Page 19 of When Alec Met Evie
Alec’s eyes are warm, but there’s nothing in his expression outside of genuine concern and kindness. Nothing to make methink he noticed my reaction or that touching me impacted him the same way it did me.
Which honestly, it’s a completely ridiculous thought. First, I talked about breastfeeding, then I smeared food all over my face, and now I’m wondering if Alec is feeling attraction? I don’t think I could be less sexy if I tried.
“Nice sweatshirt,” he finally says, and heat warms my cheeks.
“Thanks. Your parents bought it for me back when I was going to all your games with Megan.”
He nods. “I remember. You guys were an excellent cheering section.”
“We were, weren’t we? I still have a Cornell jersey with your name on the back.”
Something happens to Alec’s expression then, his eyes narrowing the slightest bit, his mouth falling open like he’s lost in thought, but then he gives his head a little shake and steps away, moving back around the counter. He keeps his eyes down while he fixes two glasses of water, giving one to me, then returns to the bar with a second sandwich for himself.
I have no idea what happened. If I made him uncomfortable by mentioning his jersey, or if it triggered an entirely different thought and his momentary weirdness didn’t have anything to do with me. Either way, he seems okay now, so I dig back into my sandwich.
We eat in easy silence until I finish and slide my plate forward, then use my napkin to wipe my face and hands. “That was amazing,” I say. “Thanks for feeding me. And for everything today, really. Unloading the pod. Giving us a place to stay. All of it.”
“It’s no problem,” he says in between bites. “I’ve got plenty of space.”
“Yeah, whydoyou have all this space? This house is huge.”
“It was more about the neighborhood and less about the house,” Alec says. “I like the security. And it’s quiet. Mostly families. My last place was in a busier part of town, people always coming and going, and my neighbor was always having crazy parties.” He pauses and offers me a sheepish grin. “I sound really old, don’t I?”
“So old,” I repeat, but then I smile. “I get it, though.” I slide off the barstool and carry my plate to the sink. “So talk to me about your knee.”
He frowns. “Why would I want to talk about my knee?”
“Because I saw you limping when we came inside. Are you injured? Please tell me you didn’t hurt yourself today.”
“I didn’t hurt it today,” he says, and I can tell he’s telling the truth.
“So it’s a hockey injury?”
He breathes out a sigh. “You’re asking a lot of questions.”
“Oh come on.” I return to the stool beside him. “You said I was like a sister, so talk to me like one.”
He lifts an eyebrow at this, but then he finally shifts on his stool and turns to fully face me. “It’s an old hockey injury,” he says. “Do you remember when I had surgery on my ACL during my senior year at Cornell?”
“Oh, that’s right! You didn’t play in any games until after Christmas.”
“Exactly. Then I blew it out again my first year with the Appies, and it hasn’t been the same since. I’ve had three surgeries total, and the past few years it’s been pretty solid. But here lately, it’s been acting up again.”
“What does ‘acting up’ mean?”
He shrugs. “It gets stiff, especially later in the day. And it swells up if I’m not icing it regularly.”
I look down at his knee, though it’s not like there’s anything to see through the dark joggers he’s wearing. “Does it impact your playing?”
“Not so far, but…” He hesitates and runs a hand through his hair. “But my trainers seem to think it’s only going to get worse if I keep playing on it.”
If he keeps playing.
Does that mean he’s thinking aboutnotplaying? He isn’t saying so much in words, but I can read a lot in his body language. In the tightness across his shoulders, in the way he’s avoiding eye contact. Hockey has defined Alec’s entire adult life. It isn’t hard to imagine how gutting it might feel to think about all of it ending.
I nudge his knee with mine. “Hey. You know you’re more than a hockey player, right?”
He looks up sharply, like my words have surprised him.
