Really," I insisted, when he shot me a skeptical look.
"Gideon took care of me."
"Okay, but is that really so great if he's the reason you were stressed enough to have the nightmare to begin with?" I filled mugs for both of us, adding sugar to mine and cream to both.
As I did, I told him about Corinne and the Waldorf dinner, then the argument I'd had with Gideon over her appearance at the Crossfire.
Cary stood with his hip cocked into the counter, his legs crossed at the ankle, and one arm banding his chest.
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 f**ked 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."