"Of course." Bruce offered with a chuckle, deftly plucking up her wine glass so Mary could get Evie's...dummy. British slang for pacifier, maybe?...

He amused himself in the meantime by watching Evie, trying to catch her eye. Sometimes kids got distracted by watching things, or so he'd noticed now and again...

"Hey, you." he crooned softly. "What's the matter, huh? Yeah, I'm not a morning person, either...poor thing, waking up at a party when you're trying to sleep, that's no fun, huh? You just hang on, baby, 'kay? Mom's gonna get you all squared away, yeah..."