Page 105 of When Alec Met Evie
“Why would you do that?” I ask. “When he was such a jerk to you, why would you?—”
“Because I’m in love with you,” he says, cutting me off.
I suck in a breath as his words land.
“Because I love you, and I’d rather be here supporting you than running away to prevent my own discomfort.”
I lunge into him, wrapping my arms around his neck as I press my lips to his. “I love you too,” I say. “So much.” His arms loop around my waist, and I melt into his solid warmth, pressing into his chest as I kiss him again and again. “Juno started solid foods,” I say in between kisses, and Alec chuckles.
“What?”
I lean back and look at him. “I didn’t tell you because I was mad that you weren’t talking to me about hockey. I thought if you had secrets from me, then I should have secrets from you.”
His expression softens. “I didn’t have any secrets, Evie. I just didn’t know what to do.”
I bite my lip. “I know. I just wanted you to talk to me about it.”
“I want to,” he says. “I do. But probably not right now because Devon just pulled into your driveway.”
I breathe out a sigh, glancing over my shoulder and out the front window. Sure enough, my car is back, and Devon is making his way up the front walk.
I turn back to Alec. “As much as I love that you offered, I really do think this conversation will be easier without you here. I need him to be honest with me, and I’m not sure he will be, even if you’re in the other room.”
He nods. “Okay. As long as you’re sure you’ll be okay.”
“I will be.”
Devon’s knock sounds through the house.
“Will you come back?” I ask Alec.
“I will,” he says, leaning down to press another kiss to my lips. “But I might be a minute. I think I need to go to the Summit.”
“What? Why?” I ask as Devon knocks one more time.
“Because it’s time for me to say goodbye.”
I barely keep myself from giggling at the way Alec uses his looming height and broad shoulders to intimate Devon as he passes him on the front porch. The man doesnotyield his space. He just walks straight forward, trusting that Devon will sidestep out of the way.
It was a territorial move, with more alpha energy than I’ve ever seen from Alec before, and I’ll be honest. I’m definitely a fan.
“Come on in,” I say to Devon, pulling the door open and stepping to the side.
He steps into the living room and looks around. “Nice place.”
“Thanks. It’s perfect for us. More room than we had in Manhattan.”
He chuckles. “That’s not hard to do.” He sits down on the far end of the couch, probably hoping I’ll sit down next to him, but I pick the overstuffed chair I always sit in to nurse Juno. It has low arms, which makes it really comfortable, but right now I pick it simply because it puts me as far away from Devon as possible.
“So,” he says, rubbing his hands over his thighs. “How have you been?”
“Good,” I answer honestly. “Great, actually.”
He tilts his head to the side, like he can’t quite believe my answer. “Really?”
“Does that surprise you?” I ask.
He rubs a hand across his jaw, eyes down, and I get the distinct impression that he’s considering his next move. Like this is a chess game, and he’s trying to figure out how to get my pieces where he wants them. It’s baffling to me how I never saw this before when it’s so obvious to me now.
