Page 13 of When Alec Met Evie
Felix
Honestly, it was hard to miss. Pretty sure he drooled.
Van
I’m sorry I missed it.
Nathan
It’s also worth noting that her house flooded from an exploding water heater, which means our good captain is probably going to invite her to stay at his place.
Felix
He’d better invite her. Alec, you do know you can’t let her stay in a hotel, right?
Alec
Of course I will. But this will not be a thing. Evie is like a sister. There was no tongue-swallowing.
Definitely no drooling.
Felix
Good. Then it shouldn’t be a big deal when she moves in.
Van
How much younger is she?
Alec
Nine years.
Van
Nice. She can care for you in your old age.
I pocket my phone, knowing that at this point, responding will only motivate them more. But Felix is right. It shouldn’t be a big deal for Evie to stay with me. And if she actuallywasmy sister, I wouldn’t hesitate to offer. Which makes me wonder why I’m hesitating now.
I look up and see Evie walking down the sidewalk with Ruth, a baby in her arms.
I stand and make my way toward her, meeting them at the foot of the driveway. The baby is facing outward in Evie’s arms. She has a head full of dark hair the same color as Evie’s and big blue eyes. As far as babies go, she’s pretty cute. I’ve never seen one with so much hair.
The baby kicks her legs the slightest bit, and Evie looks down and smiles. “Are you saying hi to Alec?” she says to her daughter. She lifts her gaze to meet mine. “Alec, this is Juno.”
I reach out and let Juno take my finger, her chubby fist closing around it with surprising grip. “Hey there, Juno,” I say, shaking her finger like it’s an official greeting. This makes the baby smile and something small turns over inside my heart.
“I think she likes you,” Evie says. “Want to hold her?”
“Oh, absolutely not,” I say, and Evie laughs. “I don’t know anything about babies.”
“There’s only one way to learn,” Ruth says with a knowing grin.
“Did your friends leave?” Evie asks, looking toward the curb. “I didn’t get to say thank you.”
“They did, but they don’t need any thanks. They were happy to help. And they already agreed to come back when the house is done and you can officially move in.”
Evie smiles, but it’s tight around the edges, and I can sense how much she hates needing this much help. I definitely shouldn’t tell her I just gave my credit card number to the disaster repair guy to secure their services.
