On Dublin Street Read Free Page B

astronomical. If you had the money to live here, though, why would you leave?
    As I followed Ellie across the hall and into the huge sitting room, I asked politely, “Did your roommate move away?” I made it sound like I was just curious, but really I was scoping Ellie out. If the apartment was this stunning, then maybe Ellie had been the problem as the roommate. Before Ellie could answer, I stopped short, turning around slowly to take in the room. Like all these old buildings, the ceilings in each room were pretty high. The windows were tall and wide, so tons of light from the busy street outside spilled into the lovely room. On the center of the far wall was a huge fireplace, clearly used only as a ‘ feature ’ and not a real fire, but it pulled the casually elegant room together. Sure, it ’ s a little more cluttered than I like , I thought, eyeing the piles of books that were scattered here and there along with silly little items… like a toy Buzz Lightyear.
    I wasn ’ t even going to ask.
    Eyeing Ellie, the cluttered room began to make sense. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a messy bun, she was wearing mis-matched flip flops, and there was a price sticker on her elbow.
    “Roommate?” Ellie asked, turning around to meet my gaze. Before I could repeat the question, the furrow between her pale eyebrows cleared and she nodded, as if understanding. Good. It hadn ’ t been that hard a question. “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I didn ’ t have a roommate. My brother bought this place as an investment and had it all done up. Then he decided he didn ’ t want me struggling to pay rent while I do my PhD, so he just gave it to me.”
    Nice brother.
    Even though I didn ’ t comment, she must have seen the reaction in my eyes. Ellie grinned, a fond look softening her gaze. “Braden is a little over the top. A present from him is never simple. And how could I say no to this place? Only thing is, I ’ ve been living here for a month and it ’ s just too big and lonely, even with my friends hanging out here on the weekends. So, I said to Braden that I was getting a roommate. He wasn ’ t keen on the idea, but I told him how much rent this place takes in and that changed his mind. Forever the businessman.”
    I knew instinctually that Ellie loved her (obviously quite well-off) brother and that the two were close. It was there in her eyes when she talked about him and I knew that look. I ’ d studied the look over the years, facing it head on and developing a shield against the pain it brought me to see that kind of love on other people ’ s faces – other people who still had family in their lives.
    “He sounds very generous,” I replied diplomatically, unused to people spilling their private feelings all over me when we ’ d only just met.
    Ellie didn ’ t seem bothered by my response, which wasn ’ t exactly warm with ‘ tell me more ’ s ’ .  She just kept smiling and led me out of the sitting room and down the hall into a long kitchen. It was kind of narrow, but the far end opened up into a semi-circle where a dining table and chairs were arranged. The kitchen itself was as expensively finished as everywhere else in the apartment. All the appliances were top of the line and there was a huge modern range in the middle of the dark wood units.
    “Very generous,” I repeated.
    Ellie grunted at my observation. “Braden ’ s too generous. I didn ’ t need all this, but he insisted. He ’ s just like that. Take for instance his girlfriend — he indulges her in everything. I ’ m just waiting for him to get bored with her like he does with the rest of them because she ’ s one of the worst he ’ s been with. It ’ s so obvious she ’ s more interested in his cash than in him. Even he knows it. He says the arrangement suits him. Arrangement? Who talks like that?”
    Who talks this much?
    I hid a smile as she showed me the master bedroom. Like Ellie, it was cluttered. She prattled on a little