Page 22 of Skate the Line

This time, I can’t help it.

I laugh.

Sunny’s lips turn up at the sides. Her angry stance loosens, and she looks pleased with herself.

Again, I should thank her, but there’s another thought on the forefront of my mind.

I glance away, unable to look her in the eye, because although it’s standard for me to ask the question, I don’t like appearing vulnerable in front of strangers.

I don’t like appearing vulnerable in front of anyone, actually.

“Was Ellie okay when you got here?”

Her soft exhale catches my ear. I glance at her from the side. “Mostly. Nothing that a little snack and a bedtime story couldn’t fix after I broke in.”

My blood pressure lowers significantly.She’s fine—well, as fine as Ellie ever is.

I repeat her words in my head.Wait. “After you broke in?”

Sunny’s lower lip disappears beneath her teeth. She rocks back on the heels of her gray-and-maroon striped Art Institute socks.

“Did you break the door?” I wouldn’t care if she did. It’d be nice to have someone else care for Ellie enough to break down doors, honestly.

All Ellie has is me and the team, plus the few wives, like Scottie, that tend to pitch in when they know I need it the most. My mom and Ellie have weekly calls, but she’s too far to be here in a pinch. It never feels like enough. There’s a gap in Ellie’s heart that I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to fill. No matter how many piggyback rides Kane gives her, or skates on the ice with Malaki, or big, blue Chicago Blue Devils hair bows that Scottie ties in her hair, she still has a withdrawn feel to her.

Sunny is quick to answer. “I didn’t break the door. I used a credit card.”

Ah, so we have a little rulebreaker on our hands.

My arms fold. “And where did you learn to do that?”

There’s a tight hitch in my breath when she smiles softly. “My gramps.”

“Your grandpa taught you how to break and enter with a credit card?”

Her light laugh fills all the empty spots of the foyer. “He did. But it was only because he used to take me with him to work, and some of his older tenants would lock themselves out of their apartments.”

I stand back and watch her without saying anything. I try to spot a lie or some ulterior motive to her response, but instead, all I get are a few flutters of her long eyelashes and warm cheeks. She seems so…genuine?

“So…” Sunny glances at her pink suitcase. “Since the police aren’t here to arrest you for…whatever went through your mind when you learned that Ginny had locked Ellie in her room, does that mean I get the job?” Her face twists. “Though, I would have totally bailed you out.Shedeserves to be in jail, in my opinion.”

I watch her closely as she recrosses her arms and mutters under her breath about tripping theblonde bimbo.

In an attempt to save face, I rub a hand over my scruff and hide my grin. “If you can agree to my terms, I’m willing to give you a spin.”

A spin.

That came out wrong, and unfortunately, Sunny caught it. Her eyebrows dip, and she squints as if she, too, is wondering if I really just said that.

I did.

I clear my throat and pull out my phone to check my calendar. “Can you meet here tomorrow at ten? We will go over the contract and salary. If you can agree to my terms after tomorrow, then the job is yours.”

If she doesn’t agree, I’m going to have big fucking problems.

My mom has offered a few times to come stay for a while, but with her back in Russia, that’s nearly impossible. I’m not willing to make things more complicated by forcing her to find someone else to take care of her eighty-two-year-old aunt who requires full-time care just so she can come take care of me.

“I’ll be here at ten on the dot. I know how you like punctuality.”

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