Holding Out For Skye (27 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

She wasn’t eating, Cian thought as he sneaked another look at Skye. He could see she had lost weight, more than she could afford to lose. Her eyes looked bruised and shadowed.

It didn’t make sense. Skye wasn’t supposed to look like that, like
she
was the one carting around a broken heart. A wave of hope flickered inside Cian. Was it possible she regretted her decision? Could she miss him as much as he missed her?

He watched as she sped out of the office at lunchtime yet again. She was doing that a lot, staying out of the office as much as she could. He knew she was only trying to make things easier for him. The moment she was gone, he turned to Thea.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

“What?” Thea asked.

“The way you’re acting with Skye. Why are you treating her so badly?” He heard Nick sigh.

“She broke up with you. You expect me to just let it go?”

“Thea, she had her reasons. Just because it didn’t work out between her and me doesn’t mean that she’s not your friend anymore.”

“To me, it does,” Thea objected stubbornly.

“Damn it.” Cian blew out his breath. “Nick?”

Nick shook his head. “She won’t listen to me.”

“Who won’t listen? Skye?” Vanessa said from the doorway.

Cian’s eyes narrowed with menace. “What are
you
doing here?”

“Oh, I thought I’d just drop in and see how you were doing.” Vanessa looked at her long manicured nails, a saccharine smile on her face.

“You mean you came to gloat,” Thea noted disgustedly.

“You’re not welcome here.”

“Oh, pooh, Nick, that wasn’t very nice,” Vanessa berated him then turned to Cian. “If you ask me, she wasn’t really worth it, you know. I never understood how you could have gone out with someone so dull and unattractive like
her
.”

At her disparagement of Skye, Cian barely reigned in his temper. “No, someone like you would never understand. Besides, you’re not the most
trustworthy
person to take advice from, if you know what I mean,” he stated coolly. “Not just that but you know what? Removing you from my life was the
best
thing I ever did. Now get your backstabbing ass out of here and don’t come back.”

“You—you—” she spluttered, then as if she couldn’t find any other comeback, settled for, “You’ll regret this. All of you!” She gave a sniff, turned around and walked away.

“Well, that told us,” Nick said wryly.

Cian just shook his head, wondering how the hell he could have ever gone out with that skank.

His thoughts turned back to Skye, as they always did. Every night Cian had to fight the urge to call her, just to hear her voice.

At work, she barely spoke at all. Her absence was like a bleeding hole in his chest, never healing, slowly draining the life out of him. How was it possible to miss someone so much when you saw them every damn day?

He could feel just how big a hole there was in his life without being able to
really
be with her.

Cian missed her so much, his hands literally shook from the need to touch her, to hold her.

Then there was the rage. So much fury inside him over the fact that she had just given up on them like that. Hell, Skye hadn’t even been willing to fucking
try
. That’s what got to him the most—that she hadn’t even tried. It wasn’t like her. He didn’t
understand
it.

Cian wanted to grab her and shake her until she came to her senses. He was afraid he’d end up kissing her senseless instead.

Why the hell wasn’t she taking better care of herself? But she was no longer his concern. She had clearly washed herself out of his hands.

Goddamnit, how could she have left him
like that?
Cian questioned again for what felt like the thousandth time.

Skye didn’t want him. She’d made that damn clear. But there were others who did. He’d find someone else, remove her completely from his mind and—his heart. He didn’t need her love. Love was for the weak. And Cian Hunter wasn’t weak.

He could have any woman he chose.

But not her
, a voice whispered in his mind.

Shut up
, Cian told it viciously.
She wanted out
of my life, her loss.

He didn’t need her.

Who had he been kidding?
Cian thought later that night, staring at the beautiful redhead with the blue eyes and sexy curves sitting across from him. Wishing she were Skye.

His heart sank. He had been a fool to think he could replace her with someone else. All he could think about was Skye.

Her beautiful coffee-brown eyes which could drown a man in its depths.

Her smile, that unguarded full-of-wonder smile she gave him every time he brought her flowers.

The way she felt in his arms. The way she sighed when he kissed her.

Her sarcastic and abrasive nature. How she looked at him with suspicion in her eyes.

God, how he loved her!
Emotion swamped Cian, stealing his breath. He loved her.

And he couldn’t stop loving
her
, he thought in resignation, even if she didn’t love him. He couldn’t deny his feelings for her, even if to his misfortune, she didn’t feel the same.

“Cian?”

Cian blinked, startled out of his thoughts. He looked up at his date and regret filled him for misleading her. He’d met her at a friend’s party, pre-Skye, when he’d still been dating several women. They’d gone out a few times but he hadn’t pursued her further because Cian’d started going out with Vanessa again.

In his deluded easy-to-forget-Skye scheme, her name had been the first one to pop in his head.

“Julia, I’m sorry. This was a mistake.” He let out a weary breath. “You are a beautiful, amazing woman. In other circumstances, I would have considered myself a lucky man to have your company. But I—” he stopped, his heart aching.

“You love someone else,” Julia finished softly. She smiled at the surprised look on his face. “I admit I was flattered you asked me out but as soon as we sat down, I knew your mind was elsewhere.”

“I’m truly sorry,” Cian apologized again. “You have every right to hate me. I’ll take you home.”

“It’s alright.” Julia was disappointed yes, but not really upset. “Besides, the food’s already here. We might as well stay and enjoy the meal.”

“Why are you being nice to me?” Cian asked, bemused.

“Before, you would never have been honest enough to tell me the truth. You would have kept leading me on so long as you got lucky. You’ve changed.”

“You have no idea how much.”

“I can guess. Will you tell me about her?”

She’d surprised him again. “You want to know about her?”

“Just because it didn’t click between us doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. So yes, I would definitely like to know about the woman who turned Cian Hunter into a decent human being.” Humor colored Julia’s tone.

“I wasn’t that bad.” When she only stared at him, he acceded, “Okay, so I
was
that bad.”

“What matters is that you’ve changed now. So what’s her name?” She sampled a bite of her fish curry.

“Skye. Her name’s Skye.” Cian’s voice deepened with emotion as he thought of his prickly ray of sunshine. “She’s abrasive, snappy, judgmental and sarcastic as hell.”

Julia blinked in astonishment at the soft, adoring smile on his face.
This
was the woman he was in love with? She sounded like a wraith. If that was the case, then Julia had never stood a chance with him.

Cian must have read the disbelief on her face because he smiled genuinely for the first time in days. “Kind of hard to imagine her, uh? She’s the most courageous person I know. Her prickly nature hides the softest of hearts. She’s a demon when it comes to standing up for her friends and defending them. And she has the most beautiful brown eyes I’ve ever seen.”

Julia could only stare at him, her food forgotten. She’d never thought she’d see such a look in his eyes. A look of utter wonder, astonishment and joy. And love, all wrapped up together. In that moment, he looked heartbreakingly handsome.

She envied this Skye, to have put such a look in the eyes of someone like Cian Hunter. Julia could only hope to be as lucky to find someone who’d feel for her even an ounce of what Cian felt for his Skye.

“She sounds wonderful,” Julia finally said. “So why are you here with
me
, instead of
her
?”

The joy vanished from his eyes to be replaced by unbearable sorrow. “Because she broke up with me.”

“
What?
But
why
?” she burst out, shocked. “Surely she must love you just as much!”

“If only it were that simple.”

There was such private pain in his eyes, Julia felt like a voyeur. She swallowed and looked away. When she’d first met him, he’d been a heartbreaker but the man in front of her now, had loved and lost. She didn’t believe even he deserved that.

She reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “I’m so sorry, Cian.”

“Well, well, isn’t this cozy?”

They both turned at the voice. Hazel eyes blazing with anger, Kiera stood at their table, Ash by her side, an apologetic look on his face.

“You sure move fast, don’t you? So much for caring about Skye,” she said venomously.

Horrified at her implication, Julia removed her hand from Cian’s.

“Kiera.” Cian stood up. Of all the places for her to show up! “This isn’t what you think.”

“No? I’ve got eyes, don’t I?” Those eyes skewered Julia with a vicious look, who winced. “But I should have known. Once a playboy, always a playboy, uh?”

“Now, wait one damn minute,” Cian snapped, his gray eyes icing over. Some of the banked rage over his breakup with Skye slipped out. “Your friend was the one who broke up with me, not the other way around. Get your facts straight before you go around accusing people.”

At his words, the anger seemed to deflate out of Kiera.

The manager of the restaurant stepped up to them. “Is there a problem here?”

“No,” Kiera said, letting out a breath. “No, we were just leaving.” She turned back to Cian, the quiet intensity in her eyes seeming to condemn him. “You’re an idiot, Cian.”

Before he could retort to that, she turned and walked away. Ash sent him a sympathetic look as they left.

Cian decided to just drop it. Short of shouting, he wouldn’t get his point across anyway. Kiera’d already decided to think the worse of him.

Which puzzled the hell out of him. Her reaction made no sense at all.
He
was the one who’d been dumped. Shouldn’t
he
be the injured party here?

“Sir?” The manager was still standing at their table.

“Please accept my apologies for”—how would you politely phrase the heated scene between him and Kiera? Cian settled for—”me and my friend. If you could please have the bill settled.” He took out his wallet and handed him his credit card.

“Right away, Sir. And think nothing of that little… mishap.”

Guess
mishap
was as good a word as any.

As the manager left, Cian sat down and glanced at Julia, who was looking miserable. This had turned into a night of disasters and apologies.

“Julia, I’m sorry about Kiera.”

“I’m the one who’s sorry. She must have thought you were cheating on her friend.”

“Which wouldn’t be cheating even if we were really dating.” Though Cian knew being with any woman who wasn’t Skye would feel like cheating to him. Hadn’t he already been thinking what a mistake he’d made the moment they got here?

He shook his head as she started to protest. “No, you’re right. But it’s not your fault. Thank you for your lovely company, Julia. And the friendship. I won’t forget it or you.”

She smiled weakly. “Hopefully my friendship will be less hazardous for you than it was tonight.”

“Don’t worry about it.” He signed the receipt a waiter had brought along with his credit card. “Thank you,” Cian told him. He turned back to Julia. “I’d better take you home.”

“Yes, that would be best.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

Skye opened the door to find Mrs. Hunter standing there. Stunned, she could only stare at her with wide eyes.

“Hello, Skye. I apologize for disturbing you after work. May I come in?”

Skye nodded mutely and stepped aside to let her come in. Her mind whirled as to why Mrs. Hunter had come to see her.

“You have a nice apartment,” Ava Hunter observed as she looked around. Yes, very nice. Neat and homely.

“Thank you. Please, um, have a seat. Would you like something to drink?”

“No, thank you, that’s alright.” Ava appraised Skye with gray eyes so like Cian’s. “You look worse than he does, you know.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know what I’m talking about.”

“Mrs. Hunter—”

“Skye, I love my children very much and I see no compunction in meddling. I know that you love my son. So why did you break up with him?”

Skye shuddered out a breath. “I’m sorry, Mrs. Hunter but I’m not… I’m not in love with Cian.”

“Yes, you are,” Ava contradicted shrewdly.

Shit
, Skye thought. Why was it that no one could actually believe that she had broken up with Cian—
except for Cian and Thea
—because she really was better off being alone? Had she lost her touch in hiding her innermost feelings?

“Mrs. Hunter, I—”

Ava held up a hand, stopping her words. She could see how much Skye was hurting. It hurt her heart to watch how alone this girl was, and how much her son was also suffering.

“You’ve become as dear to me as my son.” Ava smiled at the bafflement on Skye’s face. “I see that seems incomprehensible to you. You don’t know how much that makes me want to shower you with hugs and cookies. And that also mystifies you.”

Ava walked up to Skye and hugged her. Skye stood there in shock, then awkwardly patted her back. Her heart filled with unshed tears at the warmth in Mrs. Hunter’s hug.

“I care a lot about you, Skye.” Ava patted her cheek in a gesture of affection. “I feel better having come to see you. You need anything, sweetheart, know that you can come to me.”

Skye stared at her, befuddled. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Ava gave her a sweet smile. “Because you’re a nice person.”

Skye blinked at her. “No, I’m not. I hurt Cian.”

“And it’s clear to me that it’s hurting you as well,” Ava noted gently. “Normally, I’m more pushy than this,” she said, pleased to see it bring a half-smile on Skye’s face, “but I’ll butt out this one time and hope you two work it out.” She kissed her cheek. “I’ll see myself out. Take better care of yourself, honey.”

As the door closed behind her, Ava let out a weary breath. That girl was hurting a lot. She wished she could do more but she had the feeling that Skye would never crack up and tell her what was wrong. All she could do was hope Skye and Cian would get back together.