CHAPTER 3

Cary and I arrive back at my dad's and we are just getting some late lunch when my phone alerts me to an incoming text, I open it up and see it is from Brett.

Hi Eva, just landed, are you in San Diego, can I see you? Brett x

"Cary" I say quietly.

He immediately pauses, his fork suspended in mid air and he looks at me questioningly. I show him the text, he reads it and then nods.

"He was one of your main reasons for making this trip, so let's get it over with," he says in a firm voice.

I nod, I think for a moment how I want to word it and then send a reply back.

I am here and available till 6:30, meet you at Pete's in an hour? Eva

"Does that sound ok?" I ask as I show Cary the text.

He reads it and when he nods I send it, I quickly text Gideon and tell him about the text from Brett and my reply and assure him Cary will be with me, his reply is almost instantaneous.

Be careful, I trust you, but I don't trust Kline. G xx

The response from Brett comes in a moment later.

I have to be at sound check, can I meet you there instead?

I realise that he was bound to have commitments as this isn't a holiday, he is in town playing a gig, so actually this will be much better all-round, so I quickly respond telling him I will make my way to the venue and meet him there, and he tells me he will call ahead so I won't have any difficulty getting in.

I smile and close the text and stow my phone in my pocket. I look at Cary, "Ok then here goes" I say.

We finish our lunch and clear away before leaving my dad's and as we leave, we see Raul is waiting outside with the SUV, he lowers the window and looks at me expectantly.

"How did you know?" I ask.

"Mr Cross informed me that you would be leaving to go and see Mr Kline shortly and he asked me to accompany you," he says.

I roll my eyes, of course he did, but I gratefully climb into the SUV and Cary follows me in.

We arrive at the concert venue and have no difficulty getting in, although I think that is due more to the presence of Raul and a card he flashed at security, rather than anything Brett may have said.

The roadies are milling about setting up for the show and I am feeling really quite anxious about this. Watching the goings on is forcibly reminding me of the last Six-Ninths show I was at, and what happened afterwards. My thoughts are disturbed by activity near the entrance, I look round and I see the band arrive with their manager for sound check, I recognise all of them and watch them, and I must react in some way as Cary wraps his arm around me in a gesture of silent support. They haven't noticed me yet but it isn't long before Brett spots me.

When he does, he frowns when he sees Cary and Raul but walks over. He puts his hand on my shoulder and leans in for a kiss I deliberately turn away, and putting my hand out to stop him, I stand up.

"No" I snap firmly

Brett stares at me in shock, "Hey come on Eva" he coaxes.

"Did you know?" I hiss at him, jumping straight in with the reason I am here because at this moment I just want to leave but I'm not going until I know the truth.

"Know what?" he asks looking confused

"The tape," I say, I stare into his face and I see the reaction I am looking for, and I know. My heart sinks.

"You fucking bastard," I snarl, fighting back the tears that are threatening, "You knew, what did you think it would do, sell a few more downloads for you?" I glare at him and he shakes his head.

"No, it's not like that," he protests, but I see the guilt written all over his face.

"What is it like then? Tell me Brett, was your plan to make it public, to try and make Gideon leave me in disgust and what did you think I would do if he did, come running back to you?" I look at him and see the answer in the look in his eyes to what I have just said.

"Oh my god, I'm right aren't I, you did, you really thought that didn't you?" I take a step back and stare at him.

I have never felt so betrayed or manipulated in my life, I feel physically sick and I have to fight to stop myself from throwing up, in the last few seconds any feelings I ever had for Brett Kline have vanished, I realise that I am shaking violently and Cary wraps his arm around me, while Raul is watching with a concerned expression on his face, but as he reaches for his phone I put my hand up.

"No, don't you dare tattle to Gideon about this!" I snarl.

"But" Raul protests.

"I said no," I snap again and I glare at him to reinforce my words.

I see Raul visibly struggle with what he has obviously been told to do by Gideon, and what I am asking... demanding.

"Raul, I'm fine, but I'm warning you if you touch that damn phone, I will break it!" I say.

Raul nods and pushes his phone back into his pocket, but he doesn't look happy about it. Cary has his arm now wrapped around me and he is trying to get my attention.

"Come on baby girl, you have your answer, let's go," he says.

I shake his arm off, "No not yet, I want Brett to answer for his actions, I need to know the truth," I say.

Cary is trying to remove me but I ignore him, staring at Brett with such hostility he looks uncomfortable.

Eventually, he cracks, he sighs and waves his hands in the air.

"Ok yes, I admit I knew about the tape, but it was never going to be released, I wouldn't do that to you, I just wanted to make it public about its existence," he says.

"To try and split me and Gideon up?" I ask.

Brett hesitates, and then nods, "Yes, because I wanted to try and split you and Cross up, and I also knew it wouldn't hurt to use the publicity for the album, the story behind the song, even Christopher Vidal said that, and he is Cross's brother"

I go cold at that, "Christopher Vidal knows about the tape?" I say quietly.

Brett nods, unaware of the panic surging through me at this, he is the last person I need involved with this, Christopher hates Gideon and this would be perfect for him to use against his brother.

"I want you back Eva, I love you," Brett whines and my attention is brought back to him, I stare at him derisively.

"You have a fucking funny way of showing it," I snarl at him.

I shrug out of Cary's hold and take a menacing step towards Brett. "Just so we are very clear on this, you never thought it was going to be released?" I look at him questioningly and he nods.

"So explain to me why Gideon flew to California just a few days ago and called in too many favours to count, to put in place an injunction to stop a public auction of it?" I say as I stand in front of Brett with my hands on my hips.

He blanches and shakes his head, and he does look genuinely shocked by that revelation.

"Honestly Eva I know nothing of that, believe me, Sam assured me he wouldn't release it, it was just something to stir things up a bit, I had no idea he was actually planning on selling the fucking thing".

He looks angry now and pulls his phone from his pocket, "Yimara, what the fuck are you playing at, you assured me that tape would never be released?"

He listens and sighs and closes his eyes.

"Right ok, well I'm not signing any waver and I want it plus any copies, tonight I'm back in town right now, I have a gig later so you'd better get a move on," he says.

He listens and then frowns and glances at me.

"I see," he says and hangs up.

He pushes his phone away and hesitating for a moment, he looks at me apologetically, "Well it appears Sam has screwed us both over, he has obviously found a loophole of some kind, and he said he has a private buyer for it, who he is meeting this evening," Brett says.

I go cold and start to shake uncontrollably, "No" I gasp and I feel my legs give way.

Cary grabs me and pulls me close. "You are a fucking asshole Kline" he spits at him, "Come on baby girl let's get out of here," he says to me.

"Eva wait," Brett says reaching for me I pull my arms up away from him.

"Don't fucking touch me!" I shriek, which draws the attention, not only of the roadies who are working a few feet away, but also the band who are setting up for the sound check.

"Eva please, I'm sorry, I love you, give me another chance, please tell me I have a chance," Brett begs.

I straighten and stare at him coldly, "Are you totally deranged? No chance, Never ever, to begin your plan didn't work, because Gideon had already married me by the time you and Sam cooked up your little plot."

I wave my ring finger at him and his eyes bulge and his jaw drops.

"And secondly, I will never forgive you for even thinking about doing what you did, let alone going ahead with it and I never want to see you again, Never ever contact me again," I hiss.

"Eva" he argues.

I shake my head, "No, you've not changed Brett, you were an asshole before and you are an even bigger one now, I never want to see you again, Goodbye."

When we are outside I am hyperventilating and shaking profusely, panic has set in at the knowledge that someone is going to buy footage of me having sex and other things with Brett Kline. I want Gideon, I need him desperately and I fumble for my phone, my hands shaking so violently that I can barely dial the number.

He answers on the first ring "Angel" he says.

"Gideon" I sob, letting the tears flow.

"Angel, what is it, what's wrong? Where's Raul?" he asks immediately on alert.

"Raul is here, and before you rip him a new one, I threatened him when he tried to call you," I say.

"Alright, we will discuss that later, but tell me why you are upset?" he says.

My mind returns to the tape out there in the wild and I feel sick again, "I need you" I blurt out pathetically with another sob.

"Talk to me Eva" he demands.

I tell him of my altercation with Brett and his call to Sam and how Sam told him he was selling the tape tonight. I wait for the explosion but it doesn't come, instead, I get a calm reassuring voice.

"Eva, calm down, and listen to me, I am the buyer, I am here in California now and I have been here all day, I followed you out here last night on another plane, I had literally just landed when I called you, when you were with your dad, but I didn't tell you I was here because I knew you wanted to handle everything with Kline on your own, and I wanted to prove to you that I trusted you, after all the dumb things I said, but I swear to you that the meeting with Yimara was already scheduled," he says.

I stare at my phone his words registering in my brain, once again Gideon is taking care of me, quietly in the background he is watching over me and protecting me, but once again he is also keeping secrets and keeping things from me.

"Where are you staying?" I ask.

"I have booked into a suite at one of my hotels," he says.

I remember what Brett said, "Christopher knows about the tape as well, Brett mentioned it he said that Christopher thought it would be good publicity for the album, so I am guessing he has seen it," I say.

"Is that right? Well don't worry about Christopher, I will handle him" Gideon says coldly.

I close my eyes, all my anxiety draining from me in a rush and it makes me feel a little light headed, when I open them Cary is watching me carefully.

"Thank you, Gideon" I whisper.

"No problem Angel" he replies, "is that all or is there anything else you need?" he asks.

"Apart from you" I whisper.

I hear him growl and it fills me with a throbbing hunger for him, and I am tempted to ask which hotel he is in and go straight to him. Then I remember Cary's problem with Tatiana.

"There is something else, I don't know if you can help or not, but we have a theory about Tatiana and we need help finding out the truth about her," I say.

"Tatiana?" Gideon questions.

"Tatiana Cherlin, the model Cary has been seeing, the one who claims to be pregnant with his baby," I say.

"Oh her, what do you need?" he asks.

I quickly outline everything we discussed with Dr Travis and how I have this hunch that I can't shake that she is lying about being pregnant and how we need to find out the truth. "Do you know how we could find out?" I ask nervously, knowing what I am asking is hardly legal.

There is a pause before Gideon speaks, "Is Cary with you now?" he asks eventually.

"Yes" I reply.

"Put him on," he says.

I hold out my phone to Cary, "Gideon wants to talk to you – about Tat" I say, Cary nods and takes my phone from me. I watch as he talks to Gideon giving him all the information he has on Tatiana and then he hangs up, handing me back my phone he smiles at me.

"Thanks," he says, "What did Cross say about the tape?" he asks.

"He told me that he is the buyer and that he has been in California as long as we have," I say.

Cary's jaw drops at that, "really?!" he says.

I nod, "really" I confirm.

"What do you want to do now?" Cary asks me as we walk away from the concert venue, he is watching me carefully.

I sigh, and think for a moment and then I smile, "Shall we go to Pete's for old times' sake?" I say.

I see Cary smile widely, "Yeah why not," he says, he holds out his hand to me and I slip mine into his and ignoring Raul who is on the phone inside the car we make our way to the bar.

When we arrive I stop, leaning against a small wall and take a moment to look at the place, as I do so a myriad of memories of the times I screwed Brett in the public bathrooms here or fell to my knees for him invade my mind and fill me with deep shame and I fight down another wave of nausea threatening to engulf me as the memories replay in my head and I don't want to go in there anymore.

"I feel so dirty," I say suddenly, as I go through the events of tonight and they become entwined with my less than savoury memories of my times here with Brett, and a sob escapes before I can stop it. I shuffle so I am sitting on the wall that I have been leaning against, as my legs go wobbly and I wrap my arms around myself fighting back a wave of nausea.

Cary immediately pulls me into a hug, "No baby girl, you shouldn't, you were a different girl back then, and they took advantage of it. I'm shocked, I always thought Brett was a good guy but this what Sam is doing... well its low, but it seems like Cross has got your back and is making sure it doesn't get out."

Cary shakes his head and rubs his hand up and down my back comforting me. Then I feel him stiffen suddenly, and I look up to see what has caused it.

"Well, look who the cat just dragged in," he sneers.

I look around and see Cary nodding towards the unmistakable form of Sam Yimara arrive in his car, he doesn't see us watching him as he parks up and enters the bar with brown paper bag under his arm, as he does so I look at Cary, I am putting two and two together, realising that if Sam is here, that means Gideon is too and probably already inside.

My reluctance to go in there vanishes with that thought and I stand and follow him in, not only eager to see my husband, but I am also ready to fight as I have never been so pissed in my life. As I walk in I see Sam greeting Gideon with a greedy look on his face, he practically has dollar signs shining in his eyes.

Cary goes to walk closer but I grab his arm, and we move out of the way so we can watch, and see Gideon without interrupting or ruining what he had set up.

I smile as I watch my husband totally run rings around Yimara, he intimidates him and quite frankly scares the shit out of him, I also learn from their conversation that Gideon has bought this bar which surprises me, and I watch as he grinds Sam Yimara down, he never for one moment lets him get into the conversation let alone the upper hand. It is beautiful to watch and to know my husband is doing this for me brings a lump to my throat, not to mention the fact it makes my chest tighten with emotion.

I watch as Gideon wraps things up and then to my great surprise he looks up, and glances in our direction.

"You can come out now Angel" he calls.

I smile as I realise he knew I was there all along, then it hits me I bet Raul tailed us here and told Gideon we were coming.

I step out from my hiding place and stalk purposefully towards my husband, he wraps his arm around me and presses a kiss to my forehead before handing me the brown paper grocery bag, "this belongs to you Angel," he says.

"Thank you," I say gratefully and rise up and press a kiss to his lips, I feel tears starting to well up in my eyes once more, but these are tears of relief and happiness. Then I glance inside the bag and see a DVD, a number of ancient VHS videos and a couple of memory sticks.

"Is this everything?" I ask Sam who looks thunderstruck and nods absently.

"It had better be," I spit, I am itching to punch him but instead, summoning all the self-control and dignity I have I decide he isn't worth it, so I give him a filthy look and then spin on the spot and leave with my head held high. Cary and Gideon follow me in silence, as we walk outside I spot Raul lurking in the shadows.

When we get back to my dad's, I set to and wipe all the memory sticks and the DVD and then I take them along with the video tapes, out to the backyard and I grab my dad's axe which he uses to chop logs and I smash everything to smithereens.

"Do you feel better now Angel?" Gideon says, I turn to face him just watching me indulging in my fit of destruction, he is leaning, his arms folded across his chest against the wall in the failing light.

I nod and after I glance at the now destroyed tapes, DVD and memory sticks I drop the axe and as I walk towards him he unfolds and I walk into his arms. He catches me and holds me tightly.

"Thank you so much," I say fiercely as I wrap my arms around him.

"I was my honour and my pleasure," he replies as he pulls me close and devours my mouth.

oooOOOooo

It's nearly 7pm when my dad gets back from work and he looks tired, I immediately greet him with a warm hug. I glance around to see Gideon joining us in the kitchen and I feel my father stiffen when he sees Gideon appear in the doorway and he eyes him warily.

"Victor" Gideon says stepping forward his hand outstretched. I step aside so my dad can greet Gideon and I pray that he does so with good grace.

My dad hesitates a moment, a muscle jumping in his jaw and then he reaches out and accepts the handshake.

"Cross" he says, the tone warning verging on downright hostility, is clear in his voice.

I look at my husband but he appears to be totally unconcerned, "If you are agreeable, I'd like to take you all out for dinner?" Gideon says politely, but I also detect a similar note of warning in his tone.

I watch as my father visibly struggles with this and I quickly step in, "but if you are too tired I can cook you something here?" I offer.

My father smiles at me, "No, I'm fine, let's go out for dinner," he says and he shoots Gideon a look as he says it.

He steps away and heads to his room to shower and change and about an hour later we are all heading out. Cary gives me a meaningful look and I am sure he has picked up on the thick, awkward atmosphere which is surrounding our little party as we leave the house. It's like a pissing contest, both my father and Gideon are true alpha males, and neither of them want to appear as though they are backing down.

"Where are we going?" I ask Gideon, as we leave the house.

"A little place that was recommended to me," Gideon says, I look at Cary and he shrugs.

We pull up outside a really expensive looking place and I see the look on my dad's face, and I feel uncomfortable, I glance at Gideon who has his inscrutable impassive mask firmly in place.

What is he playing at? He is clearly making some sort of statement but I haven't figured out what it is yet. Or is he simply punishing my father for his reaction to the fact we are married and the way he upset me?

I don't say anything and Gideon grasps my hand and we all follow him inside, he strides confidently up to the desk and waits, "reservation in the name of Cross" he says carefully.

The man beams at him, "Mr Cross, I'm delighted you could make it, please come this way, your table is waiting for you and your guests."

We are shown to a secluded corner at obviously the best table in the place, and a waiter comes up and shows Gideon a bottle of wine.

"Compliments of house sir," he says.

Gideon nods and the waiter makes a show of opening it.

My dad looks at me and then watches the proceedings carefully without comment. The way the waiter is fussing around Gideon I can't help but wonder if this is one of his places.

I glance at Cary and watch as his eyes dart from my father who is sitting glowering at Gideon and Gideon who is not giving anything away. The waiter opens the bottle of wine and offers a small amount to Gideon. I watch as he accepts it and takes a sip and then simply nods. When the waiter has poured the wine and disappeared, a blanket of silence descends over us all. My father sits playing with his wine glass making its contents move around.

"Is this one of yours?" I ask Gideon quietly after the waiter finally leaves us.

Gideon shakes his head, "No" he says shortly, but doesn't elaborate further and silence once again descends.

Eventually, Gideon opens his mouth to speak.

"So, as you requested, I am here, you said wanted to speak with me, or are we going to sit in silence all evening?" he says directly to my father, then with a deliberate movement he lifts his glass and takes a sip of his wine.

I reach for Gideon's free hand and he responds by grasping mine and lifting it to his mouth and kissing my knuckles softly.

I hear my father clear his throat, "First of all, why did you lie to me?" he asks after a moment.

Gideon's eyebrows rise significantly, and he sits back in his chair, his surprise... no, shock at my father's accusation is evident.

"I have spoken nothing but the truth to you Victor," he retorts.

My father shakes his head, "No, you haven't, you mislead me, which in my book is the same as lying. When you asked for my blessing to marry my daughter, you assured me that you would wait, you said you would wait to ask Eva to marry you, that it wasn't happening yet, then five minutes later you've not only asked her but whisked her away and married her without any of her family present."

Gideon sighs and grips my hand even tighter, he leans forward and I can see him choosing his words carefully so he doesn't antagonise my father any further.

"I can understand how it looks to you, but the truth is, I was planning on waiting, but then I realised I couldn't wait a moment longer, I love Eva with all my heart, my life began when she came into it and I realised that I didn't want to wait a moment longer, to make her mine," he pauses and gives me a scorching look as he says this.

I swallow hard as his blue eyes bore into me. Then he turns towards my father and the shutters come down once more.

"I understand that looks like I was going against what I had said to you, but I wasn't intentionally misleading you, I am not guilty of lying, all I am guilty of, is loving Eva, having no patience and so changing my mind on the timescale I had previously decided upon," he pauses again.

"You also have to remember I am a public figure, the media take an interest in me because of who I am and what I have built, and also sadly because of who my family is, or more significantly, was. I wanted Eva to have a wedding day that was private, and not spending the day dodging the media and turning what should be a personal intimate occasion into a three ring circus, and I won't lie to you I desired a ceremony where it was just us, the only people who really mattered, and I looked into various options of how I could give her a private wedding and also get the wedding day I desired, to put to Eva when I made my move. I naturally started off my research by looking at my own chain of hotels, as I knew some of them offered wedding packages and I knew that if I was to use one of my hotels I could guarantee Eva's privacy, and so when the opportunity to take Eva to the Caribbean presented itself, I took it. But we are renewing our vows in December so that everyone who wishes to celebrate with us will have a chance to participate." he stops talking and takes a long drink of his wine.

My attention turns to my father, and he considers what Gideon has said and he sighs and nods.

"I can understand that," he says eventually.

I feel Gideon relax slightly and nod, "Anything else?" he asks, and I can't help but notice that there is still a slight bite to his tone.

My father leans forward, "What is that woman to you?" he asks.

"Dad," I say warningly, Gideon looks confused, and looks to me for guidance.

I squeeze his hand, "My dad saw pictures of you online... with Corinne, and he asked me if she was another of your sisters and I... I said... no" I stop speaking remembering how hurt I felt when I saw the pictures of Gideon and Corinne socialising together at a time where I wasn't sure we were even together anymore, and it must show on my face as Gideon leans down and kisses my head reassuringly.

I look up and into my husband's face, and instead of answering my father he turns his full attention to me, "You know she means nothing to me, whereas you mean everything," he says earnestly and then when he is satisfied that I am happy with what he said, he looks at my father once more to answer his question, but before he can say anything my father speaks again.

"I need to know if you are going to be faithful to my daughter, because let me tell you, your wealth does not impress me, it does not intimidate me and it does not scare me, your wealth does not give you the right to do as you please, or play with other people's lives and believe me if you hurt my daughter in any way, any way at all I will find you and I will hurt you," my dad says coldly.

"Daddy, please," I say, dragging my eyes away from my husband, slightly shocked at my dad's fierce admonition.

I feel Gideon stiffen slightly, as he opens his mouth to speak.

"Victor, first of all, the woman in those photographs is Mrs Corinne Giroux," he emphasises the word Mrs and then pauses and lets that sink in a moment before he continues.

"She is an old friend of mine, and her marriage has recently broken up she has now returned to the United States after living in Europe for a number of years, and we were photographed together whilst catching up, nothing more. Just as Eva has previously been photographed with Cary and assumptions have been made in the media regarding their relationship."

I know there was more to it than that, but I also now know that the photographs my father is referring to, were taken the night Gideon killed Nathan and he was setting up his airtight alibi for his whereabouts. I return my attention to Gideon who is still talking.

"I have made it clear to Mrs Giroux that all I can offer her is friendship, and she knows the extent of my relationship with Eva and how important she is to me. We have a history, but I can't help that, when we were young and immature we thought it would be a good idea to get engaged, but we soon both realised it was a mistake and broke it off, she moved on and married, but we remained friends, that is all."

Gideon stops speaking and takes another gulp of his wine.

"Secondly, I have no intention of ever hurting Eva, she is my life, she is my reason for living, when I asked for your blessing I promised you I would keep Eva safe and happy, that pledge has not changed and never will, but if I ever did hurt Eva - which I won't, I would expect nothing less than your full retaliation and vengeance and I would accept any punishment you saw fit to give me, but let me tell you, if I ever hurt Eva, any punishment you could give me would be nothing compared to the retribution I would give myself".

I take in a sharp breath at his words, but Gideon's only reaction to it is to squeeze my hand a little tighter, while he looks intently at my father.

My dad nods, "Alright, I'll believe that, and I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, Eva's happiness is paramount here and she appears to love you," he pauses and turns his attention to me, "Do you believe him?" he asks.

As my dad says that I feel Gideon stiffen slightly and I nod fervently, "I do" I say.

I feel Gideon squeeze my fingers, and see him take in a sharp breath, I know it means everything to him that he is believed, more importantly, that I believe him, in fact I would go as far as saying he views my trust in him and my belief in what he tells me, as my love for him, and he craves it so much that he would never jeopardise it.

"Does he make you happy?" my father pushes.

I nod my head again, "he does daddy, I've never been happier than I have, since I have been with Gideon" I say sincerely, I see Gideon inhale deeply once again at my words.

I watch as my dad thinks about that and he seems to come to some conclusion, he takes a deep breath and stands to offer Gideon his hand.

"Fair enough," he says simply, "I can live with that," he adds.

Gideon rises gracefully and releasing my hand he shakes my father's hand, before retaking his seat. I glance at Cary who smiles.

The atmosphere lifts and lightens, and the meal is much less awkward after that, my dad makes an effort to include Gideon in his chat and to his credit Gideon responds and offers some small talk of his own and I love them both for the effort they are showing, I can tell that my dad isn't totally sold on Gideon and Gideon also knows it, but the fact remains that they are making the effort and I know it is solely for my benefit.

Talk moves towards the vow renewal, and my dad asks questions about who will be attending.

"Well, I am going to ask Gideon's sister Ireland to be a bridesmaid," I begin, I wait for Gideon to elaborate further but he stays silent.

"So, our side, Mom, Stanton, you - of course, Cary, I want to invite Dr Travis and I also have a few friends, who I'd like to invite" I pause, and wait for Gideon to speak up but he still remains silent.

"I am assuming Gideon will invite his mother and stepfather and as I say I am going to ask Ireland to be a bridesmaid" I pause and glance at Gideon, "what are we doing about Christopher?" I ask hoping Gideon will take my cue and say something.

"Nothing, with luck he won't come," Gideon replies coldly.

"Who is that?" my dad asks.

"Gideon's brother" I reply.

"Don't you get along with your brother Gideon?" my dad asks and Gideon sighs.

"You could say that my brother takes sibling rivalry to the extreme," he explains, he takes a drink of his wine, "I would have it differently but he seems to view me as some kind of rival, a competitor" he stops speaking and I can hear the tinge of pain in his voice at the way Christopher behaves.

"The guy is a total douche... no offence," Cary says speaking for the first time.

"None taken" Gideon replies.

I watch my father take in this information, "Christopher isn't a nice person" I add for good measure.

"Where will the ceremony be held?" my dad asks.

I shrug, "we haven't decided yet, I'm sure mom will want somewhere spectacular, but I really don't mind, but I think it will be somewhere in New York," I say.

My dad nods and leans forward, "I would like to contribute, financially, I realise it isn't a wedding as such as that has already happened, but I want to make some contribution to proceedings" he stops looking at me and then Gideon.

I smile lovingly at my dad, "Thank you daddy" I say gratefully, I don't try and dissuade him as I know this is a point of pride for him.

He smiles at me, "I guess I should ask how much resistance I'm going to get from your mother about wanting to pay my share?" he says.

"I'll talk to her," I say firmly. I was planning on doing that anyway, as I don't want my dad feeling like a poor relation.

Gideon leans forward at this, "I would like you to know that it would be my pleasure to provide transportation for you, it would also give me a chance to contribute," he waits and my dad nods.

"Thank you that's very generous of you," he says.

Gideon waves his hand dismissively, "Not at all, also I would like to make it clear to you that I consider it a standing offer, any time you want to fly to New York to see Eva just let me know and with an hour's notice I can have you in the air, it will maximise your time with Eva and make working around schedules easier," he waits for my dad's response to this.

My dad hesitates and then nods, "thank you, that's very kind of you... I don't know what to say" he stops.

Gideon smiles, "It would give me no greater pleasure than facilitating your visits with Eva and making it easier for you to see each other, I know it would make Eva happy," he says and reaches for my hand once more.

My dad smiles, "Thank you Gideon," he says eventually.

As the evening comes to an end, I'm feeling really tired and as I stifle a yawn, Gideon's phone starts to ring and he pulls it from his pocket and glances at the screen. I watch him as he stands, frowning.

"If you would excuse me I need to take this," he says as he steps away.

A few moments later he returns and smiles apologetically. "Sorry about that, unexpected issues have arisen in New York, and I'm afraid I need to return tonight."

I stare at him, "Oh ok" I say, I'm slightly disappointed that our time together has been cut short and wondering what could possibly have happened this late in the evening, considering New York is also a few hours ahead.

Gideon calls for the bill and as we leave I see Raul waiting by the kerb to take us back to my father's house, and parked up behind him is another SUV with Angus sitting in the driver's seat, obviously waiting for Gideon to take him to the airport. I am surprised Angus is here but realise he must have accompanied Gideon when he flew out.

I watch as Gideon apologises once more to my father for cutting short his visit, and after establishing that everything is now good between them and that he has answered all the concerns my father had he shakes his hand and then turns his attention to me.

"I'll see you tomorrow evening Angel," he says as he brushes his fingers down my cheek. I close my eyes and lean into his touch, and he brings his other hand up and cupping my face, he kisses me sweetly on the lips.

I step into him and wrap my arms around his neck and he pulls me close, burying his face in my hair.

"I need to go, my plane is waiting," he whispers apologetically.

"Ok," I say but make no move to remove myself from him.

"Come on Angel I need to go," he says with a little more determination. With a sigh I let him go, he leans down and kisses me once more before climbing into the waiting car.

I watch the car disappear before climbing into ours with Cary and my father. When we arrive back at my father's house, my dad gets out and heads inside.

"Mrs Cross, Mr Taylor, if I could have a brief word," Raul says politely as we climb out of the car.

We pause and wait looking expectantly at him.

I watch as Raul looks at Cary sympathetically, "I have managed to find out about Ms Cherlin, and I can confidently tell you that she is not pregnant and never has been," he says.

I see Cary gasp and stagger on the spot a little, and I immediately reach for him and grasp his hand.

I knew it! She was trying to trap him, cause trouble and separate him from me and from Trey.

"Oh my god Cary, I'm so sorry" I blurt out.

"Forget it baby girl, you were right about her and now I know the truth," he says tightly.

"There is more," Raul says hesitantly.

We look at him once more waiting for him to elaborate.

"I did some digging, and I'm afraid it appears that on her recent visit to Europe, she met up with a man and she seems to be having some sort of relationship with him," Raul pauses, and Cary swallows hard.

"Thank you for finding that out for me," he says his voice slightly shaking.

Raul nods and we climb out of the car and head inside.

"What are you going to do now?" I ask.

Cary shrugs, "I have no idea, I am going to end it with Tat, that's a no-brainer, I can't be with her after that sort of lie, I want to try and make things right with Trey, but I don't know if he will want to" he looks at me, he looks devastated.

I reach for his hand and grip it tightly, "Why don't you give Trey a call and tell him, talk to him and be honest with him, tell him you and Tat are totally finished, but be honest with him, tell him why you finished with her, tell him everything that has happened – including what she tried to do to you and take it from there and see what he says" I say, hoping that if Cary opens up with Trey he will see he isn't the only one making an effort.

"Yeah, yeah I think I will," he says and I see the determination on his face, he pulls his phone from his pocket and disappears into his room.

I hear my phone ping alerting me to that fact I have received an email regarding a Google alert on Gideon and I absently pull out my phone and as I do so a text comes in, from the man himself.

I have made our marriage public, I'm sorry I didn't discuss it – it was necessary, I will explain everything later Gx

My mouth drops open and I quickly check my phone which is currently going wild, pinging constantly and now I know why my email is being filled with constant Google alerts because the internet has gone into meltdown with the news that Gideon and I are married. I flick through the alerts and gasp as I see a picture, a very intimate picture of Gideon kissing me on the beach when we said our vows, I didn't even know this picture had been taken and I stare at it, memories of that day flooding my mind.

I wonder if this sudden surprise announcement has something to do with the issue that had Gideon hot-footing it back to New York tonight.