WALKING THE LINE

Chapter 6

ELLIE

After a long week, I had plans. Plans that included popcorn, chocolate ice cream and a stack of action flicks.

I'd just settled down with a buttery bowl of goodness in my lap and the remote in my hand when a knock sounded at my door.

I could've sworn my heart stopped.

No way. Couldn't be Finn. I'd warned him that no one ever entered my domain up here and so far he'd kept his distance.

Hadn't stopped him asking me out on the rare occasions we'd seen each other the last seven days. I'd done a stellar job of avoiding him but the guy seemed to have a built in radar for knowing where I'd be next.

So we'd done our usual dance. Him charm and flirt. Me freeze and run.

If he'd had the audacity to knock on my apartment door, I'd castrate him.

Because if I liked Finn downstairs in the bar and had a hard time hiding exactly how much, no way in hell I could resist him in my inner sanctuary.

For that's what my apartment was. A sanctuary. A glimpse into the real me. A place filled with frills and feathers, velvets and satins, cushions and candles and frippery, so at odds with my outer persona that I didn't want anyone getting a look at who I really was deep down.

A woman who'd yearned for this life once: the house, the kids, the husband. A woman who believed in dreams of happily-ever-after. A woman who preferred fine teas to alcohol, who enjoyed baking, who'd do anything for her man.

"Open up, El, I know you're in there."

Kye.

I breathed a sigh of relief and tried to ignore the irrational stab of disappointment it wasn't Finn.

"I'm busy, go away," I yelled, knowing it was futile because I'd never been able to say no to him, not since the day he'd presented me with his first mud pie at age six.

"Maybe you'd prefer if I got Finn to help me break down the door?"

At the mention of the F word, I placed the bowl on the coffee table and bolted out of my seat. I opened the door and peeped around it. "You have two seconds before I head back to my date with Vin Diesel."

"Make it five then I'll get out of your way." Kye did that weird upper lip curl thing that passed for a semi-smile and I stood back, beckoning him in.

His far too astute gaze swept the room, lingering on the DVDs stacked beside the TV. "Not sleeping much, huh?"

"I sleep plenty."

At least, I used to, before a green-eyed Irishman with a hot bod and a voice that could tempt a nun to sin kept invading my dreams. So I'd settled for the easier option: dozing on the couch watching old movies.

"You're full of it." Kye didn't sit, which meant he wasn't staying long. "It's none of my business why you've turned into an insomniac so I'll cut to the chase. You still interested in adding more boutique beers to your range?"

"Yeah."

"There's a new joint in town. Upmarket, in Double Bay. Getting rave reviews everywhere for its menu of the liquid variety."

Okay, so he'd piqued my interest. I was constantly striving to make the bar better and more patrons than ever were asking for beers I hadn't heard of.

"Thought you might want to check it out with me?"

I nodded. "Sounds good."

"Tomorrow night, at seven?"

"I'll be there."

Gave me another excuse not to see Finn who was rostered on every evening for the next week.

"Great, see you then." Kye paused at the door. "You really okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?"

He pointed at the mega popcorn bowl and tub of chocolate ice cream. "Because I remember when you and Mum used to do this, it meant trouble."

My chest ached at the mention of Sheree. I'd loved her like a sister and missed her every day, even now, five years later.

"Men bond over beers and balls, women love junk food and flicks to unwind."

He did the lip quirk thing again. "Balls?"

"Football. Golf. Snooker."

"Right." He grinned, but I still saw concern in his steady gaze. "That's all this is, unwinding?"

"Yeah." I propped against the back of the sofa, wishing he'd leave so I could get past the sudden urge to bawl.

Because the one person in this world I trusted these days was a twenty-year-old, messed up kid with anger management issues and what did that say about me?

That I never let anyone in. That I needed to lighten up. That I needed a life beyond the bar and my bitterness.

"You know, all those times I'd be pretending to play cars on the floor or do puzzles, I actually just enjoyed being around you and Mum," he said, his gaze clouding with memories. "Those were the best times."

"Yeah, they were." I swallowed and blinked back the sting of tears. "Sheree was an incredible person and you're just like her."

Kye's startled gaze shot to mine. "She was so much better than me—"

"Sheree was street smart and astute, with a marshmallow core."

He sneered. "You think I'm soft?"

"I think you care, despite the tough guy facade you present to the world."

Sadness filled me. It had taken me a long time to come to terms with who I was and Kye still had that ahead of him. "Otherwise you wouldn't have taken Finn under your wing."

After an eternity, he reluctantly nodded. "Don't forget I'm not the only one who presents a tough front." His glance away turned crafty. "Maybe you should take Finn under you..."

I laughed at his less-than-subtle innuendo. "Get out."

"Okay." He saluted. "I'll text you the details for tomorrow night."

I nodded, waiting until Kye had left before returning to my place on the couch and wishing he hadn't put that damn image of Finn being under me into my already overactive imagination.