Thorneless (Rose of Thorne Series) (2 page)

Who the hell does he think he is? I don’t owe him a damn explanation. Why is he even back here in Austin in the first place?

After a few minutes of silence, I hear him draw in a deep breath and turn to me.

Oh shit, he wants to talk more DAMN IT! MOVE TRAFFIC!

“Skylar, we need to talk about why it is that I came back here.”

WHOA!
Did he just read my mind or something?

“
Why did you, Lucas? Why now?” I ask him. I just want him to explain why I never heard back from him after he left for Paris. I mean, it’s true I was confused about my feelings when we were together, but he never even explained his silence.  I had cared so much about him and he had hurt me.  

“I came because . . . ” he hesitates looking away from me quickly.

“Because?” I reply.

“I came because of you, Skylar. I came back because of you.”

The shock of his words hit me hard in the stomach.
 

What does he mean that he came back because of me? Why now? Why after all these months?

“I couldn’t let you marry him without knowing something first. I had to explain  some things to you and I couldn’t do that over a phone. It had to be face to face,” he says but I’m still too shocked to respond with more than a nod back to him.

“I came back to Austin at Christmas to surprise you, Skylar.
 I went to Thorne’s Christmas party that night. When I arrived, they told me you were upstairs, so I went up there to find you. That’s when I saw the two of you together kissing in his office, so I left. I went straight to the airport and flew back to Paris that night. I was so hurt that you, of all people, would do that to me. You had to know how much I cared about you. All I wanted was for you to care about me the way I cared about you.

“It was easier for me to just stay away from Austin because then I didn’t have to worry about bumping into the two of you together.
 I’ve spent the last seven months trying to get you out of my mind every way possible, but I can’t.  Skylar, when I got your wedding invitation, it almost sent me over the edge.  I had to come back home because I couldn’t let you marry him without me telling you all of this first.”

“I . . . ” I cut him off. “Lucas, you don’t have to explain yourself any further, I get it okay? I know seeing us like that must have really hurt you.
 I’m so sorry that I couldn’t return what you felt for me,” I explain sadly, “but you act like I cheated on you with him.  You’re the one who stopped calling and texting me. What was I supposed to think, Lucas?  You know, you don’t even have to answer that because I got the message loud and clear when I called your hotel room in Paris that night.  I should have known that you hadn’t changed. I was nothing but another girl to you.”

“Wait. What are you talking about?
 You called my hotel room? When?” He asks me, sounding genuinely confused.

“I had been worried because I hadn’t talked to you for so long. I thought something bad might have happened, so I called your room.
 I heard the two of you, Lucas.”

“What?” he says with a confused look on his devastatingly handsome face.

“When you answered the phone, there was a girl speaking in French and she was laughing.  It was 2 am, so what else would you be doing with a girl in your room at that hour?” I shot back at him.

“No, Skylar.
 You were all I thought about when I was in Paris.  I remember getting a phone call in my hotel room one night and I couldn’t get anyone to answer me back on the line. The woman you heard laughing had to have been CeCe, my best friend Tomas’ wife.  She and Tomas had flown in to visit me and had stopped by my room.   I would never have cheated on you Skylar, I loved you.”

Wait! He had loved me?

I feel like someone has punched me in the stomach. All this time, I thought he had cheated on me when he hadn’t.  He had flown across the world to surprise me for Christmas and found me in the Sebastian’s arms.  Of course. Now it all makes sense.

“I don’t expect you to love me back, Skylar. I just needed to make things right between us. This is for me, not for you. I need for us to at least be friends.
 Do you think we can at least be that? Even after everything I’ve just told you? I think you need another friend right now.”

I don’t know what to say back to him.

Is he saying he still loves me? SHIT! I can’t deal with this right now!

I can’t wrap my mind around any of this. The sad thing about it is that I’ve really missed him.
 He looks at life so optimistically and always makes me laugh.  He’s the complete and total opposite of Sebastian in so many different ways. Every amazing quality about this man is so rare to find in anyone nowadays.  When we had been together, he made me feel like I was the most important person in the world. Anyone lucky enough to find someone who treats them like that should never take that for granted.  It’s too bad that I had chosen to follow my heart and not my head.  Now I’m ruined—now I’m alone.

It makes me sad that perhaps I hadn’t given him the chance he’d deserved. It’s too late now
—that’s in the past. Sebastian had ruined that for me, just like he had ruined everything else. I will never be anyone’s anything anymore.  It has to be this way.  I have to protect what little bit of myself I have left.

“Just so you know, Lucas, it can never be anything more than just friends between you and me.
 I just don’t want you expecting that something else is going to happen.”  

“I understand, Skylar. So, we’re friends, right?”
 He questions with raised eyebrows.

I nod and smile back, before replying, “Friends.”
             

Lucas

I lay in my bed that night thinking about her.   She isn’t getting married.  I would be lying if I didn’t say that I was more than happy with her news—overjoyed even.   I just wished it had not been at the expense of my gorgeous girl’s pain.  The Skylar I’d left back at Kylie’s apartment building was a sad and broken one.  It was as if she had no more tears to cry over losing him.  I can’t help but wonder what he did that she isn’t able to forgive him for.  I know it had to have been incredibly bad, because she is probably one of the most forgiving people that I’ve ever known.

Had he cheated on her? If he did, then he’s a fucking fool!

At dawn, I watch the sun come up across the Austin skyline and blow on the steam of my fresh cup of coffee.
 Somehow I had forgotten just how beautiful mornings are here in Texas.  I study my watch again, willing the time to move faster this morning
.  

6 am. Shit! It’s still too early to go see her.
 

I don’t know how she would handle the news I have, or whether she will even seem interested.
 I just hope that either way, she’ll keep an open mind at what I have to say.  I think I may have a solution to help her out.  What she doesn’t need to know is that in the end, I am not just doing this for her, I have selfish interests of my own.  

When it’s finally 9 am, I make my way into Kylie’s apartment building.
 Hopefully, she’ll still be here because I have no other way of contacting her if she isn’t.  Bravely, I ring the buzzer in the lobby and listen closely as a groggy voice comes over the speaker.  

“Yeah?” Kylie says through a yawn.

“Kylie, is Skylar there?” I ask.

“Who wants to know?
 If you are one of Sebastian’s spies, then you can FUCK OFF!  She isn’t here!” Kylie’s voice shouts into the speaker with a bitchy tone.  I can’t help but laugh. She is definitely not a force to be reckoned with, that’s for damn sure. I know she will certainly lay into Sebastian as soon as she gets the chance.

“It’s me Kylie. It’s Lucas Drake.
 I just wanted to check on Skylar and I also have something very important that I need to discuss with her. Is she home?” I ask with a hopeful tone.

“I’ll be down in just a minute,“ Skylar’s sweet voice echoes across the abandoned lobby.

I start pacing the lobby for the next few minutes in order to try to work out some of my overwhelming anxiety.  While I’m waiting on her, I rehearse my speech over and over again about how I’m going to do this. Suddenly, the elevator door chimes and I see her slowly make her way in my direction.  She looks completely exhausted and completely breathtaking all at the same time. She is wearing a pink camisole and white shorts that showcase her sexy as hell long legs.  She forces a small smile at me, but her eyes remain cold and empty.  Actually they hold no life in them at all.  

As I motioned for her to sit down, I vowed with everything in me that I’m going to do whatever it takes to put life back in those gorgeous eyes of hers.
 I’ll help her put her broken heart back together and hope, at the same time, to put mine back together too.

Skylar

I don’t even bother looking at my reflection in the mirror before I walked out of Kylie’s apartment.  I didn’t give a damn about how I looked to myself, let alone, do I care what anyone else thinks of my appearance.   As I make my way downstairs to see Lucas, I can’t help but wonder why he’s even here.  Maybe he’s just here to check on me.
Yeah, that’s got to be it.
 I just can’t figure out what he needs to talk to me about that’s so important.  I really don’t have the energy for this today.

I see his handsome face as I make my way into the large lobby of the apartment building.
 He seems to be nervously pacing, and that’s not like him at all.  I try my best to put on a happy face, but I’ve never been very good at acting.  He smiles back at me and motions for me to sit down.  He sits in the seat beside me and turns to face me with a serious look on his face.

Great! This cannot be good!
 

“How’s your hand doing?” He asks pointing to my newly wrapped bandage.

“It’s sore, but I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” I nervously reply.  I know he’s leading up to say something.

“That’s good.
 Did you sleep any last night? You look exhausted Skylar.”

“Why are you here Lucas?” I cut right to the point.
 I don’t feel like telling him how miserable my night had been or that I hadn’t slept at all.  It really isn’t any of his business.

“I’m here because I wanted to talk to you about something, Skylar.
 But before I do, I need you to promise to hear me out completely.  Can you do that?”

“Lucas, I . . . ” He interrupts me before I can finish.

“Skylar, we’re friends now, right?” I nod in response to his statement.

“Good. And as your friend, I want to help you.”

I open my mouth to object and he scoots in to me and holds my good hand.

I stare down at the hand he’s holding.
 I’d forgotten just how wonderful his hands had felt. So strong, yet gentle. Blinking away the memory, I look back up into his green eyes and watch them darken. He’s really serious about something, so I decide to listen to whatever it is that he has to say.

“Ok, I’m listening,” I reply.

“I have really important business that I have been neglecting these past few months.  I’m going to be traveling a lot and I won’t be back in Austin for a while,” he says.

“Oh, well . . . um . . . when do you leave then?” I ask trying to not seem confused.

“I leave by the end of the week actually—if it’s alright with you that is,” he says.

Okay, now I am REALLY confused.

“Why would I matter in that Lucas?” I ask him.

“Because Skylar, I want you to come with me.”

“Come with you?  I can’t possibly come with you, Lucas!” I answer.

“Just listen to me Skylar, okay?
 You said yourself that you can’t go back to work for Sebastian and that you can’t even go back home to get your things, let alone live there. Other than Kylie, this city holds nothing but pain and bad memories for you.  Sophie is gone off to college now, Skylar. It’s time to live your life for a change. You need some time to clear your head—to decide what you want to do next.  Besides, I’m sure you could pick up a lot of independent contract work to design on your own.  This could be a great opportunity for you to travel around to see all different parts of the world and meet new people.”  

“As wonderful as your idea is, I can’t possibly afford to up and travel the world with you Lucas!
  I have to stay here and look for another job,” I explain.

“That’s just it Skylar, I want you to come and work for me. I know you have personal assistant experience and I’ll be needing one while I’m on this trip.
 I’ll pay you well for your trouble and you won’t be out anything—I promise.  Please, Skylar. I want you to consider this. You’ll be helping me and I’ll be helping you.  Friends do that kind of thing for one another, you know?” he explains.

“I don’t know Lucas. This is so overwhelming! I mean, how soon do you need an answer? Can I have a little bit of time to think about things first? This is all kind of crazy.”

“Sure, I want you take time and think about it, Skylar. But just promise me you’ll really consider this. Just say yes and give me a month and if you hate it, then you can come back to Austin and go on with your life. Okay?”

“Alright, Lucas. I promise you I’ll think about it.”
 My answer seems to calm the anxiety in his face.

“Great, well . . . I best be going, but first I have something for you,” he says as he hands me a brand new iPhone. “You’re going to need this, so don’t argue with me and just take it. I want you to call me if you need me for anything or if you decide anything for certain. My number is already programed into your contacts.”

“I will,” I promise and he stands to give me a hug.

It feels so comforting to have his arms around me.

He kisses me on the cheek and turns to walk out of the door.

“Lucas?” I call after him and he turns quickly to face me.
 

“Thank you,” I softly say and he smiles that wonderful warm smile back at me.

“You’re welcome, gorgeous,” he replies.

I watch him leave and then I slowly head back up to Kylie’s apartment with my mind still racing over his offer.
 

Should I really do this?
 Can I really just leave it all behind?
 

Lucas is right. Other than Kylie, Austin holds nothing but bad memories and pain for me.
 I love my best friend, but she has a life of her own. She’ll be starting her new job soon and the way things are going between her and Nik, I wouldn’t be surprised if they don’t move in together before long.   

I just can’t do this anymore. I need a fresh start.
 I can try it for a month—I mean what could it hurt?  Before I can talk myself out of it, I dial his number. He quickly answers on the second ring.

“Hey, gorgeous. Miss me so soon?” he teases and I can’t help but smile.
 Funny how right now, he’s the only person who can do that.

“I accept the job
—I mean I agree that I’ll try it for a month and see what I want to do next.”

“You just made my day, Skylar. I’ll make all the arrangements and all you need to do is be ready to fly out by this Saturday. Can you be ready that soon?”

“Yes, the sooner the better,” I reply. I would leave tonight if he wanted because I’m that ready to get the hell out of this town!

“I’ll make the calls and I’ll call you later with the details, alright?”

“That sounds great. I’ll talk to you soon then. Bye, Lucas.”

“Bye gorgeous.”

I stand here holding my new phone and wonder if I should be regretting my decision.  I mean I haven’t even discussed this with Kylie or my sister. In the end, it’s my decision and my life. Now, I’m living for me!