When Sky Breaks: Burn & Break Duet Book 2

27. August

“This is the surprise?”Sky asks as she and I step from our vehicles in front of Catalina’s house. I asked if she had wanted me to pick her up, but after the run in with Johnny at the hospital, she felt it was best we ride separately.

“Yep.” My answer is vague. She has to see it for herself.

I round from the back of my truck and jog to her side.

“How’s your mom?” She fidgets in place, looking everywhere but at me.

“She’s all right. I checked on her before I came over.” I neglect to say she was still her crabby self, burying her grief in alcohol. Today’s already full of enough anxiety to keep a pharmacy in business.

“Oh, good. I’m glad.” After a moment of prolonged silence, “I’m also nervous,” she says, clutching her arms tightly across her chest as she peers up at the house, parting her lips.

“Don’t be. I promise you’ll like it. Well, I hope you do.”

“No pressure at all there, pal.” She cracks a small grin but still looks hesitant. “So whose place is this?”

I stifle my chuckle and say, “Don’t you trust me?”

Before I realize my mistake and correct myself, her face falls.

Fuck.

Of course, she wouldn’t trust me yet. If at all.

I stop on the worn brick path that leads to the porch and hold a hand out in apology. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say that.” I rake back the hair that’s fallen in my face. “You make me nervous, and I tend to say the wrong things. And fuck, Sky, I know things aren’t better between us, but I promise you I’m doing my best.”

She tracks my eyes and must come to some conclusion because she nods and curls a finger around my pinkie. “I’m seeing that.”

It’s enough for me—a start—and my chest swells as I squeeze our fingers together.

“August, Sky! Come in, come in.”

Catalina stands in the doorway, holding a kitchen towel to her chest. I’d bet a million dollars she’s made something delicious to eat.

Unable to help myself, I grin and stoop to give her a hug, and the scents of sweet, baked goods waft from the house.

Bingo.

“You didn’t have to cook anything for us, you know that.”

She swats me with the towel before turning her attention to Sky.

“Oh, August, she looks just like those pictures you showed me. Only more beautiful in person. I’m Catalina, Benny’s mom, but you may call me Lina,” she says, her accent thick. “Welcome to my home. Come, we give hugs here.”

Sky narrows her eyes briefly at me while my cheeks flush before she’s scooped into a warm hug that she reciprocates. Lina’s hugs are the best and I can imagine Sky feels the warmth she never got from her own mother.

Once they part, we’re beckoned to follow Catalina into the house.

Sky nudges my bicep—hard—and whispers loudly in my ear when I bend down. “Lina? This is Lina?”

Biting my lip, I shrug and wince, holding Sky’s elbow as we pass over the threshold. “Guilty.”

“Ugh,” she grouses, “and here I thought this whole time…”

“What? That I was seeing someone?”

She turns her head to the side to shield her face, but the crimson on her neck gives her away.

I spin around as she halts, getting down to her eye level so she can read my face and all its sincerity. Clutching her cheeks with my palms, I rasp out, “Shortcake, there hasn’t been anyone but you this entire time. You’re the one always on my mind, in my everyday thoughts, and the one who’s never left my heart.”

Her skin heats under my hands, and her mouth parts as she takes in that very real confession I didn’t plan on admitting.

She swallows and trembles, staring at me while I brush my thumbs along her temple.

This is dangerous. I shouldn’t be touching her, telling her how I feel. But Johnny be damned. She’s here with me, not out somewhere with him, and I cling to that notion with everything I got.

“I know it’s complicated. But I can’t lie about my feelings anymore. I can’t keep them inside. It’s killed me not to tell you.”

Sky curls her fingers around my wrist like she’s about to rip my hand away, but she surprises me and keeps it there as her eyes grow glassy. Any breath I had disappears as we lock gazes.

Every sunrise and sunset we missed in all these years reflects in her sky blue eyes. If I have my way, we won’t miss any more.

I take one of her hands and gently kiss her scarred palm, the raised skin a reminder of all she’s lost. Tears gloss over her eyes. I hope she knows how much I regret the path our lives have taken us.

“August,” she breathes, close enough that I feel her breath but not close enough to collide. It’s self-preservation on her part so she doesn’t get hurt. But that space is painfully thin. Full of want and desire and the realization it won’t ever be enough.

“Come on, you two,” Catalina calls, interrupting us.

The moment gone, I drop my hands and move aside, letting her pass me into the house.

On unsteady feet, Sky enters the foyer, her eyes pinging every which way. From the family portraits to the Venezuelan landscapes hung above a wood-burning fireplace, the Torres home radiates warmth and comfort. After losing Carlos, Catalina forged on, never once straying from her duties as a caretaker. I believe she took her grief and poured love from it. That bit of her reminds me of Sky and her ability to see past the surface to what someone needs underneath.

And so, when I presented Catalina with the idea for this project, there was no hesitation.

“You two go on upstairs. I’ll be there in a minute with snacks.”

“Whatever it is smells delicious,” Sky murmurs before trailing behind me up the wooden staircase that creaks beneath our feet. Benny and I could never sneak out because of these steps, and that was likely the intention all along.

We step around piles of flooring, drywall, tape, paint, anything you can think of when doing a project of this magnitude. Most of the upstairs was gutted, but now it is finally taking shape.

“Wow. This is, well, I’m not sure, but this looks like a huge project.” Sky turns in a circle, eyeing the half-finished kitchen, living area, the original full bath, and two bedrooms. “But I don’t know what this means.”

Wiping my hands down the front of my jeans, I just dive right in.

“This will soon be a fully furnished and functioning apartment. Catalina is opening her home to mothers and victims of domestic violence. She’s going to house them and help them get back on their feet and out on their own. Help them look for jobs and get legal counsel if they need it. Whatever we can do to help, we will.”

Sky’s eyes widen and she covers her mouth with both her hands. Tears gather in the corners as she takes another look around. “Are you serious? You’re doing this? Building this?”

My heart pounds. “I knew I’d never be able to go back in time and change the past. I saw what your dad did to you, and I hated it with every fiber in me.” Emotions claw at my throat. “I couldn’t stand to let another kid go through that and not do anything about it. When I came home and talked with Catalina about you, it came tumbling out—what I witnessed with your dad. I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have told her?—”

Sky plows into my chest and wraps her arms around me. “Stop, I’m not—I’m not mad.”

I brush the stray strands of hair from her eyes, swallowing around the lump that refuses to leave.

“I’m stunned. I’m—oh god, I’m going to cry some more.” She buries her head in my chest, and I hold her in my arms, breathing in the soft scent of her hair, absorbing the feel of her body against mine.

She eventually steps back, a small puff of air leaving her lips as she swipes away the tears and makeup smeared under her eyes. “I don’t really know what to say. This is—this is incredible.”

My heart beats faster as I stride across the unfinished floor that will be carpeted at the end of construction and pull open a small linen closet in the bathroom. I run my fingers over the metal before placing it behind me and walking back to Sky. Her gaze is all over the place. I can see the wheels in her head turning, churning over what the final product will look like.

“I had this made and thought it might look good hung on a wall. Maybe you can help me hang it?”

My throat dries as she takes the plaque from my outstretched hand, running her trembling fingers over the raised letters.

Chase’s Place

In loving memory of a life gone too soon but never forgotten.

“I hope it’s okay to, uh—to name this after him. But Sky, listen to me. None of the things I’m doing are meant to make you see me any differently. I just needed you to see it. To know that Chase’s death wasn’t in vain.”

“It’s beautiful,” she whispers, tears once again flowing down her face. “I love it, August, I really do.”

“Will you help me?” I ask, leading us over to a wall near the living room that isn’t changing in the construction.

She positions it on the wall and holds it while I drill in the screws. I brush away the excess drywall dust and examine my work. Soon, I feel her eyes searing into me and I swivel my head.

Our eyes meet, and the world slows to a stop. There’s electricity in the air, the hairs on my neck at attention, and my breaths shallow. The pulse of blood in my body pounds as time ceases to exist.

One step, then two, and she crashes right into me, surging up to fuse her lips with mine.

It’s instinct to tug her to my chest—angling my head to chase her fervent kisses with my own, letting her feel every shred of sorrow I harbor, every atom of love I still hold for her. And every bit of regret I’ll carry for the rest of my life.

She gasps as I delve my tongue inside, but she doesn’t let go.

Buoyed by a small scrap of hope, I take whatever she’ll give me. If I never get to kiss her again, then I’ll live knowing what it feels like one last time.

She’s as soft as spun cotton, and I grip her with my hands like a desperate man. I groan when her tongue glides against mine, making my cock harden in my jeans. She tunnels her fingers into my hair and presses her body even closer, hips to chest. I breathe in her apple scent, soaking up her warmth. There’s the overwhelming desire to claim her all for myself.

Suddenly, Sky pushes away from me, her hand covering her mouth, her blue eyes wide and wild. Her cheeks flush a cherry red. Even she can’t deny the chemistry we still have. Yet guilt consumes me. I keep taking and taking from her like a thief with no conscience.

Heart rattling in my ribcage, I gulp down a deep breath. “I’m sorry?—”

She stops me, placing a hand around my wrist, her head down and shoulders shaking. “It’s not your fault. I—I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry.” She looks up, her brows creased down the middle, her lips swollen and pink.

I glance away before I do it all over again.

“I should go,” she says, clearing her throat as she puts more distance between us. “I love all this, August. It’s amazing, and I can’t believe you’re doing this.” She pauses and speaks more to herself. “Actually, I can believe it. It’s just the type of person you are.”

Sky takes one more step toward the stairs before turning back. “Thank you.”

Maneuvering past Catalina, who’s lumbering up the stairs, plate in hand, Sky leaves, and I’m still too shocked to do anything other than stand like a statue.

“Is everything okay, mijo? Why did she leave?” Catalina’s brows draw tight.

Blowing out a breath, I plop down onto a nearby stool and accept the mandoca she holds out for me. Not much I can say. Sky loves what I’m doing here, so much so she kissed me, but other than that, I’m speechless.

“August? You’re scaring me.”

I know what she’s thinking and I give her a smile as I brush away the cookie crumbs from my jeans and shirt. “She had other things to do. I’m good, I promise. Not going down that road anymore.”

“Good. My world is better with you in it.”

As I hear Sky’s car drive away from the house, I know without a doubt, my world is better with her in it. Just wish she felt the same way about me.