Page 25 of The Hook Up
“I’m Ty,” he said. “I’ve heard a lot about you. Aren’t you lucky, getting to come to work with mommy today?”
“He’s getting picked up in half an hour.” Ellie blew hair out of her eyes and shot Ty an apologetic look. “Thank you for understanding. We’ve had a crazy morning.”
“Not a problem.” Ty settled himself on a tall chair and splayed his hands over his knees. “I’m sure we can find a job around here for Mr. Henry. Maybe get him on the payroll so he can start helping with the light bill and paying his taxes like an upstanding citizen.”
Henry giggled and adjusted his glasses. “I already have a job,” he said. “I clean my room every night before I go to bed.”
“And I’m sure you’re terrific at it.” Ty smiled at Ellie before directing his attention back to Henry. “Actually, I think you’d like some of the warm-up exercises I’d planned for your mom this morning. Would you like to help out with that?”
Henry’s eyes went wide, and a flood of gratitude shot through Ellie’s core. She glanced at Ty, relieved he didn’t seem perturbed at all. He was calm and relaxed and totally unfazed by the unexpected juvenile guest. Not many guys could just roll with that.
She glanced back at the jacket-covered monitor and hesitated. “Uh, this exercise doesn’t involve fruit, right?”
Ty shook his head and grinned. “Nope. We’re going to stretch our face muscles so we’re limbered up and animated for the camera.”
“You can stretch your face?” Henry was in awe.
“Yep,” Ty said. “Actors, like the ones you see on TV, do it all the time. Want to give it a shot?”
Ellie nodded, but Henry’s response was more enthusiastic. “Yes! Face exercising sounds like a good job. What do I hafta do?”
“The first one is called lion,” Ty explained, and her boy’s eyes widened in wonder.
“Like an alive lion? Not a dead one?”
“Not a dead one,” Ty confirmed.
Henry smiled, relief evident on his freckled face. “The kids on the field trip are seeing dead ones, so this is way better.”
Ellie thought about correcting him, but Ty was already off and running with the exercise. “Okay, so the idea is that you make your face like a lion’s face. You want to make everything as big as possible. Your eyes and your mouth and your cheeks—kind of like a lion’s mane. You think you can do that?”
“Yeah!” Henry grinned. “Do I get to rawr?”
“Definitely.” Ty looked at Ellie. “You’re doing this, too.”
“Oh.” She touched a hand to her collarbone, suddenly self-conscious. “Are you sure I need to?—”
“Yep.” He grinned. “I picked this warm-up just for you. It’s all about letting go of the fear of looking silly and making sure your features are animated. It’s a good exercise, I promise.”
“Okay,” Ellie agreed, more for Henry’s sake than for Ty’s. “I’m ready.”
“On three,” Ty said. “One, two, three—lion!”
Ty boggled his eyes and opened his mouth as wide as possible. He put his hands up like claws and let out a loud, low roar that sent Henry into peals of laughter.
“Rawr!” the little boy yelled, his mouth open wide and his eyes sparkling with joy.
“Rawr!” Ellie yelled back, lifting her own manicured claws in her best lion impression.
“Your mom’s got this nailed,” Ty told Henry. “I think she’s had practice being a wildcat.”
The flush shot all the way from Ellie’s face to her fingertips, even though Ty didn’t crack a smile or look at her. He was still focused on coaching Henry with a gentle patience that made Ellie’s ovaries ache. How did Ty get so good at this? And why was it affecting her so much, the sight of her son with a man besides her brother?
Down, girl. He’s entertaining him, not auditioning for the role of stepdad.
“You did an awesome job with that one, little man,” Ty continued. “The next one is called fish. What do you think a fish looks like?”
Henry frowned in concentration then glanced at Ellie. “Wet?”
