When Calls the Heart’s Erin Krakow Says Elizabeth and Nathan’s Kiss Won’t Disappoint Fans (Exclusive)

The kiss When Calls the Heart fans have been waiting for is coming!

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE ahead of the season 11 premiere of Hallmark Channel’s hit drama series, Erin Krakow — who stars as schoolteacher Elizabeth Thornton — teases the kiss that is finally going to happen between her character and Constable Nathan Grant (Kevin McGarry).

“It doesn’t happen at the very beginning,” Krakow, 39, teases of the kiss she knows WCTH fans, affectionately known as “Hearties,” have been waiting for since McGarry, 39, joined the show in season 6, after the death of Elizabeth’s husband Jack Thornton (Daniel Lissing).

“Don’t we enjoy the dance?” Krakow asks, alluding to the character’s flirtation, before adding that she is also ready for them to finally get together.

“It’s frustrating a lot of times because you’re like, ‘God, just kiss already,'” the Army Wives alum adds. She’s hesitant to give up any details of the kiss scene but assures Hearties that in her opinion, the payoff will be worth the wait.

She adds that she and McGarry are “very aware” of what fans “want out of this journey to love and this first kiss.”

While she notes the pair are “not writing it, we’re not creating every moment,” they know “when it came to that moment, I think we felt like it was important that it really honor the buildup over however many seasons. And I don’t think it disappoints.”

The kiss comes after Elizabeth broke up with her fiancé, Governor-Elect Lucas Bouchard (Chris McNally) after deciding she wanted to stay in Hope Valley to raise her son, Little Jack, in the season 10 finale.

With the highly-anticipated kiss on the horizon, Krakow says if anyone has been interested in watching WCTH but resisted visiting the town of Hope Valley, “it’s really a great time to join in” because almost every resident is “creating this new chapter” in their lives.

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When Calls the Heart season 11 premieres Sunday, April 7 at 9 p.m. ET on Hallmark Channel.