Walking the Line

by Mandy Magro

  Like a magnet drawing her gaze, she spotted Dallas amongst the hundreds of people. He was standing at the bar with Will, beer in hand, and looking handsome as ever in a tuxedo which he wore just as fetchingly as his jeans. Standing very close beside him was a woman, and not just any woman, but the one that had brazenly plonked his hat on her head and then kissed him on the cheek last night. And she wasn’t just any plain-Jane, but the kind of woman who could dominate a room with her lengthy legs and silky blonde hair—everything Charlize didn’t have.

  Charlize hated her on sight, more so than last night. Seeing her with him was like a kick to the stomach, followed by a punch to the chest. Jealousy seared throughout her as she watched the woman entwine her arm within Dallas’s, kiss him on the cheek and then throw her head back in laughter that was clearly forced. Charlize gritted her teeth as her fingernails dug into the flesh of her palm. No matter how illogical it was to be feeling like this, she just couldn’t help herself. Yesterday morning at the dam, the two of them had shared something deep and profound, and she wanted to believe it had meant something. If looks could kill, the woman would have been dead on the spot.

  A tap on her arm brought her attention beside her. Katherine smiled knowingly. ‘Do you want to know who she is?’

  Charlize tried to feign ignorance while at the same time begging her heart to stop pounding against her chest like a boxer’s fists. ‘Who?’

  Katherine subtly pointed. ‘The woman with Dallas.’

  Charlize blew air through her lips as she flapped her hand through the air. ‘No, why would you think that?’

  ‘Oh love, I’ve been watching the sparks since the very first time I was in a room with you both.’ She tapped her lips. ‘But don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.’

  Charlize went to deny it, but decided it was pointless to do so. ‘It’s really that obvious?’ Her voice was almost a whisper.

  ‘It is to me.’ Katherine eyed the woman across the room. ‘Her name is Jasmine, and she’s been sniffing around Dallas since high school, but she’s never going to get anywhere with him. The only reason he doesn’t tell her to rack off is he’s too nice for his own good.’

  Charlize folded her arms and smiled. ‘How can you be so sure?’

  Katherine smirked. ‘I know my boy inside and out. I know what he’s looking for in a woman, and Jasmine does not possess any of the traits he considers important.’

  ‘And what traits might they be?’

  ‘He’s looking for someone who’s sunny, intelligent, a little challenging, smart and kind-hearted.’ Katherine grinned. ‘I would say someone a lot like you.’

  A waiter stopped in front of them with a tray of glasses filled with pink champagne. ‘Drink, ladies?’

  ‘Oh, yes please,’ Charlize said, thankful for the distraction. She had no idea how to respond to Katherine’s observations. She reached out and grabbed two fluted glasses.

  Katherine placed her hand over Charlize’s. ‘Not for me, thanks love. I get a little too uninhibited when I’ve had a few drinks.’

  Charlize held the glass out. ‘That’s the whole point of drinking, to loosen up and have fun. So here you go, bottoms up.’

  Katherine squirmed for a few seconds then buckled under her playful grin. ‘Okay, but just one.’

  ‘Yay.’

  Charlize internally cheered as she sculled half her glass. Katherine deserved a fun night out, and she was going to make damn well sure she had one.

  As if on cue, Phil sauntered up to greet them, looking very smart in his suit and tie. He held out his arms so he was involving the two of them. ‘Wow, you ladies are the most beautiful creatures in this room.’

  ‘Thanks, Phil,’ Charlize said with a broad smile.

  A blush rose on Katherine’s cheeks. She smiled over the rim of her champagne glass. ‘Why thank you, Phil.’ She took a sip. ‘And I have to say you’re looking pretty fetching yourself.’

  Now it was his turn to redden. Charlize almost rolled her eyes at the obviousness of their attraction to one another. And then wondered if Katherine did the same when she was around her and Dallas. She almost burst out laughing. Could they really be as bad as this? Feeling like a third wheel, she thought of a way to give Phil and Katherine some time to chat amongst themselves. ‘I’m just going to duck to the ladies, Kath.’ She gave Phil a subtle wink. ‘You’ll take care of her while I’m gone, won’t you?’

  Phil puffed out his chest and grinned. ‘I sure will.’

  ‘Good. Back soon.’

  Halfway to the toilet—she might as well go there and check on her make-up—she bumped into Tim and Hollie.

  Hollie gave her a big squeeze like she was a long lost friend. ‘Hey there stranger.’

  ‘Hi Hollie. Hey Tim,’ she said over Hollie’s shoulder. Tim greeted her with a wide smile as he raised his beer. Charlize then untwined and stepped back, admiring Hollie’s jaw dropping dress. ‘Did you make this?’

  ‘I sure did.’ Hollie beamed.

  Tim smiled proudly beside her. ‘She’s amazing, isn’t she?’

  Charlize reached out and touched the silky fabric. ‘My god yes.’

  ‘Mum said you popped into the store last week and bought one of my cocktail dresses for Katherine.’ She looked around, trying to spot her. ‘Has she got it on tonight?’

  ‘She does, and she looks incredible.’

  Hollie clapped excitedly. ‘I can’t wait to see her in it.’ She folded her hands and rested her chin on them, her eyes dreamy. ‘It’s so humbling seeing beautiful women swanning around in my creations. Mum sold nine all up, including Katherine’s, but so far I’ve only spotted six of them.’

  ‘That’ll be seven,’ Tim said, eyeing someone over Charlize’s shoulder.

  ‘Oh my goodness, it looks perfect on her,’ Hollie shrieked.

  Charlize spun around and her smile faltered as she spotted the leggy blonde, but she held it there to try and save face. ‘Hi Dallas.’ As much as she wanted to reach out and pull the sneering woman’s hair, she chose to be the bigger person, as she always tried to be in situations like this—she’d had plenty of practice with women swooning over Alistair. ‘Hi there, I’m Charlize.’

  The woman ignored her outstretched hand, and instead grabbed hold of Dallas’s arm as though she was afraid he was going disappear. ‘Hi Charlize, nice to meet you.’ Her freezing contempt spoke otherwise.

  Dallas shook his head as though dazed. ‘Sorry, Char, this is my friend, Jasmine.’ His didn’t even look at Jasmine when he said it, instead his gaze raked over Charlize and his eyes flared appreciatively. ‘You look …’ He shook his head again as though stunned. ‘Wow.’ He gestured to her dress but addressed Hollie. ‘Is this another one of your designs?’

  ‘No, but isn’t it divine?’ Hollie reached out and ran her hand over Charlize’s exposed back. ‘I absolutely adore the cut. Let me guess. Versace?’

  Charlize smiled warmly now. ‘Close. Chanel.’ She placed her hand on Hollie’s arm. ‘I’ve been meaning to call you since I went into your mum’s shop on Tuesday. I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I’d like to talk to my boss about doing a shoot with your label for the fashion page. What do you think?’

  Hollie squealed and danced on the spot. ‘Oh my god, are you serious?’

  Charlize nodded eagerly. ‘Of course I am. You’re an amazing designer, Hollie, and you deserve to be recognised for it. People are going to come from miles around to get their hands on your creations.’

  Hollie threw her arms wide, lurched forwards and then dragged Charlize back into another tight squeeze, but this time she felt akin to a boa constrictor.

  Charlize chuckled and gracefully untwisted herself before she was choked to death. She pulled a business card from her clutch and handed it to Hollie. ‘My email address is on there. If you send me some pictures of your designs, I’ll show my boss once I’m back in the office, and then I’ll let you know what he says.’

  ‘Definitely, I’ll email them to you
first thing in the morning. Thank you so much, Charlize.’

  ‘Don’t thank me until we get the nod from the head honcho at The Insider, but my guess is that he’s going to be super keen to do it.’ She turned her attention back to Dallas, who was busy chatting with Tim. She waited until he’d finished, ignoring the daggers Jasmine was sending with her steely gaze. She was glad Jasmine found her a threat—it gave her a warm buzzy feeling all over. ‘Have you seen your mum yet, Dallas?’

  ‘Not yet, but I’m dying to.’

  ‘She looks absolutely amazing.’

  Dallas smiled tenderly. ‘I bet she does.’

  There was a smudge of lipstick on his cheek, and Charlize was dying to reach out and wipe it away. It pissed her off that Jasmine felt it her right to mark her territory, when it wasn’t even her territory to begin with—the nerve. She couldn’t help but wonder if Katherine was wrong in assuming nothing would come of Jasmine’s obvious interest in Dallas. Maybe it already had? The thought of them getting it on between the sheets made her heart hurt.

  A waiter walked passed with a tray of spring rolls, thankfully diverting Charlize’s train of thought. She almost leapt on him. ‘Excuse me, do you know if they have meat in them?’

  The waiter smiled proudly, as if chuffed that someone had asked for his expertise. ‘I certainly do, and no they do not.’

  That was music to her ears. ‘Oh yay.’ Plucking a serviette from the side of the tray, she helped herself to three of crispy looking parcels.

  ‘Hungry?’ Dallas said with a slow sexy grin, sending a tremor right down into the very core of her.

  ‘Ravenous,’ she replied, matching his smile. Her pleasure spot pulsed and she instinctively crossed her legs.

  The waiter offered the spring rolls around the circle, and everyone except Jasmine took one. ‘Oh no, thank you, I’m watching my waistline,’ she said with a giggle. She rubbed her miniature midriff for effect. Charlize groaned inwardly. It was so bloody stereotypical.

  She shoved the last of her first spring roll into her mouth to stop herself saying something sarcastic. Jasmine’s high-pitched voice grated on her, and the fact she didn’t really have anything to worry about—being so stick-insect skinny. She could tell from the sideways glance Dallas gave Jasmine that he felt exactly the same way.

  ‘So when do the presentations start?’ Charlize mumbled through her next spring roll.

  Dallas looked at his watch. ‘In about twenty minutes. Speaking of, I better get my arse out the back.’ He flashed his charming smile, mostly at Charlize. ‘Catch you lot after the rigmarole is all over.’

  ‘Oh come on, you love the attention,’ Tim teased as Dallas sauntered off.

  Dallas responded by flicking him the bird over his shoulder. Charlize knew from experience he would be smiling his cheeky grin. She adored the boys’ banter—such a contrast to the stiffness of Alistair and his mates.

  Jasmine looked like a deer caught in headlights without Dallas by her side, and Charlize felt suddenly sorry for the woman. Even though Jasmine conveyed confidence, she clearly lacked it. An uncomfortable silence fell as Tim and Hollie looked everywhere but at Jasmine. They evidently didn’t think too much of her either. Charlize chose it as her moment to escape. ‘Right, I was on the way to the loo when I bumped into you two, so I’ll catch you all a bit later on.’

  Hollie smiled as if relieved someone was speaking. ‘Okey dokely, have fun.’

  ‘Yup, catch you round like a rissole,’ Tim said with a dorky grin.

  Hollie giggled and elbowed him in the ribs. ‘You’re a dag.’

  Tim clutched his side, pretending to be badly injured from the gentle jab. ‘Yeah, but that’s why you love me so much.’

  ‘Enjoy your night,’ Charlize said to Jasmine as she eased passed her.

  ‘Oh I will, you can be sure of it,’ Jasmine said suggestively, a sly smile on her lips.

  The pity faded instantly as Charlize fought the urge to turn around and mess up her impeccably styled silky hair, but instead she took long determined strides towards the loos before she created an unwanted embarrassing scene.

  CHAPTER

  24

  An hour later, everyone was in their assigned seats watching the goings on up on stage. Phil and Will had somehow scored seats at their table. Katherine had clearly enjoyed another couple of glasses of champagne, and was enjoying herself a lot more than when she’d first arrived. It was good to see her having fun. With her belly full of canapés, and her fair share of champagne, Charlize was feeling pretty relaxed as well. Reg sat across from her, his face flushed from the whiskey he was drinking, the smile on his dial letting everyone know he was a very happy chappie right now.

  ‘And now it’s time to get our local hero up here so we can show him just how damn proud we are of him for winning the title of Australian Bull Riding Champion last night,’ the MC bellowed into the microphone.

  Dallas stepped out on stage, his eyes straining against the glare of the overhead light beating down upon him, and his famous megawatt smile making many women swoon, including Charlize. The men whooped and hollered while the women squealed and some even wolf-whistled. Charlize wished she knew how they did that. She had trouble even whistling like a bird. She pursed her lips, but then thought better of it. She bit her lip instead as she watched the gorgeous hunk of man she’d been so lucky to meet.

  Accepting the trophy, Dallas held it up and shook it, the broad smile on his face melting Charlize’s heart—a dream reached was always cause for elation. Then taking the microphone, he began his speech after clearing his throat one too many times. ‘I’d like to thank everyone here for their support over the years, because without all of you behind me, barracking for me, I don’t think I would have ever gotten this far.’

  He was met with another raucous boom of whoops and hollers.

  ‘Yeah, the amount of times I’ve had to drag your sorry arse to the hospital with broken bones, I’ve lost count,’ Tim hollered, raising his glass.

  ‘I’ll second that,’ Will added as his beer rose in the air too.

  ‘Fair calls you two.’ Grinning sheepishly, Dallas waited for the laughing and cheering to die down. ‘Most importantly of all, though, I’d like to thank my beautiful mum, Katherine …’

  More cheers, and an especially loud one from Phil. Charlize couldn’t help but smile. She looked to Katherine, who was now wiping tears from her eyes with a tissue. It turned Charlize’s already melting heart into molten lava. So very sweet the relationship was between mother and son.

  ‘… Because even though it terrifies her to see me climb up on the bulls, she has never once asked me to stop chasing my dream, and has instead backed me the entire way, just like she did my father all those years.’ Dallas cleared his throat once more. ‘I love ya Mum. And Gramps, that goes for you too.’

  Reg held up his now empty whiskey glass, grinning proudly. ‘Love you too, Dallas,’ he called out.

  Dallas’s smile faded and he began to blink faster. ‘So, you all know I’m not into long-winded speeches, so I’d like to finish by saying I dedicate this trophy to the memory of my dad. I’m so proud of who he was, and wish he could have been here to see this. I know he would have been over the moon.’

  He gave the microphone back and held the trophy up once more to the ear-splitting cheers of the crowd. Charlize was so moved she wished she could run up and hug him. Sniffling, she wiped her teary eyes, as did many others in the room, including some of the blokes. Mick Armstrong was clearly a very loved man around these parts. What a beautiful heartfelt speech by an equally beautiful man.

  As Dallas left the stage, the MC wound down the proceedings and then re-introduced the band. The mood shifted as they kicked back into action, and as Charlize had anticipated, they were now into the get-up-and-boogie kind of stuff. But this was not the dance music she was used to. It was country rock and roll—and she actually liked it. Loved it even. She was tapping along and bopping in her seat when Reg leapt to his feet with
the vigour of a man half his age—and the same twinkle in his eyes that Dallas quite often displayed.

  ‘Come on you, let’s dance.’ He held out his hand, and Charlize gladly accepted it.

  They eased onto the already jammed dance floor closely followed by Katherine and Phil. Charlize gave Katherine the thumbs-up and Katherine returned the gesture before being swept away by a hip-jiving Phil. Reg blew Charlize away with his John Travolta type moves and she laughed as she boogied with him. She recalled him saying he’d had two left feet when he’d first met Nancy—he’d obviously learnt a lot from her in their fifty-eight years of marriage. Song after song they bopped, jigged, jived and twirled until both of them were almost dying of thirst. Drinks gathered from the bar—a whiskey and dry for Reg and a refreshing vodka and soda for Charlize—they made their way back to the table for some much-needed leg rest, but Reg was lost along the way when he spotted a few old friends.

  The table empty, Charlize gathered the others must still be amongst it all, and a brief glimpse of Katherine being twirled around the packed dance floor and then recaptured in Phil’s arms confirmed the fact.

  Dallas suddenly appeared in the seat beside her. He flashed her a smile then leant in to her ear so he could be heard over the music. ‘I’ve been watching you from the bar. And man you’ve got some sexy moves.’

  A satisfying shiver ran down Charlize’s spine as his warm breath caressed her skin. He smelt so good she wanted to taste every divine inch of him.

  ‘Oh, have you now?’ Feeling Dutch courage coursing through her veins, she smiled sassily as she ran her finger around the rim of her glass. ‘Some might call that perving.’

  He returned her smile with equal sexiness. ‘Some might.’

  Seeming a little merrier than he had up on stage, Charlize gathered he’d enjoyed a few at the bar, but then, so had she. She found herself at a loss for words. She felt as though he was undressing her with his lingering gaze, and oh my god how she wanted him to. Desperately. She absorbed the look in his eyes, at the same time feeling as though she was tumbling out of control.