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feared what he had become since the accident. Had he changed? From his emails, he seemed like his old, always upbeat self.
    “He’s fine, Lynsey,” Nick said as if reading her mind. His hand closed around hers. “He is the same Evan you remember.”
    As he finished saying the words, the front door opened and the man himself stood in the doorway.
    Nick had been right. Although he now wore glasses and sported a scruffy but sexy beard, Evan hadn’t really changed very much over the years. She had to admit he was a bit thin and pale, but he had been through a traumatic event. He was on crutches, and the lower half of his left leg was encased by a metal cage-like implement that screwed through his skin and directly into the bone. It looked positively medieval—like some sort of torture device. She swallowed hard and averted her eyes.
    When he smiled, she felt at ease.
    “Oh, Evan, it’s so good to see you!” She wanted to embrace her old friend, but felt afraid of knocking him off balance.
    “My, my, the lovely Lynsey. Aren’t you an absolutely beautiful sight ? I have missed you, girl. Come on in.”
    He did a sort of one-legged hop out of the way to let her pass through into his impressive living room with its cool nickel-and-glass tables and black leather furniture. The main focus of the room, though, was the stone fireplace.
    She took a seat on a couch, and Evan flopped down beside her. “Would you like something to drink?” he offered.
    Lynsey was hesitant. She didn’t want to stress Evan. “Coffee would be nice.”
    “I’ll get it,” Nick offered.
    “I could get the coffee, but it would take me a half a day to get to the kitchen and then back again ,” Evan teased and leaned closer. “Maybe I should get the coffee; it will keep you here longer. You can stay forever, you know. Marry me, have my kids…”
    He was still the same quirky guy. “Oh, Evan.” She captured his face between her palms and looked into his unique sage-colored eyes. “I needed to see for myself that you are well. I’m so sorry for not coming sooner.”
    “You’re here now. Besides that, I have all your emails and your cards, not to mention the CDs you sent.”
    The mention of the CDs made an unwelcome memory of Quinn spring to mind. When Evan was first out of the hospital’s rehabilitation program, Quinn gave her several autographed CDs for Evan. Sometimes, when he wanted to, Quinn could be such a sweetheart.
    Nick returned to the living room with the coffee. “Listen, you two, I’ve got to make a phone call. Take your time catching up and enjoy your visit. I’ll be outside if you need me.”
    Nick was trying to give them some privacy, she knew. He wanted them to fall in love. The thought caused a pang in her heart. He was letting her go all over again.
    Lynsey’s gaze traveled back to Evan’s face. There was no sizzle or spark between them. No instant chemistry. They were just two old friends who cared for each other.
    ***
    Nick stood on Evan’s front lawn with his cell phone in one hand. There was no urgent phone call that needed to be made. He simply wanted to give Evan and Lynsey an opportunity to spend some time together and hopefully discover each other.
    As much as it would pain him to see Lynsey happily involved with his best friend, Evan was a far better choice for her, than sleazy Caleb Smith. He felt certain a marriage with Caleb would result in disaster.
    Except on a strictly professional level, Nick could not think of one time over the last two decades when he and Caleb got along or even exchanged a few friendly words.
    Caleb came to Unity nearly twenty years earlier when the police department was recruiting. Out of common courtesy, he and Kelly invited him to their wedding. That was where the ever-present tension between them began.
    When he was able to extract himself from his new bride’s possessive grip, he slipped off unnoticed for a few minutes away from the country club that heaved with two hundred