When Alec Met Evie (Appies, #6)

by Jenny Proctor

Alec meets me when I’m halfway up the sidewalk, lifting the bag from my shoulder and carrying it the rest of the way. I frown as I watch him walk. I could be wrong, but he looks like he’s favoring his right knee. I don’t remember noticing anything when we were unloading all my furniture which makes me suddenly worry he somehow injured himself. Especially after the way his teammates teased him. I’m deep in a narrative in which Alec’s hockey career is over and it’s all my fault and he’ll never forgive me much less speak to me again when I realize Alec has said something and is waiting for me to respond. I scour my brain for the words I know I heard but clearly didn’t process, but I come up empty. “Sorry, what was that?” I ask. “I spaced there for a second.” Alec lifts an eyebrow. “I just asked about your conversation with Megan.” “Oh! It was good. Great. She’s worried about her pharmacology exam.” It’s a true response, even if we only talked about pharmacology for the first two minutes, then spent the rest of our conversation talking about him. He nods knowingly. “Sounds about right. I don’t know why she worries so much. She always does great.” “That’s what I tell her!” I say, making a mental note to circle back to Alec’s leg. Even if it’s something minor, I’ll feel terrible if he hurt himself on my account. “Still, I’m glad you were around today because otherwise, Megan would have flown down here herself, and then I’d never hear the end of her stressing over the school she’...