Page 13 of Broken Heart

“I did,” she answered, turning her head to the side, and looking down at the ground.

“I mean no disrespect to you when I say this, but he’s obviously not a good guy,” I remarked.

She rolled her eyes. “I know that now.”

“And I’d like to say that your best friend is even worse,” I added.

Skye winced, likely recalling seeing her former best friend walking into the store pregnant by the man she, Skye, used to date.

“Yeah,” she murmured.

With each passing moment, it became obvious just how uncomfortable Skye was with this conversation. While I thought it might be a good thing to discuss it after what had just happened, the truth was that she didn’t know me at all, and it was likely she simply wasn’t comfortable.

Just as I was about to ask her another question, she lifted her chin up and pinned her eyes on mine.

“What is it?”

After swallowing hard, she asked, “Why did you step in?”

My eyes roamed over her beautiful face, wondering how it was possible a man could have a woman like Skye, so sweet and so pretty, warming his bed at night and not do everything in his power to keep her right there.

Granted, I didn’t know everything there was to know about her, so perhaps there was something I was missing. But if what I’d seen was any indication of the kind of woman she was, I thought her ex was unbelievably foolish. Plus, even if there was something about her he was unhappy with, it didn’t justify the cheating.

“I apologize if me stepping in upset you in any way. That was not my intent. I just… I have two sisters, and if anyone ever did to them what your ex and your former best friend did to you, I could only hope someone would step in to make it known that it wasn’t my sister who lost anything in the end. I’d want my sisters to stand tall and proud of themselves, knowing they were better off without people in their lives who could betray them,” I explained.

Skye studied me, her eyes seeming to take in every inch of my face. She looked like she had at least a dozen thoughts running through her mind, but when she spoke, I wasn’t sure I got even one of them. “It was really nice of you to do that for me. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

Following a brief pause, Skye muttered, “Now, I’ll just have to hope Maria doesn’t intend to come back here after I don’t show up at the benefit.”

Confused, I took a step toward her and asked, “What do you mean? Why wouldn’t you go?”

Shaking her head, a small but appreciative smile washed over her expression. “It was wonderful for you to do what you did while Maria was here by pretending that you and I were a couple to help me save face, but I don’t plan to go to the benefit.”

“But from what I heard during that discussion, you’ve been going to it every year for years,” I reasoned. “Why would you let them take that away from you?”

I couldn’t miss the hurt that moved through her features. I didn’t like the way it made me feel to see her so upset.

And that caused a whole slew of questions to pop into my head. Because although what I’d told Skye about my sisters and how I would have wanted someone to step in for them was the truth, the reality was that it had gone beyond that for me when it came to stepping in for her.

“I realize I probably shouldn’t allow them to have control over me in this situation, but I knew months ago that I wouldn’t be able to handle going there on my own and seeing them together,” she explained. “Now that she’s pregnant, it’s even worse.”

Nodding, I said, “I can appreciate why you wouldn’t want to put yourself in the position to be around them on your own, but that’s no longer a concern.”

Confusion marred her features. “What?”

“I told you I’d go with you,” I reminded her.

“Yeah, but you were just saying that while Maria was here,” she noted. “You don’t actually want to go to the event.”

I sent her what I hoped was a reassuring smile and said, “If you’re suggesting that I wouldn’t have gone on my own, you’d be correct. But I’m more than happy to take you to it. Why don’t you tell me a bit about it?”

Just then, we heard the front door open. While I hadn’t finished with the installation, everything was done to the point where customers could walk in and out safely.

“Good morning,” Skye greeted the two women who’d walked in together.

“Good morning,” they returned in unison.