“It’s on the grapevine, of course.”
She scowled. “You gossip way too much.”
“Ouch, that hurt. I don’t gossip. I only listen in your interests.”
“Thank you very much?”
“That would have sounded more grateful if not for the question mark.”
Sipping at her coffee, Skye rolled her eyes at him.
“So,” he said, sidling closer to her, “Any news from Kiera?”
At his casual tone, Skye hid her smile behind her mug. Casual, my ass. So he wanted to know what Kiera had told her about him, did he? “Well, of course yes. She’s my best friend, you know. We keep in touch almost every other day.”
This time he rolled his eyes at her. “I know that. What did she say about me?”
“Why would she say anything about you?” she said with feigned innocence.
“Because she’s your best friend and she tells you everything?”
“Hello? Breach of confidentiality?”
“You could at least tell me if she likes me or not.”
“That falls under ‘breach of confidentiality’,” she retorted, enjoying herself.
Ash should have known. Skye was the fortress of secrets. Unbreakable, un-bribable. “Aren’t I your friend too?”
“She was my friend first,” she quipped.
“Cut a guy some slack, will you? Can’t you tell me if she likes me or if I suck at least? Did she have a good time on our date or did that suck too?”
Ash looked uncertain and vulnerable. Skye relented a bit. “I can only tell you that you definitely do not suck.”
His eyes lit up at that, like sunlight pouring through new leaves. “I think I’m in love with her,” he confessed softly.
Almost sputtering her coffee again, Skye managed, “WHAT??? After only one date?”
“Two dates, actually. One was all it took.” Ash smiled affectionately at her. “Which of course, you would know nothing about, being the ignorant little hermit that you are,” he teased.
Skye glowered at him. “Ever heard the saying ‘you catch more flies with honey’? I try to be nice and all I get are insults. See if I ever tell you anything again.”
He chuckled. “And you told me so much.”
“I’m telling Kiera how you treat me,” Skye announced with a sniff. To her glee, a look of wariness slipped in his eyes.
“You wouldn’t do that,” he said cautiously.
“Watch me.” Skye gave him a wide toothy smile, licked her index finger and mimed swiping it down on an imaginary Scoreboard. Point for her.
Ash couldn’t help grinning as he watched her leave.
BACK IN HER office, Cian turned in his chair and looked at her.
“So, I want to meet Tyler,” he said conversationally.
“What?” She could only stare at him in bafflement. “Why? Do you work at annoying me?”
“Let me think about it.” He tapped a finger against his chin. Then he smiled charmingly at her. “Why, no, I believe it comes naturally.”
“Remember, Skye, you can’t kill him. We need him for the next three months to finish our workload. You can kill him after the new year,” Nick advised with a straight face. Thea giggled. Cian glared at him.
“You’re right, Nick. I’ll just have to wait until after that. But hey, silver lining—more time to plan the perfect way to kill him,” Skye remarked.
“Ha, very funny. You’d make great clowns but wait, no circus will have you,” Cian said sarcastically. “I still want to meet Tyler.” He stared pointedly at Skye.
“For god’s sake, why?” Skye threw her hands in the air in exasperation.
“You met my family. I want to meet yours. And don’t you tell me Tyler and Kiera aren’t your family.”
“Alright,” she accepted grudgingly. He had a point.
So that’s how she found herself on skype with Crystal on Friday evening, introducing Cian to her. Skye had met Crystal and Tyler at her old job when the three of them had been working in the finance department for the same company under a Hitler boss and with lousy pay grades.
Tyler had found his dream job in an audit firm and left. Then Crystal’s husband got a better job opportunity in Atlanta and they moved there with their eight-year old son. She and Skye talked on the phone and on skype whenever they could.
Since Cian was intent on meeting the few people she cared about, Crystal being on that list, he had to meet her too. Skye’d already told her about him. Crystal had been ecstatic. She had teased Skye mercilessly that she’d finally found her Prince Charming. Skye had denied it. Cian, Prince Charming? Seriously?
And of course, Crystal and Cian hit it off immediately. She could have easily left them to talk to each other. They wouldn’t have missed her. Was there anyone who was immune to his charm? Oh, right, her. But he wasn’t charming her into staying over again. She promptly booted him out after their skype date with Crystal.
Saturday, she met Tyler for their movie session at the Regal Cinema on Brookline Ave. Regal was playing The Avengers on the deluxe RPX screen for a reduced price. She had already watched the movie four months ago but hey, it was The Avengers.
Of course, Cian had wanted to tag along. The only reason he didn’t was because he and Nick already had a game of basketball with their buddies. And doing God knows what else guys did when they got together.
“I didn’t know even you could have stars in your eyes,” Tyler was saying.
They were at the restaurant next door to the cinema, UFood Grill’s, where they were getting a late lunch after the movie. They had just finished their burgers and fries.
“I did not have stars in my eyes.”
“Could have fooled me. The way you were ogling Iron Man, Thor and that Hawkeye guy.”
“Hey, I can’t help it if Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Jeremy Renner are so hot.”
He made a gagging noise. “I think my burger’s trying to come out.”
“I’ll just ask someone to bring you a bucket,” she returned dryly. “You’re just jealous.”
“Jealous? Me? Of what?”
“The fact that they are so hot and they’ve got lines of girls after them.”
“Contrary to your delusional belief, I’ll have you know I have an awesome sexy girlfriend who dotes on me. I don’t need long lines of girls.”
“I’ll have to ask her what she thinks of you ogling Scarlett Johansson. You were practically drooling.”
“What can I say? She’s got so many ogling-worthy parts.”
“Oh my god. Talk about disgusting.” Skye made a face at him.
Ty snickered. “I’ll be sure to ask someone to bring you a bucket.”
“Why, thank you. Aren’t you glad now I got you to come?” Tyler wasn’t much for watching a movie again after he’d already watched it once.
“You threatened me with the silent treatment if I didn’t show up,” he reminded her. He’d only accompanied her because he knew she would go on her own if he or Kiera couldn’t make it. She’d done it before. He marveled at how she didn’t worry about going alone.
“I did not,” Skye denied, eyes twinkling.
“You did too. Jesus, watching The Avengers once was enough. Only you would watch it over and over. Buddy, this lousy habit of yours is going to wreck our friendship,” Ty teased.
“Ha! As if you could get a best friend like me just like that, Mr. Auditor,” Skye retorted, snapping her fingers.
“Hmm, yeah that’s true. A lunatic like you is quite unique. Make that rare, very rare.” Ty laughed when she scowled and tried to punch him on the arm.
“Fancy meeting you here, darling,” Cian’s voice sounded from behind her.
Skye froze in her seat. No way. He couldn’t be here. He was supposed to be playing basketball! She was just hearing voices
.
When he dropped a kiss on her cheek, she almost jumped a foot in the air. Hearing voices like hell! She turned around. Oh, he was real, all right.
He was grinning at her, that wicked look in his gray eyes that was becoming way too familiar to her. His basketball outfit consisted of a white T-shirt with ‘I AM AWESOME’ written on it and knee-length baggy red shorts. His hair looked even more spikier than usual. He was so handsome he stole her breath away. Not for the first time, Skye wondered why he was with her.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Skye snapped, feeling unsettled.
“Well, the guys were hungry after the game so I got delegated to go hunt for food.”
“And of course you came to UFood Grill.”
“Of course. It was the nearest fast food joint,” Cian said innocently.
“Knowing I was here had nothing to do with your decision.”
“None whatsoever. Besides how in the world would I have known you were here?” Cian asked with a smile. Of course, it’d been an easy guess where she’d probably be. “Who’s your friend?”
As if he didn’t know. Skye turned to Tyler, who was watching them curiously. Once the words were out of her mouth, Ty was never going to let her forget this.
Tyler eyed Cian. “Yes, Skye, who’s your friend?”
Cian’s eyes glittered as he watched her, a knowing smile on his face. He crossed his arms and waited. So this was her buddy Tyler. The dude had dark hair, dark brown eyes and mocha-colored skin. The guy was even taller than he was and was built like an oak, with a lean muscular build.
Cian scowled at that thought and tried to stifle the jealousy that rose inside him as he wondered how the two of them had become friends. They looked as different as night and day. The guy dwarfed Skye by several inches. Okay, he did too, he admitted but in his case it was different. He liked dwarfing Skye. There were so many benefits to her being smaller than him.
“I, uh, that is…” Skye started only to stop.
When she kept silent, Tyler said, “Okay, out with it, Skywalker. I know that look.” Skywalker was his nickname for her, a play of names on her first name and his surname.
“What look?”
“The one that says that you did something you don’t want me to know but that will make me laugh my ass off. That look.” His mouth curved wryly, his eyes laughing at her. Cian snorted.
“You think you’re so cute,” she glared at Tyler.
“Actually, yes. So what did you do?” Tyler waited.
There was no way she was getting out of this. “Tyler Walker, meet Cian Hunter, my new… .” Her eyes swept to Cian’s as he waited for her to say the words. “My new… .”
“ . . . . boyfriend.”
Tyler’s eyes widened as he stared from her to Cian. “Come again?”
“Cian’s my… boyfriend,” Skye iterated.
“Seriously?”
Skye nodded. “Yes.”
She was dating her nemesis? Tyler couldn’t quite believe it. Hell, she was clueless when it came to dating. Not to mention all the times she’d ranted about Cian Hunter, excuse me, Demon King, Hellspawn. What else had she called him? But the dismay on her face proved the truth of her statement. He couldn’t help it—he burst out laughing.
He stopped for a few seconds, took one look at her stony face and started all over again.
Cian grinned and pulling out a chair, sat next to her, so close his leg brushed against hers. Way too close. He was doing it again, invading her personal space. Skye glowered at him as she waited for Tyler’s hilarity to end. This was like the Kiera episode all over again when she’d first told her about Cian and her dating. She didn’t understand why they found it so funny. She didn’t.
“Are you done yet?” she hissed at him.
That only caused him to start again. He pointed at her, then at Cian, and burst into fresh peals of mirth. He laughed so hard tears gathered at the corner of his eyes.
Skye’s eyes narrowed in retribution. He was supposed to be on her side and he was laughing at her? Much to Cian’s delight, she grabbed some tissues, and handed them to Tyler, a sad look on her face. She said loudly, “You poor thing. Losing someone like that. No wonder you’ve lost your mind. There, there.” She patted his hand.
Cian managed not to laugh, amazed at yet another facet of her personality.
People turned to stare at them, and they could hear whispers of “the poor dear”, “how sad”, “how horrible” going around. Tyler finally stopped laughing. “Smartass,” he muttered, as he pretended to assume a sad face and wipe away his tears.
She stared at him stonily. “I don’t get why you’d find this so funny.”
“No, you wouldn’t. Let me think about it, why indeed? The fact that you have a boyfriend or that he happens to be your nemesis, THE ABOMINATION? Why on earth wouldn’t I find that funny?”
Skye scowled. “Is that a trick question?”
“Abomination, uh?” Cian sent her a we’re-going-to-have-a-long-talk look. She ignored him.
“When did hell freeze over and why wasn’t I informed?” Humor glimmered in Tyler’s chocolate brown eyes.
“Very funny. Did you and Kiera swallow the same dictionary? Because the two of you are beginning to sound annoyingly similar. Maybe I should find some new friends,” Skye griped.
“You’d have to break them in and god knows how long that would take. You’d probably kill them out of impatience.” Tyler grinned at her. “Miss I’m-A-Master-At-Changing-Subjects.”
A burst of laughter came from Cian. He was beginning to understand how these two had become friends.
Skye gritted her teeth. “Alright, fine. It’s a long story.”
“And you’re going to tell me all about it later.” Oh, he definitely couldn’t wait to hear how she’d landed herself in this minefield. But there was one thing he had to do first. “Now, why don’t you go powder your nose like a normal girl while your boyfriend and I have a talk?”
Like a normal girl! “Since when did you become such a sexist pig?”
“Since you got a boyfriend. I’m in shock, you see. Now get the hell out of here while I grill your boyfriend.”
“Ooh, that sounds fun. I’m staying.”
Tyler sent her a level stare. She threw her hands in the air in exasperation. “Fine. Have it your way and you idiotic men have your freaking guy talk.” She stomped away.
Once she was out of sight, Tyler turned to Cian with a cold menacing look in his eyes. “I don’t know what game you’re playing but if you hurt her, I assure you no one will find your body. Ever.”
No wonder these two were friends, Cian thought wryly. “She’s just like you, you know. I’m sure she’ll be the first one to kick my ass if I ever made that mistake and by the time you got your turn not much would be left of me.”
“Damn right.” An unwilling laugh slipped past Tyler. He schooled his features back into a serious expression. “You seem to understand her well.”
“In spite of all her efforts to the contrary, yes, I believe so.”
“And how did you manage that?”
“By chipping away at her impenetrable force field, one chip at a time,” Cian answered wryly. “Got the wounds and bruises to show for it.”
Tyler grinned. “That must have been a hell of a war.”
“Still is,” Cian agreed. “But it’s worth it. She’s worth it.”
“She’s a handful, isn’t she?”
“Yeah, she is, but she’s my handful now.”
“I see.” Oh, he saw it very clearly and he’d understood the underlying warning he’d just been handed as well. Tyler kept his grin to himself. So the poor bastard was in love with Skye and was worried about Tyler’s role in her life. What the poor bastard didn’t know was that Skye was like a little sister to him. And that it was his role in life as
her honorary big brother to rag the hell out of her.
Something told him that Skye had met her match in Cian Hunter. It still didn’t mean that he was going to cut the guy some slack. This was Skye they were talking about, after all.
“From what she told me about you, you’re some kind of playboy. She better be your one and only handful,” Tyler warned coldly.
“Shit. I’d never cheat on her.”
“You better not. Or I’ll snap your neck. Is that clear?”
Cian stared at him. He bet he could do it too. “Crystal. But you should know, she’s the only one I want. Ever.” Cian looked him straight in the eye.
“Good. So long as we understand each other.”
“Why Skywalker?” Cian asked him curiously.
Tyler smiled at that. “Bet you already know the answer to that.”
Skye wasn’t much of a Star Wars fan. Then Cian understood. He grinned. “She’s a kick-ass.”
“More like a five foot menace, man.”
The five foot menace chose that moment to come back. Brown eyes shot glares at them both. “If you’re all done with your manly talk, I’d like to get going.”
“Leaving so soon, darling?” Cian said, a twinkle in his eyes.
“Don’t call me ‘darling’,” Skye griped. She turned to Tyler. “Aren’t you going to do something about this?”
Tyler sent her a toothy smile. “I’d say you have it all under control, darling.”
Cian bit back a grin at that. It would just earn him another glare from Skye.
“Argh!” Skye threw her hands in the air. “Men!”
Tyler let loose another laugh. “Wait till Tasha hears about this.”
“You’re going to tell her?” Skye’s voice was filled with horror. “You can’t.”
Cian was intrigued about who could pull such a reaction out of her. “Who’s Tasha?”
Tyler smiled smugly. “My girlfriend.”
The guy already had a girlfriend? Cian cheered up. That was great. But wait, why didn’t Skye want Tyler’s girlfriend to know that she had a boyfriend? He stared at her questioningly. “Why don’t you want her to find out?”
“You don’t know her. She’ll call me right away and want to know all about it!” Skye replied in that same horrified voice.
Holding Out For Skye Page 16