Page 79 of When Alec Met Evie
She was amazing tonight. Funny and likable. She fit right in, something I know I shouldn’t take for granted.
Honestly, I think Evie could fit in anywhere. She’s got this easy, unassuming confidence. At first, I thought maybe she just doesn’t realize how great she is. But after watching her tonight, I think it’s more that she doesn’tneedpeople to like her to feel okay about herself, which allows her to engage with people genuinely. She’s happy to talk about herself if the subject comes up, but she’ll just as quickly shower compliments and ask questions. She isn’t bold like Summer or hilarious like Parker or intense like Gracie. Her confidence is quieter, her humor more understated.
I glance at my watch as we push through the front door. It was after eleven when we left Felix’s, and it’s almost midnight now, so I doubt Evie will still be up, but that doesn’t stop me from hoping. It’s a weird sensation, because I just spent the entire evening with her, and it still doesn’t feel like enough. Maybe because I had to leave so abruptly. Or maybe because there’s an understanding between us now. The promise of a kiss we both want.
Not here. But soon.
Theo is pretty subdued by now, so once the front door closes behind us, Carter waves me away and promises he can handle his brother from here. I pause in the hallway, watching as they stumble their way up the stairs to the bonus room, Carter half-carrying, half-dragging Theo.
“Night, Captain,” Carter calls, then the door to the bonus room clicks shut.
I find Evie in the kitchen, pacing back and forth in front of the island.
She turns when I drop my keys on the counter.
“You’re still up,” I say.
She nods. “I was waiting for you.” She looks at the baby monitor sitting next to the sink. “Juno fell asleep on the way home.”
She says this like it’s very important for me to know. Like it matters that, at least for right now, we won’t be interrupted.
“Is Theo okay?”
“Yeah, he’s okay. I can tell you the whole story tomorrow, but they didn’t press charges. Just picked him up to keep him out of trouble.”
She breathes out a sigh. “Good. That’s good.”
I push my hands into my pockets. There’s a nervous energy about her that has me concerned. “Are you okay?”
“Yes! Absolutely. I’m just…” She closes her eyes and swallows before she opens them again, her hands moving to her hips. “The thing is, I don’t really feel like I’m at my best right now. My body is tired and a little squishy and it’s been a while since I’ve felt particularly sexy. But somehow, when you look at me, Idofeel sexy. I feel…alive.And desired. Like I’m waking up from a really long sleep.” She pauses and props her hands on her hips. I have no idea how she doesn’t feel sexy, because she absolutely is. Sexy enough that I was in a police station negotiating with my very intimidating hockey coach twenty minutes ago, and nowI’m here and the only thing I can think about is pulling her into my arms.
“You said you’d kiss mesoon, Alec.” She bites her lip. “So I’m just wondering if soon can be right now.”
I move around the island, heart pounding as I finally reach her. I lift a hand to her waist, slipping it around to the small of her back as I tug her toward me. I lift my free hand to her cheek, my thumb sliding over her soft skin, across the constellation of freckles on her right cheekbone, then down to her neck, where my fingers tangle in her hair.
“First of all,” I say, my voice low. “Everything about you is sexy. Every inch. Every curve.” I drop my fingers from her face and find her hand, lifting it to my chest. I slip it inside my coat and press it over my hammering heart. “Do you feel that? That’s what you do to me.”
She closes her eyes and presses her lips together like she’s trying to suppress a smile. Then she lifts her gaze to mine and lets out a shaky breath. “I’m scared, Alec.” The tremble in her voice sounds like heartache, the same thing I see in her eyes, and Megan’s warning echoes in my head.She’s fragile. Tread carefully.
“Then we’ll go slow,” I say.
“I’m too young for you,” she whispers, though I can tell her heart isn’t really in the protest.
I grin. “I’m too old for you.”
“If it doesn’t work out, Megan will never speak to us again.”
“But if it does work out, we’ll make her really happy.”
Evie lets out a little chuckle. “True. She already told me that,” she says, but then her expression sobers. “Okay, but…Juno is a big deal. If I’m working all day, I won’t ever want to leave her at night, which means I can’t really date. If we do this, nothing is going to feel normal.”
I lean down, brushing my nose against hers. I stop just shy of her lips, close enough to feel the whisper of her exhale on my skin. “Nothing about this haseverfelt normal,” I say. “Not since the minute I saw you standing in Ruth’s living room.”
She sucks in a breath, then she pushes up on her toes and closes the distance between us.
I wanted it to be her move—her choice—but the minute her lips are on mine, fire explodes through my veins, and it’s all I can do to maintain control. But I have to, because I just told her we would go slow. Evie has a lot more at stake than I do. I have to respect that. Respect what she wants, when she wants it.
But Evie isn’t holding back, her arms hooking around my neck, tugging me toward her like she can’t get close enough. I’m not the tallest of the Appies by any stretch, but I’m just shy of six foot three, and Evie’s a solid foot shorter. Plus, I’m in shoes, and she’s barefoot, so we’re both straining to make this work.
