Page 53 of When Alec Met Evie
Her hands drop to her hips as she takes a deep breath. “You think?”
The vulnerability in her expression tugs at me, and I feel a sudden need to lift her up, to ease her worries in some way. “I don’t just think,” I say gently. “I know. You’re going to be amazing.”
She bites her lip and breathes out a long sigh. “Remind me again tomorrow? And probably the next day too?”
“As many times as you need it,” I say. I push my hands into my pockets. “So I was thinking, since you met Gracie already, maybe we could all get together for dinner at Felix’s. Just like a group thing,” I add, emphasis on the wordgroup.
Evie’s eyes narrow the slightest bit—that was possibly a little too pointed—but then she smiles. “I would love that. Would they mind if I bring Juno?”
“They won’t mind at all. I’m sure they’d love to meet her.”
“Count me in, then. That sounds like fun.”
“Cool,” I say, doing my best to minimize the excitement in my voice and find that perfect balance betweenI’m looking forward to thisandI’m so eager you should probably be concerned.“I’ll talk to Felix and figure out a night that works.”
She crouches down and picks up Juno, tucking her against her before heading toward the kitchen. “Perfect. Now come eat before the twins devour all the soup.”
I follow after her, keenly aware that for the first time, this too-big house full of furniture I didn’t buy feels a lot like home.
CHAPTER 13
EVIE
You knowthose scenes in movies where a woman finally gets her big break and is starting her dream job, only on her first day of work, her car won’t start and her shoe gets caught in the drainage grate and she spills coffee on her shirt and she meets her boss for the first time when she’s crying in the elevator?
I’m living one of those scenes. Except, plot twist, the only obstacle ruining my first day is an almost-five-month-old baby girl. Sometime in between her very smiley evening flirting with Alec and the twins while they ate their soup and talked about their time on the road and right now, Juno was clearly possessed by demon spawn that robbed her of the ability to sleep.
Maybe it’s the full moon? A new tooth coming in?
All I know is it’s nearly two AM, she willnotfall asleep, and I’m supposed to be at Victoria’s tomorrow at ten AM sharp.
I guess it could be worse. I could have to work at seven. Even eight would feel tough.
But I still can’t stop doing the math. If Juno falls asleep right this second, I’m still only getting four hours of sleep before I have to wake up, feed her, get her ready to spend the day withRuth, then make it to work. And I really wanted to get to Ruth’s early, with plenty of time to spare just in case Juno had a hard time settling in.
Which she probably will now that she’s also gettingzerosleep.
Juno lets out a whimper, and I reposition her on my shoulder as we pace back and forth across our bedroom. The fact that I’m so keyed up, worrying about work tomorrow can’t be helping things because Juno has to be feeding off my energy.
But we’ve tried everything. She doesn’t want to eat or burp. She’s clean and dry and there are no tags or loose threads on her pajamas that might be bothering her. She’s just grumpy.
I reach the bathroom door on the far side of my bedroom, then turn and pace back toward the window. As long as I’m moving, Juno seems to do okay, but I’m not sure how much longer I can keep this up. I’m tempted to just put her in her crib and let her cry while I take a shower long enough to calm myself down, but this isn’t my house, and I have no idea if the sound will carry across to Alec’s room.
He just got home, and he looked exhausted. There’s no way I want to ruin his sleep with a wailing Juno.
When I pass the bedroom door one more time, I change course and head out into the hallway. Maybe a change of scenery will help?
I head downstairs without really thinking, but I hesitate at the bottom, glancing down at the very skimpy tank top sleep dress I’m wearing. It’s my favorite because the fabric is thick without being too heavy, and it makes nursing really easy. But it’s not exactly something I’d choose to wear in front of people. Especially not men, and there are three of those somewhere in the house.
Still, it’s well after midnight and the house is quiet, all the lights off save the tiny one over the stove in the kitchen, andI’m the only one in the house with a baby. It’s not likely I’ll run into anyone else, and honestly at this point, I’m too tired to care. Definitely too tired to go back upstairs to change clothesjust in case.
Juno squirms in my arms and lets out another whimper, lifting her tiny fists to her face. It’s a gesture I recognize, and it means she’s exhausted, so why won’t she just sleep already?
I pass by the television in the living room and get an idea. I haven’t used Alec’s video since moving to Harvest Hollow, though I can’t pinpoint why. Maybe because it seems silly when we’re living in his house? But it was tried and true a month ago, so maybe I’ll get lucky and it will work on Juno now.
I usually watch it on Instagram, and I left my phone upstairs, but I bet I can find it on YouTube, and I can do that from Alec’s TV. It takes a couple minutes of searching to find the right video, but I eventually do and push play, breathing out a weary sigh as I do.
“This better work, Junebug.” I keep the volume low, then pace back and forth in front of the TV, bouncing Juno in the glow of Alec’s face. I guess this might run the risk of waking someone up too, but it has to be better than wailing baby cries.
