Crossfire 03 Entwined with You (31 page)

I couldn’t get a clue about what he was thinking or feeling from his body language. He was closed tight and restrained, rigidly in control. While I felt like I was coming apart at the seams. “You can’t stop it from getting out,” I whispered.

“We have a temporary seal on the court proceedings.”

“That video hits one of those file-sharing sites and it’ll spread like the plague.”

He shook his head, the ends of his inky hair brushing over his shoulders. “I’ve got an IT team dedicated to nothing but looking twenty-four-seven for that file on the Internet, but Yimara won’t make any money giving the footage away. It’s only worth something as an exclusive. He’s not going to fuck that up before he exhausts all other options—including selling it to me.”

“Deanna will tell. It’s her job to expose secrets, not keep them.”

“I offered her a forty-eight-hour exclusive on our wedding photos, if she keeps a lid on this.”

“And she was okay with that?” I asked skeptically. “That woman’s hot for you. She can’t have been happy about you being off the market. Permanently.”

“There is a point at which it becomes clear there’s no hope,” he said dryly. “I think I managed to make that point. Trust me, she was happy enough with the money to be made on the wedding exclusive.”

I moved to the toilet, dropped the lid down, and sat. The reality of what he’d told me sank in. “I’m sick over this, Gideon.”

He set his coffee down next to mine and came to crouch in front of me. “Look at me.”

I did as he ordered, but it was hard.

“I will
never
let anyone hurt you,” he said. “Do you understand? I
will
take care of this.”

“I’m
sorry,” I breathed. “I’m so sorry you have to deal with this. And with everything else you have going on—”

Gideon caught my hands. “Someone violated your privacy, Eva. Don’t apologize for that. As for dealing with this … that’s my right. My honor. You’ll always come first.”

“It didn’t seem like I came first at the hospital,” I argued, needing to get the resentment out before it festered. And needing him to explain why he was always pushing me away when he was trying to protect me. “Everything went to hell and you shoved me at Angus when I wanted to be there for you. You took off to
another state
and didn’t call … didn’t say anything.”

His jaw tightened. “And I didn’t sleep. It took every minute I had and too many favors to count to get that injunction done in the time I had to work with. You have to trust me, Eva. Even if you don’t understand what I’m doing, trust that I’m always thinking of you and doing what’s best for you. For us.”

I looked away, hating that answer. “Corinne’s pregnant.”

He exhaled harshly. “She was, yes. Four months along.”

One word chilled me. “Was?”

“She miscarried as the doctors were treating the overdose. I’m choosing to believe she didn’t know about the baby.”

I searched his face and tried to hide the pitiful relief on my own. “Four months? The baby was Giroux’s, then.”

“I would hope so,” he said curtly. “He seems to think it was his, and that I’m responsible for her losing it.”

“Jesus.”

Gideon’s head dropped to my lap, his cheek resting on my thigh. “She
had
to be clueless. She couldn’t risk a baby over something so stupid.”

“I won’t let you blame yourself for this, Gideon,” I told him sternly.

He wrapped his arms around my waist. “Christ. Am I cursed?”

I hated Corinne so much in that moment I felt violent. She’d known
Gideon’s father had committed suicide. If she knew Gideon at all, she would know how much her attempt would devastate him.

“You are not responsible for this.” I ran my fingers through his hair, offering comfort. “Do you hear me? Only Corinne is responsible for what happened.
She’ll
have to live with what she’s done, not you and me.”

“Eva.” He hugged me, his breath warm through the silk of my robe.

A quarter hour after Gideon left me in the bathroom to take a call from Raúl, I was still standing at the vanity, staring into the sink.

“You’ll be late for work,” he said gently, joining me and hugging me from behind.

“I’m thinking about just calling in.” I never did that, but I was tired and feeling worn out. I couldn’t imagine pulling it together enough to give my job the focus it deserved.

“You could, but it won’t look good when you’re photographed at the gala tonight.”

I looked at him in the mirror. “We’re not going!”

“Yes, we are.”

“Gideon, if that footage of me and Brett gets out, you don’t want your name linked to mine.”

His body went stiff, and then he turned me around to face him. “Say that again.”

“You heard me. The Cross name has been through enough, don’t you think?”

“Angel, I’m as close as I’ve ever been to taking you across my knee. Luckily for you, I don’t play rough when I’m mad.”

His gruff teasing didn’t distract me from the fact that he was determined to protect the girl I’d been, the girl I was ashamed of. He was willing to stand between me and scandal, shielding me as best he could and taking the hit alongside me, if it came to that.

I
didn’t think it was possible to love him more than I did, but he kept proving me wrong.

He cupped my face in his hands. “Whatever we face, we face together. And you’ll do it with my name.”

“Gideon—”

“I can’t tell you how proud I am for you to have it.” He brushed his mouth across my brow. “How much it means to me that you’ve taken it and made it yours.”

“Oh, Gideon.” I pushed onto my tiptoes and surged into him. “I love you so much.”

I was a half hour late to work and found a temp at Megumi’s desk. I smiled and said hi, but worry ate at me. I popped my head into Mark’s office and apologized profusely for being late. Then I called Megumi’s cell when I got to my cubicle, but she didn’t answer. I headed over to Will’s.

“Got a question for you,” I said, when I reached him.

“Let’s hope I have the answer,” he shot back, swiveling in his chair to look up at me through his stylish glasses.

“Who does Megumi call to say she’s sick?”

“She reports to Daphne for everything. Why?”

“I’m just worried. She hasn’t called me back. I’m wondering if I pissed her off somehow.” I shifted on my feet. “I hate not knowing or being able to help.”

“Well, for what it’s worth, Daphne said she sounds horrible.”

“That sucks. But thanks.”

I headed back to my cubicle. Mark gestured me into his office as I walked by.

“They’re hanging the six-story banner for Tungsten scarves today.”

“Yeah?”

He grinned. “Want to go check it out?”

“Really?”
As scattered as I was feeling, getting out in the muggy August heat was preferable to sitting at my cool desk. “That’d be awesome!”

He grabbed his jacket off the back of his chair. “Let’s go.”

W
HEN
I got home shortly after five o’clock, I found my living room taken over by a team of white-coated beauty technicians. Cary and Trey were kicked back on the couch with green goop on their faces and towels under their heads to protect the white upholstery. My mother was chatting away while her hair was styled in a sexy cap of waves and curls.

I took a quick shower, then joined them. In an hour, they managed to take me from bedraggled to glamorous, affording me the time to think about everything I’d ruthlessly suppressed all day—the video, Corinne, Giroux, Deanna, and Brett.

Someone was going to have to tell Brett. That someone was me.

When the beautician came toward me with a lip brush, I held up my hand. “Red, please.”

She paused a minute, her head canting as she examined me. “Yes, you’re right.”

I was holding my breath through a finishing blast of hair spray when my smartphone vibrated in the pocket of my robe. Seeing Gideon’s name on the screen, I answered. “Hi, ace.”

“What color are you wearing?” he asked, without a hello.

“Silver.”

“Really?” His voice took on a warm purr that made my toes flex. “I can’t wait to see you in it. And out of it.”

“You won’t be waiting,” I admonished. “You’d better have your fine ass over here in about ten minutes.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

My eyes narrowed. “Hurry up or we won’t have any limo time.”

“Umm … I’ll be there in five.”

He
hung up and I held my phone for a minute, smiling.

“Who was that?” my mom asked, coming up beside me.

“Gideon.”

Her eyes lit up. “He’s escorting you tonight?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, Eva.” She hugged me. “I’m so glad.”

With my arms around her, I figured it was as good a time as any to start spreading the engagement news. I knew Gideon wasn’t going to wait long before insisting on sharing our marriage with the world.

I said quietly, “He asked Dad for permission to marry me.”

“Did he?” When she pulled back, she was smiling. “He talked to Richard, too, which I think is such a nice touch, don’t you? I’ve already started planning. I was thinking June, at the Pierre, of course. We’ll—”

“I suggest December, at the latest.”

My mother gasped, her eyes widening. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way to pull off a wedding in that amount of time. It’s impossible.”

I shrugged. “Tell Gideon you’re thinking of June next year. See what he says.”

“Well, I have to wait until he actually proposes first!”

“Right.” I kissed her cheek. “I’m going to get dressed.”

I
WAS IN
my room, sliding the strapless gown up over my matching bustier, when Gideon came in. I literally stopped breathing, my gaze drinking in his reflection in my cheval mirror. Standing behind me in a tuxedo tailored just for him, with a lovely gray tie that matched my dress so well, he was dazzling. I’d never seen him look so gorgeous.

“Wow,” I breathed, entranced. “You are
so
getting laid tonight.”

His mouth quirked. “Does that mean I can skip zipping you up?”

“Does that mean we can skip going to this thing?”

“Not a chance, angel. I’m showing off my wife tonight.”

“No one knows I’m your wife.”

“
I
know it.” He came up behind me and secured my zipper. “And soon—really soon—the world will know it.”

I leaned back into him, admiring our joint reflection. We took great pictures together.

Which made me think of other pictures …

“Promise
me,” I said, “that you’ll never watch the video.”

When he didn’t answer me, I turned to look at him directly. When I saw the closed-off look on his face, I started freaking out. “Gideon. Did you watch it already?”

His jaw tightened. “A minute or two. Nothing explicit. Just enough to prove validity.”

“Oh my God. Promise me you won’t watch it.” My voice rose and grew sharp as panic spread through me. “Promise me!”

His hands encircled my wrists and squeezed hard enough to make my breath catch. I stared at him, wide-eyed, confused by the sudden aggression.

“Calm down,” he said quietly.

The oddest rush of warmth spread outward from where he touched me. My heart beat faster, but also steadier. I stared at our hands, my attention catching on his ruby ring. Red. Like the cuffs he’d bought for me. I felt similarly captured and bound now. And it soothed me in a way I didn’t understand.

But Gideon obviously did.

That was why I’d been afraid to marry him so quickly, I realized. He was taking me on a journey that had an unknown destination and I had agreed to follow him blindfolded. It wasn’t about where we’d end up as a couple, because that was never in question. We were obsessed, dependent on each other in the unrelenting way of addicts. Where
I
would end up, who I’d be at the end, was what I didn’t know.

Gideon’s transformation had been almost violent, happening in a moment of sharp clarity when he’d comprehended that he wouldn’t—couldn’t—live without me. My change was more gradual, so painstakingly measured that I’d believed I wouldn’t have to change at all.

I was wrong.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I spoke more steadily. “Gideon, listen. Whatever’s on that video, it’s nothing compared to what you and I have. The only memories I want in your head are ones
we
make. What we’ve got together … that’s the only thing that’s real. The only thing that matters. So please … promise me.”

He closed his eyes briefly, then nodded. “All right. I promise.”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”

Lifting my hands to his mouth, he kissed them. “You’re mine, Eva.”

B
Y
silent, mutual agreement, we refrained from mussing each other up in the limo before our first public appearance as a married couple. I was nervous, and while an orgasm or two would help alleviate that, looking less than perfect would only make it worse. And people would notice. Not only was my silver gown eye-catching, with its brilliant sheen and short train, but my arm-candy husband was an impossible-to-miss accessory.

Attention would be on us, and Gideon seemed determined to keep it that way. He helped me out of the limo when we arrived at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, taking a moment to slide his lips across my temple. “That dress is going to look amazing on my bedroom floor.”

I laughed at the cheesy line, which I knew he’d intended, and camera flashes went off in a storm of blinding light. Once he turned away from me, all warmth left his face, the beautiful planes settling into a closed expression that gave nothing away. He set his hand at the small of my back and led me across the red carpet and into Cipriani’s.

Once inside, he found a spot he approved of and we stayed there for an hour as business associates and acquaintances circled around us. He wanted me at his side and he wanted to be at mine as well, something he proved a short while later when we were headed to the dance floor.

“Introduce me,” he said simply and I followed his gaze to where Christine Field and Walter Leaman, of Waters Field & Leaman, were laughing along with the group of people they were standing with. Christine looked restrained and elegant in a black beaded dress that covered her from throat to wrists to ankles except for the plunging
back, and Walter, who was a large man, looked successful and confident in a nicely cut tuxedo and bow tie.

“They know who you are,” I pointed out.

“Do they know who I am
to you
?”

I wrinkled my nose a little, knowing my world was going to change drastically once my single-girl self was subsumed by my identity as Eva Cross. “Come on, ace.”

We headed over there, weaving through round tables covered in white linens and decorated with candelabras wrapped in floral garlands that lent a wonderful fragrance to the room.

My bosses spotted Gideon first, of course. I don’t think they even recognized me until Gideon quite obviously deferred to me by letting me speak first.

“Good evening,” I said, shaking Christine’s and Walter’s hands. “I know you’re both familiar with Gideon Cross, my …”

I paused, my brain grinding to a halt.

“Fiancé,” Gideon finished, shaking hands.

Congratulations were exchanged; smiles got bigger, eyes brighter.

“This doesn’t mean we’re losing you, does it?” Christine asked, diamond drop earrings glinting in the soft light of the chandeliers.

“No. I’m not going anywhere.”

That earned me a sharp pinch on my butt from Gideon.

We were going to have to deal with the work issue at some point, but I figured I could hold him off at least until our next wedding.

We talked a bit about the Kingsman Vodka campaign, which was mostly a way to emphasize what a good job Waters Field & Leaman had done so the agency could hook more Cross Industries business. Gideon knew the game, of course, and played it well. He was polite, charming, and clearly not a man who could be easily influenced.

After that, we ran out of things to talk about. Gideon made our excuses.

“Let’s dance,” he murmured in my ear. “I want to hold you.”

We
moved onto the dance floor, where Cary was drawing attention with a stunning redhead. Flashes of a pale, shapely leg could be seen through the risqué slit in her emerald green dress. He moved her into a spin, then a dip. Undeniably suave.

Trey hadn’t been able to come because of an evening class, and I was sorry about that. I was sorry, too, that I was glad Cary hadn’t brought Tatiana instead. Thinking that way made me feel bitchy, and I seriously disliked catty bitches.

“Look at me.”

I tilted my head at Gideon’s command and found his eyes on me. “Hi, ace.”

With his hand at my back and my hand in his, we swept casually around the dance floor.

“Crossfire,” he whispered, his gaze hot on my face.

I touched his cheek with my fingertips. “We’re learning from our mistakes.”

“You read my mind.”

“It feels good.”

He smiled, his eyes so blue and his hair so damn sexy I wanted to run my fingers through it right then and there. He pulled me closer. “Not as good as you feel.”

We stayed on the dance floor through two songs. Then the music ended when the bandleader turned to the mic and made an announcement: Dinner was about to be served. Seated at our table were my mother and Richard, Cary, a plastic surgeon and his wife, and a guy who said he’d just wrapped up shooting the pilot episode to a new television show he hoped would be picked up for a full-season run.

The meal was some sort of Asian fusion and I ate everything, because it was good and the portions weren’t that big. Gideon had his hand on my thigh beneath the table, his thumb rubbing lightly in small circles that made me squirm.

He leaned over. “Sit still.”

“Stop
it,” I whispered back.

“Keep wiggling and I’ll put my fingers inside you.”

“You wouldn’t dare.”

He smirked. “Try me and see.”

Because I wouldn’t put it past him, I sat still, even though it killed me.

“Excuse me,” Cary said abruptly, pushing back from the table.

I watched him walk away and caught his gaze lingering on a nearby table. When the redhead in green followed him out of the room a few moments later, I wasn’t too surprised, but I was very disappointed. I knew the situation with Tatiana was stressing him out and I knew mindless sex was Cary’s cure-all, but it also fucked with his self-esteem and led to more problems than it fixed.

It was good that we were only a couple days away from seeing Dr. Travis.

Leaning into Gideon, I whispered, “Cary and I are going to San Diego this weekend.”

His head swiveled toward me. “You’re telling me this
now
?”

“Well, between your exes and my ex, my parents, Cary, and everything else, it keeps slipping my mind! I figured I’d better tell you before I forgot again.”

“Angel …” He shook his head.

“Hang on.” I pushed to my feet. I needed to remind him that Brett had a tour stop in San Diego at the same time, but I had to catch Cary first.

He looked at me quizzically as he stood.

“Be right back,” I told him, adding very quietly, “Got some cockblocking to do.”

“Eva—”

I heard the warning in his tone and ignored it, lifting my skirt and hurrying after Cary. I’d just made it past the ballroom entrance, when I ran into a familiar face.

“Magdalene,”
I said in surprise, stopping. “I didn’t know you were here.”

“Gage was wrapped up in a project, so we ran a little late. Missed dinner entirely, but at least I got my hands on one of those chocolate mousse things they served for dessert.”

“Kick-ass,” I agreed.

“Totally.” Magdalene smiled.

I thought to myself that she looked really good. Softer, sweeter. Still stunning and sultry in a one-shouldered red lace dress, her dark hair framing a delicate face and crimson lips. Getting away from Christopher Vidal had done her a lot of good. And having a new man in her life surely helped. I remembered her mentioning a guy named Gage when she’d visited me at work a couple weeks before.

“I saw you with Gideon,” she said. “And I noticed your ring.”

“You should’ve come over and said hi.”

“I was eating that dessert.”

I laughed. “A girl’s got to have her priorities.”

Magdalene reached out and touched my arm briefly. “I’m happy for you, Eva. Happy for Gideon.”

“Thank you. You should stop by our table and tell him that.”

“I will. Catch you later.”

She walked off and I stared after her for a minute, still wary but thinking she might not be so bad after all.

The one negative about running into Magdalene was losing Cary. By the time I resumed chasing after him, he’d already ducked out of sight somewhere.

I headed back to Gideon, mentally preparing the ass-chewing I was going to give Cary. Elizabeth Vidal halted me in my tracks.

“Excuse me,” I said, when I nearly bumped into her.

She grabbed me by the elbow and pulled me over to a dark corner. Then she caught my hand and looked at my gorgeous Asscher diamond. “That’s my ring.”

I
tugged free. “It
was
your ring. It’s mine now. Your son gave it to me around the time he asked me to marry him.”

She looked at me with those blue eyes that were so like her son’s. So like Ireland’s. She was a beautiful woman, glamorous and elegant. As much a head-turner as my mother, really, but she had Gideon’s iciness.

“I won’t let you take him away from me,” she bit out between brilliantly white teeth.

“You’ve got it all wrong.” I crossed my arms. “I want to get you two together, so we can put everything out in the open.”

“You’re filling his head with lies.”

“Oh my God. Seriously? The next time he tells you what happened—and I’ll make sure he does—you’re going to believe him. And you’re going to apologize, and find some fucking way to make it easier for him to bear. Because I want him healed and healthy and whole.”

Elizabeth stared at me, clearly fuming. She obviously wasn’t on board with that plan.

“Are we done?” I asked, disgusted with her deliberate blindness.

“Not even close,” she hissed, leaning into me. “I know about you and that lead singer. I’m on to you.”

I shook my head. Had Christopher talked to her? What would he have said? Knowing what he’d done to Magdalene, I believed him capable of pretty much anything. “Unbelievable. You believe the lies and ignore the truth.”

I started walking away but stopped. “What I think is really interesting is that after I confronted you last time, you didn’t ask Gideon about what happened. ‘Hey, son, your crazy girlfriend told me this crazy story.’ I can’t figure out why you didn’t ask him. I don’t suppose you’d want to explain?”