Entwined with You(118)

“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 f*cked 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 f*cking 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?”