7. Dinner

I gulp as I cross the front of the Spencer's house.

"Alex!" I hear a little voice say and Cami comes hug me. I smile and hug her back

"Hi little one" I say to her

"What are you doing here??" She asks

"Your mom invited me for dinner" I shyly say, hoping she approves of me staying

"Cool!!" She says excitedly

Soon Journey comes say hi to me too. He shyly waves his hand at me. He doesn't seem to be the talking type , unlike his twin sister. The little 6 year old is wearing a long AC/DC t-shirt and has curly long blonde hair. He's the coolest 6 year old I've ever seen. I smile at the thought of Eve picking up his tshirt for him.

"Hi, come on in" A man's voice says behind me

I smile politely at Harvey, dressed in a dark blue suit still, probably from work.

"Hi" I say back

"My wife told me what you did for Cindy. That's kind, thank you" He says, and although I know he means it, the lack of emotional and professionalism of his voice irritates me.

"Of course, it's the least I could have done" I say

"Come on in" He motions me

I make my way to the kitchen and see Eve and Cindy setting up the table. I smile at them both.

**

"And then I saved Jour from the mean boys!' I swear they were so annoying. They should have known not to mess with me!" Cami tells the table about her encounter with some bullies today

"That's amazing sweetheart but remember to be careful okay? They were older than you" Eve says to her hyper 6 year old

"But mom I scared them away!!" She says

"Okay we get it" Journey's small voice intervenes

She looks at him angrily and continues eating her food.

"Alex?" Cindy calls my name, surprising me

"Yes?" I answer

"There's this really cool record store downtown apparently.. do you want to go with me? I don't want to get lost" Cindy shyly suggests, hoping I say yes

"Of course. I know where it is, I'll drive you" I chuckle, I used to go there all the time

Cindy smiles excitedly "Thank you" she says

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Eve's sly smile

Suddenly, Harvey's phone rings. He looks at the caller and immediately picks up

"Harvey Spencer." He says

He keeps on listening to the caller as I look around the table. At Eve, to be precise. She looks exhausted and frankly kind of annoyed. I hope that my presence isn't worsening that for her. Cami and Jour are very focused on their food while Cindy seems to be thinking about many different things while staring in the wide.

"Okay- Yeah I'm on my way. Be there in 20. Alright. See you." Harvey says and hangs up.

He stands up "Sorry kids, there's an emergency at work. Daddy needs to go." He says quickly

"Again, Harvey?" Eve doesn't hold off. She looks angry and quite done. I wonder if this happens often.

"We talked about this, Eve." He says coldly and makes his way out the door

She sighs but tries to hold it together for the kids.

"When is he going to come back? He didn't kiss us goodbye" Cami innocently asks her mom

"He's going to be back tonight baby. You'll see him in the morning." She kisses her forehead

"He always leaves anyway." Cindy says and stands up angrily, putting her plate in the sink. She goes upstairs without saying another word.

"Cindy!" Eve calls but the teen had already gone too far

"Do you want me to go speak with her?" I ask awkwardly, trying to help

"No it's okay.. So sorry you have to see all this" she whispers the last part

I smile at her softly, signalling that it's alright

"Why don't you let me do the dishes while you put them to bed?" I suggest my help, just so she doesn't have to do everything by herself

"No Alex, I'm doing them. You're the guest here" she sighs

"Alex can put us to bed!!" Cami exclaims

I raise my brow "I sure can?" As I look at Eve.

"Cami, don't-" She sighs

"Please mommy?" She pouts at her

"Please mommy?" I imitate the little one's voice while smirking at her

Eve's throws me a daring glare but then softens "Fine, don't annoy Alex too much" she says and the twins go to their rooms. I catch a small smile on Jour's face.

Once Eve and I are alone, we both get off the table and she comes closer to me

"So sorry for this mess, Alex.. it's just so hard sometimes." She admits

I softly put my hands on both side of her shoulders as a sign of comfort. "It's okay, I promise. It's not your fault. Everything's okay. I'm sorry about.. whatever is happening between you and your husband." I sincerely say

Surprisingly, she starts playing with the collar of my shirt, which slightly makes me blush

"He's just always gone and.. three kids is just.. and Cindy is affected by it too" She says, our bodies now touching

"It's going to be okay." I wrap my arms in a hug around her. She's just so vulnerable and beautiful right now. I'm screaming on the inside and dying to kiss her, but I wouldn't want to ruin this moment. She would hate me if I were to cross that line.

A small tear escapes her eyes and she quickly wipes it and nods, pulling away from me.

"I'll go put the small ones to bed, okay? Tell me if you need anything" I say

"Alex?" She stops me in my tracks

I turn around and 'hm?' at her softly

"Thank you" She mouths softly, looking exhausted

I smile softly and come up to her. Suddenly, I do something unexpected. I can't tell whether she will hate me for it or not. I put my hand on her waist as I feel her breath hitch up and kiss her cheek softly. I break away after a moment and notice a slight shade of pink on her cheeks.

Hell yes.