It's no secret that you're in New York.
I can't leave you here while I'm gone.
Bring Cary with us if you have to.
You can butt heads with him while you're waiting for me to finish work and f**k you."
"Ha."
Even as I acknowledged his attempt to lighten the strain with humor, I realized what his real objection to being apart from me was - Nathan.
My former stepbrother.
The living nightmare from my past that Gideon seemed to fear might reappear in my present.
It frightened me to concede that he wasn't totally wrong.
The shield of anonymity that had protected me for years had been shattered by our highly public relationship.
God .
we totally didn't have the time to get into that mess, but I knew it wasn't a point Gideon would concede on.
He was a man who claimed his possessions utterly, fought off his competitors with ruthless precision, and would never allow any harm to come to me.
I was his safe place, which made me rare and invaluable to him.
Gideon glanced at his watch.
"Time to go, angel."
He fetched his jacket, then gestured for me to precede him through his luxurious living room, where I grabbed my purse and the bag holding my walking shoes and other necessities.
A few moments later, we'd finished the descent to the ground floor in his private elevator and slid into the back of his black Bentley SUV.
"Hi, Angus," I greeted his driver, who touched the brim of his old- fashioned chauffeur's hat.
"Good morning, Miss Tramell," he replied, smiling.
He was an older gentleman, with a liberal sprinkling of white in his red hair.
I liked him for a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that he'd been driving Gideon around since grade school and genuinely cared for him.
A quick glance at the Rolex my mother and stepfather had given me told me I'd make it to work on time .
if we didn't get boxed in by traffic.
Even as I thought this, Angus slid deftly into the sea of taxis and cars on the street.
After the tense quiet of Gideon's apartment, the noise of Manhattan woke me as effectively as a jolt of caffeine.
The blaring of horns and the thud of tires over a manhole cover invigorated me.
Rapid-moving streams of pedestrians flanked both sides of the clogged street, while buildings stretched ambitiously toward the sky, keeping us in shadow even as the sun climbed.
God, I seriously loved New York.
I took the time every day to absorb it, to try to draw it into me.