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I lift a hand to her face, every other frustration and worry vaporizing in an instant. Right now, I only see her. “Hey. What’s wrong? Why are you frowning?”
“Does he not want to see her at all?” I ask, the words tasting sour. “Apparently, he does now,” she says, a bitter edge to her words. “That’s the problem.”
Reluctantly, I nod and move back into the kitchen to grab my keys and the coffee still waiting for me on the counter. But then I find myself crossing the room back to Evie, needing one more touch, one more connection before I go.
She cocks her head to the side, lips pursed like she’s studying me. Then she shifts Juno a little higher on her hip, pushes up onto her toes and presses a lingering kiss to my jaw, just below my ear. “I bet you will eventually,” she whispers, her words brushing across my skin.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing you tonight,” I say. “Me too,” she whispers.
“Sorry, man,” Carter says under his breath. “He isn’t usually such a jerk. He’s just…going through some stuff.” I glance at Carter. “Yeah. He told me about your dad.” Carter’s eyes widen. “He told you about him?” “Just that he passed away,” I say. “I’m sorry.” Carter nods. “Is that…all he told you? That he died?” “There’s more to it?” I ask, and Carter breathes out a sigh. “Theo was driving,” Carter says, his voice almost too soft for me to hear. “It wasn’t his fault. They were t-boned. The other driver went straight through an intersection. But…I think he still blames himself.”
But he has just as much right to grieve as his brother.
But you have just as much potential to be a star as he does. Don’t treat him like he’s your only shot at making it to the NHL. I’m glad you told me what he’s going through. And I respect your desire to take care of him. But at least when it comes to the team, don’t fight his battles. It won’t help you any more than it helps him.”
Evie’s words echo in my mind. Don’t give up on him.
Unfortunately, all those very exciting developments are tinged with an uneasy awareness lurking in the back of my mind. Because it’s also been two days since Devon told me he’d like to come spend Thanksgiving in Harvest Hollow.
It’s so far out of the realm of what I expected, of what Devon has ever done before. He does not make trips that do not serve his own interests.
But—you know what? I don’t want to think about the twins right now. Or hockey.” He holds my gaze for a long moment. “Hi,” he finally says, like we’re starting over. I smile up at him. “Hi.” Alec moves toward me, his eyes moving over my body in a way that makes my skin prickle with delicious awareness. “You look really beautiful,” he says, and heat floods my cheeks.
I want to focus on the way it feels to have his gaze on me, to enjoy the tension simmering between us. But in the back of my mind, I can’t stop thinking about the fact that I still need to tell Alec about Devon’s supposed visit.
“Devon wants to come meet Juno. I have to let him because even though the state of New York gave me full custody, taking her out of the state and away from her other parent was contingent upon my willingness to allow visitation should Devon want to make the trip.”
“We’d talked about kids,” I say. It’s more answer than he’s asking for, but I feel the need to defend myself a little bit, so I keep going. “Only in the vague, somewhere down the road sense. We were both so focused on finishing college and starting our careers, kids were nowhere on the table. But we weren’t trying for Juno. She was completely accidental. I found out I was pregnant a few weeks after Devon landed his first official role on Broadway.”
But I’m working on having grace with my former self. Hindsight is always twenty/twenty, and I can’t truly regret a relationship that brought me Juno.
Devon having a relationship with Juno doesn’t mean I will ever want Devon to have a relationship with me. Not anymore. And it’s very important to me that you know that.”
I come with baggage. And Alec deserves to know all that going in.
Eli and Bailey, Van and Amelia, Nathan and Summer, Logan and Parker, and of course, Gracie and Felix.
Right now, he’s turned away from me, talking to Van and Nathan about their fantasy hockey teams, but at Gracie’s question, his hand slipped under the table to squeeze my knee, so he must be paying at least partial attention to my conversation too.
“And don’t hold back,” Gracie adds. “I need you to legit brag. If you have any qualifications, I want to hear them.” She seems like she’s asking for a very particular reason, so I swallow my first inclination, which is to deflect and self-deprecate and tell her what she wants to know. “I went to Juilliard. And I was concertmaster of the Julliard Orchestra my senior year.” “Shut up,” Gracie says. “That’s amazing.
“Okay, so I’m just throwing this out there,” Gracie says. “I have this quartet, and our first violinist is moving at the end of November. It’s pretty low-key. We mostly do weddings, the occasional corporate function. But the pay is decent, and we only rehearse if we need to learn new music. Mostly, we just play standard wedding stuff, which I’m sure is music you already know. Are you interested?”
“With Juno, I’m not sure I’d…” “I could help out with Juno,” Alec says. “At least when I’m in town.” “Me too,” Summer adds. “I don’t usually travel with the team, so I’m around more than Alec is. I’d love to babysit.” “I would too,” Bailey says from beside me. “My schedule’s a little crazy with school, but if I’m around and not studying, I’d love to watch her.”
But even though these are also Alec’s friends, it doesn’t feel like that at all. We just met, but there’s still an openness here, a sincerity and sense of inclusion that I haven’t experienced since I was a kid hanging out at Megan’s house all the time.
“So, I didn’t know you were such a badass at Juilliard.” I chuckle. “I was nothing of the sort.” “With a fancy title like concertmaster? Doesn’t that mean you were the best one?” “Look at you with your orchestra lingo.” “I’ve done my research,” he says. “You got a head start on hockey. I need to catch up.”
“You should say yes to the quartet,” he says. “Take a leap. There are a lot of people here willing to catch you.”
but I’m willing to bet, so I tear a page from his playbook and give him the same answer he gave me. “I’ll never tell,” I say. His eyes turn molten as he lifts a hand to my cheek, his thumb brushing across my jawline, and for a moment, I think he’s going to do it. He’s going to kiss me right here in a room full of his friends. But then he lifts his gaze and glances around and seems to think better of it. “Not here,” he says, his voice low and sultry. His hand slides back to my hair, that torturous thumb tracing a slow line down the side of my neck. “But soon.”
But I’m thinking about it now, and it feels like finding a piece of myself that was lost. Like I’m waking up from a really long nap.
“You really are a sucker for this baby,” I say. He meets my eye, his hands shifting to either arm of my chair so he’s hovering over me, his face as close as it was in the kitchen when we almost kissed. His grin turns mischievous, and my heart skips a beat or two as he leans even closer. “I’m definitely a sucker for something.”
That he helped without being asked. That while I’m caring for Juno, he’s caring for me.
“You once said feeding her makes you thirsty.” I take the water, fighting an inexplicable wave of emotion. He brought me my baby. He remembered how thirsty nursing makes me. He’s sharing his friends, making me feel seen and welcome and like I belong here. I can’t with this. I can’t experience all of this and not start to fall in love with him. “Thanks,” I say, taking the water.
He runs a hand through his hair and groans. “Oh no.” “What’s wrong?” I ask. He breathes out a sigh. “It’s the twins. They’re at the police station.”
“Theo was picked up for drunk and disorderly conduct. Carter is asking if we can come down to the station.” “I’ll come with you,” Summer says. “If charges have been filed, you’ll need a legal rep from the team.”
He thought of everything. He’s never been a dad, never had a wife, and still, he anticipates my every need.
Maybe fatherhood is just a matter of paying attention, of noticing what your family needs, then stepping up to take care of that need. It’s being present. Invested. Willing.
Last season, Dominic joined the team and didn’t get along with anyone. But he settled in. Figured out what it was to be an Appie. But I don’t remember anyone causing trouble like Theo.
“Hey, just breathe,” I say. “You’re all right. We’ll figure this out. But let’s take it one thing at a time, okay?” I tilt my head, motioning toward the interior of the police station. “They’re holding Theo?” He nods. “You didn’t drink tonight?” I ask. “No, sir. I was driving. I didn’t have a single drink.”
“There was nothing on him. We’d just left the tattoo place, and he was walking down the middle of the road singing something stupid. I was trying to get him back on the sidewalk when the cop pulled up.”
“He didn’t have alcohol on him, and the arresting officer didn’t do a breathalyzer, so it would be tough to make a case against him. He says he mostly picked him up to teach him a lesson and keep him from getting into troub—” Summer’s words cut off as her eyes widen. “Ohhhh, no,” she says, looking over my shoulder. We all turn to see Coach Davis standing in the doorway of the police station, a stern expression on his face. He walks toward us, stopping next to Carter. “Does someone want to explain to me why I was called out of bed on a Friday night when all of you should be home resting up for
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But then he makes eye contact with me, and his expression sobers. He looks over to the officer standing beside him. “I don’t think my captain is very happy with me right now.” “Your captain just wants you to make better choices.” I reach out and shake the officer’s hand. “Thanks for picking him up. And sorry for the trouble.”
“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, I do feel sexy. I feel…alive. And desired. Like I’m waking up from a really long sleep.”
“You said you’d kiss me soon, Alec.” She bites her lip. “So I’m just wondering if soon can be right now.”
“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.”
“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 has ever felt 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
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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,
She kisses me again, tilting her head, her lips parting in an invitation I happily accept. My hands slide around her, dipping under the hem of her sweater until they’re flat against her skin, warm and soft as silk. Her back arches and she leans into me, pressing close as she deepens the kiss, her tongue brushing against mine. The fact that she’s controlling this, guiding me to what she wants is as sexy as it is intoxicating. Right now, in this moment, I’d do anything for her. Anything she wants. That’s the kind of power she has over me.
Her hands move to my neck, then up to my scalp where her nails rake through my hair, earning a groan of pleasure that makes her chuckle. I break the kiss and drop my head to her shoulder. “That feels really good.” “You have good hair,” she whispers. “I found a gray one earlier tonight,” I say, and she chuckles. “Old man,” she whispers. “Nerd,” I whisper back. She wraps her arms around me, her knees still bracketing my waist, and I relax into the best hug I’ve gotten in years.
“Your house is done?” This is information I haven’t heard yet, and a twinge of disappointment pushes through me. “You didn’t tell me.” “I just found out,” she says. “My landlord emailed tonight.
I hate the thought of Evie leaving. But it’s probably better if she does. If slow is going to happen, living with Evie will not make that easier.
I help her off the counter, keeping my hands on her hips, not quite ready to let her go. “Alec, you’re going to spend so much time waiting for me to feed the baby or change the baby or get the baby to sleep.” I shrug. “Some things are worth waiting for.” She kisses me again, her hands still clutching my shirt.
