Holding Out For Skye (20 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The next day, the constant ringing of the doorbell shook Kiera from a sound sleep. She sat up, rubbing sleep out of her bleary eyes and focused on the clock on the nightstand. Ten-fifteen a.m.

She glanced at Tasha and Skye, who were still slumbering away. The guys had left after dinner. Along with Skye, Tasha had stayed over. She and Tasha’d crashed on her bed while Skye had taken the sofa bed.

Kiera got up and groggily headed for the door. Flipping the lock, she pulled the door open.

And gaped at the mountain of roses in front of her.

“Delivery for Ms Carmichael,” a voice said from behind the mountain and pushed the flowers at her.

Startled, she automatically took them.

“What the—” she started only to have a clipboard thrust at her face.

Kiera blinked. She turned and set the bouquets down and looked up at the delivery guy, who appeared to be around seventeen or eighteen years old.

“You make deliveries on Sundays?” Kiera asked him, surprised.

“Nope,” he answered cheerfully. “Special delivery. If you could sign here.”

Baffled, Kiera signed her name. Who would send her flowers on a Sunday? She asked as much to the delivery guy.

“There’s a card,” he said helpfully. “See ya!”

He skipped down the steps, got in his car and drove away. Kiera was kept staring after him. She shut the door and kneeling down, stared at the flowers. There were easily some six dozen roses or so in there—yellow, white, red, pink, peach, orange.

For a moment she could only stare at them in shock. Maybe the kid had made a mistake. These couldn’t possibly be for
her
! Then she saw a white envelope with her name on it. Well, that sure proved her wrong.

Kiera hesitated, then opened it. The front of the card was a color picture of Ren and Kyoko, the main characters—two lovers, from her favorite manga
Skip Beat
. She gasped. Who could possibly know about how much she adored this manga except for Skye?
Just open the card, dummy and you’ll know
.

Taking a deep breath, she opened it. It read:

Kiera,

The roses
can’t make up for all the hurt I caused you.
I know right now it’s hard but I hope one
day you will be able to forgive me.

Just as to
me, you’re my Kyoko, I hope that I am your
Ren. I know I messed up big-time but I have
faith in us and always will. We belong together. I
believed that even when I was a fool and hurt
you and I believe it now.

Give me another chance, my
love.

Always and forever,

Your Ash
.

Oh my god. This was the most sappy, romantic gesture anyone had ever done for her! Ash’d known exactly how to get her attention.

Overwhelmed, Kiera hugged the card to her chest and sat back, staring in awe at the roses at her feet.

That was how Skye and Tasha found her half an hour later when they woke up and came searching for her.

“Holy cow!” Tasha exclaimed.

“Wow,” Skye said.

“Where did those come from?”

Kiera didn’t reply. She kept staring at the flowers with dazed eyes. Skye squatted down beside her and touched her shoulder.

“Kiera, you okay?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”

“You think so?” Tasha remarked in an amused tone.

Kiera shook her head, as if pulling herself out of a spell. “Yeah, um. Right.”

“So who are they from?” Skye shared a look with Tasha. They both knew who had probably sent them.

“Ash,” Kiera breathed out.

Tasha eyed the flowers with a smile. “Whoa. The guy pulled out all the stops, didn’t he? These babies must have maxed him out.”

Kiera wordlessly handed over the card to Skye. Skye’s eyes widened as she opened it.

“Wow.” Tasha voiced out Skye’s own thought as she read over her shoulder. “Corny, yet effective.”

Skye handed the card back to Kiera. “What are you going to do?”

Kiera again hugged it to her chest. “I don’t know.”

“Well, there’s no reason you shouldn’t enjoy the flowers,” Tasha remarked cheerfully. “C’mon, we’ll give you a hand.”

Between the three of them, they gathered the roses and headed into the kitchen. The phone rang just as they finished putting all the flowers in water. They stared at each other then Kiera picked up the phone and said cautiously, “Hello?”

“Did you get the flowers and the card?”

Kiera’s eyes widened as she looked at Tasha and Skye.
Who?
they both mouthed.
Ash
, Kiera mouthed back. “
Ooh
,” they whispered in unison. Kiera ignored them.

“Yes, I did.”

“Do you like them?” There was a note of uncertainty in his voice.

Kiera’s heart softened. “Yes. Thank you.”

“I’m glad.”

She could hear the relief in his voice. “The card… how?”

“I wanted to give you something that was special to you.”

“It is.”

They both fell quiet. Kiera clutched the phone, her pulse speeding up. Talking to him felt awkward and yet at the same time, it felt like a soothing balm to her heart.

“Does it help?”

Kiera knew what he was asking, if she forgave him. She thought over their break-up, the pain of it. Somehow, it felt like another lifetime.

“I don’t know.” She truly didn’t. She felt confused.

“Oh.”

The sadness in his voice struck a chord in her. “Maybe a bit,” Kiera admitted.

“Thank you for that. I… I’d better let you get back to what you were doing.”

“Yes,” she replied, reluctantly.

“I love you.”

Her breath caught in her throat at the words.

“I know you can’t say those words back to me yet,” he continued. “I’ll wait. I’ll wait for as long as it takes.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“It’s alright. I understand… bye.”

“Bye.” She set down the phone. Tasha and Skye pounced on her.

“So what did he say? What did he say?”

Kiera blinked. She’d forgotten they were here. “Um, well.” To her mortification, she blushed.

They went ‘
Ooh
!’ again. If it were possible, she blushed even harder.

“What did
Ren
want,
Kyoko
?” Tasha teased.

“Oh, shut up,” Kiera muttered. “He just asked if I’d gotten the flowers and card and liked them. He said he loves me. What do I do?”

“Oh, sweetie,” Skye said softly. “Give it time. Give
yourself
time.”

Tasha wrapped an arm around Kiera’s shoulders. “Yes. Take it slow.”

Kiera sent them both a grateful look. “Thanks, guys. You’re the best.”

“
You’re
the bestest,” Tasha quipped.

“Is that even a word? ‘Bestest’?” Skye teased.

“Of course!” Tasha replied back, indignantly.

The doorbell rang again. Kiera went to get it, leaving them to bicker. She opened the door to find Tyler and Cian on the doorstep. Tyler had a box of disposable cups, snug in their holders in his hand whereas Cian was holding another box that looked kinda heavy. She stared at them curiously.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

They both flashed her a blinding grin.

Cian held up his box. “Brunch?”

SKYE LOOKED up as Kiera entered the kitchen with Tyler and Cian in tow. Her stupid heart did a happy little dance at Cian’s presence.
Be still, stupid heart
, she told it sternly.

“What,” she stated flatly.

“We figured you’d sleep late so we got brunch,” Cian smiled winningly.

“My heroes,” Tasha exclaimed. “We are famished!”

“Must you always encourage him?” Skye said, irked.

“Why, yes,” Tasha smirked. “It makes up for the
lack
of encouragement he gets from you.”

Skye sent her a sour look.

“Where’s my reward?” Tyler asked.

Tasha got up from her seat, walked to him, wrapped her arms around his neck and gave him a long sizzling kiss. “That reward enough for you, handsome?”

“Wow,” Tyler breathed. “Thank God, you’re my girl.”

Tasha gave him a wide smile. “You betcha, you hunk.”

“You guys are so cute,” Kiera said, smiling.

“Ugh, can you please not do that in my presence? It’s disgusting,” Skye complained.

Tasha laughed. “Aw, look, Ty, we’ve scarred the kid for life. Whatever are we going to do?”

In answer, Ty dipped Tasha over one arm and fastened his lips to hers. They pulled apart, grinning.

“Gross,” Skye let out.

“Jesus, Skye, what do you and Hunter
do
when you’re together? Talk each other to death?” Tyler said dryly.

“Wouldn’t you want to know.” Cian sent Skye a smoldering look.

Skye flushed bright red. Her friends dissolved in laughter.

“What about
my
reward?” Cian demanded.

Tyler wrapped his arms possessively around Tasha. “Hands off my girl, Hunter.”

Tasha giggled. “Ask your girlfriend.”

“You’re not getting anything from me,” Skye informed him pointedly.

“Ah, the lady doth break my little heart,” Cian said with a dramatic flair, a look of mock hurt on his face.

Kiera and Tasha burst out laughing. Tyler gave a snort while Skye glowered at Cian.

The flowers caught Tyler’s attention. He whistled. “Whoa, what’s with the garden?”

A blush crept up Kiera’s cheeks. “They’re from Ash.”

“The guy sure doesn’t waste time.”

“You two came together? How did that happen?” Skye looked at Tyler and Cian askance.

The guys looked at each other then sent her a hundred-watt smile.

“We called a truce,” Tyler reported.

“A truce?” She stared at him in disbelief. “
You?
”

Tasha let loose a laugh. Kiera was just glad the limelight was no longer on her.

Ty looked at Skye with feigned hurt. “It pains me you have such a low opinion of me.”

Skye rolled her eyes at him. “Oh, save the drama for some other sucker. I know you too well, remember?”

He dropped the hurt look. “Oops.” Mischief danced in his eyes.

“It’s true. For now,” Cian added. “How about spending the rest of the day at the park?”

“Cool,” Tasha agreed.

Skye looked at Kiera. “Is that okay with you?” Skye knew Ash had taken Kiera on dates at the park. She was worried spending the day there might bring back painful memories for her.

For an instant, a shadow passed through Kiera’s eyes, then she smiled. “Sounds good.”

“Great,” Tyler announced.

“So anyone hungry?” Cian asked.

They all laughed when Skye’s stomach rumbled loudly. She clapped a hand to her belly in mortification.

“What? I haven’t had breakfast yet!”

SO THAT’S how they spent the rest of the day. At the park. The weather was nice, not a cloud to mar the blue sky. They feasted on the brunch the guys had brought—there were donuts, cupcakes, muffins, slices of peaches and apples, OJ, coffee.

Skye was pleased to see Kiera enjoying herself. It was heartening to hear her delighted laughter.

Later in the afternoon, before they were about to leave, Cian managed to wangle a walk by the lake with her. His hand in hers felt wonderful. They stopped at times to skip pebbles on the water. He whooped when he got in more skips than hers. She complained good-naturedly about his long arms.

Though, she secretly loved having those arms wrapped around her. And when he kissed her with the sun setting over the lake, it was the most romantic thing she’d ever experienced.

The guys treated the girls to dinner at Legal Sea Foods. The food was delectable.

On the route back, Skye had them stop at her apartment so she could grab her laptop and pack more clothes for a longer stay at Kiera’s, over her objections.

By the time they got back to Kiera’s house, Skye was exhausted. Tyler and Tasha said their goodbyes and left in Ty’s car, which he had brought that morning and left in Kiera’s driveway. Cian carried her bags inside and hugged Kiera, who pretended to be so sleepy she was almost dead on her feet. Skye knew damn well she was giving her and Cian some alone time before he left.

“You look beat,” he remarked after Kiera had gone upstairs.

“I am,” Skye admitted. “That’s why I’m going to bed straight away.”

“Not so fast.” He caught her hand and tugged her close.

“Cian,” she protested.

“I just want to hold you.”

Cian wrapped his arms around her and tucked her under his chin. A feeling of belonging swept through Skye. How did he do it? Make her feel like she fit in. With him. After spending her whole life searching for where she belonged, to finally find it was with him, was overwhelming.

Cian rubbed his chin against her hair. “That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“No, not bad at all,” she acknowledged, smiling a little.

“I enjoyed our walk tonight.”

“I have the memories to remind me.”

“Hmmm,” he rocked her slightly. “I told you I was memorable.”

“I meant the pebbles in my pocket, you goof!”

“Ow, an arrow through the heart! Only you.”

A happy giggle escaped her. She reluctantly pulled away. “Go.”

Cian leaned down and kissed her gently. “See you tomorrow.”

“Night.”

“Good night, love. Dream of me.”

Skye closed the door and leaned against it, unable to deny herself the dreamy smile that slipped over her face.

“You love him, don’t you?”

“
Arghh!
” Skye squealed, startled. A hand over her heart, she turned to find Kiera sitting at the top of the stairs, her hands wrapped around her knees. “Scare me to death, why don’t you?”

Kiera leaned her chin on her knees. “I would never have believed the day would come when I could scare you to death. You never get scared. Ever.”

“You know why, remember?” Skye sat down next to her.

Kiera turned her head to look at her. “I don’t know how you did it. Get over being scared of the dark as a kid.”