Park Avenue Player(50)

There really was no reason not to go out with Benito anymore. Anyone Soren couldn’t find dirt on was squeaky clean. Plus, he was funny and handsome and seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me. Unlike a lot of guys, he asked me questions about myself, rather than telling me how great he was. Yet I still couldn’t bring myself to say yes to a date for some reason.

Though I didn’t want to say no anymore either. So I put off responding for now. I slipped my phone back into my purse and stepped onto the elevator.

Hollis’s apartment was quiet when I walked in, except for Huey’s greeting. Baaa! “Anna’s home!”

I still cracked up every time he made that sound. “Hi, Huey!”

He nodded his head rapidly. I swore he understood me, though no one else seemed to agree.

Hollis walked out of his bedroom and down the hall, taking long, rapid strides. At first, I assumed he was running late and in a rush. But the stony glare he flashed when he saw me made me second-guess that.

“Is…everything okay?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?” he snapped.

“Okey dokey, then.” I dropped my purse on the dining room table and went to the kitchen to get myself some coffee. I kept a discreet eye on Hollis through my peripheral vision.

He struggled to close the cuff on one arm of his dress shirt, and I could see he was getting angrier by the second. Eventually, he gave up and let out a string of curses. He grabbed his suit jacket off the back of a chair, swiped his wallet and keys from a bowl on the kitchen counter, and marched toward the front door without another glance in my direction.

I just couldn’t help myself sometimes. I called after him in a sing-songy voice. “You have a fabulous day, too, Hollis!”

He glanced back with a hardened face and opened the front door. I sipped my coffee, expecting to hear the door slam shut, but instead he stopped in the entranceway. He stood in silence, looking up at the ceiling for a solid sixty seconds before turning around. If the moment he took was supposed to cool him off, it definitely hadn’t worked. Because the look on his face now was almost murderous.

“It’s inappropriate for you to be talking about your dates with Hailey.”

My brows furrowed. “What dates?”

His jaw ticked. “Benito?”

My mouth formed an O. That date.

If eyes shot daggers, I’d be pretty damn holey right about now.

“She’s eleven and impressionable. The last thing she needs to hear about is you sleeping around.”

Sleeping around? How dare he assume? I set down my coffee, and my hands flew to my hips. But before I could rip into him, he walked out and slammed the door shut behind him.

Un-freaking-believable.

So un-freaking-believable.

That man had some balls insinuating that I would discuss anything inappropriate with Hailey. Someone had obviously pissed in his Cheerios this morning. I needed to give him a piece of my mind. The jerk could’ve still been waiting at the elevator, so I headed for the door. Of course, the elevator that normally crawled had to be fast when I wanted it to take its sweet time. Hollis was already gone, though the hallways smelled like his aftershave. Which only pissed me off more because my damn body reacted to the scent.

Fuming, I went back into the house and in search of my cell. I thumbed off a four-paragraph angry rant, telling Hollis exactly what I thought of him and his accusations. But as my finger hovered over Send, a thought crossed my mind. Why send a text when I could do something much more vengeful?

I deleted what I’d typed and, instead, called up the last incoming text I’d received.



Benito: Good morning. Might today be the day she says yes?



I typed back.



Elodie: Today is absolutely the day. I’d love to go out with you, Benito. How’s Friday night at seven?





Chapter 23




* * *





Elodie




Hollis: It’s going to be a late night at the office. I’m stuck in a meeting.



I read the text and sighed. I’d already been on edge all day about my date tonight. Sadly, a part of me hoped I’d have to cancel.



Elodie: How late?



Hollis: Probably ten. I’ll have a car service take you home.



Benito and I were meeting at a restaurant downtown at seven. I needed to let him know since it was almost five o’clock already. I switched over to my text string with him and started to type. But I got a funny feeling.

Nah…Hollis didn’t even know about my date. It couldn’t be.

I started to text Benito again and then stopped. Hailey had gone into her room to change.

“Hailey?” I called.

“Yeah?”

“Is there any chance you mentioned my date tonight to your uncle?”

She walked out to the living room. “Last night I asked him if we could go to that hibachi place I like tonight and take my friend. He said yes, and I asked if I could also invite you. But before he could answer, I remembered you had plans, so I told him to forget it because you already had dinner plans tonight with Benito.”

That asshole.

It could very well be a coincidence and he had an actual meeting that was running late, but I knew in my gut he didn’t.