Page 18 of When Alec Met Evie
He holds my gaze for another second before giving his head a little shake and stepping away. He reaches for the duffel he discarded when we first stepped inside, then adds the crib and diaper bag to his shoulders. He clears his throat. “Let me show you where you’ll be staying.”
I grab Juno’s carrier, then let Alec lead me through the entryway, past some sort of a music room with a grand piano right in the center and a dining room with a table that looks big enough to seat Alec’s entire hockey team. There’s an enormous staircase in the center of the house, but Alec doesn’t stop until we reach a living room right off the kitchen. It’s warm and welcoming and actually looks lived in, at least compared to the rest of the house. It’s still nice, but it doesn’t feelfancy. I’m guessing this is where Alec spends most of his time.
The L-shaped couch looks soft and comfortable, covered in throw pillows in dusty shades of blue, and there’s a fluffy blanket draped over the back. The opposite wall has bookshelves on either end, flanking a massive TV, making the whole space perfect for a movie night. Give me a bowl of popcorn and that fluffy blanket, and I could be happy in this room forever.
“There are three bedrooms upstairs,” Alec says, motioning to a second stairway in the corner of the room. “All with the beds made up and ready, so you can have your pick and use as many as you want.”
“You keep all three guest rooms ready?” I set Juno’s carrier down on the floor, then crouch down to unstrap her and lift her out. She’s been an absolute dream today considering how much time she’s spent in the car. But I can tell her patience is about to run out. She needs a bath and a meal and a little bit of uninterrupted mama time.
Alec shrugs easily as he glances around the room. “I bought the house fully furnished, so they were like that when I moved in.”
I look around the room one more time. “That explains the grand piano.”
“How do you know I haven’t started playing?”
“Have you?”
He grins. “Well,no,but I might now that I have a piano.” He pushes his hands into his pockets. “The people who sold me the house moved to Europe and didn’t want to ship over all their furniture. Most of my stuff is still in boxes out in the garage, but I haven’t had a lot of time or reason to unpack everything.”
I get the convenience of moving into a house like this. But I have to wonder. If Megan is right about Alec not wanting to settle down, why did he buy a four-bedroom house in a quiet, family-friendly neighborhood?
Alec looks down at Juno, then reaches forward, his hand curling around her foot. It’s a gentle gesture, almost a thoughtless one, but it makes me happy to see him acknowledge her, despite his earlier claim that he knows nothing about babies.
Juno looks up at him, and he smiles. “She looks like you.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. She definitely has your eyes.” He lifts my bags a little higher on his shoulder. “Come on. I’ll carry these upstairs for you.”
Ten minutes later, he leaves me in the largest of the upstairs bedrooms, one with a sitting area off the main room that will be perfect for Juno’s portable crib, and an ensuite bathroom with a huge soaking tub and a gorgeous tile shower.
I spend the next hour with Juno, going through her nightly routine, crossing my fingers that despite being in a strange house, she’ll go down without too much trouble. She usually falls asleep around seven or eight; if I’m lucky, she won’t wake up again until midnight.
Once she’s settled in her crib, I take a shower and put on a pair of leggings and my Cornell hoodie. Megan’s parents bought it for me at one of Alec’s college games, and it’s been one of my favorites ever since. I almost pick something else—I don’t want Alec to think I picked it because of him— but it really is the softest and the warmest, so I leave it and push my worries from my mind. For all I know, Alec has gone to bed and won’t even see my hoodie.
I’m tempted to climb into bed and crash myself, but Ruth’s chicken pot pie is the only thing I’ve eaten today, and that was hours ago. I’ll head to the grocery store tomorrow, but for now, I hope Alec has a stocked pantry.
I’m halfway down the back stairwell when my nose picks up the smell of something cooking, and my stomach lets out a low rumble.
I find Alec in the kitchen in front of the stove, sliding a sandwich onto a plate. After everything he’s done for me already, it feels selfish to hope he’s making it for me, but my mouth is watering before I’ve even reached the counter. When Alec smiles and nudges the plate toward me, it’s all I can do not to whimper out loud.
“I’m not much of a cook,” he says. “But I thought you might be hungry.”
“Starving,” I say. “Whatever it is, it smells amazing.”
“Fried egg, cheddar, and bacon,” he says. “Breakfast food is pretty much all that’s in my wheelhouse.”
I pick up the sandwich and take an enormous bite, not even caring that Alec is watching me so intently. I close my eyes as a low groan sounds in the back of my throat. “Oh my gosh, that tastes amazing,” I say through a mouthful of food.
The yolk on the egg is runny, just the way I like it, and my second bite gets messy, egg dripping down the side of my hand.
Alec reaches for the paper towels, tearing one off before sliding it across the bar.
“Sorry,” I say in between bites. “Breastfeeding makes me ravenous.” I look at the paper towel, then look at my sandwich. If I put it down, I’m only going to get messy again when I pick it back up. “You know what? I’m committed. I’m just going to finish, then clean up after.”
Alec chuckles. “Okay, but maybe…” He moves around the counter and picks up the paper towel, then lifts it to my face. I sit stone still as he slides it across my cheek, wiping away a smear of egg I hadn’t even realized was there. “So it doesn’t get in your hair,” he says. He uses his free hand to slide the rest of my hair off my shoulder and away from my face. His fingers lightly brush across my neck before he moves his hand away, and goosebumps erupt across my skin.
My gaze reflexively lifts to his, like I might be able to tell from his expression whether he realizes that him standing so close makes me feel like my heart is beating on the outside of my chest.
