Previously, Eva had a girls night out with some of her bestest, most minor character pals, and then she and Gideon had sex in his secret lair at da club.
Chapter 10
Now it’s time to have a quiet chapter at home…Or drama. [Matthew says: A chapter without sudden drama apropos of nothing? For a second I thought you had picked up the wrong book.]
A hungover Eva discovers she has a ton of missed calls from her father, mother, and Cary who has chosen to poke his head back into the plot I guess. [Matthew says: Maybe Detective Carey expanded his meticulous search to seeing if the guy he’s investigating is on Google+.]
I called my dad back first, trying to swallow a quick drink of coffee before he answered.
“Eva.”
The anxious way my dad said my name told me something was wrong. I sat up straighter. “Dad … Is everything all right?”
“Why didn’t you tell me about Nathan Barker?” His voice was hoarse and filled with pain. Goose bumps swept across my skin.
Oh, fuck. He knew.
Up until this moment, I had completely forgotten that Eva’s dad had been kept in the dark about Nathan’s abuse. I was not waiting with any sort of anticipation for this ball to drop because I hadn’t even realized it was meant to be a significant ball. In fact, aside from using this as a way to get Eva’s dad into this book, I’m not really sure what the point of him finding out even is.
Eva’s father is understandably distraught:
“I can’t believe you didn’t tell me. Or Monica. My God … She should’ve said something. Should’ve told me.” He sucked in a shaky breath. “I had the right to know!”
Sorrow spread through my chest like acid. My dad—a man whose self-control rivaled Gideon’s—sounded like he was crying.
I set my mug on the coffee table, my breathing fast and shallow. Nathan’s sealed juvenile records had broken open upon his death, exposing the horror of my past to anyone who had the knowledge and means to find it. As a cop, my dad had those means.
At least that part of the plot actually does make sense. For once I completely believe that this is something someone in this book had a clear motivation to do. Should we throw a parade or something?
What I don’t remember/quite understand was why no one ever told Eva’s father? I can understand why she never did, but I am completely with him for feeling outraged that Eva’s mother never informed him of what happened. I think maybe it had to do with the fact that he was a cop or the family was ashamed, but I seriously can’t recall. This is the one fricken time when a little backstory-refresher-session would have actually been welcome.
Eva’s father announces that he’s coming to New York ASAP to see her before hanging up. The fact that this storyline is happening makes me wonder if Eva’s father is going to find out that Gideon killed Nathan…and be totally supportive about it. And then Eva will be like, “Oh, well if my father (who also happens to be a cop) approves then it was deff totes the right thing to do. Whew.” [Matthew says: By this point, anything that doesn’t result in another contrived “and that’s why Gideon and Eva’s love was TESTED” thing sounds good to me.]
I understand and believe that in the context of this book, Gideon did what needed to be done, and it was more interesting than if he’d shot Nathan as he was attacking Eva or something. What I find weird is that I think any character in this series who found out would immediately be like, “That’s just wonderful of Gideon!”
A sad Eva goes to find Gideon in his office where he is entangled in some drama of his own. Of the endlessly rehashed variety.
“I appreciate that you thought of me, but no,” he said in a low, firm voice that was different from the one I’d heard him using before. It was gentler, more intimate. “Of course we’re friends. You know why … I can’t give you what you want from me.”
I rounded the corner into his office and saw him at his desk, his head down as he listened.
“Stop,” he said icily. “This isn’t the tack you want to take with me, Corinne.”
Why is Corinne even still in these books when Deanna seems to be the new scorned lover locked in battle with Gideon and Eva? [Matthew says: Day is at the “add more antagonists to each entry!” part of the series. It worked out so well for Spider-Man!] Where even is Deanna? Most likely quietly crafting her slanderous piece about Gideon until the next time she has a chance to phone Eva.
Gideon comforts Eva:
“I’m scared,” I murmured, my legs tangling even tighter with his. He was so strong and solid. I wanted to hang on to him and never let go.
His fingers sifted through my hair. “Of what?”
“Things are already fucked up between my mom and me. If my parents have a falling-out, I don’t want to get stuck in the middle. I know they wouldn’t handle it well—especially my mom. They’re crazy in love with each other.”
“I hadn’t realized that.”
“You didn’t see them together. Major sizzle,” I explained, remembering that Gideon and I had been separated when I learned the sexual chemistry between my parents was still white-hot. “And my dad confessed to still being in love with her. Makes me sad to think about it.”
“If my parents have a falling-out” what else would you call their lack of a relationship for Eva’s entire life? If I’m remembering correctly, they hadn’t even been in a room together for years before the events of Reflected in You.
Furthermore, the way Eva talks about her parents is still super gross. Applause for consistency? Also not only is it weird that she’s talking about her parents’ sexual chemistry, but I’m pretty sure the basis for this is that they made intense eye contact. MAJOR SIZZLE!
Major sizzle: The only way to describe the sexual tension between one’s parents.
The Webster approved definition.
There’s no way Eva can possibly handle talking to both her parents, yikes!!111!! So Gideon to the rescue:
“Let me handle Monica.”
I blinked at him. “How?”
His lips curled on one side. “I’ll call her and ask how you’re dealing with everything and how you’re doing. Start the process of publicly working my way back to you.”
[…]
“I’ll distract her and get her thinking about something else.” He reached for my hand and touched my ring.
Wedding bells. He didn’t say it, but I got the message. And of course that was what my mother would think. A man in Gideon’s position didn’t come back to a woman through her mother—especially one like Monica Stanton—unless his “intentions” were serious.
I’m sorry, did I accidentally hijack Matt’s Pamela post for the week? What kind of cockamamie nonsense is this? [Matthew says: Oh my god, please! I fucking hate Pamela.]
The sentence “A man in Gideon’s position didn’t come back to a woman through her mother” should have just ended right then and there. We could even rework it to say, “Gideon didn’t come back to a woman through her mother” and I’m sure there would have been a unanimous agreement among us all.
Also, no one seems to give any fucks about Nathan’s death anymore, so why can’t they just drop the charade and get back together publicly without the extra song and dance? And by song and dance I of course am including sex in secret rooms behind mirrors.
Gideon looks after Eva for the rest of the day:
As rough as things were, he was there for me to lean on. It made a lot of the troubles we were facing seem surmountable.
What couldn’t we accomplish, as long as we stayed together?
There was no wrong answer to that poll. Congratulations, everyone!
Gideon and Eva talk about what Corinne wanted on the phone, but Gideon only confirms that she was getting emotional over the phone. So I guess we’ll find out the answer to this intriguing mystery later. [Matthew says: Because Gideon is so well-known for filling Eva in on what’s up.]
Because the driving theme of this chapter seems to be telephone conversations, Eva calls Cary to let him know what happened with her father and that he’s coming to New York soon, and then she calls her step-father to get her mom to stop calling even if it means hiding all the phones. Man, treating your mother like a stage 5 clinger, harsh.
He came to me, catching me by the nape. His thumb drew tantalizing circles on the back of my neck. “I need to know you’re okay.”
I nodded. “I’m tired of Nathan running my life. I’m working toward that fresh start.”
I imagined a future in which my mom wasn’t a stalker, my dad was back on solid footing, Cary was happy, Corinne was in another country far away, and Gideon and I weren’t ruled by our pasts.
And I was finally ready to fight for it.
Hasn’t Eva been saying this for the entire series? Hasn’t she been ready for Nathan to stop controlling her life/to fight for her future with Gideon at the end of every chapter?
I don’t think they ever explained why Eva’s dad was never told about Nathan. But I do remember that his relationship with her mother is going to get A LOT creepier.
I can’t say I’m surprised…I’ve been wondering if endgame is her parents getting back together, but I didn’t care enough to really give it too much thought.
When you say creepy, though, it sounds less like getting back together and more like…drama + drama = more drama 🙁
I get furious every time this book tries to talk about Eva or Gideon’s history of abuse. It’s such a huge issue for an author to try to tackle in a narrative, and when I first read the book jacket of Bared to You, I was so curious about how Day would handle the idea of two abuse survivors trying to have a functioning relationship. Aaaand then it turns out that Day can write about as well as my dog can.
I think that’s the biggest problem with most of the BBGT reads; if you took a one-sentence summary of the plot and gave it to a talented author, you could have a pretty decent novel. Instead, those plotlines in the hands of bad writers largely amount to, “The main characters are so gorgeous and special, everybody wants them, but they only want each other. Oh, and there’s also [BDSM / vampires / alien parasites / a history of childhood sexual trauma / some suuuuuper romantic murder / factions].”
I was so worried that when I came back I was going to have to reread all of the previous posts on this book to remember what happened. This just reminded me that nothing has happened other than pointless drama and sex.
So, yay for being all caught up?
Don’t worry, you came back in time for THRILLING THINGS TO OCCUR next chapter. Seriously, I this is the one time I can’t wait to write my post next week for Entwined!