“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 inn
ermost 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.
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 st
ared 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.”
Holding Out For Skye Page 30
