Park Avenue Player by Vi Keeland
Chapter 14
Elodie
Yeah. Pretty sure he has a thing for me.At least the way he was sneaking glances at my breasts and navel indicated that. Or maybe it was wishful thinking because I found him so attractive.
Hollis wore a gray polo shirt and khakis, his shades tucked into the opening of his shirt. I loved when he dressed down.
“I actually don’t live very far from here,” I said.
“That’s right. I keep forgetting you’re all the way out in the boonies.”
“I like living outside the city. It’s peaceful. My ex-husband and I had a very active social life in town. That got me nowhere. I’d much rather wake up to birds chirping than honking and yelling any day.” I smiled. “And that was just in our apartment.”
“Your ex seems to influence a lot of the decisions you’ve made.”
“Yes. But the experience only made me stronger.”
“Stronger or guarded?”
“What do you mean?”
“Two years, Elodie? And the only man you’re spending time with is on some Turkish soap opera with subtitles?”
“How did you know about that?”
“You had YouTube on the TV when I walked in and woke you up last night.”
“Oh...well, yeah... That guy is…pretty nice.” I grinned sheepishly.
“And he can’t hurt you.”
“What are you getting at?”
“He can’t hurt you, like your ex-husband did—the guy who inspired you to become a man trap. The guy behind the TV screen is safe.”
“You think you have me all figured out, huh?”
His brow lifted. “Don’t I?”
“I don’t exactly see you in a healthy relationship. You can barely look at your bird because he reminds you of some broad who dumped you. I think you have a little bit of a history with heartbreak yourself.”
Before he could address my comment, Hailey interrupted. She was dripping from the pool and shivering.
“Can I spend the night here?” she asked.
“No,” Hollis said. “I came all the way out here to pick you up. That means you’re coming home with me.”
She pouted, then ran back to the pool and jumped in the water.
“I can pick her up tomorrow morning and bring her back to the city if you want,” I offered.
While I’d been taking the train into the city most days to save on gas, I still used my car on my days off.
“No. She has to learn that sometimes the answer is no.”
“Okay.”
“Plus, you shouldn’t have to work tomorrow.”
“I don’t have anything else going on. I actually like my job for once in my life. I look forward to Mondays.”
“What do you typically do on the weekends?”
“I sleep in. Sometimes I’ll go out and get breakfast and take it over to my friend Bree’s house. Later in the day, I’ll food shop for the week or maybe work on some of my art. I never really have plans.”
“Given your two-year hiatus from men, I take it you stay in at night and curl up with Turkish Fabio?”
“He’s the perfect man, right? Handsome, funny, charming, and not a cheat.”
“He needs a haircut.”
“Don’t knock my show until you watch it, Hollsy. There’s some pretty eye candy for you on there, too, considering you don’t have much of a weekend nightlife, either.” I winked.
***
During the ride to my house, Hollis told us the story of what happened to Huey at the vet. Hailey and I were cracking up. He wasn’t amused.
“He says nothing but ‘Anna’s home’ for years, and this is how he decides to branch out?” Hollis snapped.
“I think he knew just the thing to drive you over the edge,” I said.
“And what the hell does the B stand for in his name? Did you give him a middle name?” he asked.
I half-laughed. “It stands for bird.”
“Creative.” He chuckled.
“Well, there was a spot for a middle name on the admission form, so…”
Hailey interrupted the conversation when she suddenly asked, “What’s a DILF?”
Hollis and I looked at each other, unsure how to respond.
“Why?” I asked.
“Megan heard her mom call Uncle Hollis that. Is a DILF like a doofus?”
I bent my head back in laughter. “Nice assumption.”
Hollis clearly didn’t know how to answer her question.
I was quickly learning that one of my regular duties as Hailey’s nanny was to save Hollis’s ass when it came to addressing certain things.
“DILF stands for Dad I’d Like to Friend,” I said.
She scrunched her nose. “Like on Facebook?”
I nodded. “Exactly.”
“Oh. That’s not that bad. But weird that she said that because he’s not even my dad.” She shrugged. “You’re a nanny I’d like to friend, Elodie. Does that makes you a…NILF?”
Hollis glanced over at me, and it gave me chills when he muttered under his breath, “Elodie is definitely a NILF.”
***
“This is me.” I pointed to my little house, and Hollis pulled to the curb.
He put the car in park and looked around. “There’s really not much going on out here. I wouldn’t have taken you for a country girl.”
“I’m not. I’m originally from Queens. I moved out here when I married Tobias. He wanted to get out of the city, and his dad had just retired and moved to a new fifty-five-and-over community nearby. He liked the area, so we rented this little bungalow to give it a shot. Except our lease lasted longer than the marriage.”
“But you stayed.”
I shrugged. “I like being closer to nature. Although lately I’ve been missing the city, and living there would certainly be more convenient.”
“Why don’t you move back?”
“My best friend lives next door. She’s actually my ex-husband’s stepsister. That’s how we met. But Bree’s…not well. She has a lung disease that makes it difficult for her to get around too much. So I want to stay close to help out, even though she doesn’t actually let me help very much.”
Hollis stared at me funny. “That’s very nice of you.”
“Not really. She’s also my unofficial psychologist and has put up with me the last few years. I think I need her for my mental wellbeing more than she needs me for any physical assistance. In fact, if it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have met.”
His brows drew together. “How so?”
“Bree saw your ad for a nanny somewhere and encouraged me to apply. She hated my job with Soren.”
Hailey had laid down in the back seat a few minutes after we got on the road. The last day of school and a pool party had really knocked her out. But she suddenly sat up and stretched. “I need to take a whiz.”
“Hailey, don’t talk like that,” Hollis snapped.
“Like what?”
“Taking a whiz. That’s about as classy as a woman saying she needs to take a piss.”
“But I do need to take a piss. What would you like me to say?”
I turned and intervened. “Hailey, honey, I think your uncle prefers if you say you have to go to the bathroom…or the ladies’ room. Whiz and piss are a bit crass, even for me.”
“So I can’t use certain words, but Uncle Hollis gets to say whatever he wants?”
Hollis said Yes at the exact same time I said No. I’d been about to explain that wasn’t what he was saying, but Hollis nipped that in the bud by talking over me.
“I’m an adult,” he bit back.
“So when I’m an adult, it’s fine to use whiz and piss?”
“No, because when you’re an adult, you’ll be a lady.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be a lady.”
“Hailey, don’t push my buttons.”
I almost laughed. That was exactly what she was doing. I knew what that looked like because I liked to do it, too.
“Why don’t we go inside my house so you can use the bathroom, Hailey?”
“Okay!” She whipped open the back door and jumped out.
I looked over at Hollis. “Would you like to come in and take a whiz before getting on the road, too?”
He narrowed his eyes. “The two of you are going to drive me to drink.”
Inside the house, I showed Hailey where the main bathroom was and then led Hollis into the bathroom off my bedroom. When I flicked on the light, I realized I had all of my underwear and bras hanging over the shower curtain. This morning I’d hand-washed things that didn’t go in the washing machine.
Hollis froze.
“They’re underwear. They won’t bite. You’ll be safe for your whiz.”
He mumbled something under his breath and shut the door behind him. I went to wait for Hailey in the kitchen.
She came out of the bathroom a few minutes later, sniffing her hands. “What kind of soap is in there? It smells so good.”
“It’s lavender. I’ll pick you up some the next time I go to Bath & Body Works.”
“Thanks.” She pulled out a stool that had been tucked under the kitchen counter and made herself at home. “I like the painting in the bathroom, too. It’s sort of creepy, but pretty at the same time.”
I smiled. “Thank you. I painted it.”
Her eyes widened. “You did?”
“Yup.”
“Wow. Can you teach me how to paint like that?”
“I could teach you some techniques. Sure.” I opened the refrigerator. “Do you want something to drink before you head back to the city?”
She shook her head. “No, thanks. It’ll just make me have to go to the bathroom.”
I heard Hollis’s voice before I saw him. “So you’re capable of using the word bathroom for Elodie.”
Hailey turned to look at her uncle, then completely ignored him and looked back at me. “Do you have more of your art anywhere?”
I nodded and pointed down the hall. “First door on the left. It’s a spare bedroom, but I use it for painting.”
Hailey hopped down from the stool and took off.
“Would you like something to drink, Hollis?”
“No, thank you.”
He looked completely uncomfortable standing in my kitchen, so of course, I needed to make it worse. I tilted my head. “Did you touch any?”
“What?”
“My panties. Did you touch any while you were in the bathroom?”
He tugged at the collar of his polo and looked down the hall. “Where did she go? We need to get back on the road.”
Oh my God!
I’d been kidding around. But…holy shit…he had! I covered my mouth and cracked up. “You did, didn’t you! You perv!”
Hollis walked down the hall. “Hailey…let’s get going.”
I couldn’t get the smile off my face. Something about the thought of Hollis touching my underwear amused the hell out of me. I wished Hailey wasn’t around so I could ask him if he’d smelled them, too. That thought actually made me snort.
Hollis came back to the kitchen. His face was stern. “We’ll see you on Monday.”
I walked them to the door. Hailey surprised me with a hug. “Your stuff is awesome.”
“Thank you, sweetheart.”
I grinned at Hollis, who was impatiently holding the door open for his niece. “Your uncle thinks my stuff is awesome, too.”
