Walking the Line Read Online Free PDF Page A

her, because she
changed and I’ve watched it happen. Cut her hair short and dyed it.
Started wearing leather and chunky jewelry and a ton of make-up.
And she never smiled…”
    Something in my chest twisted at the thought
of anyone hurting Ellie so badly she felt compelled to change who
she was.
    Kye grimaced. “We don’t talk about our pasts
much. She probably thinks discussing Mum will make me grumpier than
usual and I accept her for who she is now.”
    He tilted his head, studying me. “That’s
another thing I respect you for, because I think you do too.”
    “‘Course I do. She’s incredible.”
    “You know she’s heaps older than you,
right?”
    “Yeah, so?”
    Kye grinned. “Good answer. So, what can I do
to help?”
    I’d done a bit of research and hatched a
plan. But it all came down to Kye convincing Ellie, because she
sure as hell wouldn’t listen to me.
    “I need you to tell a little white lie…”

CHAPTER SIX
     
    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