Yet, she couldn’t help herself from reaching up and touching his face with light fingers. Skye felt like she was petting a wild creature. His mercury eyes deepened, darkened at her touch. This was the first time she’d reached out to him on her own.
Cian turned his face in her hand and pressed a kiss in her palm. A gasp escaped her lips when her hand tingled.
Cian dropped a kiss on her nose and stepped back. “You look good enough to eat,” he managed in a husky voice.
Shyness bloomed pink on her skin. She needed to be irked at him. Why wasn’t she? Why did she feel all warm and mushy inside? “Thank you… I think.”
Cian smiled and pulled his hand from behind his back. Skye stared at the bouquet of blue flowers, absolutely stunned.
“You brought me flowers.” The shock she was feeling reverberated in her voice.
His lips curved at the shell-shocked look on her face. “Well, of course I brought you flowers. It’s our first formal date. They’re blue irises. I figured, with your absurd love of the color, you’d prefer these to roses.”
He’d been right. She preferred the irises to roses. How had he known that about her? Skye took them with hands that shook at the emotion overpowering her. No one had given her flowers before. She had never realized she’d want them. They were beautiful, perfect, such a deep blue they were almost purple. Unable to help herself, she touched the soft petals reverently then pressed her face against the flowers.
“No one’s given me flowers before.” A poignant look in her eyes, she gave him a perfect, full-of-wonder smile.
“Well, learn to expect them from now on,” Cian told her gruffly, his throat choked with emotion at the look she was giving him. He wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to buy her truckloads of flowers. She deserved them every day. He vowed to himself then and there to always bring her some. Just to see that perfect unguarded smile on her face again. “So where did you get that awesome dress?” he asked her in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Skye tried not to blush again. She could still feel the lingering effects of his reaction over the dress. She strived to sound normal. “It was a birthday present from Kiera. She said I wear too much blue. Can you believe it?” she said in an insulted voice. “You can never wear too much blue.” In fact, much to Kiera’s chagrin, she had worn the dress only once.
“With you, no, you can never wear too much blue,” Cian agreed in an amused voice. “And on that note…” He quickly took her picture with his cell phone.
“Hey! Why’d do that? I hate having my photo taken!”
“Who knows when you’ll wear that dress ever again?”
“With you taking my pictures, never again,” she vowed crossly. Skye knew there was no way she could get her hands on his phone to delete the photo. For one thing, he was taller, faster, a helluva lot stronger. For another, he fought dirty. She had a feeling if she ventured into close proximity with him, she’d only be asking for trouble.
She strode into the kitchen and took a dark blue vase from one of the cupboards lining the wall above the sink. Filling it with water, she arranged the irises into it. There was no way she was letting those flowers die on her.
Cian leaned against the doorway, his arms crossed, a smile playing at his lips as he watched her puttering around. When she turned and saw him standing there, smiling, she scowled. “What?
“Nothing. I just like watching you.”
Skye felt heat rush in her cheeks again. Damn it, she had to stop blushing around him. This was getting old real fast. Maybe there was a serum or something she could take to stop herself from blushing. Or she could just cover her face ninja style so only her eyes would show. He’d probably object to that.
She took out a large sealed container from the fridge and handed it to him. Curiosity flickered in his eyes.
“What’s this?”
“Brownies.”
“You baked brownies?” Cian said incredulously.
“Yes.”
“You know how to bake brownies?” That got him a bland stare. “Seriously. I think I should taste one to see if they’re any good.”
Skye slapped at his hand as he started to open the sealed container.
“Hey!”
“No touching. No eating.”
“Man, you’re so strict. Why did you make brownies?”
“Duh. To bring for your family lunch.”
Cian’s eyes softened to cloud-gray. She’d made brownies for his family? It told him she was trying, that she was making an effort to accept their relationship. “You didn’t have to do that.”
Skye sent him an are-you-crazy? look. “Yes, I did. When you’re invited to a family thing, you need to bring along something. Even I know that.”
His family was going to love her. Cian grinned as he envisioned her reaction at that. She was going to lament on the number of people that kept cropping up in her life in association to him, Nick and Thea.
“Why are you grinning like that?”
Cian replaced the grin with an innocent look. “I’m just smiling.”
“No, you’re not. You’re planning something.”
Oh, she knew him so well. “When did you get on the paranoia wagon? Man, I feel so left-out. I could have hopped on too.”
Skye gave him a disgruntled look. “Wait here, I’ll grab my bag. No eating the brownies.” She headed for her bedroom, then did an about-turn, a hopeful look on her face. “Or is there any way I can just stay home? I’m sure your family would be very happy with just you showing up.”
Cian gave her a pitying glance. “Oh please. My mom would have my head on a platter. Come hell or high water, my darling girlfriend, you are definitely going.”
She gave a dejected sigh and trudged to her room. Cian chuckled softly at her tactics.
In her room, Skye took a moment to just breathe. She grabbed her small red cloth purse with the long strap from her nightstand and checked it for all the necessary items she needed.
Tissues. Check. Cell phone. Check. Lip gloss. Check. What else did you need when meeting your boyfriend’s family? Body armor came to mind.
She turned to go when her reflection caught her attention. Her face looked different. She moved closer to the mirror. The look in her eyes… There was a wildness in them, an awareness that had never been there before. An awareness of Cian. Her lips were slightly swollen. She flushed and quickly fixed the pale pink gloss she wore.
There was a knock on her bedroom door. Okay, she’d digressed long enough. If she didn’t go out there, he’d probably barge in and carry her out himself.
Skye opened the door and at the question in his eyes, took a deep breath and said, “I’m ready.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
No, I’m not, Skye thought as they neared his parents’ home in Cambridge. Her stomach felt like there was a huge black hole in it and objects were swirling round and round in it.
She wanted to hurl. She wanted him to do a U-turn and drive her home. Which he would probably refuse. She calculated how much it would hurt if she jumped out of the car right now. Way too much, she thought mournfully.
Cian shot her a glance. She was clutching her purse so tightly that her knuckles had turned white. He thought of the right words to say to ease her anxiety as he pulled up in front of the house he’d been raised in.
“We’re here.”
“What?” Skye jumped in her seat and turned to him, her eyes wide.
“We’re here,” he repeated gently.
“I think I’m going to hurl.”
Trying to make her forget her nervousness, Cian teased, “You should have listened to Nick when he told you all those donuts would make you sick.”
“Very funny,” Skye retorted.
“Be a brave little soldier now, love,” he bolstered as he patted her shoulder.
“Easy for you t
o say.” She sighed. “I’ll get the brownies. You take the flowers.”
He had brought flowers for his mother as well, multi-colored tulips. The gesture had tugged at her heartstrings. He kept surprising her with the different aspects of his personality. He’d been right when he’d said she didn’t know everything about him.
Skye was afraid that the more she learned about him, the bigger a hold he seemed to have on her heart. A heart that would break when he left.
From his various conquests, Skye knew he had a short attention span and never stayed long with one woman. She didn’t want to feel too much for him but he wasn’t playing fair. He was making it hard not to care about him. She turned her mind away from thoughts of him leaving.
It wasn’t in her to dwell long upon things she couldn’t change. No, she had gone into this with her eyes wide open and she wouldn’t blame him when he left.
“Penny for your thoughts.”
Skye blinked and discovered she’d been staring at him. “Nothing.”
Cian hadn’t missed the sudden look of sadness that had come in her eyes. What had brought that on? “Skye?”
“I’m fine, really.”
Skye got out with the plastic container in her hand and waited for him as he got the flowers and locked his car.
Skye took her first look at the three-storey Victorian house, which had a veranda in front, with two rocking chairs side by side and a small iron table next to them, idyllic for having iced tea on a hot summer day. The walls were painted a pale shade of lavender, the shutters that same color.
It looked like a happy home. She wanted a house like this one day but smaller and hers would be painted blue, of course.
“Coming?” Cian was watching her, a thoughtful look on his face.
“Yes.” Skye swallowed, bracing herself.
Cian knocked on the door, and as they waited, out of the corner of his mouth he said, “Don’t worry, love, the kicking and screaming doesn’t show.”
“Kiss my ass,” Skye hissed at him just as a woman opened the door.
Oh, shit. This had to be his mother. Had she heard her? She had the same piercing gray eyes and blond hair as her son. She was dressed in a beautiful lavender blouse and cream-colored Capri pants. Her silky hair was cut in a short sophisticated and chic style.
“I believe this is the first time in history one of my son’s girlfriends dared to tell him to kiss her ass meaning it for the insult it was.”
Cian gave his mother a charming grin. “Hi, Mom.” He leaned down, gave her a one-arm hug and kissed her on the cheek. She smiled as he presented her with the bouquet and pressed her face to the flowers, much like Skye had done earlier.
His mother had heard her alright. Skye waited for the earth to open up and swallow her whole. And waited. Nothing happened. Why, oh why, couldn’t nature just be on her side for once?
“Mrs. Hunter, please accept my apologies for swearing in front of you.”
“And she has good manners, too,” she remarked to Cian, then turned back to Skye. “Don’t worry about it, dear. I’m sure he deserved it.”
“Aren’t you supposed to be the adoring mom always firmly on my side?” Cian demanded.
“That’s your delusion talking, honey.” His mother smiled at Skye, who had the sudden insane urge to laugh but managed to refrain herself. “I’m Ava Hunter. What a beautiful dress! Skye, is it? Please come in.”
“Thank you. It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Hunter.”
“Oh, you’re too nice. I’m sure it’s nerve-racking to be here.”
Now Skye knew where Cian had gotten his ability to never miss a trick from. She didn’t know how to respond to that.
“He threatened to tie me up and gag me to get me here.” Skye slapped a hand over her mouth at the words, absolutely horrified. Had she actually just blurted that out? His mother burst out laughing. Oh, she had.
“I did not,” Cian denied, a twinkle in his eyes, trying not to laugh.
“Yes, you did.”
“Did not.”
“Did too.”
“Did not.”
“Did too!”
“So Cian’s back into kindergarten, I see,” a male voice said from behind Cian’s mother.
Mrs. Hunter’s laughter rang in her ears again and Skye inwardly groaned. With her luck, it was probably Cian’s father.
Right on cue, Cian said, “Hey, Dad.” He reached past his mother and embraced his father. Mr. Hunter was a tall man, with blond hair lighter than his son’s, hints of gray at the temple, and sparkling blue eyes. Cian had gotten his height and lanky build from his father.
What would his parents think? They had been behaving like children. Skye shot Cian a glare, at which he gave her a charming smile.
“Somebody just shoot me now,” she muttered.
His mother reached out and patted her hand. “Oh, honey, don’t worry about it. You’re a welcome breath of fresh air after his previous girlfriends.” There was no missing the ripple of laughter in her voice.
Cian scowled at his mother. “Thanks a lot, Mum.” His mother sent him an indulgent smile. He turned to his father. “Dad, this is Skye. My father, Neil Hunter.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Hunter,” Skye said nervously.
Cian’s father smiled at her. “Likewise, my dear. And how did my son manage to get such a pretty girl like you to go out with him?”
“Seriously, Dad, you’re ruining my image here,” Cian protested.
And he’d inherited the charm from his father, Skye thought, a smile tugging at her lips. “He begged.”
His father let out a booming laugh and clapped his son on the back. “She’s a feisty one.” Skye blushed. “Come on into the living room. Everyone’s in there.”
Everyone? Who was everyone? Skye sent Cian a questioning look but he purposely avoided looking at her.
“What do you have there?”
Skye glanced at where his mother was staring. “Oh! I made brownies.” She handed the container to his mother.
“And a cook too.”
Skye didn’t want her to think she was something she was not. “Um, I’m not really much of a cook. I only know how to make the foods I like.”
“My dear, that’s how it should be,” his mother replied. “I’ll just put this into the kitchen and be right back.” She gestured to the bouquet and brownies and headed into the kitchen as they all stepped into the living room.
One look at the room full of people with drinks in their hands, talking and laughing and Skye stopped short, a look of horror on her face which she quickly replaced with a blank expression before anyone could notice.
The rotten bastard. He’d tricked her! He’d said this was just a small lunch, just his family. There were about five people lounging in the room, not counting his parents and the two little rugrats playing on the carpeted floor, a cute little boy around three or four years old, who was making an accident happen with a pair of red and yellow trucks and an adorable little girl who looked around two years old.
Five and two little people, including his parents—that made seven and a half right?—who had stopped whatever they were doing to turn to stare at her. Skye felt faint. She wasn’t equipped for this!
“Uncle Cian!” the children screamed as they rushed towards Cian. Cian laughed as he picked each of them in turn and swirled them in the air, much to their delighted shrieks.
“She doesn’t look like your type.” The words came from the tall slender young woman in a dark green blouse and black jeans, sitting on the arm of the couch taking up the king’s place in the room. Her foxy red hair was in a sleek short style which suited her pixie face and she had the same striking gray eyes as Cian’s. She got up and came over to hug him.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be in school?” Cian looked so sweet with the little girl in his arms,
her cheek pressed against his shirt that Skye’s heart went soft at the sight. After a shy smile at her, the boy had run back to play with his toys.
“I’m home for the weekend. Aunt Ava said you had a new girlfriend so of course I had to come see,” she said, staring at Skye.
Looked like someone had already made up her mind about her, Skye thought. She probably thought Skye wasn’t good enough for Cian. And she’d be right.
“Of course.” Cian rolled his eyes. He turned to Skye. She looked ready to bolt. He caught her hand in his, alternately to comfort and to keep her from bolting. Couldn’t have her running out on him, now could he? His family would never let him leave it down if she ran away screaming. “Breathe,” he whispered.
“I’m going to kill you,” Skye informed him through gritted teeth, a polite smile on her face as she tried to figure out how she could get out of this.
“Skye, this insolent young woman is my cousin Amber, on my mother’s side. She goes to Boston University. This little princess is my niece, Jenny. The boy who deserted me for his toys is her brother, Cameron. That’s my older brother, Robert and his beautiful wife Abigail on the couch. They own the two little pip-squeaks. The lazy guy on the arm of that sofa is my other brother, Austin and the sexy brunette is Austin’s fiancée, Holly.”
“Hi,” Skye managed to say, hoping she didn’t look as pole-axed as she felt.
Robert was the spitting image of his father, same build, blond hair and blue eyes. He had on blue jeans and a pale blue shirt. His wife was a pretty little thing, with long auburn hair and light brown eyes. Skye loved her cerulean blue dress. They both set their drinks on the coffee table and smiled at her as they stepped forward to greet her and Cian.
The little girl reached out her tiny hand towards Skye. “Pretty, Uncle Cian,” she said in her sweet toddler voice.
Skye’s heart turned to putty. She was so cute. She had her mother’s auburn hair and her father’s blue eyes.
“I know, baby.” Cian’s smoldering eyes met Skye’s. “Very pretty.” Skye felt a blush creep up her cheeks.
“Come here, pretty girl yourself.” Amber took Jennifer from Cian as Abigail and Robert hugged him.
Holding Out For Skye Page 14
