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"I a," Arnoldo shot back He looked atfor you Now, you can release him from his torment"

My anxiety faded He armer toward me than he’d been recently, more like he’d been ere first introduced "It’s really good to see you, too, Arnoldo"

Arash came up next When he lifted both hands to touch my face, Gideon’s arm shot out between us

"Don’t even think about it," he warned

"That’s not fair"

I blew him a kiss

Manuel was sneakier He ca his lips against the side of , beautiful"

"Hello, Manuel," I said with a laugh "Having fun yet?"

"Don’t you know it" Setting me down, he winked at me

Gideon seemed to have calmed down somewhat He shook Cary’s hand and asked briefly about Ibiza

His friends ot the expected results--they seemed captivated

Gideon took my hand in his "You have your passport?"

"Yes"

"Good Let’s go" He walked off briskly

Hurrying to keep up with his stride, I looked back overin a different direction

"They’ve had their weekend with us," he said, in answer to h an expedited customs process, then back out to the taran to revolve as we approached Raúl abruptly appeared and opened the rear door Gideon helpedin directly behind me I reached for the safety belt, but he brushedback He handed o," he told the pilot

We were lifting into the air before Gideon had his seat belt on

I was breathless e reached the hotel, still awed by the sight of Rio sprawled beneath us, its beaches dotted with high rises and its hills covered in colorfully painted favelas Cars packed the roads below, the traffic iainst the commutes I experienced in Manhattan The falistened on Corcovado Mountain in the distance to arloaf and followed the coastline up to Barra da Tijuca

It would have taken hours by car to get to the hotel from the airport Instead, the trip took ed brain fully appreciated that I’d been in three countries in as many days

Vientos Cruzados Barra was as luxurious as all the Crosswinds properties I had seen but with a local flavor that e as the one I’d had in Ibiza and his view as impressive

I paused to ad the endless rows of coconut stands and the golden bodies on the beach Sah the air, earthy and sexy and upbeat I took a picture, then uploaded both it and the one of the guys on the tarraed everyone and discovered that Arnoldo had snapped a picture of Gideon and reat photo, sexy and intimate Arnoldo had a few hundred thousand followers and the photo already had dozens of co RioDeJaneiro and each other

Gideon’s s in another room and followed We hadn’t said a word since we left the airport, as if ere saving them for intimate conversation OrLet the world talk and spread lies We knee had It didn’t need to be qualified, justified, or expressed

I found hi in front of a U-shaped desk covered in photos and notes, some of which had spilled onto the floor The place was a id order ister that the photos were of the inside of a club and that they round I’d seen in the photo of Gideon on Cinco de Mayo

It was kind of eerie that we’d come to the same idea It was also kind of awesolanced at hi is better," he said to whoever was on the other end of the call "Textup and silenced his phone, setting it down by his sunglasses "I want you to see these"