Ireland was the one person in Gideo

Ireland was the one person in Gideon’s family for whom he felt untarnished affection, although he tried hard not to show it. I thought maybe he was afraid to be disappointed or afraid he might ruin it somehow. I wasn’t sure what the deal was, but Ireland hero-worshipped her brother and he’d kept his distance, even though he needed love terribly.
“Promise me you’ll try to talk to him,” she pressed. “You still love him, right?”
“More than ever,” I said fervently.
She was quiet for a minute, then said, “He’s changed since he met you.”
“I think so. I’ve changed, too.” I straightened when Mark stepped out of his office. “I have to get back to work, but we’ll catch up tomorrow. And make plans for that girls’ day we talked about.”
“Sweet. Catch you later!”
I hung up, pleased that Gideon had followed through and made plans with Ireland. We were making progress, both together and on our own.
“Baby steps,” I whispered. Then I got back to work.
AT noon, Mark and I headed out to meet Steven at a French bistro. Once we entered the restaurant, it was easy to spot Mark’s partner, even with the size of the place and the number of diners.
Steven Ellison was a big guy—tall, broad shouldered, and heavily muscled. He owned his own construction business and preferred to be working the job sites with his crew. But it was his gloriously red hair that really drew the eye. His sister Shawna had the same hair—and the same fun-loving nature.
“Hey, you!” I greeted him with a kiss on the cheek, able to be more familiar with him than I was with my boss. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you, darlin’. Mark is finally going to make an honest man out of me.”
“It’d take more than marriage to do that,” Mark shot back, pulling out my chair for me.
“When haven’t I been honest with you?” Steven protested.
“Um, let’s see.” Mark got me settled in my seat, then took the one beside me. “How about when you swore marriage wasn’t for you.”
“Ah, I never said it wasn’t for me.” Steven winked at me, his blue eyes full of mischief. “Just that it wasn’t for most people.”
“He was really twisted up over asking you,” I told him. “I felt bad for the guy.”
“Yeah.” Mark flipped through the menu. “She’s my witness to your cruel and unusual punishment.”
“Feel bad for me,” Steven retorted. “I wooed him with wine, roses, and violin players. I spent days practicing my proposal. I still got shot down.”
He rolled his eyes, but I could tell there was a wound there that hadn’t quite healed. When Mark placed his hand over his partner’s and squeezed, I knew I was right.
“So how’d he do it?” I asked, even though Mark had told me.
The waitress, asking if we wanted water, interrupted us. We held her back a minute and ordered our food, too, and then Steven started relaying their anniversary night out.
“He was sweating like mad,” he went on. “Wiping at his face every other minute.”
“It’s summer,” Mark muttered.
“And restaurants and theaters are climate controlled,” Steven shot back. “We went through the whole night with him like that and finally headed home. I got to thinking he wasn’t going to do it. That the night was gonna end and he still wasn’t going to get the damn words out. And there I am wondering if I’ll have to ask him again, just to get it over with. And if he says no again—”
“I didn’t say no the first time,” Mark interjected.
“—I’m going to deck him. Just knock his ass out, toss him on a plane, and head to Vegas, because I’m not getting any younger here.”
“Definitely not mellowing with age, either,” Mark grumbled.
Steven gave him a look. “So we’re climbing out of the limo, and I’m trying to remember that fan-fucking-tastic proposal I came up with before, and he grabs my elbow and blurts out, ‘Steve, damn it. You have to marry me.’ ”
I laughed, leaning back as the waitress put my side salad in front of me. “Just like that.”
“Just like that,” Steven said, with an emphatic nod.
“Very heartfelt.” I gave Mark a thumbs-up. “You rocked it.”
“See?” Mark said. “I got it done.”
“Are you writing your own vows?” I asked. “Because that’ll be really interesting.”
Steven guffawed, snagging the attention of everyone nearby.
I swallowed the cherry tomato I was munching on and said, “You know I’m dying to see your wedding binder, right?”
“Well, it just so happens …”
“You didn’t.” Mark shook his head as Steven reached down and pulled a bulging binder out of a messenger bag on the floor by his chair.
It was so packed that papers were sticking out of the top, bottom, and side.
“Wait ’til you see this cake I found.” Steven pushed the breadbasket aside to make room to open the binder.
I bit back a grin when I saw the dividers and table of contents.
“We are not having a wedding cake in the shape of a skyscraper with cranes and billboards,” Mark said firmly.
“Really?” I asked, intrigued. “Let me see.”
WHEN I got home that night, I dropped my purse and bag off in their usual place, kicked off my shoes, and went straight to the couch. I sprawled across it, staring up the ceiling. Megumi was going to meet me at CrossTrainer at six thirty, so I didn’t have a lot of time, but I felt like I just needed a breather. Starting my period the afternoon before had me riding the edge of irritation and grumpiness, with a dash of exhaustion tossed in for shits and giggles.
I sighed, knowing I was going to have to deal with my mom at some point. We had a ton of crap to work through, and putting it off was starting to bug me. I wished it were as easy to work things out with her as it was with my dad, but that wasn’t an excuse to avoid addressing our issues. She was my mother and I loved her. It was hard on me when we weren’t getting along.
Then my thoughts drifted to Corinne. I guess I should have figured that a woman who would leave her husband and move from Paris to New York for a man wasn’t going to give up on him easily, but still. She had to know Gideon well enough to realize hounding him wasn’t going to work.
And Brett … what was I going to do about him?
The intercom buzzed. Frowning, I pushed to my feet and headed over to it. Had Megumi misunderstood and thought we were meeting here? Not that I minded, but …
“Yes?”
“Hi, Eva,” the guy at the front desk said cheerfully. “NYPD detectives Michna and Graves are here.”
Crap. Everything else lost significance in that moment. Fear spread through me with crawling fingers of ice.
I wanted a lawyer with me. Too much was on the line.
But I didn’t want to seem like I had anything to hide.
I had to swallow twice before I could answer. "Thanks. Can you send them up, please?

Hasil (Bahasa Indonesia) 1:

Irlandia adalah satu-satunya orang dalam keluarga Gideon untuk siapa dia merasa kasih sayang tak bernoda, walaupun dia berusaha keras untuk tidak menunjukkannya. Saya pikir mungkin takut akan kecewa atau takut Dia mungkin merusak itu entah bagaimana. Aku tidak yakin apa kesepakatan itu, tapi Irlandia hero-worshipped kakaknya dan dia telah menjaga jarak, bahkan meskipun ia membutuhkan cinta sangat."Berjanji saya Anda akan mencoba untuk berbicara kepadanya," dia ditekan. "Anda masih mencintai dia, benar?""Lebih dari sebelumnya," kataku sungguh-sungguh.Dia adalah tenang selama satu menit, kemudian berkata, "Ia berubah sejak ia bertemu dengan Anda.""Saya berpikir begitu. Aku telah berubah, juga." Saya meluruskan ketika Mark melangkah keluar dari kantornya. "Aku harus kembali bekerja, tapi kita akan mengejar ketinggalan besok. Dan membuat rencana untuk gadis-gadis itu hari kita bicarakan."Manis. Menangkap Anda kemudian!"Aku menutup, senang bahwa Gideon telah mengikuti melalui dan membuat rencana dengan Irlandia. Kami sedang membuat kemajuan, baik bersama-sama dan kita sendiri."Langkah-langkah bayi," bisikku. Kemudian aku kembali untuk bekerja.PADA siang hari, Mark dan saya menuju keluar untuk bertemu Steven di bistro Prancis. Begitu kita memasuki Restoran, itu mudah untuk mitra Mark tempat, bahkan dengan ukuran tempat dan jumlah pengunjung.Steven Ellison adalah orang besar-tinggi, luas dipikul, dan sangat berotot. Dia dimiliki bisnis konstruksi sendiri dan lebih suka bekerja pekerjaan situs dengan kru. Tapi itu rambutnya mulia merah yang benar-benar menarik mata. Shawna adik nya punya rambut sama — dan sifat bersenang-sama."Hei, Anda!" Saya menyapanya dengan ciuman di pipi, mampu menjadi lebih akrab dengan dia dari I was dengan bos saya. "Selamat.""Terima kasih, darlin'. Mark akhirnya akan menjadikan manusia yang jujur saya.""Itu akan mengambil lebih dari perkawinan untuk melakukan itu," Mark balas, menarik keluar kursi saya untuk saya."Ketika saya belum pernah jujur dengan Anda?" Steven memprotes."Um, mari kita lihat." Mark membuatku menetap di kursi saya, kemudian mengambil satu di samping saya. "Bagaimana ketika Anda bersumpah perkawinan tidak untuk Anda.""Ah, saya tidak pernah mengatakan itu bukan untukku." Steven mengedipkan mata pada saya, matanya biru penuh kejahatan. "Hanya itu tidak untuk kebanyakan orang.""Ia adalah benar-benar berputar atas meminta Anda," kataku kepadanya. "Aku merasa buruk bagi laki-laki.""ya." Mark membalik melalui menu. "Dia adalah saksi untuk hukuman kejam dan tidak biasa Anda.""Merasa buruk bagi saya," Steven menukas. "Saya membujuk penanam modal dia dengan anggur, mawar, dan biola pemain. Aku menghabiskan hari berlatih proposal saya. Aku masih punya menembak ke bawah."Dia memutar matanya, tapi aku bisa mengatakan ada luka sana yang cukup tidak menyembuhkan. Ketika Mark meletakkan tangannya ke atas pasangan dan diperas, aku tahu aku benar."Jadi, bagaimana ia akan melakukan itu?" Saya bertanya, meskipun Mark telah mengatakan kepada saya.Pelayan, bertanya jika kita ingin air, terputus kita. Kami menahannya menit dan memesan makanan kita, juga, dan kemudian Steven menyampaikan malam ulang tahun mereka keluar."Ia adalah berkeringat seperti gila," Dia melanjutkan. "Menyeka wajah nya setiap menit.""Ini adalah musim panas," bergumam Mark."Dan restoran dan bioskop iklim dikendalikan," Steven menembak kembali. "Kami pergi melalui sepanjang malam dengan dia seperti itu dan akhirnya pulang ke rumah. Aku harus berpikir dia tidak akan melakukannya. Bahwa malam akan akhir dan dia masih tidak akan mengeluarkan kata-kata sialan. Dan ada aku bertanya-tanya jika aku harus bertanya lagi, hanya untuk cepat selesai. Dan jika ia mengatakan tidak lagi — ""Saya tidak mengatakan tidak pertama kalinya," Mark sela."-I 'm gonna dek kepadanya. Hanya menjatuhkan pantatnya keluar, melemparkan dia di pesawat, dan kepala ke Vegas, karena saya tidak mendapatkan setiap muda di sini.""Pasti tidak mellowing dengan usia, baik," Mark menggerutu.Steven memberinya terlihat. "Jadi kita sedang mendaki keluar dari limusin, dan saya mencoba untuk ingat bahwa fan-sialan-tastic proposal saya datang dengan sebelumnya, dan dia meraih siku dan blurts, ' Steve, sialan. Anda harus menikah.' ”Aku tertawa, bersandar kembali sebagai pelayan menempatkan salad sisi saya di depan saya. "Hanya seperti itu.""Hanya seperti itu," Steven mengatakan, dengan tegas mengangguk."Sangat tulus." Aku memberikan Mark jempol-up. "Anda bergoyang itu.""Lihat?" Mark mengatakan. "Aku punya itu dilakukan.""Anda menulis janji Anda sendiri?" Saya bertanya. "Karena itu akan benar-benar menarik."Steven guffawed, snagging perhatian orang didekatnya.I swallowed the cherry tomato I was munching on and said, “You know I’m dying to see your wedding binder, right?”“Well, it just so happens …”“You didn’t.” Mark shook his head as Steven reached down and pulled a bulging binder out of a messenger bag on the floor by his chair.It was so packed that papers were sticking out of the top, bottom, and side.“Wait ’til you see this cake I found.” Steven pushed the breadbasket aside to make room to open the binder.I bit back a grin when I saw the dividers and table of contents.“We are not having a wedding cake in the shape of a skyscraper with cranes and billboards,” Mark said firmly.“Really?” I asked, intrigued. “Let me see.”WHEN I got home that night, I dropped my purse and bag off in their usual place, kicked off my shoes, and went straight to the couch. I sprawled across it, staring up the ceiling. Megumi was going to meet me at CrossTrainer at six thirty, so I didn’t have a lot of time, but I felt like I just needed a breather. Starting my period the afternoon before had me riding the edge of irritation and grumpiness, with a dash of exhaustion tossed in for shits and giggles.I sighed, knowing I was going to have to deal with my mom at some point. We had a ton of crap to work through, and putting it off was starting to bug me. I wished it were as easy to work things out with her as it was with my dad, but that wasn’t an excuse to avoid addressing our issues. She was my mother and I loved her. It was hard on me when we weren’t getting along.Then my thoughts drifted to Corinne. I guess I should have figured that a woman who would leave her husband and move from Paris to New York for a man wasn’t going to give up on him easily, but still. She had to know Gideon well enough to realize hounding him wasn’t going to work.And Brett … what was I going to do about him?The intercom buzzed. Frowning, I pushed to my feet and headed over to it. Had Megumi misunderstood and thought we were meeting here? Not that I minded, but …“Yes?”“Hi, Eva,” the guy at the front desk said cheerfully. “NYPD detectives Michna and Graves are here.”Crap. Everything else lost significance in that moment. Fear spread through me with crawling fingers of ice.I wanted a lawyer with me. Too much was on the line.But I didn’t want to seem like I had anything to hide.I had to swallow twice before I could answer. "Thanks. Can you send them up, please?