Alec frowned. “I forgot to ask if pizza was all right with you. The wee one would eat it for every meal if I let her.”
“Pizza!” Evanne cheered.
I smiled, equally entertained by Alec’s revelation as I was by Evanne’s enthusiasm. “Pizza is wonderful, especially when it’s homemade.”
The relieved expression on Alec’s face sent a burst of warmth through me. As controlled and confident as he seemed, the vulnerability I’d glimpsed when he’d shared about his family the other day was still there, just below the surface. I had a feeling that wasn’t something most people got to see.
Evanne sat on the floor in front of a low table, a stack of notebooks and papers next to her. She’d changed out of her school clothes and into a pair of jeans and a Disney’sBravet-shirt. I assumed Alec had changed after work as well since he now wore a pair of nice jeans and a dark blue long-sleeved shirt, both of which made him look even more delicious than usual. A pair of comfortable ash gray slacks and my favorite black fitted sweater had seemed the best outfit choice, and I saw now that my instincts had been correct.
“Working hard?” I asked, unsure if I was supposed to stay out here with her or go somewhere else.
“Always,” she said. “I’m almost done, and then we can watchBrave. It’s my favorite!”
“Good choice,” I said.
She returned my smile and went back to work. Alec touched my arm, smiling as he motioned for me to follow him to the kitchen. The moment we were out of Evanne’s eyeline, he pulled me close and kissed me again, this one thorough and lingering. Hot enough to scorch, the kiss left me breathless and weak in the knees.
“Good to see you too,” I whispered as I leaned into him, partly because I didn’t trust my legs to hold me but also because I didn’t want to let him go.
“I couldn’t resist,mhurninn.” He brushed his lips across mine.
“What does that mean?”
He flushed. “My darling.”
“It’s sweet either way,” I said, my toes curling at the words, “but I prefer the way you say it.”
He lowered his head to kiss me again when Evanne interrupted us by calling from the living room, “Is the pizza almost ready?”
We both laughed as we stepped apart, faces flushed. It would be far too easy to lose ourselves in each other.
“Soon,” Alec called back. “How much work do you have left?”
“Half a page of math,” Evanne answered.
“We should be ready about the same time you’re done,mo chride.” He glanced at me and answered my unasked question. “My heart.”
That was the sweetest thing I’d ever heard of a parent calling their child, but I had a feeling it would embarrass Alec if I said that, so I kept my observation to myself.
As we finished getting out what we needed for the meal, Alec told me he’d had a talk with Evanne about us, and that she understood she shouldn’t talk about our relationship until we told her it was okay. The weight that lifted off my shoulders allowed me to relax as Alec and I settled into our date.
After clearing Evanne’s things from the table, we brought in the food, then took seats on the couch opposite the TV with Evanne between us. Pizza with a third-grader while we watched a kids’ movie was far from the sort of romantic dinner date a woman might’ve wanted, but I liked the fact that he wasn’t trying to give me some fairytale version of his life.
This was more like I’d been brought into his real life, like I’d become a part of his life. A part of his family. I knew he said he wanted to take things slow, but I couldn’t help feeling like we weren’t really starting at the beginning.
The surreal feeling I’d had when I first arrived didn’t go away, but rather continued. Alec and I snuck smiles at each other throughout the movie, laughing when one of us couldn’t seem to sever a cord of cheese between our mouths and our pizza. Evanne kept shushing us because the movie was ‘getting to the good part’ which, according to her, was about ninety-five percent of the movie.
I didn’t blame her. It was an awesome movie.
She was already nodding off by the time the credits rolled. Alec carried her up to her bedroom, and I followed. As I had before, I read her a bedtime story, picking up from our last reading ofCharlotte’s Web, while Alec went back downstairs and took care of the dishes. Once Evanne had fallen asleep, I returned to the living room where Alec waited with a bottle of wine ready and a new movie lined up on his TV. Something non-animated this time.
“Do you feel like sticking around a wee bit longer?” he asked, handing me a glass.
“I could be persuaded.” I smiled as I took the glass.
As much as I’d enjoyed spending time with both of them, it was nice to settle onto the couch without an eight-year-old separating us. I leaned against Alec and sipped my wine, enjoying the feel of his fingers playing with my hair. Neither of us paid much attention to the movie, to be honest. We were both too occupied laughing and sneaking casual kisses and gentle touches. Soft caresses that didn’t stray to the places I most wanted his hands.
I didn’t know how slow he wanted to take things, exactly, but I hoped it wouldn’t be too slow. Now that I’d had a taste of what I could have with him, I had a feeling I might explode if we went at too leisurely a pace.
