Beautiful Sky 2: The Conclusion (A Billionaire Rock Star New Adult Romance) (Amazing Love) (3 page)

Relief swept over me as I realized what this meant; Jonathan had not lied to me.  He
was
the awesome guy I thought he was all along and I wanted to fling my arms around him and give him a huge hug.  

“Barbara, I have been nothing but kind to you since you came into our family, welcoming you when many other people have dismissed you.  For you to scheme and lie to try to ruin what I have with Skylar is unforgiveable.  I think it is best that you get your own flight home for Thanksgiving and don’t expect me to pick you up from the airport.  I will still be civil of course, because technically you are family, but any sort of friendship we had is over.  You are on your own.  Are we clear?”  His eyes nearly bore a hole into her as he waited for her answer.

She was full on crying now and starting to make a spectacle of herself.

“I’m sorry Jonathan, I really am!  I promise nothing like this will ever happen again!  Your friendship means so much to me, please don’t cut me off like this, I don’t have anyone to turn to!  I’m all alone!”  Her sobs racked her body as she buried her head in her hands.

Now
I felt sorry for her as I realized that she was a desperately lonely person who was only looking for attention.  It all kind of made sense as I thought back to the sad look on her face when I asked her where her parents were for Parent’s Weekend.  Jonathan told me that her mom kind of dumped her whenever she met a new husband and it turns out that Ethan was husband number five.

I don’t know what came over me but I felt bad for the girl, and I knew that I would have to try to convince Jonathan to reconsider cutting her off cold turkey.  Maybe he could just keep her at arm’s length and not let her get too close again, but completely cut her off?  That wasn’t the answer.  I looked at Jonathan and I’m sure that he could see the concern written all over my face.  I never wanted anyone to feel that they were all alone in the world, not even Barbi who was just a lonely girl deep down inside, it was too heartbreaking for me.

Clearly I was going to be the bigger person here and extend the olive branch.  I seriously doubted that she would have done that for me if the roles were reversed but I didn’t care, she was seriously hurting and it ran much deeper than a crush on my boyfriend. 
My boyfriend.
  I think that was the first time I actually thought of him that way.

I thought back to the scene with Bethany and Seth and wondered why I didn’t feel sorry for those two, and I realized that they both knew better.  They came from loving families and had tons of friends; they just wanted to screw each other behind my back.  I quickly tossed them out of my mind, annoyed that I even took the time to think about them. 

I looked over at Barbi who had now pulled her knees up, her arms wrapped around them and her head buried between them as she gently rocked back and forth.  I glanced over at Jonathan and motioned for him to step away with me.  He got up quietly and we stood a few feet away and lowered our voices to a whisper.

“Jonathan she is really hurting, I don’t think you should just cut her off like that.  Maybe just don’t let her get too close but let her know that she’s not completely alone.  She probably needs to talk to someone professionally so maybe you can suggest that to her at some point.”

He looked at me with amazement as a smile slowly spread across his face.  “You are incredible.  After what she tried to do to us, you are concerned about her.  That is so selfless of you Sky; I knew I loved you for a reason.”  He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.  “Okay, I’ll let her know that she’s not alone, but I’ll also be clear about boundaries so we don’t have another misunderstanding like this.”

We went back over to Barbi and Jonathan’s voice was gentle this time.  “Barbs.”

She raised her bloodshot eyes to him and cautiously looked at both of us.

“I may have been too hard on you, I don’t want you to think that you’re all alone because you’re not.  But things have to change.  No more lies, no more trying to make people think that something is going on between us, and most importantly, no more snide cattiness toward Skylar.  She is my girlfriend and she is not going anywhere.  If you need something I want you to always call first, no more dropping by unannounced.  I’m serious Barbs.  Are we clear on all of this?”

Her eyes were filled with gratitude and she frantically nodded her head.  “Thank you Jonathan.”  She looked over at me.  “Sky, I’m really sorry about everything.  He didn’t know that I was in his bed.  I stopped by his room to vent about my mom because she told me she might not be around for Thanksgiving after all if Ethan could get out of having to work over the holiday.  We chatted for a while but I still needed to talk, so when Jonathan left his room he thought I was leaving and I climbed in his bed for the attention.  I wasn’t really naked, I had on a tube top and jeans.  I guess the reason I’ve been nasty toward you is that I could see how much Jonathan cares about you and I knew that meant there wouldn’t be room for me anymore.  It’s not that I like him like that, it’s just that he’s been so nice to me since my mom married into the family and I’ve never had any kind of family, so I didn’t want to lose that relationship.  I thought if I made you think something was going on with us, you would dump him and I wouldn’t lose the only family I’ve ever had.  I’m really sorry for everything.”

You could have knocked me over with a feather.  Never in a million years would I have expected an apology like that.  I looked at her and smiled.

“Apology accepted.”

Don’t get me wrong, I still didn’t trust the girl but I was willing to give her a second chance.  Jonathan stood looking at her and I could tell that he was trying to figure out if she was being sincere.  I could also tell that he was over the drama.

“I’m really glad we got this cleared up Barbi, will you be okay going back by yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.  Jonathan, again, I’m sorry about everything and thanks for giving me another chance, it means a lot.”

“No problem.  I’m going to take a walk with Sky so we’ll see you around, ok?”

“Okay, see you guys later.”

She slowly walked back to campus and Jonathan casually grabbed my hand and we strolled through the park.

“I’m relieved that is over and I’m happy the truth came out.”  His voice was calm and he seemed more relaxed.

“About that.  I’m sorry I didn’t believe you.”

“No, you don’t have to apologize to me.  I had no idea that when you walked into my room she appeared to be naked in my bed.  No wonder you were so upset!  I’m sorry you even had to deal with that Sky and I’m happy that we’re okay again.  We
are
okay, right?”  His eyes were cautiously optimistic.

A huge smile spread across my face as my eyes searched his.  “Yes, we’re perfect.”

He stopped in the middle of the walking path and turned to face me, smoothing my windblown hair out of my eyes, his eyes very serious.

“Good, because I don’t know what I would have done if I had lost you.  I love you Sky.”

I wanted to melt right there as the butterflies started to flutter.  “I love you too.”

He leaned down to me and his lips gently touched mine, lingering for a couple of seconds.  When he pulled back a bit to look at me I could see a look of concern in his eyes and I could tell that he had something on his mind.

“Do you still want to come home with me for Thanksgiving?”  He looked nervous as he waited for my answer.

I didn’t even hesitate and I smiled at him.  “Of course I do, I’m looking forward to it.”

He looked relieved and a huge smile covered his face.  “I was hoping you would say that.  I’ll let you know more details later this week.”

“Okay, I can’t wait.  Oh, what time is it?”  I had gotten so lost in us that I completely forgot about all of the work I had to do on my paper.

“It’s almost 4:30, sorry I’ve kept you so long, I know you have a paper to get to, are you ready to go back?”

“Yeah, I need to finish this thing tonight.  Jonathan, thanks for today, I feel much better.”

“Me too.”

Jonathan and I fell back into our usual routine of studying together and me

sleeping in his room.  I was with him so much that a lot of my clothes and other things were in his room because it was just easier to get ready in the mornings.

Thanksgiving was fast approaching and we were leaving for the Hamptons the Wednesday before.  He told me that his family always went to their Hampton’s house because they hosted so many people, and the New York townhouse didn’t have enough bedrooms for everyone.  I tried to convince Jonathan to let Barbi fly with us but he insisted that she get her own flight, he still was very upset by what she did and was not as quick to forgive as I was.

The morning we were leaving I became extremely nervous as it began to sink in that I was going to meet his whole family that day.  Since his parents were so nice I was really hoping that everyone else would be too but I had no idea what to expect.  What kinds of questions were they going to ask me?  Would I be able to relate to them on any level?  We had never traveled anywhere fancy or eaten at expensive restaurants so if they started talking about things like that it was going to be magnified how different I was from them. 

Katie was still packing her bags when Jonathan came to help me with mine.

“Knock, knock.  Are you ready?”

I looked up to see him standing in our doorway and it really was incredible how flippin’ gorgeous he was.  He instantly made me feel better and all of my insecurities subsided for a bit knowing that I would have him by my side.  I smiled at him and slung my purse over my shoulder.

“Ready.”

I turned to Katie and gave her a big hug.  “Have a great Thanksgiving.”

“You too, I’ll see you next week.  Have a good Thanksgiving Jonathan.”

“You too Katie.”

He grabbed my suitcase and I was just about to follow him when Katie grabbed my arm and pulled me back so that she could whisper in my ear. “I want every single detail when you get back!”

I smiled at her, gave her a quick wink and mouthed, ‘definitely’.

The ride to the airport was not very long and I noticed that we were driving to a different part of the airport that I did not recognize.

“Which airline are we flying because I don’t think American and United are out here.  We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”

He smiled at me and chuckled.  “We’re taking my family’s jet.”

My mouth fell open and I was completely shocked.  “Your family has their own plane?”

“Yeah, it’ll just be us and the flight attendant.”

“Wow, okay.”  His world of wealth was so foreign to me.
Private plane?
 
Really?
  My insecurities reared their ugly head again as I thought about how I just did not fit in with this world.  I must have looked worried because he turned to me with a look of concern.

“Is something wrong?”

"Jonathan, I don't know about this, this really isn't my world and I'm just not used to being around people who have so much money. I'm going to stick out like a sore thumb.”

The car pulled up to the tarmac and we sat there for a few minutes before we got out.

“Skylar, listen to me, the stuff that my family has does not make us who we are.  Even though we have more material things than the average person, we are hard working, down to earth people.  Please don’t let the nice things intimidate you.  No one in my family will care how much money you have, all they care about is that you like me for who I am and not what I have.  You’ll see, they’re all really nice, fun people and they’re going to love you as much as I do, okay?”

I had to admit that I felt a little bit better after hearing him say that.  We got out of the car, the driver took care of our bags and we boarded the plane.  Once I walked onto the plane I was literally blown away because I had never seen anything like it. You see private planes on TV and in movies but I don’t think you can ever really be prepared for what it’s actually going to be like once you are inside of one.  It was so gorgeous inside; it looked like a high end condo! It actually had bedrooms, full bathrooms, a conference room and more.  It was so crazy to me that I was actually on that plane. 
This cannot really be my life right now.

We took our seats and shortly after that we took off.  Jonathan kind of briefed me on what the schedule was going to be and whom I would be meeting.  They were hosting family and friends this year so they were expecting around 20 people. Apparently his family liked to schedule just about everything, even down time, so at least I knew what I would be doing every day. 

The flight was really short, about an hour, and we touched down before I knew it.  A car was waiting to pick us up and as we drove into Southampton I was completely in awe of the beautiful mansions I saw.  We rounded a corner and began to pull up to a section called the estate section and we went through gates to get in there and then we drove up to an enormous mansion set behind another set of gates. 
This can’t be their house.
  It looked like something you’d see on one of those celebrity home shows.  The gates opened for us and we made the long drive up to the house.  I was nervous and didn’t want to get out of the car but Jonathan was able to coax me out.

“Come on, they will love you, you’ll see.”

“Do you think Barbi is here yet?”

“No, she’ll be here tonight.”

“Oh, okay.”  I tried to disguise the disappointment in my voice and as much as I hated to admit it, I kind of wished that Barbi was already there because if she were, I would know at least one person besides Jonathan and his parents.

We stepped inside the house and immediately several people that I did not recognize came rushing toward us.

“Jonny!  You made it!”  A stunning, elegant woman in her mid-twenties with long blonde hair walked toward us and she was so pretty that it was hard for me to stop staring at her.  She had a huge smile on her face, wrapped her arms around him in a big bear hug and must have kissed his cheek 10 times.  His face was beet red as he tried to pull away.

“Claire, you’re embarrassing me!”

His sister was more beautiful than he had described.

“I know, but I miss you!”   She gave him a once over.  “You look thin.  Are you eating enough?”

He rolled his eyes.  “Oh my gosh, yes
mom
.  Okay, okay enough about me, I want you to meet someone.”

Claire turned to me with a huge smile on her face.  “I know who this is, Skylar it’s so nice to meet you.”  She gave me a big hug and I was instantly put at ease.

“It’s nice to meet you too Claire, Jonathan has told me so much about you and your sister.  It must be pretty amazing to be able to dance professionally all over the world.”

“I have to admit it’s not bad!” 

We both giggled and I felt an immediate connection to her, she seemed really nice.

“There he is!”  A gorgeous clone of Jonathan’s father gave him a huge hug and then smiled at me.  “And I think I know who this lovely young lady is.”

“Hi uncle Jake, this is my girlfriend Skylar.”  Jonathan was beaming as he introduced me.

I mean, talk about good looks running in the family, his uncle was beautiful!

“It is nice to meet you Skylar, I hope you will excuse the craziness of this weekend.  My family can be a bit goofy at times but we’re harmless.”  He gave me a quick wink and I could feel my cheeks getting warm. 
These Hunter men have that sexy, masculine thing down to a science!

We were having a good chuckle when a beautiful older woman joined us.  She smiled at me and gave me a hug.

“You must be Skylar, you are simply gorgeous!  Jonathan, you described her perfectly.”

I looked over at him and he winked at me as I smiled back at him.

“Sky, this is my aunt Lauren.”

“It’s so nice to meet you Mrs. Hunter.”

“Oh please, call me Lauren.”

“Um, okay.”

Jonathan chimed in next to me.  “My uncle Jake and aunt Lauren are super laid back, you’ll see as the weekend progresses.”

“That’s true Skylar, my brother is the much more stuffy one of the two of us, but don’t tell anyone I told you that!” 

“What was that I just heard?  One of my sons disparaging the other?”  A regal, elderly woman slowly walked into the room shaking her fist at him and Jake looked like he reverted to a little boy before my eyes.

“I was just joking mother!”  He laughed.

She walked over to us and you could see the love in her eyes as she looked at Jonathan.  She reached out and wrapped her arms around him and gave him as big a hug as she could muster.

“Jonathan, it’s good to see you sweetheart.”

“It’s good to see you too Nana Bunny.  I’d like for you to meet my girlfriend Skylar Miller.”

She looked at me and immediately smiled at me and then hugged me.  “Hello dear, it’s lovely to meet you.  Please call me Bunny, okay?  Jonathan has told me so much about you and it’s nice to finally meet the girl who has captured my grandson’s heart.  I hope you enjoy yourself this weekend, we know it must be difficult to be away from home so we want you to feel at home here.”