"Mommy! Wear this one!" Mallory said. Zoe smiled as Mallory pointed to a green dress. It had a slightly fuller skirt and long sleeves.
"Ooh, good choice Mal!" Zoe said. She put it on and fixed her makeup and her hair.
"Are you sure I can't come?" Mallory asked. Zoe smiled and kissed Mallory on the cheek.
"I'm sorry Princess. Not to this one. You're going to have a sleepover with Auntie Alana though!" Zoe said. Mallory shrugged.
"Okay. As long as you're back in the morning." Mallory said.
"Don't worry Princess, we will be." Zoe said. She fixed Mallory's hair and grabbed her shoes. Evan walked in and Zoe stood up, grabbing her purse.
"Oh wow." Evan said. Zoe smiled and looked at Mallory.
"Okay Mallory, take notes. You should always make sure that you marry someone who looks at you the way your Daddy is looking at your Mommy." Alana said, walking into the bedroom. Mallory smiled and hugged Alana.
"When'd you get here?" Zoe asked. Alana shrugged.
"Like five minutes ago. Figured you were all up here. You look stunning by the way." Alana said. Zoe smiled and Evan looked at her.
"We should get going." Evan said. Zoe nodded and turned to Alana.
"Mallory knows where everything is, she will need help brushing her teeth and maybe getting her pjs on. Make sure she does her puffer, you press the button and make sure she takes five big breaths. And I think that's it. Help yourself to anything in the house. Thank you!" Zoe said. Alana hugged her.
"It's my pleasure. I'm happy to help out." Alana said, nudging Zoe. Zoe smiled and kissed Mallory on the forehead.
"Now you make sure you listen to Auntie Alana. When she says it's bedtime, you go right to bed." Zoe said. Mallory nodded and hugged her mother.
"Bye Mommy! Bye Daddy!" She said. Evan and Zoe waved and left.
+++
"Zoe! Evan! I'm so happy you could make it!" Valentina said smiling. Zoe smiled.
"Hey Val." Evan said.
"Coat check is just over there, make sure you mingle around. We have several new team members!" Valentina said. Zoe smiled and Evan took her coat.
"I'm going to go check these. You go get a drink." He said. Zoe smiled and walked into the main room.
"You must be Zoe!" A woman said. Zoe nodded and smiled.
"I'm Amelia, I work with Evan." She said. Zoe smiled.
"It's nice to meet you!" She said. Amelia smiled before walking away. Zoe grabbed a glass of water and a man came up to her.
"Water huh?" He asked. Zoe smiled and nodded.
"Me too. Got a bunch of wary shoots. When do you start tomorrow?" He said.
"I'm sorry?" Zoe asked.
"When does your shift start tomorrow? I'm going to need all hands on deck." The man said.
"Oh! No, I'm not a photographer. I'm Zoe Hansen." Zoe said, extending her hand. The man looked at it and scoffed before walking away.
"Sorry baby, what did I miss?" Evan asked.
"Who's that?" Zoe asked, pointing to the man.
"Oh, that's Aaron. He thinks he's this big shot because he's from New York. He had a pro studio and he has a nice camera so he thinks he's a big shot." Evan said. Zoe nodded and stuck by Evan's side the rest of the night.
+++
"You didn't have anything to drink." Evan said, a few hours later. Zoe rolled over in the bed and looked at him.
"What?" She asked.
"You didn't have anything alcoholic." Evan said.
"Wasn't feeling it. I'm a lightweight. Didn't feel like being hungover." Zoe said. Evan nodded and kissed her bare shoulder. She smiled and kissed him.
"I love you." She said. Evan smiled.
"I love you too."
