Page 2 of Ireland

She stiffened, shocked at hearing her brother say a name she’d never expected to hear again and certainly never from anyone in her family. “Graham? What about him?”

“How do you know him?”

“How doyouknow him?” she countered.

Leaning back, he crossed one ankle atop the opposite knee. “He dropped by the Crossfire on Wednesday, and when he couldn’t get past security, he left a proposed legal filing behind.”

Her entire body absorbed the blow. “What?”

“How do you know him, Ireland?” he repeated patiently.

She squirmed inwardly, hating having to discuss any of her failures with him. “He was a fling that didn’t end up amounting to anything important.”

“He’s a musician.” It wasn’t a question, and there was no censure in his tone, but she felt it anyway.

“He sings and plays guitar. Gideon, wherever this is going, can you get there quicker? What legal filing?”

“He’s alleging you and he had a verbal agreement to produce an album, and he turned down other work because of it, which has had a negative career and financial impact for him.”

What the ever-loving fuck?!

“What career?” she scoffed. “He was playing in random bars. And I never promised himanything. I told him before we hooked up that my work and personal life are totally separate. I was very clear. I always am.”

She’d also made it clear that there would be no introductions to her brothers, but she didn’t include that caveat now because itwas obvious by her actions. There hadn’t been anyone yet whom she’d taken to meet the family.

Closing his eyes, Gideon pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do not ever mention hooking up in my presence again.”

Her breath came swift and fast as the icy knot in her gut tightened painfully. Adrenaline pumped through her veins. It wasn’t because a man she’d once been intimate with betrayed her trust so callously because they all did.

They all wanted something but never her.

What was truly horrific was the targeting of her eldest brother. She did everything within her power to cause him no difficulties, ever. “I’m so sorry, Gideon. This isn’t your problem. I’ll fix it. You won’t hear about this again.”

Gideon’s voice softened from its usual clipped command. “Don’t apologize, and don’t worry. I’ve got it handled.”

“No!” Words rushed out of her mouth in near panic. “Please don’t give this another thought. I understand why he would try to serveyouthe paperwork but forget about this. I can deal with him. He won’t be an issue.”

“I wasn’t served—he hasn’t filed anything yet. He wants a settlement, not a lawsuit.”

Her nostrils flared. “I’m not caving to extortion. He’s not getting a fucking cent.”

Turning her head, she winced at how curt her tone was. It was a side of herself she never wanted Gideon to see.

“His lawyer heard exactly that from Arash yesterday,” he informed her.

Gideon’s attorney was also one of his closest friends, one of Ireland’s favorites. Arash Madani was fun and funny, not to mention extremely attractive, but when he did his job, he went straight for the jugular. If anyone could nip this in the bud, it was Arash. Hearing that the lawyer was involved wasn’t what upset her further.

Standing, Ireland turned to face the window and crossed her arms. Vidal Records was one of the last few holdouts on historic Music Row in the heart of Midtown. Situated on 48thbetween Sixth and Seventh Avenues, Music Row had once been a vibrant community of music shops selling a wide variety of instruments. Most were gone now, torn down to build ever higher, more modern buildings. New York City never stopped evolving, too often to the point of destroying its storied history.

“You’ve known about this for two days,” she noted faintly, “and I’m only just hearing about it.”

“I would never bring you a problem without a solution.”

She blinked hard against the sudden sting of tears. “Does everyone else know?”

“Your father and Christopher do. Vidal Records was named as a co-defendant.”

“You’ve all known since Wednesday? Am I the last to know? Did you tell Eva before me?”

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