Chapter 13
Henley
French Toast & Pink Paint
Fuck, I shouldn’t have kissed her.
“Henley? Are you listening to me?” Carol’s voice cuts through my thoughts. I look up from the dining room table to find her staring at me, Remy nestled against her chest while Nick and Dilynne work their way through plates of French toast.
“Sorry. I blanked for a second,” I lie, knowing full well where my mind was just now.
It’s Sunday morning and Carol and Nick invited me and Dilynne over for breakfast. They’ll do this every once in a while since my sister is obsessed with Carol’s French toast. The other reason they invited us was to see Remy, especially after her ER visit last night, which we’ve already dissected in great detail.
I’ve only been able to bring her by once since she’s entered my life, but since Carol and Nick are the closest thing to grandparents she’ll have, I want to make sure they have a relationship with her.
“I said, how’s the lodge?”
“Good. Waiting for that first snow so we can get the slopes open, but my snow machine is on standby just in case.”
“It’s nearly October. Give it a few weeks and I bet we have some snow on the ground,” Nick says as he cuts into his French toast. His eyes drift over to my sister who’s been abnormally quiet, but that’s probably because she’s stuffing her face. “When’s your next car show, Dilynne?”
My sister looks up from her plate, syrup dripping down her chin. “What?”
Carol laughs. “Nick, you know better than to ask Dilynne anything while she’s eating my French toast.” With a wink, she turns her attention back to Remy, holding her hand. “Just wait until you can try it, little girl. You’re gonna be begging your daddy to bring you over here as well.”
Dilynne wipes her face with her napkin. “It is obsession worthy, Remy,” she says to my daughter and then turns back to Nick. “My next show is in a few weeks. I’m taking the ’56 Bel Air to the Springfield Car Show in Ohio.”
“Does this one have a prize?”
“No, it’s more for networking. I want to get my name out there more before Motorlux next August.”
“You got into that show?” I ask my sister.
Her smile is instant. “Hell yeah I did, and I’m going to auction off the Porsche 356.”
Nick’s mouth drops open. “Seriously?”
The look of determination on Dilynne’s face shouldn’t surprise any of us. “Yup. And when I get top dollar for it, Vinnie won’t be able to say another word about how everything I know is because of him.”
Vinnie Delatorre is my sister’s one and only ex.
They dated for four years when my sister first started going to car shows, but their relationship ended disastrously.
Let’s just say Dilynne made sure one of Vinnie’s beloved cars paid the price when she found out he betrayed her.
She’s been on a mission to prove herself and that she belongs in the restoration industry ever since, even though no one who knows her has ever questioned that.
“Do you need any help?” Nick asks. “You know I’d love to get my hands on the car.”
Dilynne covers his hand with her own. Nick’s a huge reason my sister fell in love with cars. When we moved in with him and Carol, he introduced her to Barrett-Jackson Auctions on the History channel, and the rest was history, pun intended.
“I appreciate the offer, but I really want to complete this one on my own. I’m not even letting Steven touch it. I’ve already made some progress on the body. The engine is next and will take the bulk of my time leading up to the event.”
“Then can I at least come watch you work?” Nick prods.
Dilynne laughs. “Of course you can, old man.”
Nick turns to me, the smile on his face reminiscent of a kid in a candy store. “I can’t believe my girl is going to Motorlux. I’m so proud.”
As soon as he says the words, a realization dawns on me. Nick isn’t even our biological dad, but the pride he has for Dilynne would make you think she’s his own. We sure as shit never heard those words from our real dad growing up.
I glance at my daughter and wonder what she’ll be interested in as she grows, and how proud the simplest things she does will make me. Will she take dance classes or play t-ball? Will she want to play football with the boys? Or will she be an artist, maybe teacher?
When I look back at Nick, he leans over and pats my shoulder. “Proud of you too, Henley. You’re running a successful business and now you’re a father. I’m not gonna lie, I was a little nervous about how fatherhood would impact your life. But you seem to be doing really well.”
Yeah, except for kissing my nanny and acting like an ass sometimes because I hate that I want her.
“Thanks, Nick.”
“Love you both,” he says, and like an arrow just pierced through my heart, I stand from the chair to get some space.
How can such simple words wreak havoc on my brain and body so easily? And for years?
“How’s Elodie?” Carol asks, changing the subject to the woman I couldn’t get out of the house fast enough to avoid this morning.
I honestly don’t know what came over me last night, but as soon as Remy was sleeping peacefully in her bassinet, I felt like I could breathe.
And then when I came out of my room and saw Elodie sitting on my couch, staring off into space but looking so fucking gorgeous, completely unaware of how much her presence calmed me yesterday at the hospital, something in me snapped.
Unfortunately, the only thing I could think to do after that mind-blowing kiss was to go to my room and lock the door, because if I didn’t, I sure as fuck wasn’t going to stop there.
“Yes, Henley. How is Elodie?” Dilynne echoes, peering over at me with anticipation as she shoves another bite of French toast in her mouth.
“She’s…good.”
Unbelievably talented. Strong-willed. Patient. A remarkable kisser. The only reason why I’m not rocking myself in a corner right now as a new dad.
“Good? So you two…talked?” my sister prods further.
Snapping my eyes to her, I say, “Were we supposed to?”
“I mean, she was with me and Laney when you called her last night. She left us to meet you at the ER.”
“If you need someone, you know you can always call me too,” Carol interjects. “I kind of know a thing or two about taking care of kids.”
“I know, Carol. And I appreciate that. In that moment though, the first person I thought to call was Elodie. Sorry.”
“No apology necessary. She’s a part of your and Remy’s life now.”
Yeah, but not for long, or at all if she quits after I kissed her last night.
Focusing back on Dilynne, I say, “What was she supposed to talk to me about?”
Dilynne shrugs, pretending like she doesn’t know exactly what Elodie wanted to speak to me about, but my gut tells me she does, and partly that’s because I know my sister is a horrible liar. “Again, you should talk to her.”
“Why didn’t she come with you today?” Carol asks. “You know she’s always welcome here and there’s plenty of food.”
Dilynne pushes her chair back from the table, taking her plate into the kitchen and slapping two more pieces of French toast on it. “Not for long.”
Nick shakes his head, amused by my sister. I look back at Carol. “Uh, Elodie was still sleeping when I left.”
“It’s eleven in the morning,” Dilynne’s brows draw together in confusion.
“I left at eight.”
Her mouth falls open. “What the hell did you do for three hours?”
Go anywhere to avoid being at home and alone with her. “I drove to Asheville to the store for more diapers and stuff for Remy. Then we stopped by the bakery and visited with Carolina, and then we went to the park.”
Carol, Nick, and Dilynne share a look just as my phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out and see a text from Elodie.
Elodie: Hey. Not sure when you’ll be home, but I’m going to go out for a while and run a couple of errands. See you later?
Me: Yeah, see you back at the house.
When I look up from my phone, Nick, Carol, and Dilynne are all watching me.
“Sorry, it was Elodie.”
Dilynne flicks her head in the direction of the front door. “Hey, wanna come outside with me really quick?”
“Uh, why?”
She rolls her eyes. “Just get your ass out front, gorilla man.” She stabs a piece of her French toast and shoves it in her mouth before moving toward the front door.
Carol shakes her head with an amused smile on her face. “Go ahead, Henley. I’ve got Remy. And just so you know, once Elodie leaves, I’m more than willing to help you with her.”
A tiny sliver of relief radiates through my chest. “Thanks, Carol.”
“Anything for you, hun. We love you two.”
That word makes my pulse spike again, but I choose to ignore it and follow my sister outside, finding her continuing to eat on the porch swing. I take a seat in the Adirondack chair next to her. “What did you need to say to me that you couldn’t say in front of Carol and Nick?”
Dilynne finishes chewing before she replies. “I’m sorry. Did you want them to know that you wanna bang your nanny? Because if that’s the case, we can go back in there and have this conversation in front of them.”
I flash her a flat stare. “That’s not necessary. Now say what you need to say, please.”
“I really think you need to have a talk with Elodie. You should have seen the way that girl ran out of Laney’s house last night, Henley. It was like she couldn’t get to you fast enough.”
My heart rate spikes with this information. “She was just worried about Remy.”
“No, big brother.” Shaking her head, she continues, “She was worried about you. It’s the same reason she went off on you yesterday morning.”
“Why are you telling me this, Dil?”
“Because you’re a man and I know it’s natural for you to be a little slow to realize things.”
“And what should I be realizing?”
Sighing, she leans closer to me. “That girl cares about you, Henley. Not just Remy. She cares about you. That’s why she was so upset with you when you didn’t answer her texts.
That’s why she went off on you. But it seems to me like you’re both too stubborn to admit what’s happening between the two of you. ”