Page 65 of When Alec Met Evie
“Alec, are you still dating the woman in Chicago?” I blurt out. “The one with all the pictures of you on Instagram?”
Alec’s hand stills over his salad, but his eyes are clear when he looks up to meet mine. “No,” he says simply. “I’m not. Evie, I wouldn’t be talking to you like this if I was.”
I take a shaky breath, exhaling and letting the tension drain out of my body. In its place, a warm, buzzy glow fills my limbs, making my skin tingle and my blood heat.
I wouldn’t be talking to you like this if I was. That means Alec really is flirting with me.
He clears his throat. “If we’re talking about people wearen’tdating,” he says, “are you still talking to your ex-husband?”Alec’s tone is even and steady, and the thrill of the previous moment whooshes out of me all at once. “I saw that he texted. I wasn’t trying to snoop, but it did make me wonder if the two of you are still talking, or…”
“We aren’t,” I say, almost eagerly. Probablytooeagerly. But my answer isn’t entirely true. “I mean, not in the way you mean,” I add. “He did text me recently. But only because of Juno. Not because there is anything between us.” The warmth in Alec’s expression immediately puts me at ease, making it easy to add, “I wouldn’t be talking toyoulike this if there was.”
His lip ticks up the slightest bit. “Good. I’m glad we’re on the same page, then.”
Oh my gosh.
Me.
And Alec Sheridan.
Megan’s freaking older brother Alec Sheridan.
Are on. the same. page.
And not justanypage. A page torn out of an actual romance novel.
“So…Halloween?” he asks, like we’re still just having a normal, casual conversation.
I force my brain to focus. To not freak out. To be chill and calm like this is not one of my childhood fantasies coming true because it sounds like he’s asking me on a date. “Juno does look pretty cute in her puppy dog costume,” I manage to say.
“I’m sure she does. So you’ll come?”
“I’d love to come.”
“Perfect,” Alec says, practically blinding me with his full megawatt smile. “And I was thinking dinner at Felix’s on Friday night? It works for the rest of us if you’re free.”
“Dinner on Friday and Halloween next week? You don’t think you’ll get sick of me?”
He tosses me a flirty smile. “Not likely.”
After I figure out how to breathe again, I spend the next twenty minutes talking about the repairs I’ve watched Victoria do and the restoration we’re starting this afternoon. Once I get going, I completely forget that Alec basically just admitted he caught the same feelings I did. That’s how much I’m enjoying this work. But Alec is also a really good listener. He keeps asking questions.Realquestions. Questions that make it obvious he’s paying attention and not just humoring me.
“And that’s what’s so exciting about it,” I finally say. “A lot of older instruments are complete crap and shouldn’t be restored because they never sounded great to begin with. But instruments that are well made will only sound better with age. And a Georg Winterling violin is definitely going to sound amazing.”
He studies me for a long moment. “You’re really happy here, aren’t you?”
I lift my eyebrows, surprised by the question. “What, like, in Harvest Hollow?”
“Sure. But I really meanherehere. Doing this. Working with Victoria.”
I can’t stop the easy smile that comes at his question because I reallydolove it here. Even though it’s only been three days, I already feel like I’ve found a true friend in Victoria, and the work both inspires me and challenges me. I pick up my last french fry and stand up. “Come here. I want to show you something.”
Alec follows me into the workshop. On the far wall, there’s a wooden sign with the wordsA Place for Healingstamped over the outline of a violin. I motion toward the sign. “I know it’s supposed to be about the instruments,” I say. “But when I got here Monday morning and read that for the first time, it felt like a message just for me. A reminder that I’m going to be okay.”
He pushes his hands into his pockets and studies the sign. “I’m really happy for you, Evie,” he finally says.
His words are genuine, but there’s a sadness behind them I can’t quite define, enough that it shifts the happy mood of the past half-hour. “Hey.” I look over at him and bump my shoulder into his arm. “You okay?”
He gives his head a quick shake. “Yeah. Absolutely. Iamhappy for you.”
