This is an AU story with Gideon and Eva.

"You still have time to get here."

Eva Trammell laughed at the taunt coming from the other end of her cell phone. "I appreciate the offer, but if I show up at the premiere of Golden Girl, it takes away from the anonymity of it all, don't you think?"

"We could have dinner. Go for coffee…"

Eva had been dreading this moment, knowing she was setting herself up for it ever since she'd agreed to star in the video for Brett's band, Six-Ninths. It was one of the reasons she'd hesitated to take him up on the offer in the first place. "Brett, we talked about this when I first agreed to be in the video," she said, ensuring her voice didn't waver. "I'll be graduating soon, and—"

Eva glanced over her shoulder as Cary walked in. He grinned as he held up a bag from Miguel's, their favorite Mexican restaurant. Her stomach growled—a reminder she hadn't eaten since breakfast. "And then I need to focus on finding a job," she continued. "Whatever we had, it's over. It's been over for a long time."

"Do you have any idea how much the public would eat it up if we were seen together?" he pressed.

She stiffened. "Brett—"

"You. Me. Together in Times Square to watch the premiere of the video we shot together—"

"Brett, I have to go. Cary just got home, and I have an exam to study for. I hope the premiere's everything you want it to be." She hung up the phone and spun around. "Cary Taylor, it's like you read my mind."

"Was that Brett again?" he asked as he pulled two plates out of the cupboard.

Eva nodded.

"Wow. He's really pushing to get back together with you."

She sighed. "We were never really together, Cary. We just had a few months of amazing sex."

"Better than that guy you slept with the night we crashed that party at NYU?" he asked.

She groaned at the memory as a shot of lust—even after all these years—blazed through her. "I have an exam coming up," she told him. "And you just ruined any chance I had of concentrating."

"But on the bright side, I did bring home Mexican," he pointed out.

XXXX

Gideon Cross made his way through the throng of people in Times Square, pissed that he even had to be here. If it wasn't for Christopher and yet another bout of negative press, he could still be at the office. But his stepfather had called him every day this week to ensure he'd be at the big event - one of the biggest events Vidal Records had ever assembled. Apparently a cameo from Gideon would overshadow anything Christopher might do. Which said something, since Gideon never gave the press anything to work with. The band manager for Six-Ninths picked up the mic on stage, and a hush went over the crowd. Gideon continued to make his way to the tented area where he knew his stepfather would be. Before he made it there, the speech came to a close, and the screens lit up. Gideon froze in his tracks.

Ava Reyes.

No matter that the camera was to her back – he'd recognize her form anywhere. One night with her, and she'd haunted him ever since. He shook his head, sure he was seeing things, but as the camera pulled further away, he only became more certain. A bolt of lust seared through him, his eyes glued to the screen as he saw the face he'd spent the last few years dreaming of. The face of the woman who'd crawled out of his bed before dawn, the one that countless investigators had been unable to locate. His heart rate sped up as he realized what this meant. She'd done a video for Vidal Records. Somebody there had to know who she was.

His grin widened.