Crossing the Line(29)

"It must've been awful, losing your only parent." My arm slid across his chest and squeezed him tight.

"Mum was the best."

In those four, whispered words, I heard a wealth of subdued pain and sorrow.

"She inherited the club from some older guy she'd dated. He owned a bunch of businesses all over Sydney and thought Mum was the only woman he knew with big enough balls to run a strip club in the Cross and not care about the inevitable crap that would fly her way."

He sounded a million miles away, lost in his memories. Memories he now trusted me with. It was a huge step in our relationship.

"Apparently Dad came into the club one night on a buck's night. Love at first sight. They hooked up for a few months, then Dad was offered a role in a B grade flick in LA." His voice tightened with emotion. "Mum knew she was pregnant by then but didn't tell him because acting was his dream and she didn't want to wreck that for him."

"Wow, your mom sounds amazing."

He nodded. "She was. So they broke up and Dad left for LA. But his big break fell through. He stayed in LA for a year, trying to break into the Hollywood scene with little success. Headed back to Australia, got offered a talk show hosting gig and never looked back."

I wondered if asking a question would stop the flow of his revelations, but curiosity egged me on. "And your mom didn't tell him you'd been born once he returned, even though his career in LA never took off?"

"She didn't want to drag him down and damage his reputation as his career took off." He sounded pissed. "She was so damn self-sacrificing."

I didn't blame him for being angry. If his mom had told the truth, Kye would've had a father all those years he'd missed out.

"So how did he show up after your mom died?"

Some of the tension bunching his muscles beneath my palm eased. "Mum organized everything with a lawyer in case she died. Included a letter with a copy of the birth certificate, where she'd named him as the father. And a sample of my hair if he wanted to run a paternity test. He did. Turned up on our doorstep the day after she died."

I squeezed him tight again. "I'm so sorry."

He continued as if he hadn't heard me. "Dad was pretty amazing. Didn't try to muscle in but helped me with whatever I wanted done. Stood by me through the funeral. Organized the sale of the club. Invested the money for me." He swallowed. "And he's been looking out for me ever since."

Tears burned the back of my eyes. "Not wanting to disappoint him is a powerful motivator for keeping away from me."

"Yeah, that's what I was trying to make you understand." He scooted a little away, only to roll onto his side to face me, his earnestness scaring me. "But tonight, when the blackness rolled over me as I watched you with that dickhead, I realized something."

"What?" I held my breath, hoping this would be the major turning point in our relationship.

He cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing my lower lip in a slow sweep that almost had me blubbering. "I figured I've spent my whole life worried about what other people think of me and reacting to their opinions. The anger that scares the crap out of me is a byproduct of that." A wry smile twisted his mouth. "At least, that's what the shrink I saw a few times after Mum died told me."

His hand drifted from my face to rest on my shoulder, strong, reassuring. "I don't want to disappoint my dad, nothing's changed there. But you're the best thing that’s happened to me in years and I'd be a fool not to want to fight for you."

My heart soared as he huffed out a breath. "Your dad warned me off you. And the last thing I want to do is piss him off. And I sure as hell don't want to treat you like a dirty, little secret but if you want this?" He tapped his chest. "If you want us to work while you're on vacation? I'm willing to give it a go on the condition you don't tell anyone."

I opened my mouth to respond and he mock zipped his lips. "That means anyone, even your bestie Dani, okay?"

I'd offloaded my secrets on Dani for years when we'd been growing up, but if it meant losing what I'd just gained with Kye? No way in hell I'd tell her a thing.

"Deal." I held out my hand to shake on it and he laughed, a purely joyous sound that had me joining in, before he rolled me onto my back, grabbed my wrists and held them overhead, and pinned me with his body.

"I can think of better ways to celebrate our new arrangement," he murmured, lowering his head to nuzzle my neck, sending heat spiraling through my body. "Much better ways."

I couldn't agree more.





Chapter 20




KYE





I was on fire.

Returning serves like a man possessed. Slamming consistent down-the-line winners. Serving ace after ace. Delivering backhand returns that had the small crowd watching the first inter-tournament oohing.