When Alec Met Evie (Appies, #6)

by Jenny Proctor

I find Evie in the kitchen, her hair piled on top of her head and Juno strapped to her chest in some kind of colorful fabric sling looking thing. Music is playing from a portable speaker on the counter, and Evie is dancing around the kitchen. She spins one more time, her hands cupped around Juno’s feet, and finally sees me. She yelps and jumps back, her arms wrapping around the baby like I’m some kind of predator. I grimace. “Sorry,” I say over the music. She smiles and shakes her head as she retrieves her phone from the counter and turns off the music. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” “It’s fine. I was just…” She looks down at Juno who is awake and wide-eyed. “She likes the music. Plus, I get some exercise, so it’s a win-win.” She looks over at the stove. “Are you hungry? I cooked. And by cooked, I mean I warmed up a pizza and there’s some left over. But I did make these!” She pulls a kitchen towel off the top of a baking dish full of cinnamon rolls. “It’s actually your mom’s recipe,” she says. “She gave it to me as a baby gift when Juno was born.” Evie is buzzing with energy, her cheeks pink from exertion, her eyes bright. With Juno in her arms, she looks like life. Like happiness. I lift my eyebrows. “Mom guards that recipe with her life. She hasn’t even given it to me yet.” “It took years of wearing her down,” Evie says. “And maybe a tiny bit of guilt-tripping after the divorce? I’m still not sure I’ve perfected her process, but this is the best batch I’ve made so far.” S...