” Jack said, shushing them. “Can’t you people see I’m talking to Liz here? Liz, are you there? Sorry about them. They’re talking so loud.”

“Who are you with?”

“My brother. Josh. And Hayley.”

“You left because my eyes are blue?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes,” he said. “Precisely.”

“I need a better answer than that, Jack. Do you know how embarrassed I was? You leaving made me feel like I was being slutty or something, and that you rejected me because of it.”

“Oh, no. No. You’re so wrong,” he said. “I left because I want you. I want you so much I don’t know what to do about it.”

There was silence on the other end for what felt like a solid minute.

“Liz?”

“I’m right here.” Elizabeth’s voice was soft. “I’m right here, and you keep pushing me away. Jack, this thing between us—why are you fighting it? I want you. You want me. It’s simple.”

He leaned his head against the cold glass window. “You’d hate me if you really knew me.”

“I’d never hate you.”

He sighed. “Can I call you Liz?”

She laughed softly. “Yes, you can call me Liz. And why do you think I could ever hate you? You’re everything I’d ever want in a man. Honest. Honorable. Kind.”

“I’m none of those things. You want me to be honest? I was out trying to pick up women tonight.”

Hayley swiveled around in her seat, glared at him, and motioned that it had been the wrong thing to say.

“Well, that’s lovely, Jack,” Elizabeth said. “Thanks a lot for—”

“No, it’s not like that!” Damn, he should have had one more drink, or one less. “I wanted to try to pick up women, but none of them even came close to being attractive to me, because they weren’t you. You see? I need to get over you, Liz, and I thought another woman might help me do that. But you know what? I don’t want to get over you.”

“So don’t,” she said, and he ached for things to be as uncomplicated she made them sound,. “Don’t be so stubborn and … fire captain-y … and stupid. Come back and be with me, Jack.”

His heart swelled. “Say my name again.”

“Jack.”

“Mmm.” He let his eyes sink closed. “I like it when you say my name.”

She didn’t reply.

“Liz?”

“I’m here.”

“I hurt you, didn’t I? I shouldn’t have called.”

“No,” she said quickly. “I’m glad you did.”

“But I can’t be with you.”

“Yes, you can, Jack.”

“Do you love me?” he asked, ignoring the startled looks he got from the front seat.

“Let’s not go there right now,” she said.

“I thought my life was just fine until I met you,” Jack said. “And now it’s like you’re the one I’ve been waiting for all these years. Like I stayed single just so I’d be free when you came along.”

“That’s sweet,” Elizabeth said.

“But I’m an ass, and you deserve better, and—damn it! I need to go. We can’t even talk. Don’t let me talk to you anymore, okay?”

“No, Jack, it’s not okay.”

“When I sleep tonight, Liz, I’ll dream of you.”

“You should come over,” she said.

“No, no, I can’t,” he said. “As much as I want to, I can’t.”

“Okay, then sweet dreams.”

“They will be sweet, Liz, because I’ll be dreaming of you. Good night.” He hung up from the call.

“Nobody calls her Liz,” Hayley told him, her tone a little less friendly than before.  

“Which is exactly why I want to,” Jack said. “If I can think of her as Liz, then I don’t have to think of her as Elizabeth Armstrong.”

Hayley’s eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It means I’m an idiot.”  

“You’re off your rocker about this girl,” Josh said. “I’ve never seen you like this before.”

“Maybe calling her wasn’t such a good idea,” Hayley said. “Now I’m worried you’re going to hurt her.”

“I will hurt her,” Jack said.

“Then it’s best to stay away.” She turned around, and Jack spent the remainder of the ride in silence with his forehead pressed against the cold glass, looking out into the endless frigid darkness.