Holding Out For Skye (28 page)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

“Hey squirt.” Cian ruffled Stephanie’s hair as he sat down. “What’s up?”

It was Saturday night and Aunt Sylvia, Thea’s mom, had invited him and Nick over for dinner, hoping to make him feel less depressed. Like his mom, Aunt Sylvia’s remedy for a broken heart was homemade cooking. It had been twenty-one days, twenty-three hours and—Cian looked down at his watch—thirty-eight minutes since his and Skye’s breakup.

But who was counting?

Halloween had come and gone. The tickets for the
Underworld
movie marathon he’d wanted to surprise Skye with had remained in his drawer, useless. Cian knew he should have just given the damn things to someone to use or even thrown them out but he had found himself unable to part with them.

When Cian had taken Cameron out trick-or-treating, his nephew had been disappointed Skye wasn’t with him, and had asked about her. The innocent little question had been a blow to his heart. His family had looked at him with painful sympathy and had tried to distract Cam from his queries.

Cian knew Skye would have loved taking Cam trick-or-treating. She had a soft spot for little kids, especially babies and went all gooey eyed over them when she thought no one was looking. Plus, she loved Halloween.

This had to stop. Why did he keep tormenting himself by thinking about her, remembering all the little things about her? But Cian couldn’t seem to stop himself. From wanting her. Yearning for her.

Needing her.

Nick and Thea were helping Aunt Sylvia in the kitchen whereas he was spending some quality time with Stephanie. Cian hadn’t seen much of the kid lately.

“Nothing,” Stephanie replied morosely. Then, suddenly brightening up, she peeked around to make sure they were alone. In a hushed tone, she inquired, “Say, Cian, did Thea and Skye have a fight?”

Cian’s throat closed at the mention of Skye. The inquiry was another blow to his already bruised heart. Stephanie loved Skye. He should have known she would be missing her. When would it stop hurting every time he heard her name?

“No, why?”

“Because she doesn’t come around anymore.”

So that was the reason for the moroseness.
Oh,
sweetie, I miss her too.

“She’s probably just busy,” Cian evaded, trying to sound convincing.

Stephanie shook her head. “No one ever tells me anything. But I know something’s up. Thea doesn’t talk about her anymore.”

“That doesn’t mean they had a fight.”

“Shows what you know,” Stephanie informed him, a superior female look on her face.

It made Cian smile. She was going to be a menace when she grew up. He would have his hands full beating boys away from her, especially those like him. Because of course, there was no way he was letting any boy with no-good intentions approach her.

“Maybe you could take me to see her. Then I can ask her why she hasn’t come to see me. Thea refused to take me. I tried to go see her myself but I got busted so now I’m grounded. She even went to see Daddy. So why not me? Do you think she’s mad at me?” She scrunched her little face in worry.

Cian’s lips twitched at the fact that she’d been busted sneaking out. Stephanie was a hellion. She effortlessly managed to find trouble. Her father often said she would make his hair go white before his time. Then Cian froze at something she’d said a sentence back. “What did you say?”

“Aren’t you listening to me?” she complained. “I said, do you think she’s mad at me?”

“Not that. And I’m sure she’s not mad at you, sweetheart. What was that about her going to see your dad?”

“Well, you know. She came to see Daddy at the office. It was take-your-child-to-work day at school so I was helping Daddy work. He said I was the best helper he’d ever had.” Stephanie smiled proudly.

In spite of the sense of urgency that gripped him, her words made Cian smile.

Not wishing to alarm her, he gentled his voice. “I’m sure you were, honey. When was that, Steph?”

Stephanie tapped a finger against her chin, her eyes narrowed in concentration. She wrinkled her nose, then her eyes lit up. “I remember! I got double treats that day. Skye gave me chocolate when she came. She said it was a reward for being such a good helper. Then Thea took me for ice cream in the afternoon because she was so happy that she and Nick could get married now. I don’t know why they couldn’t before. Like I said, no one tells me anything in this house.” She huffed, then smiled impishly. “But I get to be flower girl at the wedding.”

Cian sat there, stunned. He heard a gasp behind him and turned to find Thea standing there. She must have heard everything and realized the same thing he had. The day Skye went to see Thea’s father was
the same day
she’d broken
up with him.

Suspicion reared its ugly head and howled a warning at him. There was no way in hell Skye’s visit to Thea’s dad was unrelated to their breakup. It was too much of a coincidence to be just that.

Stephanie must have sensed something amiss. “Cian, what’s wrong?” she said in a small voice.

Cian hugged the little girl and pressed a kiss on her head. “Nothing’s wrong, squirt. You did good. Don’t worry about Skye. She’ll come to see you soon.”
Especially if he had anything to with
it.

Her face lit up. “
Really?
Thanks, Cian! I love you best!”

“Love you too, squirt. Be right back.”

As he stood up, Cian glanced at Thea’s shocked face.

“Where’s your father, Thea?” Cian asked her quietly, mindful of Stephanie’s sharp ears.

“In his study with Nick.”

Cian strode out of the living room with purposeful steps, Thea at his heels.

“Cian, wait.”

Cian stopped short and turned to stare at her with eyes like flint. “Wait for what? Keep fearing your father in everything if you want to, but I don’t.”

Hurt flashed in her eyes. “That’s not fair.”

“No? And when it affects me and Skye, that’s fair? You do understand why she went to see Uncle Lee that day, don’t you? The implications of her actions? And you treated her like dirt.”

Denial and uncertainty appeared on Thea’s face. “You can’t be sure of that.”

Cian stared at her in scorn. “Wake up, Thea. I
know
her. That’s exactly what she would have done. I should have known she was lying when she told me she wanted to break up with me. But fuck it, I didn’t see it. Why do you think Uncle Lee accepted to let you and Nick get married out of the blue like that? Even you can connect the damn dots.”

With that, Cian turned his back and strode to the study. He pushed open the door without knocking. Uncle Lee was sitting at his desk, sipping a drink and Nick was in the visitor’s chair, looking uncomfortable. He gave a look of relief at the sight of them.

A flicker of surprise showed itself in Lee’s eyes only to disappear straight away. Lee Chan had known this day would come. He just hadn’t expected it to be so long, he thought regretfully. He should have gone to see Skye himself instead of letting things get this far between her and Cian.

“Cian. Do come right in.” He raised his glass at Cian in a mocking toast.

Cian’s eyes glittered dangerously. “What did you do to make Skye dump me?”

“What are you talking about?” Nick asked, startled.

Cian ignored him, his eyes fixed on his uncle.

Lee sighed and set down his drink. “I told her Thea and Nick could get married on the condition she break up with you.”

Nick stared at him in shock. “What?”

Thea let out a cry of distress.

Even though he’d suspected it, Cian hadn’t actually believed it to be true. Well, he’d just been disabused of that notion. “And she did just that. She sacrificed us for her friends.” Cian’s heart ached. Damnit, he had
known
he shouldn’t have given in to her. “Damn you.
Why?
”

His uncle gave him a look of regret. “Because I wanted to be sure she was genuine. I was trying to protect you.”

“So you wanted to
test her
? If she was a gold digger or something?
How could you
?” Cian lashed out. “How could you do this to her? To me? For god’s sake, she gets wigged out every time something so much as
reminds
her that my family’s well-off. She would never touch one cent of our money. And you know what? I’d give it all away just to be with her.”

“I know,” Lee replied repentantly. “I wasn’t going to let it get this far.”

“
Let it get this far?
Do you even hear yourself?” Then something struck at Cian. “You didn’t think she’d do it, did you? Give me up.” The look in his uncle’s eyes told him he was right on the money. He gave a humorless laugh. “You don’t know her very well. Goddamnit, I have to get to her.”

“Cian, wait. I
am
sorry for hurting you both. It was never my intention. I was only trying to protect you.” His uncle did look contrite but Cian wasn’t willing to forgive him.

“You thought it wouldn’t hurt. Give me a break, Uncle Lee. If you think that will sway me, you’re very wrong. She’s hurting because of you, because of
me
. She’s hurting and I thought
nothing
of it. I let her go without a damn fight. I’ll never forgive myself for that.” Cian raised tortured eyes to his uncle who flinched at his pain. “I won’t be coming here again and you’d do well to stay away from me and Skye. You can say my goodbyes to Stephanie and Aunt Sylvia.”

“Cian—” his uncle started but Cian cut him off.

“Don’t. You’ve done enough.” Cian turned to go but Nick stopped him. He stared at his friend, cursing him for preventing him from leaving. “Damnit, Nick.”

Nick nodded in acknowledgement. “If you’ll give me a moment, I’m coming with you.”

Thea stirred. “Nick—”

“Be quiet,” Nick told her sharply, rendering her speechless. He turned to her father. “Mr. Chan, I love your daughter and I always will. She’s the most precious thing to me in this world and I would have done my best to keep her happy. If that isn’t satisfactory to you, I don’t know what is. But I don’t want our relationship like this, not at the expense of someone else’s. A friend’s at that. So I’m leaving your daughter alone. You don’t have to worry anymore about her being with me. You can rest assured that it won’t happen now.” He turned to Cian. “Let’s go.”

Thea caught his hand. “Nick, please, don’t do this. Don’t leave me.”

He gently removed her hand. “Cian made her happy, Thea. She gave him up for us. How can we be happy from her sorrow?”

Thea seemed to fold in on herself at his words. Her breath hitched on a sob as she watched him walk out of her life.

She turned to her father with devastated eyes. “How could you do that, dad?” Her face crumbled as she remembered how badly she’d treated Skye. “Oh my god, I treated her like scum.”

“Honey, I was just looking out for you,” her father said, eyes full of regret.

“What am I going to do now? Nick left me.”

“Don’t cry, everything will be alright.”

“How?” she wailed.

“I’ll fix it.”

“Like you fixed things before?”

“No. I swear this time will be different. I promise you.”

Lee Chan had never seen his daughter so brokenhearted like this. He rounded his desk and took her in his arms. She hung on tightly, crying as if she’d lost everything. God, he had committed so many mistakes lately, first by keeping Nick and Thea apart, then Skye and Cian.

But he was going to fix it. He had to.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

At her apartment, Cian raised a hand to knock on the door but then stopped. What if she refused to let him in? Knowing her, that’s what she’d probably do. And he
did
know her. Better than she knew herself.

Cian understood now why Kiera had called him an idiot at the restaurant. He should never have accepted the bullshit Skye’d doled out to him about being better off alone. Why the hell had he given up? It wasn’t like him to give up without a fight. So why hadn’t he fought harder for her?

He remembered the weary look on her face when she’d broken up with him. He’d thought then that was what she wanted. That it was hurting her more to stay with him. That’s why he had given up without a fight. How easily she had fooled him!

Cian raked a hand through his hair in frustration, causing it to stand up in spikes.
She wasn’t getting rid of him so easily this time
, he thought with a rush of fierce determination. Skye’d better prepare herself for a hell of a fight.

He stared thoughtfully at the door for a moment, then smiled thinly. She’d never see it coming. He pulled out his wallet and removed the two pieces of thin metal wire that he’d always kept in it.

You never knew when you needed to pick someone’s lock.

Cian looked around cautiously, making sure no nosy neighbour was watching his every move. Slowly sliding the two wires inside the lock, one in each hand, he carefully moved them around,
feeling
for the lock to give way and looking up every few minutes to make sure no one caught him.

If he got busted, he’d have a hard time trying to explain why he was jimmying the lock of a young woman’s apartment. His family would never let him live it down if they had to come bail him out of jail. If it were up to Skye to post bail, she would, of course, leave him there for a night or two.

Couldn’t have that now, could we? He couldn’t get Skye to admit she cared about him from behind bars.

With a tiny
click
, the lock turned. Giving a sigh of relief and hoping she hadn’t put on the dead-bolt chain, Cian turned the knob.

The door opened easily and he made a mental note to give her a stern lecture about making it easy for any creep to break into her apartment. They were also going to have a talk about the flimsy lock she had on the door.

He slid the wires back in his wallet and with another cautious look around, stepped inside, closing and locking the door as quietly as possible behind him.

Cian took a few steps into her small living room, alert for any sign of her. She was nowhere in sight. If she wasn’t here, he decided, then he was going to lie in wait for her until she got home.

Cian inched to her partially open bedroom door. He caught a glimpse of her through the slit.

Good thing it didn’t squeak when he pushed it farther but even if it had, Skye would never have heard him, with earphones hooked to her ears.

The drapes of the bed had been pulled back, giving Cian a clear view of her sitting in the middle of it, wearing only a long-sleeved thigh-length dark blue T-shirt that covered her like a mini-dress. Her hair was in disarray around her shoulders and her coffee-colored eyes were fixed to her laptop as if obsessed. With the earphones hooked to her ears, she looked like a mad scientist.

To Cian, she was the most beautiful sight in the world.

Looked like she had been in bed all day. He wanted to grab her and wrap his arms tightly around her and never let her go.

Instead, he grimly controlled himself and stayed where he was. Skye looked up, somehow sensing something amiss. She’d always been able to sense his scrutiny. She blinked at the sight of him and her eyes widened in alarm.

A wall of hurt stood between them as they stared at each other. Something flashed in her eyes. Cian recognised it as the same pain he saw in his own eyes every day in the mirror ever since they’d separated. He called himself a fool again, for having let her go so easily.

His heart twisted as he took in the sight of her face, which due to her weight loss looked haggard. She had dark circles under her eyes and she looked too pale. Her raccoon eyes told him she’d probably not been getting much needed sleep.

She looked as unapproachable as a star, thousands of million light years away.

Cian knew he didn’t look any better either. Damn her soft heart for putting her friends first. Damn him for having taken her aloof stance to heart when he had known from the beginning that it was only a front.

As if a signal had been given, Skye snapped out of her trance and hurriedly pulled out her ear buds. She had the volume on high and Cian could hear Greenday’s “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” from where he stood.

How apt. The song definitely applied to their situation.

“Hello, Skye,” Cian said in a low voice, his eyes drinking her in hungrily.

Skye jolted at the sound of his voice and tried to keep her face blank but couldn’t quite manage it. She was stunned to see him here, in her room. What was he doing here anyway? He was watching her so intensely with those piercing eyes of his that her hand went to her throat in a nervous gesture.

“What—what are you doing here?” Skye frowned. Come to think of it… “
How
did you get in?”

Cian smiled grimly. “I picked the lock. We need to have a talk about leaving the safety chain off and that flimsy excuse you have for a door lock.”

Skye’s eyes widened again, with disbelief this time. “
You picked the lock?
How?”

“We all have our secrets, don’t we? Some more than others. Wouldn’t you agree, Skye?” His pale gray eyes, narrowed to slits, glittered dangerously at her.

Skye swallowed. Hard. With his pale gaze fixed on her and his shadowed jaw, Cian looked
dangerous
. Coldly furious.

He knew.
Somehow he knew the truth. That would be the only reason he would have gone to such extremes to get her cornered.
How had he found out?

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Skye hedged.

“Oh, I think you do.” Cian strode to her and snapped her laptop shut. Startled, she was late to react and by the time she did, he’d already placed her laptop and earphones on the window seat.

“Hey!” Skye scrambled back as he made a grab for her. She shot up out of the bed but he cornered her against the wall. He looked angry,
furious
actually.

He towered over her and Skye felt small compared to him. Wrapping one hand almost gently around her throat, he leaned in so close she could feel his breath on her face. She shivered at his touch. The focused intensity in his eyes told her there was no way he was letting her go, not until he’d gotten what he came for.

Skye should have been scared of him and yet she wasn’t, even after the manner he’d entered her apartment. Who would have thought suave, sophisticated Cian Hunter knew how to pick locks?

“You’re not going anywhere,” Cian confirmed in a soft menacing tone. “What the hell were you thinking agreeing to Uncle Lee’s terms? Did you think Nick would thank you for your sacrifice? Thea didn’t.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Skye repeated, sticking to her I-don’t-know-anything attitude.

“Oh, you know perfectly well what I’m talking about, love,” Cian drawled. “You’re a damn fraud. Pretending you don’t care about people when you damn well do. If you’re wondering how I found out, the truth came straight from the source’s mouth. So you can definitely consider your word to Uncle Lee null and void.” His gaze didn’t waver from her face. “Oh yes, I know damn well you would have given your word to keep your little deal a secret.”

Cian saw her eyes widen at his knowledge. “You see, I know you so well. I should have seen right through to your little pretense but I didn’t.” Pain flashed in his eyes. “But that’s on me.”

“Cian—”

“Don’t. I’m so furious with you.
Damn you.
”

Skye flinched at the pain and anger in his voice.

So
she was going to keep acting clueless
, Cian thought. They’d see about that.

“I think you should know, Nick broke up with Thea when he heard about your little deal with Uncle Lee.”

“
What?
”

Cian heard the shock reverberating in her voice.
That got
to you quick enough.

“Yes,” he corroborated. “Nick didn’t want to have anything to do with the deal you made.”

“Oh, no,” Skye whispered, distraught.

“So you see, your martyr act was for naught.”

“But he loves her. He can’t break up with her.” Skye looked completely shaken.

“Like you did? And how are you going to fix that? By making another deal?”

Skye went still at his words. Cian saw the pain in her eyes. For the first time since they’d broken up, he could read her emotions again. He could feel her hurting and it ate at him.

“Was it so easy to let go of me? To break up with me?” Cian demanded in a soft tone that hit her with the impact of a shout. It was worse than if he had shouted at her.

“No. No, it wasn’t.”

“So why did you, damn you? Did I mean so little to you?”

“No!” Skye’s heart ached with his every word. He meant the world to her.

“What did I mean to you, then?”

Skye’s heart ached. How could she tell him how she felt about him?

“Damn you.” Damn her for having such heart-breaking eyes. So he did the only thing he could do.

He kissed her.

If his kisses had been potent before, this one annihilated her. It swept her defenses away like they were nothing. The intensity of his kiss shook her to her core. In that one instant, Skye understood just how careful he’d always been with her. All those times he’d kissed her before, he’d been cautious with her, careful not to scare her away but he wasn’t holding back anymore. The full force of his emotions floored her senses and left her shaking in the aftermath.

Cian tore his mouth from hers. Triumph swept through him at the dazed look in her eyes. “Say it, damn you.”

“I love you,” she admitted helplessly, her eyes flooding with tears.

The sight of her tears quickly banished his anger. “Don’t cry,” Cian said somewhat desperately, trying to stem her tears with his fingers. His arms came around her as he tried to comfort her.

“I’m not crying,” Skye denied irritably, in spite of the evidence to the contrary and pressed her knuckles to her eyes.

She made him smile through his jitters over her tears. Cian swung her up in his arms and moved to the bed. He lay back against the headboard and pressed her face to his shoulder, his heart aching as she fought the sobs that racked her body.

“Yes, you are,” Cian pointed out exasperatedly.

She hiccupped on a sob. “No, I’m not.”

“Let it go, love. I’m here now. Just let it go,” Cian urged in a gentle voice.

As if a dam burst inside of her, the tears simply flooded out, drowning Skye. The pain of the past weeks, of watching Cian every day and knowing he probably hated her. The pressure of having to keep up the farce that she didn’t love him. She cried as if the hurt went so deep, her tears could fill up a lake. She hung on tightly to him, unable to believe he was really here.

Cian held her just as firmly, his own heart suffering. He felt powerless against the onslaught of her tears. Intellectually, he knew it was better for her to let it all out. But god, he’d do anything to stop her tears.

After what felt like ages, her sobs finally lessened. Cian wondered if her heart felt as bruised as his did. He let out a breath of relief when she went quiet and handed her the box of tissues from the nightstand.

“I’m sorry I blubbered over you and wet your shirt,” Skye rasped as she wiped her eyes and blew her nose.

“You
should
be sorry,” Cian muttered. “For causing us both so much heartache.”

“You could have just said it was nothing, like a gentleman,” Skye groused.

Oh, his prickly ray of
sunshine was back
, Cian thought with a smile. He knew what she was doing, trying to downplay her breakdown. “And let you get away with hurting us both like that?”

“I said I was sorry.”

“So you did.”

“Alright, what?”

“I want your damn word you won’t do anything like this behind my back ever again.”

Skye sighed. “I promise I won’t go behind your back again.”

“Or do or promise anything without my knowledge.”

He was neatly boxing her in. “Cian—”

“Your word,” he said firmly.

“Fine. I give you my word I won’t do or promise anything without your knowledge.”

“Good.”

“Where did you learn to pick locks anyway?”

Cian thought of the many jams his brothers, Nick and he had gotten into when they were kids and smiled enigmatically. “Maybe I’ll tell you one day.”

“Why not now?”

“Because.”

“That’s not an answer.”

Cian grinned at the pique in her voice. “No, it’s not.” He lifted her chin so their eyes met. “For the record, I love you too.”

“You do?” Disbelief clouded her brown eyes.

“Oh yes, I do. You better believe it.”

“But…
why
?” Skye’d never expected he’d love her back. Had not even
hoped
for it.

“Why I love you?” Cian took hold of her hand, slid his fingers through hers. “Well, there’re so many charming things about you. Your sarcastic, kick-ass attitude for one,” Cian teased. Watching her face fall, he smiled and pulled her hand to his lips, pressing a kiss on her fingers. “I love every prickly, sarcastic, stubborn, abrasive part of you. I love how you smile at me when you think I’m not looking.”

“I don’t,” Skye refused, unnerved.

“I know for a fact you do,” Cian countered with a smug smile. “I love how you disagree with me on everything, how you look at me with suspicion in your eyes. I love your soft heart, which you hide so adamantly. I love how you’d go to bat for the people you care about, for
me
. I love the way you make me laugh, how you make life so interesting and fun for me. I love how you look in your autumn colored dress. Heck, I’d love the sight of you even if you were wearing a brown sack. I love how you look when you’re plotting something, so sexy and enigmatic.”