Park Avenue Player(21)

“Language, Hollis,” I scolded.

“Sorry.”

“I’m glad you made it, Uncle Hollsy.”

He cracked a slight smile. “Me, too.”

Hailey had polished off her burger pretty quickly. “You want Elodie’s wiener?” she asked.

His brow furrowed. “Excuse me?”

She held out the hot dog on her plate. “This. She can’t eat it because of her Keto.”

“Ah.” He took the plate from her. “Yeah. Thanks.”

Hailey looked over his shoulder. “I see my friend Jacqueline over there. I’m gonna go talk to her.”

After she took off, Hollis turned to me, holding his hot dog with no bun, looking so awkward and out of place.

I couldn’t help but laugh.

He wasn’t amused. “What the hell is so funny?”

“You.”

His lip twitched. “Me?”

“Yes.”

“Might I ask why I’m so funny?”

I gestured to his hot dog. “You look like you don’t know what to do with that thing. Like you don’t know what to do with yourself here. Like you’re out of your comfort zone. I take it picnics aren’t your jam.”

“Well, I suppose I am...a bit out of my comfort zone.”

“Extra points for showing up.”

“I didn’t realize I was being graded.”

We shared a smile. A breeze blew his musky scent toward me. It was definitely arousing. He was arousing. So freaking handsome.

I tilted my head. “Come on. I’ll show you to the food area where you can get a bun for that lonely wiener.”

We walked together to the large picnic table. I took Hollis’s plate, placed the hot dog in a bun, and added a bunch of fixings. I placed a dollop of potato salad next to it and grabbed him a small bag of chips. I finished off the plate with an apple. I handed him everything with a smile.

“Thanks, Mom,” he joked.

Hailey was playing horseshoes with a few of her friends, so we took a spot under a shady tree near their game. Hollis devoured his ketchup-laden hot dog and potato salad while I ate my plain burger with a fork and continued to watch him. My eyes were glued to his large hands. I loved the protruding veins that ran through them. Every time he licked ketchup off his finger, a shiver ran down my spine.

After he’d polished everything off, he licked his lips and said, “That was good. I haven’t had a hot dog in ages.”

“See? Sometimes it’s nice to do different.”

“Believe me, my entire life has been different from the moment Hailey landed at my door.”

“I know it has. And I also know you’re doing the best you can.”

“Well, thank you for recognizing that. But I’m only as good as the help I have.” He looked down at his plate a moment. “Honestly, I owe you an apology.”

“It’s okay.”

“No, I need to say this.” He paused. “I misjudged you early on, doubted your capabilities as a caretaker. But I can’t imagine a better choice now. Passing you by would have been a huge mistake.”

That warmed me inside and gave me a huge sense of accomplishment.

I smiled. “Wow. I don’t know how to respond to that, because I’m not used to this nice version of Hollis.”

“Don’t get too used to it. It’s probably the nitrates going to my head.”

We laughed again as Hailey came over to us.

“Why did you leave your friends?” I asked.

“Lawrence started playing the horseshoe game, and I didn’t want to be around him.”

“Which one is he?”

“The one in the red.”

No way I was going to let her be bullied by some jackass boy.

“You can’t let him win like that, Hailey. You were there first. By leaving the game, you’re showing him he has an effect on you. Even if he does, don’t let him see that. Don’t give him the satisfaction. Go back into the game, and totally ignore him if he says anything.”

She let out a long breath. “Okay.” She reluctantly walked back over there.

A look of concern clouded Hollis’s expression as he watched her. “What’s the deal with Lawrence?”

“He teases her about her boobs. Apparently, he called her Cyclops Tit, because he claims one of them is bigger than the other.”

Hollis tightened his fist. “Little shit. I should wring his neck.”

“The clincher? The kid’s dad was hitting on me earlier. Hailey comes up to us, and when I introduced her to him, she says, ‘Your son is an asshole.’”

Hollis’s jaw dropped. “I don’t even know whether to be upset at her for that.”

“I know. That’s how I felt. But I suggested she be more polite in getting her point across in the future.”

Hollis and I made easy conversation over the next half hour. Then Hailey came running toward us.

“Elodie, my teacher needs your help.”

“What’s up?”

“The person who was supposed to do the face painting bailed. Mrs. Stein bought all these supplies, but she has no one to do the actual painting. I told her my nanny is an artist.”

“Oh...I don’t know. I’ve never painted someone’s face before.”