Reflected in You: A Crossfire Novel

He sipped his coffee. “No explanation, huh?”
    I shook my head, feeling the weight of Gideon’s silence. “How about you? How are you doing?”
    “You just gonna change the subject?”
    “What else is there to say? It’s a one-sided story.”
    “You ever stop to think that he might always have secrets?”
    Frowning, I lowered my mug. “What do you mean?”
    “I mean he’s the twenty-eight-year-old son of a suicidal Ponzi scheme swindler, and he just happens to own a large chunk of Manhattan.” One brow arched upward in challenge. “Think about it. Can they really be mutually exclusive things?”
    Lowering my gaze to my mug, I took a drink and didn’t confess that I’d wondered the same thing once or twice. The extent of Gideon’s fortune and empire was staggering, especially considering his age. “I can’t see Gideon bilking people, not when it’s more of a challenge to accomplish what he has legitimately.”
    “With all the secrets he’s got, can you be sure you know him well enough to make that judgment call?”
    I thought of the man who’d spent the night with me and felt relief at how sure I was about my answer—at least at that moment. “Yes.”
    “All right, then.” Cary shrugged. “I talked to Dr. Travis yesterday.”
    My thoughts immediately veered in another direction at the mention of our therapist in San Diego. “You did?”
    “Yeah. I really fucked up the other night.”
    From the agitated way he scooped his long bangs back from his face, I knew he was referring to the orgy I’d walked in on.
    “Cross broke Ian’s nose and split his lip,” he said, reminding me of how violently Gideon had responded to Cary’s . . . friend rudely propositioning me to join them. “I saw Ian yesterday and he looks like he was hit in the face with a brick. He was asking who clocked him, so he could press charges.”
    “Oh.” My lungs seized for the length of two heartbeats. “Oh, crap.”
    “I know. Billionaire plus lawsuit equals beaucoup bucks. What the fuck was I thinking?” Cary closed his eyes and rubbed them. “I told him I didn’t know who your date was, that it was some guy you picked up and dragged home. Cross blindsided him, so Ian didn’t see shit.”
    “The two girls with you got a real good look at Gideon,” I said grimly.
    “They took off out that door”—Cary pointed across the living room as if our door were still reverberating with the slam—“like she-bats out of hell. They didn’t go to the urgent care with us, and neither of us knows who they are. If Ian doesn’t run into them again, we’re okay.”
    I rubbed at the quiver in my tummy, feeling unsettled again.
    “I’ll keep an eye on the situation,” he assured me. “The whole night was a major wake-up call, and talking it out in therapy gave me some perspective. Afterward, I went to see Trey. To apologize.”
    Hearing Trey’s name made me sad. I’d hoped Cary’s budding relationship with the veterinary student would work out, but Cary had sabotaged that. As usual. “How’d that go?”
    He shrugged again, but the movement was awkward. “I hurt him the other night because I’m an asshole. Then I hurt him again yesterday trying to do the right thing.”
    “Did you break it off?” I held my hand out to him and squeezed his when he placed it in mine.
    “It’s seriously cooled off. Like on ice. He wants me to be gay, and I’m not.”
    It was painful to hear that someone wanted Cary to be anything other than who he was, because it’d always been that way for him. I couldn’t understand why. To me, he was wonderful as is. “I’m so sorry, Cary.”
    “So am I, because he’s a great guy. I’m just not ready for the stress and demands of a complicated relationship right now. I’m working a lot. I’m not stable enough yet to be fucked up in the head.” His lips pursed. “You might want to think about that, too. We just moved out here. We’ve both still got some settling in to do.”
    I nodded, understanding where he was coming from and not disagreeing, but unwavering in my decision to see my relationship with Gideon through. “Did you talk to Tatiana, too?”
    “No need.” His thumb brushed over my knuckles before he released me. “She’s easy.”
    Snorting, I took a large gulp of my cooling coffee.
    “Not just that way,” he chided, giving me a wicked grin. “I mean she doesn’t expect anything or make any demands. As long as I suit up and she orgasms at least as many times