Page 103 of When Alec Met Evie
I stand and open the front door, finding a man I don’t recognize on Evie’s porch. He has dark hair, light eyes, and a mouth that looks familiar, though I can’t immediately place where I’ve seen it before.
Until he smiles and holds out his hand.
That smile isJuno’ssmile.
Which means this guy is Evie’s ex.
“Hey. You must be Alec. I’m Devon.” He shoots me a devilish grin, eyebrows dancing. “Thanks for holding my spot for me.”
CHAPTER 28
EVIE
It’s almostfive-thirty when I finally pack up and leave Victoria’s for the day. I never would have stayed so late had Alec not texted and told me he had Juno, but the timing couldn’t have been more perfect.
This afternoon, Victoria and I finally added strings to the Georg Winterling. And because she is the most incredible boss on the entire planet, she let me be the one to give it a test run.
Or testplay,in this case.
It sounded incredible. Amazing. Unlike any violin I’ve ever played before.
I can’t wait to tell Alec about it. I can’t wait toseeAlec.
I’ve been worried about him the past couple of weeks. The days right around Thanksgiving and his surgery were admittedly terrible. Managing his pain, dealing with the frustration of not knowing what will happen next with hockey.
But things are slowly getting better. Luckily, it hasn’t been hard to be patient because even at his worst, Alec is never anything but sweet with me. But I can still tell he’s put some walls up. He won’t talk to me about hockey. He won’t talk tome about his plans. About how he wants to handle his physical therapy. He just closes off and shuts down.
Still, I’m confident we’ll get there.
I pull into my driveway, hopeful and anxious to see Alec, but then I freeze, hand still on the ignition, when I see a man sitting on my front porch.
I swear under my breath as I turn off the car, a riot of emotions at war in my chest.
I told Devon not to come. To leave us alone and let us be.
And he’s here anyway. He has some nerve showing up like this, no text, no warning.
Butnerveis pretty much Devon’s trademark.
I sigh as I grab my purse off the front seat and slowly make my way up the front walk.
Devon stands as I approach. The porch light casts his face in shadows, but it’s easy to see he’s still the same Devon. Same charming smile. Same devil-may-care vibe.
I stop in front of him, arms folded over my chest. “Devon, I told you not to come.”
“I know. You did. I’m sorry for just showing up like this. I should have let you know I was coming.” He looks me up and down. “You look good, Evie. Back to your old self.”
I’m nothing like my old self. Mostly because I see him for exactly who he is. He’s saying all the right words, getting the apologies just right, because healwayssays all the right words. Especially when he wants something.
Which has to be my endgame here.
I have to figure out what he wants. What doeshethink he’s going to get out of this visit?
If his motives are anything but sincere, I’ll kick him back to New York so fast his head will spin. I’m sure Alec would love to help me.
Oh gosh. Alec.
I look up the porch steps to the front door. “How long have you been here?” I ask Devon.
