The seat next to her suddenly became occupied. She turned her head half expecting to see that Luka had followed her to the square. It wasn’t him, thank you Jesus, she said a little prayer for small favors. It was his brother Brett.
The funny thing about her and Brett both the same age; they were the best of friends. Had been since Kindergarten. He had a hard time when he realized that she was dating Luka. Not that he wanted her that way. She had assumed that he was afraid that he would lose her friendship when she started seeing his brother.
He leaned over; his mop of dark hair darker than hers for sure fell across his brow. “I hear Luka is home,” he whispered in her ear.
She nodded.
“How pissed is he?”
Skylar turned her head towards Brett and contemplated telling him about the kiss but thought better of it. “He’s pissed.”
“Great.”
“So when did you tell Ava that Luka was her father?” She was giving him that look that would have made a lesser man melt in fear but Brett knew her. She was pint sized tornado without a lot of storm behind her but she died out quickly.
“She was seven I think. Little mess showed me a picture of Luka and you when you were sixteen and nineteen. Probably before you found out that you were pregnant. She asked me if he was her Daddy.”
She shook her head at him. She couldn’t blame him for telling Ava the truth. She had preached at Ava enough that the truth was the best policy except when it was not convenient for her and she had forced his family to hide her pregnancy from Luka.
Now where the hell had that come from?
She had chosen to withhold the truth from Luka. The image of him holding Ava in his arms this afternoon when he lifted her off the gate of his truck was proof that she should have done the right thing and told him about the baby coming. Skylar knew she should have let him make his own decision about his daughter but she had taken that option away from him.
“What’s wrong?” Brett asked.
She leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. “My past is biting me in the ass.”
He chuckled. “Did Luka bite you already baby?” She glared at her friend, Luka’s brother, Ava’s uncle. So complicated. He met her gaze for a second then they both realized that Tag had finished his speech.
The groupies were standing and applauding which prompted everyone else to stand. Skylar sighed and glanced up at Brett. He stood and extended a hand to her. She laid hers in his and he pulled her to her feet.
She could see Tag making his way to her. He had to stop and greet his constituents along the way slowing him down. Brett looked at her. Then he gave her a quick hug.
“I’m making myself scarce but I’m telling you right now you deserve better than that big bozo.” Skylar rolled her eyes at Brett as he walked away just in time for Tag to reach her. He laid his hands on her shoulders.
“You were late.”
“I was.”
“You missed the best part of my speech, Skylar.”
“I did. I’m sorry. Something came up with Ava. I spent a little extra time with her before I left tonight.”
She had spent two hours talking to Ava about Luka. She had questions that she just didn’t feel comfortable answering. She didn’t want to paint him in a bad light. Yes, Luka Shaw had broken her heart but her child didn’t need to know that. She had tried to explain why Luka didn’t know about her. It just went downhill from there.
“Ava always comes first.”
Somehow she didn’t think that Tag meant the words that came out of his mouth. A hint of sarcasm perhaps? An edge? Something let Skylar know he wasn’t as understanding as he pretended to be.
Then his right hand slid up to her neck, his eyes were focused on hers. She gazed up into his hazel-green eyes. They were really pretty. Skylar had to give him that much.
“So are we heading to the dance now?” She asked.
His hand moved up to cup her face. He leaned into her and she knew that Tag was going to kiss her. His lips were warm and soft against her own. At first her eyes were wide open. She was afraid to close them.
She slowly felt herself getting into the kiss. She let her eyes close and there he was. Rakish as hell. Hair that touched well below his collar and fell across his brow in dark, nearly black layers. Her eyes popped open. Did she stiffen too? Tag pulled his lips from hers and checked her out for a moment. “You okay?” He asked.
“I’m fine,” she squeaked.