Park Avenue Player(41)
“Thank you, Uncle Hollis.”
I nodded. “You’re welcome.”
She went back to her bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios. “So when can we go?”
“I’ll need to make flight arrangements. But visiting hours on the weekends are all day. So we’ll probably fly down on Friday night and come back Saturday after the visit.”
“Can Elodie come?”
“Elodie doesn’t work on weekends.”
“But if I ask her to come and she agrees, is it okay?”
It was a bad idea for me to be spending any time outside of what I had to with Elodie. Though, I had to admit, she had a special connection with Hailey and would know better than me how to handle things if she got upset.
I sighed. “If you want her to come and she’s able to, yes, we can take Elodie.”
“Dope.”
Yeah, I am. You can say that again.
Chapter 19
* * *
Hollis
We wound up booking a Saturday afternoon flight and planned to see my brother on Sunday morning before flying back that evening. I’d considered sending a car for Elodie, so she could meet us at the airport, but then decided the least I could do was pick her up since she was coming with us on her day off.
Hailey and I left the city early, in case we hit traffic anywhere. Plus, parking at LaGuardia with all the construction was going to be a bitch. We pulled up at Elodie’s house almost a full forty-five minutes earlier than planned.
Hailey started to get out of the car and noticed I hadn’t moved. “Aren’t you coming in?”
After the shit I pulled last time, I wasn’t risking it. “I have to answer a few emails, so I’ll wait here. You go ahead, and let her know we’re early. Tell her she doesn’t need to rush.”
“Okay.”
I watched Hailey skip up to the door and Elodie open it. They talked for a minute, and then the two of them looked over at the car. I waved and held up my phone. Even from the curb, I could see the smirk on Elodie’s face—no doubt she knew why I wasn’t coming inside. But whatever… Better safe than sorry.
About ten minutes went by. I was in the middle of answering a long email when a black BMW pulled to the curb in front of me. A man got out and started to walk toward Elodie’s door.
Who’s this douche?
He didn’t have anything in his hands like he was delivering something, and he was dressed pretty nice. He also walked up to the door without any hesitation about where he was going. I watched from the car like a hawk.
The man knocked, and Elodie opened the front door with a smile on her face. Seeing who was there, it immediately wilted. I reached for the car door handle, but managed to stop myself from opening it.
Elodie put her hands on her hips and said something. The guy then took a turn speaking, and whatever he said pissed her off. She started to wave her hands around, and I heard her voice rise, even though my windows were up.
Fuck this. I got out of the car and was at her front door in five long strides.
“Is there a problem here?”
The guy turned and looked me up and down. “Who are you?”
“Hollis LaCroix. And you are?”
“Elodie’s husband.”
Elodie’s lips twisted. “Ex-husband. And he was just leaving. You can ignore him, Hollis.”
Her ex thumbed his finger at me. “Who the hell is this guy?”
“He’s none of your business, that’s who he is. And I have nothing to say to you. So go home, Tobias.”
I folded my arms over my chest and widened my stance. “You heard the lady.”
He scoffed at me. “What are you going to do, punch me?”
My hands were already balled into fists. Sure, why not? Give me a reason, asshole. “Why don’t you just listen to what your ex-wife is saying and take off? Obviously you’re not welcome here.”
Hailey came to the door. “Who’s this?”
Elodie answered. “This is Tobias. My ex-husband. Would you mind rolling my suitcase out from the bedroom, Hailey?”
My niece shrugged. “Sure.”
Elodie stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind her. “As you can see, we’re on our way out. So why don’t you send me an email if you need to talk to me.”
He sighed. “It’s about Bree.”
“What about her?”
“My mother asked me to speak to you.” The douchebag glanced over at me. “Can we speak in private, please? It’s a family matter.”
Elodie blew out a deep breath. “Fine. But we need to get on the road.” She turned to me. “Would you mind waiting five more minutes, Hollis?”
I didn’t want to leave her alone with this guy, but Elodie obviously didn’t feel she would be in danger. I nodded. “Hailey and I will wait in the car.”
“Thank you.”
Hailey brought the suitcase to the door, and I picked it up and loaded it into my trunk. Elodie’s ex-husband seemed like a real dick. Rather than wait inside the car, I leaned against the driver’s side door, keeping my eye on the house. Hailey did the same thing right next to me. Looking over at her protective stance, I realized how comical we probably looked, both standing guard with our arms folded across our chests. Though I didn’t give a shit.