Holding Out For Skye (15 page)

Skye scowled. “Is that a trick question?”

“Abomination, uh?” Cian sent her a we’re-going-to-have-a-long-talk look. She ignored him.

“When did hell freeze over and why wasn’t I informed?” Humor glimmered in Tyler’s chocolate brown eyes.

“Very funny. Did you and Kiera swallow the same dictionary? Because the two of you are beginning to sound annoyingly similar. Maybe I should find some new friends,” Skye griped.

“You’d have to break them in and god knows how long that would take. You’d probably kill them out of impatience.” Tyler grinned at her. “Miss I’m-A-Master-At-Changing-Subjects.”

A burst of laughter came from Cian. He was beginning to understand how these two had become friends.

Skye gritted her teeth. “Alright, fine. It’s a long story.”

“And you’re going to tell me all about it later.” Oh, he definitely couldn’t wait to hear how she’d landed herself in this minefield. But there was one thing he had to do first. “Now, why don’t you go powder your nose like a
normal
girl
while your boyfriend and I have a talk?”

Like a normal girl!
“Since when did you become such a sexist pig?”

“Since you got a boyfriend. I’m in shock, you see. Now get the hell out of here while I grill your boyfriend.”

“Ooh, that sounds fun. I’m staying.”

Tyler sent her a level stare. She threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Fine. Have it your way and you idiotic men have your freaking guy talk.” She stomped away.

Once she was out of sight, Tyler turned to Cian with a cold menacing look in his eyes. “I don’t know what game you’re playing but if you hurt her, I assure you no one will find your body. Ever.”

No wonder
these two were friends
, Cian thought wryly. “She’s just like you, you know. I’m sure she’ll be the first one to kick my ass if I ever made that mistake and by the time you got your turn not much would be left of me.”

“Damn right.” An unwilling laugh slipped past Tyler. He schooled his features back into a serious expression. “You seem to understand her well.”

“In spite of all her efforts to the contrary, yes, I believe so.”

“And how did you manage that?”

“By chipping away at her impenetrable force field, one chip at a time,” Cian answered wryly. “Got the wounds and bruises to show for it.”

Tyler grinned. “That must have been a hell of a war.”

“Still is,” Cian agreed. “But it’s worth it.
She’s
worth it.”

“She’s a handful, isn’t she?”

“Yeah, she is, but she’s
my
handful now.”

“I see.” Oh, he saw it very clearly and he’d understood the underlying warning he’d just been handed as well. Tyler kept his grin to himself. So the poor bastard was in love with Skye and was worried about Tyler’s role in her life. What the poor bastard didn’t know was that Skye was like a little sister to him. And that it was his role in life as her honorary big brother to rag the hell out of her.

Something told him that Skye had met her match in Cian Hunter. It still didn’t mean that he was going to cut the guy some slack. This was Skye they were talking about, after all.

“From what she told me about you, you’re some kind of playboy. She better be your one and only handful,” Tyler warned coldly.

“Shit. I’d never cheat on her.”

“You better not. Or I’ll snap your neck. Is that clear?”

Cian stared at him. He bet he could do it too. “Crystal. But you should know, she’s the only one I want. Ever.” Cian looked him straight in the eye.

“Good. So long as we understand each other.”

“Why Skywalker?” Cian asked him curiously.

Tyler smiled at that. “Bet you already know the answer to that.”

Skye wasn’t much of a
Star Wars
fan. Then Cian understood. He grinned. “She’s a kick-ass.”

“More like a five foot menace, man.”

The five foot menace chose that moment to come back. Brown eyes shot glares at them both. “If you’re all done with your manly talk, I’d like to get going.”

“Leaving so soon, darling?” Cian said, a twinkle in his eyes.

“Don’t call me ‘darling’,” Skye griped. She turned to Tyler. “Aren’t you going to do something about this?”

Tyler sent her a toothy smile. “I’d say you have it all under control,
darling
.”

Cian bit back a grin at that. It would just earn him another glare from Skye.

“Argh!” Skye threw her hands in the air. “Men!”

Tyler let loose another laugh. “Wait till Tasha hears about this.”

“You’re going to tell her?” Skye’s voice was filled with horror. “You can’t.”

Cian was intrigued about who could pull such a reaction out of her. “Who’s Tasha?”

Tyler smiled smugly. “My girlfriend.”

The guy already had a girlfriend? Cian cheered up. That was great. But wait, why didn’t Skye want Tyler’s girlfriend to know that she had a boyfriend? He stared at her questioningly. “Why don’t you want her to find out?”

“You don’t know her. She’ll call me right away and want to know all about it!” Skye replied in that same horrified voice.

Cian was confused. “And that’s bad?”

“You don’t know his girlfriend,” was all Skye would say.

“Tasha’s what you’d call the touchy-feely type. She has this habit of sneaking elegantly around all those walls Skye has around herself. To put it simply, she adores Skye.”

Skye grunted in disagreement. “She’s bossy, crafty, pushy, stubborn and never takes no for an answer.”

“I see. Describing yourself, love?” Cian understood her reaction now. He definitely wanted to meet this Tasha person.

“I’m not all those things!” She gave him an insulted look.

“Right,” Tyler and Cian said in unison which earned them an annoyed glare.

“Tasha’s a dynamo wrapped up in a sexy package,” Tyler added.

Skye smiled. “She’d love that.”

“Yep. I’ll tell her when I see her tonight.”

“On that note, we gotta get going,” Skye reminded him.

Cian stood up too. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“No, I don’t think so.” Uh oh, she knew what he was getting at. Tyler watched them with interest.

“Skye.”

Damn it, how did he
do
that? Make her feel guilty while coming out looking all innocent and like he had all the patience in the world? “Fine.” Why did he have to be so tall? It made this even more embarrassing. “Would you bend down?” she hissed.

His eyes dancing merrily, Cian complied and Skye kissed him on the cheek. Tyler watched their exchange with amusement.

Cian refrained from laughing. “Thank you.”

“It was… enlightening to meet you.” Tyler held out his hand to Cian.

“Same here,” Cian agreed as he shook it.

“Can we go now?” Skye complained.

“Yes, speedy,” Tyler said, amused.

Cian watched them as they walked away. He couldn’t hear what Skye said to Tyler, but the dude shot him a huge grin over his shoulder as they left. Probably badmouthing him again, he thought chuckling. Right, he’d better get the food or the guys would have his ass.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The days whiled away, one after the other. Days filled constantly with Cian. Skye was kept busy at work, while in her personal life, it felt as if she and Cian became closer. Then there were the changes in her life that seemed small and yet to her appeared monumental.

She was no longer taking the bus. The apartment Cian and Nick shared was only about fifteen minutes away from hers, much to her surprise. She was continuously coming to the realization that the world was much smaller than she’d thought. Not to mention he’d found out from Kiera about her quirk concerning taking the T, which amused him up to no end.

So they drove her to and from work. Skye was adamantly told by Cian to call him if she needed to go out somewhere. He’d take her. Like the mature adult she was, she stuck out her tongue at him and told him right back that she wasn’t going to call him each and every time.

What free time Skye had, he managed to shanghai her into spending it with him. He dragged her into his world, taking her out almost every weekend. He surprised her with a picnic on the banks of Charles River, long walks at the Boston Public Garden and the beach, where he held her hand and they just talked. Moments which filled Skye with something she’d never had before—the amazing feeling of having someone to share her life with.

Cian took her out to formal dinner dates and she got to see that charming side of him that had girls throwing themselves at him. He managed to bully her into wearing the autumn colored dress again and of course, he took pictures.
Tons
of them. He brought her flowers almost every week, which overwhelmed and enchanted Skye at the same time.

Cian wheedled even more space in her heart, in her life. He became adept at blasting through all her objections, all her attempts to keep him at arm’s length.

Her feelings for him were growing at an alarming rate, alternately scaring and exhilarating her.

He wasn’t the perfect boyfriend. He was demanding, stubborn, sneaky and he never let her get away with anything. Skye felt a smile tug at her lips at that. Maybe it was weird but she had to admit that her battles with him were fun. She suspected Cian enjoyed them too or he wouldn’t rag her so much.

Somehow he’d found out about the various unflattering names she’d used for him when complaining to her friends and to get back at her, he told her there was no way in hell he was ever going to stop calling her
lovey-dovey
names. It was the perfect revenge because he knew how embarrassed she got when he called her
darling
or
love
.

No, he wasn’t perfect. But neither was she. Skye was stubborn herself, surly, difficult, complicated and she never gave in easily. She wouldn’t know what to do with someone who was perfect anyway. She could never be herself with someone like that but with him—Cian gave her no choice but to be herself.

And he turned her heart over with the way he gave her his full attention. As if everything she did was of importance to him.

Before Cian, Skye’d been content with her life. She’d accepted it that she’d probably always be alone, because she just didn’t know how to be with someone, how to let anyone in, how to trust anyone else besides herself. But him…

She’d never counted on Cian being in the equation. He was one of those major curveballs that life had thrown at her that she’d never expected. He’d taken her world and turned it upside down and somehow righted it again at the same time.

Skye was happier with Cian than she’d ever been without him. God, he made her so happy, it scared her.

Sometimes, she’d get this sudden burst of joy inside, totally unexpected, like a punch to her solar plexus and the air would rush out of her lungs. In that one moment, she felt glad to be alive and to be who she was. As if her heart couldn’t possibly contain that ball of joy inside her and it would burst out.

The feeling passed almost as soon as it came but it was one of the most powerful emotions she’d ever felt.

Skye was afraid of putting into words what she felt for him. They’d been together for almost a whole month now. How could they have
lasted
a month?

A month was too little time to really know someone, let alone have such intense feelings for him. When Cian left her, what would that do to her?

Freddie Stroma’s song “Knockin’” blaring on her phone snapped her out of her depressing thoughts. Skye turned away from the window where she had been curled up, staring at her reflection, contemplating her life. It was Kiera’s favorite song, the reason she’d put it as the ringtone for her number.

She looked at her watch, it was only nine o’clock, Friday night; Kiera should be out with Ash right now. He had taken her out to some jazzy restaurant to celebrate her getting a new job. Kiera had been psyched. A smile flitted across her face. Kiera and Ash were already going steady and they couldn’t be happier.

“Hey, what’s up? Don’t tell me you’re bored already?” Skye teased.

“Skye, I—” Kiera’s voice cracked.

Alarm raced through Skye. “Kiera? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Skye, Ash—he—”

“What happened?” Something was very wrong.

“Oh, Skye, he broke up with me.”

“What?” Shock shot through her spine. “Honey, where are you?”

“I’m at home.”

“Okay. I’m coming. I’ll be there in half an hour, okay?”

“You don’t have to—”

“Yes, yes I do. I’m coming.”

She heard Kiera sigh. “Thanks.”

Skye disconnected the call and thought fast. She could call a cab.

Or she could call Cian.

Cian was hanging out with his buddies tonight watching some Red Sox baseball game on his huge television so they hadn’t gone out. He’d been aghast she didn’t much care about baseball which had made her smile. She didn’t want to disturb him but he was the first one who came to mind. Her gut said to call him. He picked up on the first ring.

“Hey, missing me?”

“Cian, I’m sorry. I know this is a lot to ask, but can you come get me and drive me to Kiera’s place, please?”

Maybe it was the urgency in her voice, but he didn’t ask any questions. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

“Thanks. I’ll be out front.”

Skye grabbed a duffel bag, quickly threw some clothes and stuff she’d need for a three nights’ stay in it and put on her shoes. It was a good thing she hadn’t changed into pjs and was still in her t-shirt and jeans. She added her wallet to the bag and slipped her cell phone in her pocket. Looking around the apartment, she double-checked that the window was closed and on her way out, grabbed her coat since the nights were getting chilly and turned the lights off. She locked the door and went to wait for Cian.

True to his word, he pulled up fifteen minutes later. The moment Skye got in, he started the car. He didn’t ask her why she’d called him and pulled him away from his friends. He didn’t ask her anything.

“Aren’t you going to ask me why I called you out?” she finally said.

“You wouldn’t have called me if it wasn’t important.”

Skye let out a shuddering breath. She didn’t deserve him. “Kiera called. She says Ash broke up with her.”

“What?” Cian said in a shocked voice. “Why?”

“I don’t know. You remember I told you her mom’s visiting Kiera’s sisters and so—”

“She’s all alone,” Cian finished softly.

“Yeah.” Because of her new job, Kiera hadn’t gone with her mom.

He glanced at her. “She’s lucky she has you.”

“Right now, I’m not so sure.”

“Skye—”

“Cian, I was the one who introduced them, who encouraged her to go out with him!”

Cian took her hand and squeezed before letting go. “It’s not your fault.”

Skye shook her head.

“It’s not,” he repeated. “Listen, you don’t know what happened. Don’t go blaming yourself. You couldn’t have foreseen this would happen.”

“I should’ve known.”

“Is that so? When did you start seeing the future and how come you didn’t tell me? Like an idiot, I’ve been diligently buying a lottery ticket when I already had an ace up my sleeve. Some girlfriend you are.”

He made her smile. No matter how much he annoyed or infuriated her, he always made her smile.

They arrived at Kiera’s house a few minutes later. Cian got out with her. Slinging her bag over her shoulder, she rounded the car and stepped up to him. “Thank you.”

“I’m glad you called me.” Cian leaned down and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She’d taken to wearing her hair loose because he liked it that way. She didn’t know how much it meant to him that she’d needed him tonight, that she’d called him instead of anyone else.

“Well, I thought of calling a cab then I figured you’d bite my head off for not calling you so in order to avoid an argument…” Skye smiled up at him.

“Damn right I would have given you a piece of my mind.”

Impulsively, Skye stood up on tiptoe and kissed him. Startled, Cian automatically wrapped his arms around her. It was the first time in their relationship that she’d kissed him first. She floored him. He lifted her slightly as he kissed her back, then slowly set her on her feet.

Skye cleared her throat. “Um, I have to go. Kiera’s waiting.”

She turned to go, only to have her hand caught in his. Cian tugged her back and gave her a quick heated kiss. His hand lingered on her cheek. “Call me later. Tonight, tomorrow. Just… call me.”

She nodded somewhat breathlessly. He waited as she rang the doorbell, and Kiera opened the door. Then he waved as he drove away.

Skye turned to face her friend. Kiera looked miserable.

“Was that Cian?”

“Yeah. He drove me over.”

“He’s a nice guy.”

“Kiera, what’s going on?”

“Skye, I—” she started only to burst out crying. She pressed her hands against her eyes as if to stop the barrage of tears that shook her body.

Skye quickly wrapped her arms around her. She closed and locked the door, then led her trembling form to the couch in the living room. She’d never seen Kiera like this before. She dropped her bag on the floor and held her as she cried heartbreaking sobs that ripped out of her.

“It’s gonna be okay, it’s gonna be okay,” Skye soothed over and over.

It felt like Kiera cried for a long time but eventually the sobs lessened. She hiccupped.

Skye dug up some tissues and handed them to her. “I’ll get you some water.”

Kiera only nodded as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose. Skye got her a glass of water from the kitchen and handed it to her. She managed to drink some of it then placed it on the coffee table.

“I’m sorry I blubbered all over you,” Kiera finally managed, her voice strained from the tears.

“Hon, what are friends for if not for being blubbered over?” Kiera didn’t smile as Skye’d intended. She tried to figure out the right things to say. “You know you can tell me anything. I’m your best friend and I love you. No matter what, I’ll always be here for you.”

Kiera took a deep breath, and gave her a tearful smile. “I know. It’s just… so hard. Getting the words out.”

“I have all the time in the world.” Skye gave her an encouraging smile.

“Ash broke up with me.”

“But
why
? He told me he was in love with you.”

A sob escaped Kiera’s lips at that. Skye felt even worse. “I’m so sorry, Kiera. I’m so sorry.”

At that, Kiera’s hand tightened around hers. “It’s not your fault. What happened tonight, it was all him. I was such a fool.”

“Can you talk about it?”

“It started out so great. The restaurant he took me to was so chic and everything was lovely. While we were having dinner, Rachel stopped by.”

“Damn.” Rachel Matthews had been a close friend of Kiera’s but they had had a falling out ever since she got a better job and turned into an arrogant bitch. Rachel considered herself too important for little people like Kiera and Skye. “What was she doing there?”

“I don’t know. She saw us and stopped by our table. She was all over Ash, telling him how he looked like Damon. She pretended that she and I were close friends.”

“But it wouldn’t have made Ash feel differently towards you.”

“There’s more.” Kiera looked at her with such a look of desolation, Skye’s heart ached.

She squeezed her hand and simply said, “I’m here, hon.”

“Rachel went on and on what a lucky fox I was to have caught Ash seeing how I adored Ian Somerhalder and he looked so much like him. She said—” Kiera’s voice broke “—she said since I couldn’t get the actor I was lucky to have found his look-alike.”

“Oh, Kiera.” Skye immediately understood the impact on Ash. He must have thought Kiera was just like all the other girls who had been after him only for his looks.

“Skye, Ash’s face changed. Became rigid and… and…
cold
. He looked at me so frigidly, it was like he couldn’t recognize me. When Rachel finally left, I tried to explain to him that she was wrong. But he would hear none of it. He called for the check, and drove me home. He said he’d been a fool to have thought I could be different from the others, that he’d actually thought he loved me when I’d only gone out with him because he resembled the actor. And he told me it was over,” Kiera’s voice faded into a whisper.

“Bloody hell!” Skye burst out. Kiera jumped, startled. “I can’t believe Ash could be such a moron! How could the stupid shit be so blind? To believe the words of that bitch? Anyone could see she’s no friend of yours! Bloody idiot’s a goddamn fool. I’m going to set him straight.”

She wanted to go punch Rachel’s lights out for the pain she’d caused her friend. She wanted to do the same to Ash for having believed Rachel.

Kiera just stared at her.

“What?”

A small smile flitted across Kiera’s mouth. “You didn’t even ask me if it was true. What Rachel said.”

“Because it’s not! Any idiot with eyes can see that you never even
noticed
his resemblance to the actor, much less go out with him for a stupid reason like that. You’re no flake. Any freaking idiot can freaking see you truly care for him. I’m going to beat the shit out of him for hurting you like this.” Skye started to get up from the couch but Kiera caught her hand, staying her.