Page 68 of Jaime
I offered her my hand and she shifted Evie around to take it, shaking mine with a strong grip.
“Nice to meet you,” she said.
I sank into the spot next to her, reaching out to touch Evie’s hand and smiling when she took it, giving me a wide-eyed stare.
“Hello Evie,” I said. “Did you miss me?”
When she returned my smile with a happy noise, I laughed.
“How cute is she?”
“Adorable,” Liz agreed. “She’s grown so much.”
The tone of her voice drew my gaze.
She was watching Evie sadly. Her big brown eyes were expressive, just like Jaime’s, and it was easy to see the pain there.
“I know you’ve been through a lot,” I found myself saying, “but you did the right thing for her, leaving her with your brother. Jaime would die before he let anything bad happen to her.”
She swallowed thickly and forced a nod.
“I didn’t know that at the time. I just needed her to go somewhere safe. I didn’t know he would do such a good job though... He’s always been my bratty little brother, you know?”
She smiled fondly.
“Now, it looks like he’s all grown up.”
She gave me a look, her eyes mischievous in a way that reminded me a little bit of Naomi when she started needling me about my love life.
“So, how did you two meet?” she asked.
“Jaime brought Evie to one of my readings at the bookstore.”
Her brows rose.
“You’re a writer?”
“Kids’ books,” Jaime said from the hallway where he was leaning and watching us interact. “He has a show too.”
He met my gaze, his expression filled with warmth. How much of that had he heard?
Liz stared between us. “No way!” she said in awe.
To my chagrin, Jaime excitedly brought out the collection of books I’d given him, and basically began giving her a full run down of my career.
“He just got picked up by a huge network too,” Jaime was saying proudly.
They’d set Evie down on her mat and were sitting on the floor now, discussing me like I wasn’t here. It was pretty sweet how they interacted: the banter and teasing that only siblings could pull off was clear between them, the love obvious.
“Wow, look at you, dating a real celebrity. So fancy.”
“I’m not a celebrity,” I sighed for the fourth time, and they both laughed. “Do you see any paparazzi anywhere?”
Jaime snorted.
“I’ve seen people ask for your autograph.”
“Only at the bookstore,” I said, blushing. Then, to change the topic, I remembered the box of donuts I’d bought and handed it to them on the floor.
