"So, John, what are you doing next week?" Randy Travis asked his long time friend John Dye was they were walking towards a toy store in the mall near the place where they were filming the last episode of season 7, "Shallow waters". "I was thinking about going to San Francisco to visit Bob and his wife Susan. Did you know they have their baby like two weeks ago? And I think Paul’s there too..." Having been friends for years, Randy and John had many common friends, especially the ones that lived in San Francisco, a city they liked a lot.

"Yes! Bobby called me from the hospital that day! It was like 4.30 in the morning and I had to wake up early! I almost sent him to hell but the man was thrilled!" the blond actor replied. "Who can blame him? Babies have a talent to steal your heart at once."

Randy knew his friend was talking after his own experience but he said nothing. "So, are we going next week?"

"I don’t know. I was planning to go visit my mom next week and then come back here and stay in Salt Lake for a little while. Roma is going to start a movie and there’s no one to take care of Reilly."

"No one? What about her nanny?" Randy asked seeing John picking up a teddy bear.

"Well, yes, Julie’s there but I don’t want Reilly to be all alone with her for three weeks. You know how filming is. Roma may almost not see her all that time..." the blond actor explained finally choosing a plush rabbit. "Anyway I’m sending this to Bob and one day I’ll go meet the baby."

"Then you’re planning to stay in Salt Lake just because your co-star is starting a movie?" Randy asked purposefully knowing why John was doing that. He thought they were heading to the cashier to pay for the rabbit, but he was surprised when John walked towards the ‘Barbie and Ken’ hallway.

"Because I want to help her. I know she wants someone more to look after Reilly and I can do it. I mean, someone has to be with her, to go to the school and help her with her homework or not?" John said handling Randy the rabbit and looking among the boxes until he found Cinderella and her prince among the Disney princesses. "I promised Reilly I was going to buy them for her if she passed her math exam and she got an A," he explained to his surprised friend.

"If Reilly were 20 years older, I’d say you’re in love with her!" Randy joked.

John laughed at his comment. "I am in love with her! I really love that girl!" he said starting to walk with the rabbit under one arm and the boxes of the dolls under the other. "She really is like my daughter..."

"But she isn’t..." Randy remarked.

"So what? I love her the same," the blond actor said stopping in front of a shield with plus mini dogs. He looked among them until he found a Dalmatian puppy. "It’s for Roma," he explained Randy, who was again holding the rabbit for him and was looking at his friend with a puzzled expression. "She told me the other day she wanted one when she was a little girl but her parents never let her have one..."

"Hum... I see," Randy said with a teasing tone.

"What?" John asked.

"Nothing!" his friend answered. "I just wonder..."

John didn’t pay attention to his last remark as they arrived to the cashier to pay for the toys and asked the seller to wrap them properly for each one.

****

Later in the afternoon the cast and crew of the show as well as the special guests they had had those weeks were all gathered at Moon Water’s set sharing an improvised party to celebrate the season’s ending. The producers had bought a big cake with the legend "See you in season eight" on it and John, Roma and Della had bought three bottles of champagne to make a toast... even if they hadn’t gotten but plastic glasses. Randy Travis and the other singers had taken out their guitars and sang some songs for all of them.

"What are you planning for this week, baby girl?" Della asked to her Irish friend. "Your movie doesn’t start until next week, right?"

"Yes, so this week all I want is to sleep!!" Roma exclaimed. "No alarm clock for a change!"

Della and John laughed at her expression and the blond actor agreed. "I’m with you on that!" he said wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Yuppie!" Reilly exclaimed, "then I won’t go to the school!"

"Oh, no way, little missy!" her mother admonished. "You won’t miss school!"

"So where’s the fun?" she replied placing her little hands on her waist in a funny expression, too bossy for a four year old, that made the three adults chuckle.

"Tell you what," John said kneeling in front of her, "the fun will be in that I can pick you up at school, we can come and wake your sleepyhead mom up," he got a playful slap from Roma, "and then go have lunch somewhere and then to the movies, what you think?"

"Yay, yes!" the girl said wrapping her little arms around his neck. "I do deserve a prize after exams!"

"Oh, you do, huh?" her mother exclaimed finding rather funny her attitude.

"I got an A in everything! And yet I’m waiting for something someone promised..." the almost baby said seriously.

"Oh uh! That’s blackmailing, baby!" Della chuckled. "And who’s the one that hadn’t fulfilled a promise?"

John cleared his throat and stood up. "Stop! It’s not that! I’ve fulfilled it!" he said and disappeared walking towards his dressing room.

A couple of minutes later he came back with Randy following him. John was carrying three packages and Reilly’s little eyes lit up as soon as she saw him. "Yay, uncle Johnnie! You did it!" she exclaimed when the blond actor handled her the two bigger boxes.

"Johnnie, you didn’t have to!" Roma protested when her daughter discovered her Cinderella doll.

"I had promised and a gentleman always does what he’s promised... even more if he’s an angel," he joked wrapping her shoulders and pulling her closer to him.

"But someone else got a present..." Randy commented after seeing Reilly opening the two dolls.

John looked accusingly to him and then looked at Roma, handling her a little paper bag with a pick bow. "This is for you, Roma."

The Irish actress took the bag with equal excitement than Reilly. "Johnnie! What is it?!"

"Go on, open it," he urged her.

"Oh, Johnnie, it’s beautiful!" Roma exclaimed taking out the tiny Dalmatian puppy. "Thank you! I didn’t think you’d remember!" she said wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

John was a little surprised by her reaction but he regained quickly and hugged her back. "I always hear what you say, sweetie. And I thought that if I could fulfill a childhood dream, it would be nice for you."

She pulled apart to look at the puppy again although he was reluctant to let her go. "It’s so cute! I love him already!"

"It is really lovely!" Della said taking a look at the puppy and then handling it to Reilly, who wanted to see it.

"How are you naming it, mommy?" the girl asked stroking it as if it were a real living dog.

Roma took it back and looked at it and then at John. "I think I’ve found the perfect name for it... Lovejuice!"

John blushed at hearing the nickname Della used to call him. "Lovejuice?" he asked a little embarrassed when he looked briefly at Randy, who was hardly controlling his laughter.

"Yes!" Roma said holding the puppy against her chest. "It will remind me of you every time I see him!" She leaned to kiss his cheek and he blushed more.

"That’s the idea, sweetie," he said wrapping her shoulders again, "that you remember I never forget you."

*

"I really found amazing to see John walking along the hallways of the store and carrying the boxes and the dog... I even had to help him with the rabbit!" Randy commented a little later when they were looking at Reilly playing with her new dolls.

"The rabbit?" Roma asked and turned to see John.

"Oh, yes... It’s for a friend’s baby. Remember the day I told you I had gotten a call from a friend at 4.30 am? That’s Bob, and the rabbit is for his little son," he explained.

"And as you stole my travel partner, Roma, now I’ve gotten that blue rabbit as the only company!" Randy joked.

John looked threateningly to him when Roma looked at both of them with surprise and quickly released her hold on John’s waist. "Beg your pardon? Did I steal John? But how? I don’t understand..."

Only when he saw Roma so puzzled, the singer knew he had said too much. "You didn’t know?"

"Knew what?"

"Randy asked me to go to San Francisco with him to meet Bob’s baby, sweetie," John explained. "But I told him I wanted to stay here ‘cause I didn’t want Reilly to be all alone with Julie while you’re filming the movie. I want to stay with her."

"But Johnnie!" Roma protested immediately. "That will spoil your vacation! You don’t have to!"

John placed a finger on her lips to make her stop in a loving action that didn’t go unnoticed by Randy and Della, who exchanged an accomplice sight. "I want to. I have to ‘cause I love Reilly and, as I’ve told you many times, I’m her ‘papa bear’ and dads are supposed to be there. I’m staying and that’s the end of the discussion." He was now holding her hand and he kissed it when he finished.

Although she didn’t notice and John was way too worried in convince her about his staying, Roma’s sight had changed while he spoke and Randy and Della could recognize what was in her eyes: love. The singer hadn’t spent a long time with her, although he had met her since the first season of the show, but her sight made him know his friend could have hope...

"Thank you, Johnnie," the little woman said hugging him again.

"You’re more than welcome, sweetheart," he said rubbing her back lovingly, and closing his eyes to enjoy her perfume not paying attention to their friends’ smiles.

"Still you could take the rabbit to your friend," Della proposed as the two co-stars pulled apart. "Go to San Francisco this week! Take Roma and Reilly with you!" she told him.

"Hey, that’s not a bad idea!" he exclaimed looking at Roma. "It could be a nice vacation for the three of us..."

"Well, Reilly’s teacher won’t go to work from Wednesday to Friday..." she replied after a couple of seconds. "And she loves streetcars..."

Roma and Reilly got in and liked since the first moment the well illuminated living room. Both Roma and John shared the love for the sea, and the actress loved the sight of the bay with the Golden gate at the end of it. "Isn’t it nice?" the blond actor asked coming closer to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It’s gorgeous," she murmured leaning over his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. "Della’s idea was great."

John was rubbing her arm tenderly, enjoying the fact that she was in his arms. "Definitely! A vacation with you two is great! Are you ok with Paul staying here too? He’s a very nice guy, you’ll see."

"Of course it’s ok!" Roma said lifting her face to meet his green eyes. "This is your house! You can invite your friends at any time. In fact, if you want Randy here too, Reilly and I could..."

"No way!" he said pulling her closer. "I told you you can consider this your house and I mean it! Besides if Randy doesn’t go to his sister’s now, he won’t go, I know him! Paul is also cool, you’ll like him."

"I’m sure I will," she smiled, her eyes fixed on his, her head leaning over unconsciously. "If he’s your friend, he must be like you... so gentle, so charming..."

John blushed at her words and smiled shyly, unable to turn to see any other thing but her sweet face that was now just a few inches away of his... "Only with you, Mrs. Downey..." he whispered reaching a hand to graze her cheek.

"Mommy, I’m hungry! Can we go have lunch now?" Reilly’s question coming back to the living room broke the magic of the moment and made them smile sheepishly. "Of course, poppet, let’s go," her mother replied.

A couple of hours later, they came back to the apartment carrying a dozen bags full with groceries. "I can’t believe you bought all this, Roma!" John said getting into the kitchen.

"What? You don’t think I can find my way in a kitchen? Just because I spend six days a week playing an angel doesn’t mean I cannot cook like one!" she exclaimed following him. "And I cook much better than Monica, I promise!" she corrected.

John joined her chuckling. "I don’t doubt it, but I should have paid for all this!"

"No way, Mr. Dye! You’re already inviting us to your home and still I’m not even paying for the food?"

"It’s my pleasure to have you here, baby," John said seriously, taking her hand and kissing it.

*

"Do you have a bigger recipient than this?" Roma asked John a couple of hours late when she was wearing an apron and had all kind of ingredients spread over the kitchen table. She had decided she would prepare a cake to proof John she knew how to cook. Truth was that he believed her but had found her efforts to convince him so funny and sweet that he couldn’t help but keep on teasing her.

"What about this one?" the blond actor answered showing her a big crystal bowl.

"Perfect!" she said taking it and then both heard the doorbell ring.

"Hi, who are you?" a tall handsome man told little Reilly when she opened the door.

She examined the new guest carefully, the tip of her little index in her mouth, before she decided she could trust in his blue eyes and in his wide smile. "Reilly," the girl replied in a low voice.

"Well, Reilly, nice to meet you," the man said leaning down to shake hands with her. "Can you tell me if John is home?"

"Uncle Johnnie is with my mommy in the kitchen," the girl replied.

"Uncle Johnnie?" the man asked totally clueless.

"Hey, Paul!" John exclaimed coming out of the kitchen with Roma following him. The two old friends held and patted each other’s back. "You look good!"

"Now, you look great, John! I guess following the right path or risking to lose your halo has worked wonders on you!"

John chuckled at his comment. "You bet!" he said. "I see you’ve met Reilly."

"Your niece, according to her..."

"It’s a long story that I’ll tell you later, but yes! This is Roma," the actor introduced her.

"The famous Monica!" Paul exclaimed and shook hands with her. "I can see now why this guy refuses to leave the show! You’re as beautiful as he always says!"

Roma blushed at Paul’s remark and turned to shoot John a loving gaze. "Thank you, Paul. Johnnie is always so kind..."

"I only tell the truth, baby!" John replied wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "C’mon, Paul, take your things and go to your room. It’s all ready. I hope you’re hungry ‘cause Roma bought food for an army!"

"I did not!" she protested punching him playfully on the stomach while he was still holding her.

"Starving in fact!" Paul answered and took his suitcase.

Some minutes later, Paul went to the kitchen to join John and Roma, that were joking and teasing each other about the cake she was preparing. Standing at the door frame, the man saw how Roma offered John a little piece of the mix with her index and how his friend willingly accepted it just because it came from the little actress.

"Let me guess, carrot cake!" Paul said making the two actors turn.

"Yes!" Roma chuckled. "The only mix he’d taste as he’s the only person I know that doesn’t like chocolate!" she replied slapping him on the hand when he was trying to taste the mix again.

"You knew about the chocolate?" Paul asked in surprise.

"Yes!" she smirked at her co-worker who was still licking his finger. "But you want to know a secret? He does eats chocolate... when Reilly makes him!"

Eyes wide open, Paul turned to see his friend unable to believe it.

"It was her birthday cake!" John argued. "I couldn’t deceive her when she had asked me to buy a chocolate cake for weeks!"

*

"So, do I know my way around a kitchen or not?" Roma asked John when he licked his spoon after taking the last bit of his second piece of cake. She rose an eyebrow in an "I told you so" expression and her eyes were shinning with pride.

"Definitely, baby!" John said reaching for her hand.

"Everything was delicious, Roma!" Paul agreed. "You certainly cook like an angel!"

Both John and Roma chuckled at his comment and how it had been the same she had used before. The tired yawning of Reilly made the three of them to turn to see her, and they smiled at her almost closed eyes.

"I guess it was a very exciting day for her," John commented.

"Yes..." Roma stroked her curly hair. "I’ll take her to bed and I’ll be back to do the dishes. You go to the living room ‘cause you feel like keep on talking, I see... I’ll make coffee."

"Here, let me take her," John said taking Reilly in his arms. She was almost asleep but still she wrapped her little arms around his neck and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Thanks, Johnnie. Please, take off her socks," the actress said kissing her daughter’s cheek.

The familiar way Reilly treated John and the trusting attitude of Roma in respect of her child had really surprised Paul, who had witnessed the scene like if he was watching a real family of mom, dad and daughter.

"I’ll meet you in a minute, Paul," John said leaving the dinning room while Roma disappeared in the kitchen.

Unaware of his friend surprise, John got into Roma’s room and turned on the light. Reilly was already using her pajamas since her mother had made her take a shower before dinner, so he just had to tuck her in. He removed her socks as Roma requested and then looked around for Alice, the teddy bear he had given her the day she was born. He kissed her good night and stood up. He was about to leave and turn off the light when he looked at the bed again and something caught his eye. On the nightstand on the opposite side of the bed —Roma’s side— there was a tiny plus puppy, standing at the side of her purse. John smiled when he recognized "Love juice", the puppy he had bought her some days before, and somehow his heart felt happier. He took out of his pants pocket a little bag and got a delicate silver bracelet he had managed to buy for Roma without her noticing it at the shopping center. He took Love juice and put the bracelet around his neck, then placed the little dog over her pillow and left the room.

**

"Darn!" Roma heard the mad expression right when she was passing by John’s door and she decided to knock. "Come in!" the actor’s voice said.

"Johnnie?" Roma said only her head out of the door. She looked around the bedroom for her friend but couldn’t find him. Finally he came out of the bathroom, half of his face covered in soap, and a towel pressed against his neck.

"Good morning, baby," the blond actor greeted though his tone was slightly upset.

"What happened?" the young actress asked coming closer to him and reaching to take out the towel. "Oh, my!" she carefully examined the blooding cut on his neck. "What were you doing, John Dye?"

"Shaving... OUCH!"

Roma pushed him to make him take a seat on his bed. "Shaving means only hair, baby," she said with a funny tone and getting into the bathroom to come back with cotton and alcohol. "Your skin is supposed to stay out of the razor’s way!" she teased.

"I know... Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!" he flinched when the alcohol reached his skin. "Not so hard, please!" he begged when she pressed the cotton against the injury.

"C’mon, Mr. Dye! Don’t be a big baby!" she said finishing to clean his neck.

"It hurts!" he complained.

"Well, yes, sir, it hurts, but you’ll live," she joked and leaned down to kiss him on the cheek like a mom after cleaning his child’s hurt knee.

John blushed lightly after the kiss and he murmured a ‘thank you’, meeting her amused eyes. "You’ve earned it, Mr. Dye," she said cupping his clean cheek and stroking it with her thumb. "For this," she said showing him her right wrist where she was wearing the silver bracelet he had left on Love juice’s neck, "and for being so brave. Now come here." John looked at her with puzzled expression. "I’m not letting you do the same with your other cheek! I’m gonna show you how to shave!" Roma explained standing at the door of his bathroom.

Neither John nor Roma noticed that Paul had witnessed the whole scene and was now smiling and shaking his head.

***

"Well, I was wondering if you’d come after all or not!" Randy Travis greeted John, Roma, Reilly and Paul when the group arrived to Bob and Susan’s door. Hearing the baby crying inside the house, the singer added, "little Adam was getting desperate, you know."

"Oh, long time no see, John!" Bob exclaimed and shook hands with his friends and then with Paul. "I thought you wouldn’t come to be honest!"

"I know, Bob," John told him. "But here I am. And let me introduce you, this is Roma and her daughter Reilly."

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Bob said shaking hands with Roma. "And you too, Reilly. Has someone told you you’re as beautiful as your mom?" the man told her shaking hands with her too.

"Yes," the girl answered with a certainty that surprised all the adults. "My uncle Johnnie is always telling me so just because he doesn’t want me to feel bad, but I know he wants to say that my mommy is very beautiful!"

"Reilly!" Roma exclaimed and shared an embarrassed look with John.

"Well, your uncle Johnnie is certainly right, honey!" Bob replied amazed with the girl’s straightforwardness. "Come on in, please! Here let me introduce you the youngest member of the Casidy family, Alan!"

Susan had come down with the baby and joined her husband to meet their friends. "Susan, you look great!" John exclaimed kissing her cheek and looking at the baby. "I invited a friend to come over. This is Roma Downey."

"Hullo, Susan!"

"You don’t know this but she was all excited about you coming," Bob interrupted. "She has never missed one single episode of your show!"

"Oh, that’s very kind on you, Susan, thank you!" Roma said.

"There’s nothing to thank! I really like it and you and John look great together," Susan added while Randy and Paul shared an accomplice look.

"Little Adam got some presents!" John said showing the big bag where he was carrying the blue rabbit. The baby kind of followed it with his eyes and made a funny noise of protest when it disappeared from his blurred sight. They all laughed at the rabbit John had bought but he defended his choice when Alan stretched a tiny arm as if trying to get it and growled again when he couldn’t. "See? He wants to reach it!" the blond actor exclaimed.

"He’s too young for that, Johnnie!" Roma replied and lovingly cupped his cheek for a second when he made a mocking mad face at her. "I bought you this," the actress said and Susan opened the box with her free hand to reveal a very soft and light blue baby cover. "You never get enough of these," she explained, "and I liked this kind of not heavy covers. It will be very useful when this wee one grows up, you’ll see. I still have one in the car for Reilly."

"It’s beautiful and so soft!"

"Reilly, didn’t you have something for the baby too?" John asked the girl that was now sitting on his lap.

"Yes, this," she said handling Susan a little bag with Pigglet printed on it.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Susan said and opened the bag. She took a plastic cup with the face of Winnie the Pooh at the front.

"She insisted on buying that," Roma explained. "We told her a bottle was better but she said no."

"No, because babies grow up very quickly and he won’t use bottles in the blink of an eye!" the girl exclaimed exasperatedly. When all the adults looked at her with intrigued expressions, she sighed in resignation as if unable to believe they didn’t know what she was saying. "Mommy is always telling uncle Johnnie and auntie Della she doesn’t know when I grew up and that just yesterday I was using a bottle. Then you will need the cup tomorrow!"

The six adults laughed at her conclusions and John tightened his hold on her and kissed her temple. "You’re precious, Reilly! So precious!"

Little Adam made some baby noises again and all turned to see him. "Hey, wee one! We’re laughing and not telling you why, right?" Roma said taking his tiny hand and smiling when he circled her finger immediately.

"Would you like to hold him?" Susan asked.

"Oh, please!" Roma replied outstretching her arms to take him.

"You look good with a baby, Roma," Paul commented purposefully.

Roma chuckled. "It’s been four years already, Paul! Though I guess it’s something about instincts too."

"Hum... I’m seeing a picture of the future there," Randy agreed with Paul as he was sitting right in front of Roma and John and the kids they both had in their arms.

"Definitely!" Bob said too coming back to the living room with a tray with glasses of soda.

"Come on, guys! Please!" John intervened though he was blushing a little. He hadn’t confessed to any of them, but deep in his heart that was in fact his wish.

"Just saying..." Randy murmured sipping at his glass.

They spent practically all the rest of the morning there, chatting about everything and fawning either on Reilly or on Alan. Soon it was lunch time and Susan announced she’d go to the kitchen to prepare something. "May I help you, Susan?" Roma offered.

"Ok!" the blond woman replied cheerfully. "Come on, Reilly, let’s leave the boys alone!"

"Yes!" the little girl said standing with a jump. "It’s girls’ time!"

In a matter of minutes, the three women were already in the kitchen with vegetables, bowls and everything they needed to cook a delicious lunch. Suddenly, they heard Alan crying and Susan sighed drying her hands with a towel to go see the baby.

"Don’t worry, Susan. John knows what to do," Roma said matter-of-factly. John’s friend turned to see her like saying ‘How do you know?’. "Want to bet?" Roma moved to the door along with Susan and they stayed there hearing how Alan stopped crying. Susan then pushed the door slightly open and shook her head unable to believe it.

"So, have you known John for a long time?" the actress asked while she was chopping some carrots and Reilly was taking care of the peas.

"Bob, John and me were classmates in college when he was studying Law, so it makes good fifteen years..."

"Oh, my! A life time!" Roma exclaimed.

"Yeah... And yet I have never seen him like this."

"Like what?"

Susan looked at her and saw in her expression that she had touched a special cord in the actress. "So devoted to someone..."

"Me?" the Irish woman asked in disbelief. "Oh, no, Susan, it’s not that!"

"Sure it isn’t!"

"C’mon, you know him! He’s that kind with everybody, not just me!"

"Do you think so? I don’t..." the woman replied looking out of the corner of the eye how Roma was blushing slightly and smiling obviously flattered.

When they had everything ready for lunch, the three ‘girls’ came back to the living room to find Alan peacefully sleeping on John’s arms. "I never thought to live to witness this!" Susan exclaimed. "Mr. John Never-a-Daddy Dye with a sleeping baby on his arms!"

"Well... Never say never," John blushed.

"But it’s not that weird!" Roma interrupted. "He did it a hundred times with Reilly! Let me show you!" She then reached for her purse and took out a couple of pictures John could recognize looking at them out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, not, don’t do that!" John asked Roma.

"Easy there, Mr.! You’ll wake Alan up!" the actress warned him. She then handled Randy and Susan the pictures and the teasing on the blond actor began.

"Where did the tough guy go?!" Susan said looking at a picture where John was lying on a couch lifting a giggling Reilly with both hands and making her tiny forehead touch his. Her little hands were over his mouth and he didn’t seem to care at all. Her half empty bottle was in the coffee table in front of them, where obviously he had left it after feeding her.

"Did he really learn how to feed her?!" Bob asked looking over his wife shoulder.

"Yes!" Roma giggled looking at a blushing John who was also looking at her warningly. "And he also learned how to change her diapers. He help her learn how to walk..."

"And she worn him out!" Randy exclaimed showing them the picture he had. In that one, Roma had caught John fast asleep on the same couch, his legs on the coffee table, and his arms protectively holding a sleeping Reilly, who was comfortably resting on his chest.

"Roma, you really made us witnessed what we thought impossible!" Paul stated after good minutes of teasing their friend. "He had always sworn he wouldn’t devote himself to a kid, and Reilly is the living proof of the contrary!"

The Irish woman chuckled and turned to face her co-worker. "He’s a tough guy with the most gentle heart I’ve ever met... And I’m so glad God had sent him to work with me and to stay with Reilly and me..."

John reached to take her little hand feeling deeply moved after her sincere words. "I’m the one who has been blessed, baby, with you and our little princess."

All the rest of the friends there only looked to each other sharing the same knowledge of the feelings the actors shared... maybe without noticing yet.

*

After sharing the lunch and spending a couple of hours more, John, Paul, Roma and Reilly announced they should be going, not before setting a new date for Saturday night, the day before Roma and John went back to Salt Lake City.

Randy closed the door behind Susan and Bob after seeing John’s car leaving the street. "So..." the singer said.

Bob shook his head and wrapped an arm around his wife’s shoulder. "In short... our pal is doomed!"

"Have you ever seen him like this?" Susan commented. "Carrying babies and feeding them? I think not even with Melissa... you remember her?"

"Yes... the one that was studying biology, right?"

"Still, I’m worried," Bob added. "When Melissa broke him up ‘cause she was going to the Amazonian jungle, do you remember how hard it was to make him go through her? What if Roma doesn’t take him?"

"I don’t want to even think about it..." Randy said. "You’ve seen them one day. I’ve seen them for weeks!"

"That’s my point," Bob replied. "John is definitely in love, but Roma?"

"Oh, she is!" Susan assured them and then met both men’s eyes. "She is as in love as he is, believe me! She just hasn’t realized yet."

"Susan..." Bob said.

"I know she’s in love, Bobby! Give her some time and you’ll see."

*

"Alan is so cute!" Roma commented when they were going back to John’s house. "I can’t understand why you all are so surprised to see Johnny with a baby!"

"Looks like he has some past things to tell you, Roma!" Paul teased despite the warning look John shoot him through the read mirror. "Let’s just say that hadn’t you showed us those pics, we would have never believed you!"

The Irish actress was about to argue when Reilly interrupted them. "Mommy, look! There’s a streetcar!"

Only then both Roma and John remembered they had promised her to take her to a ride in a streetcar. "Honey..."

"Can we take it, mom?" the girl asked.

"Sweetie... what do you say if we come tomorrow, huh?" her mother said.

"No, mommy, please!"

"Aren’t you tired, poppet?" John intervened. "We can do it tomorrow..."

"Please, uncle Johnny, you promised!" the four year old begged starting to whimper.

"Reilly..." Roma shoot an anguished sight to John as not knowing what to do.

"Why don’t you take her today, John?" Paul interrupted them. "It’s not that late... it’s only 5.30 and if I don’t recall bad, you can take it in Roses avenue to the bay... I’ll take the car and meet you three there. The sunset by the dock is quite a view, isn’t it?" he added like giving his friend a good idea to spend some time with Roma.

John turned to see Roma again and saw in her hazel eyes the answer to Paul’s offer. "Ok, then... Roses avenue is... right there," he said stopping the car a little before the corner. "And the streetcar is coming, so jump out, ladies! We’ll meet Paul by the dock in half an hour!"

And half an hour later, John, Roma and Reilly jumped out of a beautiful old fashioned streetcar named "Desire", the smiling faces of mother and daughter telling everything about the trip. "Reilly, don’t run too far!" Roma shouted seeing her daughter running in front of them towards the street along the bay. John reached Roma and wrapped an arm around her shoulders and they started to walk slowly towards the dock where they would meet Paul. "Thank you, Johnnie," she smiled at him. "It meant so much for her."

"There’s nothing to thank, Roma..."

They walked in silence for a minute until they saw Reilly meeting Paul. The man had bought her a bag of dry bread to feed the seagulls and they had left the actors alone for some minutes. "She looks so happy!" John commented still holding her shoulders. "What a wonderful thing is to be four and happy with a trip in a streetcar and a bag of bread crisps..."

"She asks me for so little..." the actress replied with a clear sad note. "I know I’m not around as much as I’d like and she resents that, and still she doesn’t complain and I don’t get but smiles and hugs and kisses from her when I arrive home."

"She’s a wonderful girl..." he commented.

"She’s marvelous, she is my angel." Her voice trailed off to a whisper and John could see a tear shinning on her cheek with the setting sun’s light.

"Hey, no tears!" he said making her turn to be face to face with him. He cupped her face and wiped her tears with tender thumbs. "Roma, please... don’t cry." His heart felt suddenly heavy with the sorrow he could see in her face. "I can’t bare seeing you crying, baby! I’d give my life to spare you from any pain..."

Roma threw herself into his strong arms, breathing a sigh of relief. "You’re always so protective with us, Johnnie," she murmured closing her eyes to feel the contact even more. She had always found comfort in John’s embrace, but this time it was more than comfort what she was looking for even if unconsciously. There she felt complete, safe... and most important, loved.

"I care so much about you, baby..." John murmured and kissed the top of her head. He liked so much to have her in his arms, his heart felt so in peace in those times he could hold her freely... "All I want is to see you two happy."

"Mommy, look!" Reilly shouted from far making them pull apart. A seagull was standing on Paul’s arm and was eating from the girl’s hand.

"Why did your friends have such a hard time believing you like kids, Johnnie?" Roma asked turning her attention back to him. "Why did Susan call you ‘John Never-a-daddy- Dye’?"

"That was from college days, honey," he explained pulling her closer to him again. "I had a girlfriend then and she broke me up. I said I’d never fall in love again and that I’d never get married..."

"That’s why you hadn’t gotten married, Johnnie?" she asked lifting her face to study his expression.

"Nah... I guess it was my hurting heart talking then. But my heart has healed..."

The way he was looking at her made Roma remember what Susan had said —‘I have never seen him so devoted to someone...’—, and her heart started to beat faster. "Time can mend a broken heart, Johnnie..." she offered shyly.

"Time... and love, baby," he murmured stroking her cheek delicately. "And God’s blessings in the form of a wonderful baby girl and the most beautiful co-worker He could have sent me..." The sunset, the sea, the people around them had suddenly disappeared. Roma and John were in a kind of trance, unaware of anything but each other’s face. "I got more than a job that day, Roma. I got a new life..."

A lonely tear rolled down her cheek when she thought that she had had a different life too for some time but that she had lost it. "I had a different life then, Johnnie, but I lost it... and I don’t want to go through that again..."

Her voice broke and John wasted no time in holding her tightly again. "You won’t, baby," he promised not knowing how, but feeling like fulfilling that promise. "I won’t allow it to happen again. I want you happy now and forever."

They stayed in each other’s arms for long minutes, until the sun disappeared behind the sea, one treasuring the feeling of the woman he loved in his arms, the other allowing her heart to get rid of a burden of sadness that was little by little being substituted by the sweet feeling of a love promise.

END OF PART 2

Part 3

But last night was wine together till dawn...

"Bob, hurry up!" Susan shouted to her husband after the bell rang. "They are here!"

The blond woman opened the door to let John, Paul, Roma and an almost sleeping Reilly that Saturday night. Susan’s sister had offered to take care of the kids while the old friends revived a night as in their old days. Roma had offered to be the one taking care of the babies but John had determinedly refused.

"Come in!" Susan greeted. "My sister’s here already! I’ll show you the bed we have for Reilly!"

Roma walked with her with her daughter practically asleep in her arms, and the two women joined the four men about ten minutes later.

In no time they were sitting in a small restaurant whose owner was also Randy and John’s friend. Roma had excused to make a phone call to the movie’s producers while the waiter went to pick up their order.

"... for the lady here... I want an spaghetti al pasto," John ordered for Roma as she was gone.

"And to drink?"

"A glass of white wine."

Just when the waiter was gone, John faced the surprised faces of his friends. "What?" he asked.

"You ordered her dinner..." Bob ventured.

"And?" John asked not knowing what his point was.

"How do you know what she wants?" Susan continued.

"I checked the menu and there’s nothing else she likes for dinner," the blond actor explained. "C’mon, guys! We go out for dinner often and when we’re filming we have dinner together almost everyday! After six years I know what she likes!"

Paul and Randy turned at the same time to check on the ladies room direction and seeing Roma was nowhere in sight, the singer faced his friend. "John, it is us you’re talking to... You can’t fool us..."

"Fool you?"

"You re in love with her," Paul stated firmly.

For a long minute nobody say nothing. John knew his friends were looking at him. He couldn’t deny it... no more. The blond actor sighed deeply and then faced them. "Yes. I am. I love her."

"So?" Susan asked.

"So what?"

"She doesn’t know you’re in love with her!" the woman exclaimed.

"I know. I haven’t told her."

"Why?" Randy asked now.

"Randy, you’ve seen her! You’ve been there more than once! Her divorce was a mess! The battle to get Reilly’s custody was more like a war! I’ve seen how hard it has been for her to go over all that! I’ve been the one holding her for hours when she couldn’t help but cry!"

"But you were there, John!" Bob said. "You helped her to go over all that! Why don’t you tell her?"

"I don’t think she’s over all that yet. Not completely..."

"You’ve gotta be kidding!" Paul interrupted him. "I’ve seen you since last Wednesday! She trusts you with her daughter as if you were her father!"

"I wish I were! There’s nothing I’d want more!"

"You three look like a real family! She trusts you with herself as well! I saw you holding her when we went to the dock!"

"Yes, she trusts me, Paul, but that’s why I can’t tell her anything! How am I going to tell her that her ‘friend’ is in love with her?!"

"John, I understand your point, pal, but you have to tell her!" Paul insisted now with a much more calm voice. "You’ve found the woman of your life! Have you realized how difficult is to actually find the one for you?"

John took a deep breath and kept silence for a little while. "I know I want to spend the rest of my life with her," he finally told his friends. "But I know I wouldn’t bear to lose her, to lose what we at least have now..."

His green sparkling eyes made Susan feel somehow moved by her friend’s tribulation, so she reached a hand to cover one of his. "You will never lose her, Johnnie. I know she loves you too."

John’s heart leapt at her words. "H-how do you know?" Expectation appeared in his green eyes and they were begging Susan to say more.

"All I needed was to see her talking to you. Don’t be afraid, she will realize how wonderful you are. Just give her time..."

"Thank you, Susan," John murmured.

"Who’s up for spaghetti al pasto?" Randy asked aloud when he saw Roma approaching them.

"Spaghetti al pasto? Definitely me!" she said cheerfully taking her seat on the chair John was holding for her. Nevertheless, he noticed her eyes weren’t that happy. They were certainly worried, at least for him.

"You ok?" he asked her in a low voice while the waiter was serving their order.

She took his hand and squeezed it tenderly. "Yes. I’ll tell you later," she smiled. "Thank you for ordering for me."

"I hope I chose well," he replied.

"Perfect, thanks."

Dinner time was very pleasant as they chatted all the time, the old friends recalling their younger years, Roma telling them about Ireland and then she and John and Randy telling the others anecdotes from the show.

They were already taking coffee and John and Roma were sharing a blueberry pie when music started to play. Quickly Bob asked Susan to dance an they left the table.

"May I have this dance, Miss Wings?" John asked Roma and the name made her chuckle.

"Yes," she said and they stood up.

He smiled at seeing her smiling too, but what he really wanted was the chance to talk to her in private as her early concerned look had him still worried. "You two can either look at us or dance with each other!" John told Paul and Randy, and got in reply a protest from his friends and a new chuckle from Roma.

Reaching the dance floor, John immediately circled Roma’s waist while she wrapped her arm around his neck. He heard a small sigh from her and thought that was the best time to ask about her worries. "What’s wrong, Roma? I can see you’re worried."

She smiled. "When did you start to know me so well, huh?"

"The moment I first laid eyes on you, honey," he replied tenderly. "Come on, tell me."

Roma looked at him for a long second, grateful to have someone to listen to her when she so needed it. "I called the producers. I’m not filming next week."

"Why?"

"Something about the director. He won’t be here but in three weeks."

"But that would give you only four weeks before the new season of the show!" he exclaimed.

"I know," she replied. "Then I’ll miss my visit to Ireland."

"But you wanted to visit your sister this year..."

"Well, plans can always change I guess..." Her tone was clearly sad as she rested her head on his shoulder seeking for comfort.

He rested his head over hers and kept on dancing slowly, letting her deal with those news. "You could go these three weeks, Roma. It will be tiring but better than nothing."

The Irish actress shook her head and then pulled apart to meet his gaze. "No, it’s not fair with you! You changed your plans to stay with Reilly while I filmed and I was more than grateful for your offer. You know there’s nobody I better trust Reilly with but you, but I can’t ask you to change your plans again!"

"Hey, no, Roma!" he interrupted their swaying. "Don’t feel bad about me! I offered you stay with Reilly and I’ll do it either it is next week or next month!"

"But..."

"No, no ‘buts’," he tenderly placed a finger over her lips. "I can go visit my mom anytime. I guess she’ll be happy to see me sooner..." Roma’s hazel eyes were bright with tears and he cupped her cheek delicately. "I’ll be going home while you go to Ireland, so I won’t have the chance to miss you so much..."

"Thank you," she murmured while a tear tried to escape the corner of her eye.

John swiped it carefully and kissed her forehead. "You have nothing to thank, baby," he said and pulled her in a tight hug.

*

"So are you going to Amory next week?" Randy asked John late that night when the two actors had come back to the table. Roma had excused herself to go to the ladies room and John had told his friend about the change in plans. Both men didn’t see her approaching the table... "Pal, you’re really rocking your socks for her!"

Roma froze in her place at Randy’s words and turned to see John blushing slightly and smiling widely. "I’m in love like a fool, Randy. I’d do anything she asked me for!"

"Then why don’t you tell her?"

Roma held her breath waiting for his answer. "Maybe one day... Her happiness is my biggest concern and I wouldn’t do anything to risk it. If loving her in silence is what she wants to be happy, then it’ll be."

"What if she falls in love with someone else because she never knows you’re in love with her?" the singer asked and neither he nor Roma missed the brief spark of terror in John’s green eyes.

"I-if he really makes her happy... I’ll accept it," he replied with obvious pain. "Of course I want to be the one to make her happy, but if I’m not the one for her... It would break my heart but I’d easily give my whole life for her."

Big moved tears were crossing Roma’s cheeks at hearing John’s words. Now it all made perfect sense. His concern, his gentleness, his always assuring presence. That man loved her... maybe like none before, and that scared her. But at the same time, she felt in her heart something besides fear, something pleasantly warm that made her stomach flutter with joy.

"Are you ok, ma’am?" the voice of a waiter made her react.

"Huh? Y-yes... I’m ok." She only then realized she was crying in the middle of the hallway.

"Can I take you to your table?" the waiter offered.

"N-no, thank you. I’ll go back in a minute," she said and went back to the bathroom to dry her eyes.

A couple of minutes later, John and Randy saw her coming back and smiling. She took her seat at John’s side and immediately reached for his hand. Randy looked at their intertwined fingers and smiled, then excused himself and let them alone.

"You ok, baby?" John asked kissing her hand lovingly.

Roma’s heart started to beat faster and she was sure he could hear it. "Yes," she answered in a low voice. "Thank you, Johnnie... for being so wonderful with me."

They stayed there alone for a little while until Randy’s voice in the microphone made them turn. "Ladies and gentlemen, this night some old friends and I had a reunion like we hadn’t had in a long time. We’ve known each other for about twenty years and yet it had been years since we last went out together. Things have changed between us for sure. Life has followed its course and we’re no longer the four unreachable bachelors we were... though two of us still remain alone!" Some chuckling from the audience followed Randy’s words.

"Two?" Susan asked when she, Paul and Bob met John and Roma at the table. "What does he mean by only two?"

"One of the four bachelors is now married to one of our old classmates too," Randy continued, "and it’s been the new member of the gang the one to put us together again, so thank you Alan for this night even if you’ve spent it in your cradle!" New chuckling from the audience. "You’ll be wondering who the other ex bachelor is, and well, I will have to say he’s not an ex bachelor yet... at least not officially, but, pal, take this as the little push you need!" By this time, John, Paul, Susan and Bob... and for sure Roma, knew who he was talking about... "I want to invite John and Roma to dance this song I chose for them... And just want to add something. Remember, guys, sometimes risking to get hurt makes you remember that you’re alive. Now, come on, to the dance floor!"

"Roma, I..." John tried to talk when they were already in each other’s arms.

"No, Johnnie, please," Roma moved her hand from behind his neck to his lips to make him stop. "Don’t say anything today... Just... just hold me tight, please."

"Ok, baby," John replied and pulled her tighter. He was afraid, he felt he would be losing her after this night. She didn’t love him that way, she wouldn’t want him near anymore! It was this night and then it was over! Suddenly he felt her resting her head over his shoulder, and he hid his face on her sweet smelling hair. He wanted to beg her not to push him away, he felt like crying in despair. ‘I love you, Roma!’ It was what his mind was repeating over and over...

She allowed herself to close her eyes feeling perfectly content on his arms. What Randy had said had her thinking: risking to get hurt makes you remember you’re alive. Yes, she had been hurt, so badly it had taken her years to more or less recover from it. She had closed herself to love so she would never get hurt again, but was that really living? She had a wonderful daughter and a great friend in Della’s figure but all her family was in Ireland, miles away from her. And she had John. True they had always said they were just friends, but she felt so sure with what he gave her, comfort, understanding, joy, company... Maybe she had misread his attitude... Maybe she had been blind.

END OF PART 3

There wasn’t another single chance for John to try to talk to Roma. It was past midnight when they left the restaurant and went back to Susan and Bob’s to pick up Reilly. Then at John’s house, Roma excused herself with her daughter fast asleep in her arms.

Paul saw his friend’s distress and felt some tension between the actors. He even cursed Randy’s "little push" and he didn’t make any attempt to talk to John, sensing he had enough for the night.

So in no more than five minutes after they arrived, everybody was in their rooms, their minds recalling each moment of the night.

Once she had tucked Reilly in, Roma changed into her nightgown and went to bed, yet sleep was way away from her. She could still hear John’s words to Randy saying he loved her and that her happiness was what mattered him the most. How couldn’t she notice? John’s concern about her wellbeing had other origin besides his gentleness! He was in love with her and that frightened her! Yet that fear was nothing compared to what she felt when she thought about herself. Did she love him? Yes. Did she want him like more than a friend? The answer had come to her heart quickly and with no doubts: yes. And that terrified her. She wanted him in her life like a man that could love her and that she could love. She wanted what she had always had: his tenderness, his friendship, his peace. But she wanted more: she wanted kisses and a hold that was more than a friendly hug. She had wanted before not to feel that about anyone anymore... and she was finding herself now unable to resist John, to fight her own heart that seemed to have found a new life that night.

When the sunlight began to filter through the windows, John and Roma had just allowed their eyes to get closed, each lost in their personal dilemma.

***

Morning didn’t start well for John though. With Roma flying back to Salt Lake City immediately so she could travel to Ireland as soon as possible, the blond actor couldn’t find a chance to talk to her.

Soon they here on their way to the airport and Roma asked Paul to go with them. ‘She doesn’t want to talk!’ John thought and Paul seemed to see that as he met his blond friend’s worried eyes briefly. All the way to the airport, John was dealing with the idea that he would have to wait for her return to free his heart of the growing apprehension.

He saw her documenting their bags and joined them. Roma couldn’t miss the way Reilly was holding John’s hand... with full trust in him, sure that he was there to protect her and to love her as the father she had never really known.

"Paul, can I ask you a favor?" Roma said when she joined them.

"Sure."

"Can you take Reilly to buy candies? I... I need to talk to John..."

Paul turned to see his friend and he knew his heart was beating faster than ever before. "Yes, you do need to talk. Come on, baby girl," he offered Reilly his hand that the girl took willingly. "We’ll be by the shops over there."

Roma and John saw them going away and then walked to find a quiet space to talk. Both were as nervous as never before and John buried his hands in his pockets facing Roma as if he was facing his destiny. "Roma..."

"I heard what you told Randy yesterday, John..." she started with a calm voice. "You said..."

"I said I was in love with you," he replied and held her gaze determined to tell her once and for all what he felt for her.

"Is it true, John?"

The blond actor swallowed before he could reply, his voice lightly trembling. "Yes, baby, I do. I love you like a fool..."

"Johnnie, I..." she tried to talk but he took her hand and made her stop.

"Please, let me talk. I love you, Roma, yes. I’ve always loved you from the moment I first laid eyes on you. You’ve become my reason to live, your happiness is my biggest concern, that’s why I’ll tell you this: I don’t expect you to love me the same way I love you. If you don’t feel that way, it’s ok. All I want is to be forever by your side." He had come closer and was now cupping her cheek tenderly, his eyes still locked with hers. "I would be the happiest guy on Earth if you did love me, but if you don’t, know that I will forever watch over you and your daughter just as I’ve done all these years. I love you so much that all I want is to see you happy..."

While he was talking, Roma examined the sincerity in his green eyes confirming he was talking with his very heart on his hands. It was true. He loved her... and deep inside she knew she wanted to love him back. "I love you, Johnnie. You’re the greatest man I’ve ever met but..." she looked down unable to resist his eyes while saying this, "I’m scared. I don’t want to get my heart broken again. It hurt so much... and with you it would hurt twice more."

He tilted her face so he could meet her eyes again. "I’ll never break your heart, Roma. You’re all I could ever ask for and I love you more than I thought I could ever love someone, but because I love you I want you to be happy. If what we have now, this close friendship, is all we can have, I’m perfectly content, baby. I’m happy that you know I love you with all I have in me, and I’m even more happy to know that you love me too", he said cupping her cheek again.

"You’re a wonderful man, Johnnie..." she murmured covering his hand and stroking it.

"And I’m all yours forever," he replied kissing her forehead and pulling her in a tight hug. "Take care and have fun, ok? I’ll see you in two weeks." He released her and started to walk away when she called him again.

"Johnnie..." He stopped and turned. She then walked to him, wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him down. She kissed him on the lips, tenderly and slowly for a long minute.

John’s heart started to beat wildly against his ribs, but he controlled himself, circled her waist and responded to her kiss with equal tenderness but with all the love he could muster in the moment until he felt her trembling in his arms.

"I love you, Johnnie..." Roma murmured when they parted, her eyes shining and her face all lit with a beautiful smile. "I know I’m going to fall in love with you so easily..." She reached to stroke his cheek lightly again and gave him a quick peck. She then took her flying bag and walked to find Paul and her daughter, turning again some feet ahead to wave him good bye and knowing in the shine if his eyes and in his smile that there was a promise of a future full of love and happiness for her.

Roma leaned over her seat after covering a sleeping Reilly with the blanket the stewardess had given her. It was late in the night and they had to be somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic on their way to Ireland. Out there it wasn’t nothing but the dark sky. She sighed and reached for her purse to get the book she had taken for the long trip, but her hand grazed something soft. She took out the little plush puppy John had given her a week ago. A smile came immediately to her face and she brushed Love juice’s small head with her thumb... John... She sighed and leaned over her seat again.

Closing her eyes, she let her mind go back to early that afternoon in the airport and she could really feel John’s lips brushing hers... That had been... incredible, and she felt butterflies in her stomach at the mere memory. She had never expected that kissing her co-host would be so nice. Still her feelings were not all clear... She did want to kiss him again, that was for sure... but what if he didn’t love her forever as he had said? What if it didn’t work for them?

She remained there thinking and thinking about it until she finally surrendered to sleep.

***

"So, how’s everything going on there?" Patricia asked her little sister when Roma met her at the kitchen late the night of the day they had arrived. The actress had just taken her daughter to bed as the little girl was too tired after the 10 hrs flight.

Roma sighed before she responded. "Everything’s fine... I guess."

"You guess? I might believe that if I didn’t know you better... What is it?"

Roma looked at her sister and she knew she was lost. She had to tell her everything... and she did. "... And when he was going away, I called him... I couldn’t help it! I wanted to kiss him right there and I did!" Roma covered her face with her hands for a second and then met her sister’s gaze. "I’m crazy, right?" she chuckled.

Patty laughed at her little sister’s face. "And?! Did he kiss you back?!"

Roma blushed to the root of her hair. She nodded, "and I felt butterflies and all that!! Like if I was a teenager!!"

"My Goodness! Who would tell that, huh? My sister and her handsome angelic friend!! Well, you look great together!"

"Don’t joke, Patty! I’m being serious!"

"And so am I! Roma, I’m so glad!" Patty reached to take her sister’s hand. "You are in love again! You deserve to be happy!"

"No, I’m not in love..." the young actress argued. "I... just... like him I guess..."

Narrowing her eyes, Patty examined her sister’s face. "Nah... You’re totally over the moon for him... you just haven’t realized yet."

Colour drained from Roma’s face for a second. "I don’t want to get hurt again, Patty," she said in a barely audible whisper. "And coming from him, from the one that has been always by my side all these years... I wouldn’t bear..."

"Now... do I have to remember you what that friend of yours told you? ‘Risking to get hurt...’?" the older woman said. "You say he’s wonderful with you and your daughter... not every man would do that... Think about it... or ask your pillow!!" she joked when she saw Roma stifling a yawn. "You have time to think about it while you’re here, sweetie. Being away... you will know what you want..."

***

Next morning, Roma found her sister already preparing pancakes. Patty smiled at the actress when she offered her a CD. When Patty took it, she realized what it was. "Oh, my, it’s signed!!"

"I remember how much you like Celine Dion and I asked her to sign it. John had her number and it wasn’t that difficult. She was really nice when she filmed with us..."

"And I don’t have this one! Oh, Roma, thank you!" Patty said hugging her sister tightly. "Mind if I play it now?"

"Not at all..." Roma said taking her sister’s place in front of the stove.

Patty walked to the CD player she had in her kitchen, put the CD in it and turned it on. The sweet voice of the Canadian singer started to sound and the older woman remained there reading the lyrics, until a chuckle and then an open laughter made Roma turn to see her. "Looks like I was right and so were John’s friends! The only one blind were you two... or more exactly, just you!"

Roma let the spatula at a side of the pan and walked to see the booklet Patty was handing her. Under the lyrics of "Falling into you" there was a tiny note with Celine’s handwriting: "To Roma’s sister: maybe this song will help your sister realize she has a wonderful man waiting for her. Love, Celine." The actress looked at her sister with surprise written all over her face, then Patty chose that song and both listened to it.

When the song ended, Patty saw tears shinning in the actress hazel eyes and she went to hug her. "Don’t be scared, Roma. He loves you and I’m sure he’s a wonderful man. I’ve only met him for a couple of days the time I visited you, but I’m not wrong, I know that."

"I’m afraid to love him so much more than I already love him, Patty... I know I will totally fall for him and..." Roma murmured wiping her tears away.

"As I told you yesterday, you have these days to think. Distance and time will confirm you the answer you already have in your heart, honey. Remember what Gustave Flaubert used to say! ‘Distance finishes with small passions and make the big ones grow stronger’. We read him in highschool and we loved him when teenagers! I won’t tell you anything more, let’s hear what Celine tells us..."

They went back to their tasks for breakfast, but Roma felt as if even the singer was part of a plan for her to accept she was in love with John. She paid attention to the new song.

For all the times you stood by me

While she saw a pancake baking slowly, she thought how right those words were for her and John. He had always stood by her when she had felt too weak to carry on, he had brought joy back to her life making every single thing he could think about to get at least a faint smile from her, and specially he had been the one to hold her when she needed a pair of strong arms to comfort her in the bitter hours of her divorce.

The last line had its effects. Yes. She was blessed because she had that man in her life, loving her and her daughter as if they were his already. Unable to suppress a sigh, she let it go and turned to see her sister with eyes full of tears again. Patty smiled knowing that Roma had accepted it and nodded to her. This travel was all the actress had needed to realize how much John loved her.

***

And Patty had been right. Roma had time to think about her relationship with John... and she found herself missing him more than she had imagined...

Every time she saw the tiny puppy, she remembered his warm smile and she longed for his hold. Every night she went to bed, she only got to sleep when she allowed her mind to wander in the memories of their chat at the airport and of the feelings she had had with his kiss. And every day she found herself wanting more and more another kiss, a longer one... with no hurries, in a lonely place where they didn’t have a thousand people around them.

Crazy happy with her signed CD, Patty was about to drive her sister mad with Celine’s songs, specially because the young actress had secretly found many so suitable for she and John. She always remembered the day the Canadian artist had joined the filming of the show. Celine had been really kind and given all them a signed CD, the one with Beauty and the Beast theme for she and Reilly. Then, while they all waited for the set to be ready, she had commented how sweet Reilly was as she had seen the girl playing with the kids that were to perform Celine and Petey and once and again, reaching for John’s arms or caresses, climbing on his lap when he was seating by her mother’s side. When alone with John Roma had commented him how happy Reilly seemed to be playing with the other kids, he had held her to comfort her whispering on her ear once and again that she was doing a great job as a mother with Reilly, and all of a sudden Celine had appeared near them, catching them middle hug, and she had apologized even though they had assured her they were just friends.

How far those days seemed now... Although Celine hadn’t commented more, it looked like she had known how to read beyond the close friendship she and John had always professed to each other. The singer had been smart enough to read all the signs. Now all that weighed on her mind and pushed her heart to feel something she had denied herself after David.

One day, she was seating on the front steps of Patty’s house, watching Reilly and her cousins jumping the rope just as she had done when a little girl. Her cell phone on her hand was a constant temptation, knowing that the first number in her contacts list was John’s... Finally she decided... She dialed the number she knew by heart...

"So, when are you going to visit Annie, John?" an old man asked the blond actor that was watching him while he worked. "She’s always asking your mom to say hi to you whenever you call..."

John chuckled and blushed a little. "Tomorrow, dad. Mom said she’s coming too..."

"She was in love with you when you were little kids, remember? You always wanted her as far away as possible and she just wanted to be with you! I remember how you used to run to hide under that table when she had appeared by the door with something for your mother!" Jim mocked his son.

"Well, but she didn’t wait for me," the blond actor chuckled. "How old is her son now? Like 7?"

"Seven, yes... And about waiting for you... Are you ever going to think about getting married?" the old man said looking straight to his son’s eyes.

John mouthed some silence words and when he was about to reply, his mother got into the workshop with his ringing cell phone in the hands. "John, someone’s calling you..."

The blond man opened it without looking at the number, not really expecting a special call. "Hello?"

"Hi, Johnnie..."

Roma’s voice surprised him so much that he stood up with a jump and the chair fell to the ground. "Oh, baby, hi!" he said clutching the phone so hard that he thought he would break it.

Lynn and Jim saw how their son tried nervously to put the chair back on its place before he walked to the door to get out of the room. They looked at each other surprised but understanding... and Jim knew he was talking to someone Annie could not compete with.

"Roma, are you ok? Where are you?"

Roma smiled at the worried tone in his voice, that little gesture making her know he cared a lot. "I’m in Ireland, at Patty’s..."

"Is everything alright? Is Reilly all right?"

"Yes, yes, we’re just fine!" she chuckled a little, her heart swelling with tenderness. "I... just wanted to talk to you."

Suddenly his heart felt heavier. She had thought better and she didn’t want him anymore! "A-about...?" he asked nervously.

She could easily guess his worries in the tone of his voice. How she’d like to be right in front of him to place a hand on his cheek and caress it. "About how much I miss you..." she murmured tenderly.

John couldn’t help but sigh in relief. "Oh, sweetie... I so want to be with you again. I miss you more, Roma. You know that you made one of my dreams come true the other day..."

"Was it really your dream, Johnnie?" she asked now perfectly aware that they would be flirting openly with each other.

"Hum... If you were here, I would be able to erase any tiny doubt... I’m dying to hold you and kiss you again..." he added in a low, seductive voice.

"Tempting..." she replied in a voice that matched his. "Keep on and I’ll be taking the first flight back home... You know what I could really use now?"

"What?" he asked, his heart beating wildly and his arms aching to be able to hold her.

"A kiss... or two."

"Then I’ll keep on telling you how much I miss you..."

*

The conversation with John had left Roma with a wide smile on her face that she couldn’t hide. Even little Reilly noticed it and she asked her mother about it as she climbed to her lap that afternoon.

"Are you happy, mommy?" the little girl asked looking directly at her mother’s brown eyes.

Roma chuckled and leaned to kiss her daughter’s forehead. "Yes, baby, I’m very happy. And you know why?" When the little girl shook her head, she continued, "because I have the most beautiful little daughter in the world."

"That’s what uncle Johnnie always tells me!"

"Oh, yes?"

"Yes, he says I’m the prettiest girl he could ever have!"

"Well, your uncle Johnnie tells the truth. He loves you very much!"

"But he also loves you, mommy," Reilly said and her mother immediately turned to see her. "He always says he loves you a lot!"

"Do you want to know a secret?" Roma asked her. "I love him too... very much," the actress murmured on the girl’s ear, squeezing her a little tighter.

"I miss him, mommy..." Reilly murmured a little later in a low sad voice.

Roma was lost in the memories of the three of them that she couldn’t suppress a sigh when her daughter mentioned how much she missed the blond actor. "I miss him too, sweetie, but we’re going to see him in a week."

"I want to ask him to take us to the streetcars again!" Reilly said looking to her mother’s eyes.

"Oh! Well, I’m sure he’ll take us again, poppet, but what do you say if tomorrow we go shopping to buy him something from here, huh? So he knows we thought about him while we were here..."

"Yes!" the girl said jumping and wrapping her little arms around her mother’s neck. "And I already know what I want to buy him!"

***

Jim saw his son standing by the porch of the backyard door, his sight lost on the setting sun behind the near forest. Walking silently, he placed a hand on John’s shoulder and smiled at him.

"So... what was the mysterious call about, John?" Jim asked. "It’s obvious it was someone important or you wouldn’t make the mess you did there!"

The blond actor chuckled at the memory. "Let’s say I wasn’t expecting her to call..."

"Her? So this is a woman!"

"Yeah," John murmured blushing a little.

"And by the way you reacted, I guess this woman means something important for you..." the older man saw him nodding. "Who is she? Tell me... Are you in love with her?"

John met his father’s green eyes, smiled and nodded again. "Terribly. Hopelessly."

"May I try to guess and venture that she is your co-star, Monica the angel?"

John couldn’t help but chuckle a little. "How did you know?!"

Jim wrapped an arm around his son’s shoulders and started to walk with him. "Bah... It’s not too difficult to guess. The way you look at her in every episode... You’re a great actor, son, but your eyes have never shone that bright with anyone... You know, your mother records every episode and we watch them more than once every week. Some time ago I started to follow your gaze, I don’t know why, but it betrays you... You’re always following Monica and I can recognize that way of looking to someone..."

"And what does mom say?" John asked.

"She says I’m wrong... though she can’t help but paying attention too..." Seeing his son remaining silent for a while, Jim continued, "does she love you back?"

Happiness filled John’s face again. "Yes."

"Then don’t let her go, son," Jim told him squeezing his shoulder. "It’s time for you to get the family you want with a woman that you love and that is so special, for all you have told me... I know you’ll make her happy and I know she makes you happy. Your face tells me so..."

John looked at his father with gratitude in his eyes. Yes, indeed he was the happiest guy in the world since he had heard Roma telling him she would fall in love with him so easily...

***

One week later

"Stay here, Reilly, don’t go anywhere until you see Charlie. Let me get the suitcases," Roma told her little daughter who was standing by a trolley right in front of the moving band.

Five minutes later, they were already walking towards the exit, the actress wondering where her driver was waiting for them as she had asked him by phone. "Need any help, Mrs. Downey?" a warm familiar voice said by her ear by the time a strong arm circled her waist.

"Uncle Johnnie!" Reilly shouted and threw herself into his waiting arms.

He knelt and hugged the little girl tightly. "I missed you, girls," he told her.

"And we missed you a lot too!" Reilly said.

"You did, huh?" the blond actor said standing up and locking his gaze with Roma’s expecting one.

"It was driving us crazy..." she replied in a very low voice, her eyes shining with tears.

"Not as much as it was driving me crazy..." he murmured back and placed a hand on her cheek stroking it gently. After a long minute there, he couldn’t hold more and pulled her into the tight embrace he so wanted to give her.

Roma felt her heart beating faster when he placed his hand on her cheek, but nothing felt better that his arms around her and the warmth of his body surrounding her, so she let go a sigh of relief. She buried her face in the nape of his neck and inhaled his perfume. How she had needed him the last weeks now she realized. This was where she belonged, by his side, in his strong arms... "When I need you, a telephone can’t take the place of your smile..." she murmured pulling apart to look into his loving eyes.

"When I need you I just close my eyes and I'm with you", he smiled catching the lyrics of the song, "and all that I so want to give you is only a heartbeat away..." Eyes locked, faces barely two inches away, John thought he couldn’t wait a minute more and he leaned down to kiss her long and slowly, this time both perfectly aware that was what they wanted from that moment on...

THE END