Chapter 1
Vince
I’m in love.
Her name is Evie, short for Evelyn.
She’s four and a half months old, and she gives me a gummy smile and laughs whenever I press her nose and say “beep.”
Last week, she wasn’t amused by this, but today, it’s provided endless giggles.
She also enjoys it when I sing, but that’s a secret between me and her. Normally, I have no qualms about embarrassing myself—as many people will attest to—but I don’t want anyone to know that I sing to my niece.
I visit Evie and Courtney, my sister-in-law, every Friday afternoon, and don’t tell anyone this, either, but Friday is now my favorite day of the week. And it has nothing to do with any parties or clubs I might go to late in the evening.
While Courtney has a shower and does laundry, I entertain my niece, and then the three of us hang out together, and Evie naps a bit. I don’t know much about babies, but I’m told Evie is a rather easygoing and chill baby. Surprising that my brother Julian produced such a child.
I carry Evie over to the mat in the playroom and sit cross-legged with her in my lap. There’s a mirror in front of us, but I doubt she understands that it’s her in the mirror.
“Say hello to the baby!” I hold up her little hand and wave. Then I press her nose again. “Beep. Beep, beep.”
She giggles. She’s so easily amused.
She’s wearing a yellow duckie onesie today. Her hair is black and fine, and her eyes are dark. Her ears stick out, just a bit.
When Julian first put Evie in my arms, the day after she was born, I wasn’t sure what to do. I’d never held a baby before, and she was so tiny and rather strange-looking, wearing an enormous white knit hat with a bow, her face scrunched up.
Julian took two weeks off work—he’s the CEO of Fong Investments—and after he went back to work, he made me promise to visit every week and make sure Courtney and Evie were getting along okay. He was probably also trying to save me from my unfulfilling life of leisure by giving me something productive to do.
I haven’t worked in almost three and a half years, though I never need to work again. I have more than enough money after selling my start-up.
My family doesn’t realize it—because I was in Silicon Valley for most of that time—but I burnt out bad. They think of me as the wild troublemaker, but I did basically nothing but work for five years. Responsible, serious Julian can handle that kind of lifestyle, though even he realized that he had to stop pushing himself quite so hard, but I can’t.
I press on Evie’s forehead. “Beep.”
She frowns at the mirror. Silly Uncle Vince, don’t you know my nose makes noises, not my forehead?
Perhaps it’s time for a song. I start singing her favorite, “There Was an Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly.” I’m on the verse about the goat when I hear a noise behind me, and I freeze.
Courtney picks up Evie. “Uncle Vince was singing to you, wasn’t he?”
Evie nods.
The traitor.
“Evie,” I say sternly. “That was a secret.”
I have a reputation to uphold, and singing to babies doesn’t fit it.
Though Courtney knows me pretty well. We’ve always gotten along, and she’s helped me with some things that most people don’t know about.
“You want to stay for dinner?” she asks.
“Nah, sorry, I’ve got plans, but I’ll stay until Julian gets back.” I lean forward and touch Evie’s nose again. “Beeeeeeeep!”
* * *
“I got you a present,” I say to Julian as soon as he walks in the door and sets down his briefcase. “You’ll love it.”
