Page 57 of Ireland

“Oh, you know.” She waved a careless hand as if the company wasn’t failing due to its debt. “Having a clean slate when I get started.”

“Don’t do it. Once you start pouring your personal wealth into a company, you’re both in trouble. Buy the shares, get the company in a position to sustain itself, then make it profitable. If it fails—and I’m not doubting your ability, just observing that the music industry is facing extreme challenges—you’re going to be just fine.”

Staring at him, she chewed on her inner lip and debated arguing. Paying Ronan off and getting him out of her life was such an attractive possibility that she ached to make it reality. If she never saw or heard from him again, she’d never risk doing something stupid.

It was the height of irony that her feelings for every other man she’d been with had turned on and off as easily as flipping a light switch. But Ronan, the gravest threat yet, was proving harder for her to shake off. All afternoon, she’d been fighting the urge to call him and attempt to change his mind somehow.

You could have me if you’d just pick me over Vidal!But he’d already made his choice, and he’d done so when she’d been sitting right in front of him, still warm and pliant from sharing his bed.

In the end, she had to take Gideon’s advice because he was right, and she knew it. If she couldn’t save Vidal without transfusing her own money into it, then it couldn’t be saved, and she had to accept that. All she could commit to was trying her best.

“You’re right,” she agreed. “Thanks for keeping me straight.”

Her brother’s smile was so warm it thawed some of the chill left by Ronan’s betrayal. “I’m proud of you for taking this step. It’s a big deal to take control and bigger yet that you want to.”

Ireland smiled back, feeling a little more settled. Yes, circumstances had forced her hand, but she was making a major shift in her life no matter the reason.

“Do you want me to schedule the wire transfer?” he asked.

Gathering up her purse, she stood. “I feel bad asking you to do that. It’s way beneath your pay grade.”

Her brother stood, too. “It’s not a problem.”

“Thank you.” She rounded the coffee table. “Knowing that’s handled without me screwing up an account number or something is a relief, and I appreciate it.”

He draped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into a side hug. “I’m about done for the day. Want a lift home?”

“No, thanks. I’m going back to the office for a bit. Lots to get done before tomorrow morning.”

Gideon pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll have Raúl take you back.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. But only because you won’t let me say no.”

“Don’t work too late, either,” he called after her as she pushed through his office door.

“Hey.” She stopped on the threshold. There was a reason her brother was at work late after Eva had already left. His competitive drive was fierce, and closing deals satisfied it. “Think you could use a warehouse in Queens?”

He gave her a thoughtful look. “Possibly.”

“There’s a family clothing business using the building now, but you could move them to another of your properties that would suit them better. They’re getting forced out, so if you went in with an offer to relocate them, I’m sure you’d be more attractive. I figure if someone else wants it, there has to be potential.”

“Where did you get your information?”

She gave an offhanded shrug and smiled inwardly at the bright acquisitiveness in his gaze. “I overheard it in a bar. The guy was an asshole, so I’m happy to foil his plans. You’d have to move fast, though. Sounded like he almost had it in the bag.”

His smile was sharply amused. “Thanks for the tip.”

“Anytime, bro.” Ireland whistled on the way to the elevator.

Gideon ate his dinner as quietly as possible in the wingback chair beside the sofa where his wife lay sleeping. Eva had fallen asleep with the television on, a throw blanket pulled over her bare legs, both hands tucked beneath her chin as she slept on her side. Her face was scrubbed clean—he could see the smattering of freckles on her nose—and her voluptuous figure was draped in one of his t-shirts.

Lucky sat at his feet, hoping for a bite of the steak he’d cut into pieces in the kitchen to keep the noise down, but there was a circular imprint in the blanket by Eva’s tummy that told him the beagle had previously been curled up with his mom.

Being the early riser in their marriage, Gideon spent time every morning just watching over Eva as she dreamed. It was a privilege he never took for granted, the joy of watching her eyes blink open and then focus on him. There had been a time when having someone share his life seemed impossible. He’d never dwelled on being alone, but he had been. Intrinsically so.

But the moment he’d first spotted Eva outside the Crossfire Building, he’d felt a deep, almost primordial recognition. Shewas a stranger then, but he somehow knew that she carried the missing pieces of his heart and soul inside her. He would never admit to being superstitious, even though he required a specific pen to sign his name, but he believed Eva had been his from time immemorial and would always be his. He’d learned to trust that feeling, to believe that nothing could separate them. The fears he’d once harbored about losing her had been put to rest long ago… It was irrational to have those fears again now.

He set the plate on the floor, and Lucky made short work of the remaining chunks of steak, his tail wagging with joy.

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