Holding Out For Skye by S.R. McKade Read Free Book Online Page A

looked up at Nick. “Uh?”
    A perceptive look crossed Cian’s face. Then a long, slow smile curved his lips and a wicked light glinted in his gray eyes. Oh, he’d grasped the consequences, all right. “You know what this means now, don’t you?”
    “Uh?” Skye repeated, confused.
    Thea glanced at Cian warily. She knew that look. “Cian—” she started but he cut her off, speaking to Skye.
    “This means that we’re a couple now.” He sent her an angelic smile.
    Skye stared at him, trying to comprehend what he had just said. Then the words fully penetrated her thick brain. “Oh, shit.”
    “Yep,” Cian crowed. “So darling, how about having dinner with me tonight since we’re now free to publicly declare our love? Or maybe we should head straight to you causing that scene of me ending on my back.” He took her hand in his and smiled sweetly at her.
    Nick swore under his breath. His best friend could really be an idiot at times. Thea just shook her head at Cian.
    For a moment, Skye could only stare at him in horror and then she tore her hand from his and got up. She took out some money from her bag and handed it to Thea saying, “Can you pay for my share, please? I’ll see you guys at the office.”
    “Wait, Skye, where are you going?” Nick said.
    “You didn’t even finish your lunch,” Thea protested.
    “Ah, I’m not really hungry. I’ll see you later.” With those words, she beat a hasty retreat before they could stop her. She was that fast.
    Both Nick and Thea turned to glare at Cian.
    He looked back at them. “What?”
    “I knew you were a moron but I didn’t know you were that big of one or that you could be such a jerk.” Then with a rare flash of anger, Nick went on, “ You idiot! Why did you do that for? Are you trying to push her even farther away? Is that what you want? Do you want her to hate you?”
    Cian was surprised by the anger in Nick’s voice. No, he didn’t want Skye to hate him. He wanted her to…
    A flash of understanding jolted through him. Son of a bitch. He wanted her to love him. The knowledge hit him with the impact of a freight train.
    No, no way . He didn’t want Skye to love him. He didn’t love her. He didn’t fall in love. Period. That just didn’t happen to him. He hadn’t been in love with Vanessa. For a guy who had just found out his girlfriend had been two-timing him, he sure didn’t feel all that broken-hearted. In fact, he was already way over her. She’d just been another name in a long line of girls.
    He couldn’t have fallen in love with Skye. Besides they couldn’t even stand each other. Nah, no way was he in love with her.
    “No way,” Cian said quickly. “I’m not in love with her. We can’t even stand each other.”
    Nick lifted a brow. “I didn’t say you were in love with her. Are you?”
    Cian froze. Thea looked back and forth between them. “Are you guys saying what I think you’re saying?”
    “Ask the moron here.” Nick pointed at Cian.
    “I’m not in love with her,” Cian reiterated.
    “Okay. Why do you always watch her then?”
    “I do not!” Cian vehemently denied.
    “You do too.”
    “Do not.”
    “Actually, you do,” Thea put in.
    Cian scowled at them. “That doesn’t mean anything.”
    Nick decided to try a different track. “So tell me this, genius, what’s her favorite food, color, pastime, movie and music band?”
    “Pizza and chocolate, blue, reading books and watching movies, Underworld , One Republic,” Cian listed without even thinking about it. Then he frowned. “Wait. That doesn’t prove anything. You guys knew that too.”
    “Yeah, but we’d have to think about it. You just rattled them off,” Nick specified. “Okay, what do you know about her family?”
    “She doesn’t have one. She was brought up in an orphanage.”
    Nick and Thea stared at him in shock. They were silent for quite a while, thinking of Skye growing up all alone in an orphanage.
    “What?” Cian looked at them in