“No! I want to spend time with you.” She took his hand in hers, “You just don’t understand my family. You haven’t met them. Hell, I haven’t even talked about them, mostly because they are crazy, so please just bear with me through this.”

“Only if you promise me one thing,” he said after a moment of still not looking at her.

“And what’s that?”

“Come spend the day with me tomorrow. We’ll watch movies, and just hang out. No interruptions, just us.”

He had the cutest grin on his face as he kept his eyes on Amelia. When she noticed he only had one dimple, she poked it, and smiled.

“You only have one dimple.” He covered it with his hand, and blushed.

“Grace makes fun of me all the time for that.”

“I think it’s sexy,” she said with a grin, and then she turned to look out at the playground.

Should she go to his condo? All by herself?

“So, what do you say?”

“Um, I-”

“UNKY SHEA!!!!!!!!!!!!” They both jumped in shock as Ryan came running towards them, his hand in the air as tears ran down his cheeks.

“Ryan, buddy, what happened?” Shea asked, jumping up and rushing to his nephew’s aid.

“I,I,I, fell and hurt my hand!” he wailed. Shea grabbed his hand and examined it. From what Elli could see, it was only a small scratch.

“Buddy, come on now, calm down. Hockey players don’t cry, remember,” Shea said with a smile as he rubbed Ryan’s back. Elli saw it coming, but obviously Shea didn’t. When Ryan’s face cringed up and he started wailing for his mommy, Shea freaked out. He picked Ryan up, hugging him close.

“I want my mommy!!!” Ryan cried.

Elli went over, taking Ryan from Shea, cuddling him close to her chest.

“Oh goodness, you poor thang,” she cooed as she sat down on the bench, putting him across her legs.

“Let me see this boo boo, honey.”

He held out his hand for Elli to see. Rocks and dirt were mixed with a little blood on his small palm.

“Its hu,hu,hurts,” he stuttered.

“Oh, my goodness!” she exclaimed as she dug in her bag for a wipe. She then cleaned off his hand before bringing his palm to her lips, kissing it softly.

“All better?”

“Ye, ye, yes, ma’am. Do you have a Band-Aid?” he asked, tears still in his eyes.

“I do, honey,” she said, putting a Spiderman Band-Aid on his hand. He looked at his hand, then at her with a watery grin.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, darling,” she said with a grin as he jumped off her lap, grinning up at his uncle.

“Ms. Elli fixed me.”

“She sure did.”

“You need to learn how to do that, Unky. It’s good to know,” Ryan informed him.

“I know that now, bud. Go play, ok?”

“Kay!” He ran off with a huge smile, and Shea looked down at Elli with appreciation all over his face.

“You are amazing, Elli.”

“Why, thank you,” she said with a grin as she leaned back on the bench. “He’s sweet.”

“He’s a pain,” he muttered as he sat down beside her. She loved how he moved, so fluid like. They sat in silence as they watched the kids play. Elli made sure to keep an eye on Amelia since she was so little, but then she noticed that Shea was doing the same. Elli tore her eyes off the beautiful baby to do a head count.

“Max, Riley, Emma, Penny, Jason, and Jessica, oh, and Ryan,” she muttered as she counted each child.

“Are those your nieces and nephews names?”

“Yeah, Max, Penny, and Jason are Liam’s kids, and then Riley, Emma, and Jessica are Noah’s kids. We had a child born each year for 5 years; Emma and Max were born within a week of each other.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of birthdays.”

“Yeah, but it’s nice. I love them all so much.”

“You know, you’re always talking about the kids, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard your brother’s names.”

Elli thought that over and then shrugged her shoulders.

“My family issues are not a good topic for today.”

Shea nodded as Penny, Emma, and Jessica came running towards her.

“Auntie Elli, the boys are being mean,” Jessica complained.

“They are still pulling my pigtails,” Penny cried.

“They just stink, in my opinion,” said Emma.

Elli shook her head, as Shea chuckled beside her. All three girls looked at Shea, and when Elli saw how big Penny’s eyes got, she knew that Penny knew who he was.

Penny came closer, still looking at Shea as she came close to Elli’s ear to whisper, “Auntie Elli, do you know Big Daddy Adler is sitting next to you?”

Elli couldn’t suppress the giggle that came out of her. Penny walked backwards until she was standing with Emma and Jessica.

“Just stay away from them, girls,” she managed through the giggles. The girls nodded and ran off.

“What did she call me?”

“Big Daddy Adler. My sister-in-law is in love with you, and has a picture of you and her at some hockey thing Max was in. It’s on the mantel, and Adina calls you that.”

He started laughing, and Elli joined in.

“That’s intense.”

“It really is.”

“You’re really good with kids, Elli,” Shea said after a moment. She looked over at him.