Entwined with You

What's inside (8 sections)

1. A split meant to fool the police
2. A wedding first, then a story about it
3. Corinne and a claim that stops everything
4. Reporters, police, and pressure that will not lift
5. Brett Kline walks back in with a camera
6. Old injuries, Cary, and what tired me
7. Key takeaways
8. FAQ

I picked up Entwined with You because book two left me restless. I finished Reflected in You late on a Thursday and spent Friday turning over Eva and Gideon in my head. They loved hard and fought often and learned slowly. I told myself I would take a break from the Crossfire series. Then I saw the green spine in a used bin on Saturday and bought it for the train. I wanted to know what happened with the detective and the reporter and the ex who kept calling.

A short publishing note so we use the same copy. The edition I am retelling is the standard Berkley trade paperback, first published in 2013, running 368 pages. The year 2013 in the record refers to that first release. It is Crossfire book three, told again in Eva Tramell first person voice, picking up directly after Reflected in You. Sylvia Day keeps the camera close on Eva in New York, with Gideon Cross near her in most scenes, and with Cary Taylor and Richard Stanton and Monica Stanton moving through, plus Corinne Giroux and Deanna Johnson and Brett Kline and NYPD detective Shelley Graves.

If you missed the first two books, here is the setup. Eva is in her mid twenties, working in advertising, sharing an Upper West Side apartment with her best friend Cary. She survived sexual abuse as a child by Nathan, the son of a former stepfather, and she meets regularly with a therapist for panic and control issues. Gideon is in his late twenties, founder of Cross Industries, rich enough to pay for guards and lawyers. He survived prolonged abuse as a child by a family friend. They met in the Crossfire building, fell fast, got engaged in book two, and ended that book still together but worn down by fights about surveillance and by press threats and by family strain and by questions around Nathan death. Book three starts with them apart on purpose.

A split meant to fool the police

The novel opens with Eva and Gideon acting separated. Detective Graves is asking about Nathan and seems to think Gideon had a role in what happened to him. Gideon and Eva agree to look split so the police do not read closeness as coordination. Eva stays with Cary. Gideon stays at his Fifth Avenue penthouse. They text and call and try not to be seen together.

It fails within days. Eva misses him and loses focus at work. Gideon sends his driver Angus to check on her or shows up himself. Soon they are spending nights together in secret and calling it temporary. I found this stretch sad more than thrilling. Eva believes distance will shield Gideon. Gideon believes nearness will shield Eva. Both cannot be right.

Graves meets Eva at home and later with a lawyer present. She asks when Eva last saw Nathan and what Gideon said about him. Eva tries to answer without lying and without exposing Gideon. She feels ill afterward and calls Stanton. Stanton tells her to keep answers short and lets his lawyers sit in. He pays for extra protection. He has never liked Gideon, but he dislikes police pressure on Eva more.

Deanna Johnson brings a second pressure. Deanna is a freelance reporter chasing an expose about Gideon. She waits near Eva office and leaves cards. She hints she knows about Gideon youth and about Corinne. Eva fears her because a piece about Gideon could drag Eva history into print. At the gym with her friend Megumi, Eva has to smile past Deanna. At work she worries a stray comment from a coworker will read badly in print.

Eva office life steadied me here. She has layouts to finish. Her boss Mark sees she is distracted. Megumi covers when she runs late. Eva stays late to prove she earned her desk. She rides the subway to feel normal. These work pages are brief, but I welcomed them. They show Eva with rent and deadlines, more than a fiancee in trouble.

A wedding first, then a story about it

Gideon answers the separation with a bold plan. He flies Eva to the Caribbean for a few days and they marry in a small private ceremony. No press. No party. Just vows and rings and a local official, with Angus nearby keeping schedules clear. Eva wears something plain. Gideon tears up and looks away. Eva says she felt calm for the first time in months.

They agree to hide the marriage for now. In New York they will act engaged. A quiet wedding gives them legal closeness without handing Deanna a headline or giving Graves a fresh thread. It also buys time with family. Monica already talks about venues and flowers. Stanton asks about contracts and security costs. By saying engagement in public, Eva and Gideon can tell parents later in their own way.

I liked these chapters best. Day slows down. Eva feels sand on her feet. She sees Gideon hands shake as he holds the ring. They eat alone after and talk about where to sleep. Eva wants to keep her apartment. Gideon wants her at the penthouse. They split time. It read like their first adult compromise without a fight.

Back home the public story is wedding planning. Monica brings magazines and suggests a summer date. Stanton offers to pay while asking about guest checks. Cary teases Eva about seating charts. Eva plays along while hiding that she already married. The lie gnaws at her, most with Cary, who has sat with her through nightmares. She tells Gideon she wants to tell Cary soon. Gideon asks her to wait until police pressure eases.

Marriage shifts small habits. Eva touches her band when the phone rings. She feels steadier at work events, even while saying fiance aloud. Gideon checks his phone less at dinner. Day does not sell marriage as cure. She frames it as a vow made early.

Corinne and a claim that stops everything

Midway through, Corinne Giroux tells Gideon she is pregnant and that he could be the father. Corinne is Gideon former fiancee, now married to Jean Francois, yet still bound to Gideon by years of care and hurt. Eva hears it secondhand and feels sick. She has dreaded Corinne since book one, partly because Corinne moves easily in Gideon world, partly because Gideon feels responsible for her.

Gideon responds with duty. He meets Corinne and asks for dates and facts. He offers to cover care. He tells Eva he must handle it correctly, which to him means stepping forward. Eva tries to stay reasonable. She tells herself a test will settle it. She tells Gideon she trusts his word. Inside she spins. She pictures Gideon tied to Corinne through a child. She pictures holidays split and awkward calls.

Then Corinne takes an overdose of pills and lands in the hospital. Gideon gets the call and rushes over with Eva. Jean Francois is there, enraged, blaming Gideon for wrecking his marriage and for Corinne despair. Voices rise in the waiting area. Security intervenes. Angus pulls Gideon back. Eva sits with cold hands, watching her new husband shake with fear and shame.

Doctors stabilize Corinne, but she later loses the pregnancy. Day keeps this off page. Eva hears summaries from Gideon and from a nurse at the desk. Gideon stays too long at the hospital and sends Eva home with Angus. Eva feels pushed aside just when she wants to help. She tells Cary she does not know whether to visit Corinne room or stay clear. Cary says give Gideon one night, then ask for plain truth.

Paternity never gets settled on the page, since the loss ends testing. What lingers is mood. Gideon feels he failed Corinne years ago and again now. Eva feels she cannot rival a crisis. Jean Francois anger hangs over later scenes. Eva and Gideon talk it through across two tired nights rather than in one big scene. He says Corinne belongs to his past and Eva is his future. Eva says she believes him but needs firmer limits around calls and visits. They agree to that. It lands as a tired truce more than closure.

Reporters, police, and pressure that will not lift

While Corinne is in crisis, Graves and Deanna keep closing in. Graves asks Eva back for follow up. Stanton sends counsel along. Eva says she feared Nathan and that Gideon sheltered her. She offers no theories about that night. Graves notes it all and tells Eva to stay reachable. Eva leaves with shaking hands and calls Gideon from the car. He wants to meet at once. Counsel says wait a day. Waiting eats at her.

Deanna works Eva at events. She acts warm while asking where Eva grew up and how she met Gideon. She tells Gideon she holds material about his youth and proposes an interview so he can shape it. His team declines. Eva learns to smile and give short answers. Megumi steps in at a work party to steer Eva clear. Stanton warns Eva to ignore unknown numbers.

I found this two sided squeeze believable because Day keeps it procedural. Graves stays polite and repeats a question with small changes. Deanna stays suggestive and strings true facts in a sharp order. For Eva, whose recovery rests on choosing when to share her story, both styles feel invasive. She gets dizzy once in a hallway, with narrowed sight and fast breath, and sits on a stair step until it eases. Cary finds her and coaches slow breaths. He waits until later to ask what set it off.

Gideon meets pressure with control. His team logs Deanna movements. He asks Eva to forward calls. He places staff near her office. Eva values safety and hates being tracked in the same hour. They fight about a car that trailed her to lunch. He says it was his crew. She says she should have been told. He says prior warning would have worried her. She says silence worries her more. They sleep angry and wake angry, which felt honest after books where fights melted too fast.

The inquiry does not end here. Graves says she has no basis to hold anyone that week but leaves the file open. Eva feels relief cut with dread. Relief because Gideon can sleep. Dread because open lets Deanna keep digging while citing police interest. Eva tells Dr. Parker she feels watched in her own kitchen. Parker asks what restores privacy. Eva says work and evenings with Cary with phones put away. She tries to do more of that.

Brett Kline walks back in with a camera

Eva former boyfriend Brett Kline returns as a singer on the rise. He fronts a band getting airplay. Business ties through Gideon stepfather circle make him hard to dodge. Brett invites Eva to a video shoot for a song he says she inspired. Eva does not want to attend. Gideon does not want her there. Cary says go briefly and show she can stand in a room with Brett without drama.

She goes with Megumi for a short visit. The set is a warehouse made to look like a flat, with bright lights and marks on the floor. Setups restage bits of Eva and Brett past, which embarrasses Eva now that she is a wife. Brett charms on camera and presses between takes. He asks for a minute alone and says the song is his apology. He says Gideon will never allow her a normal past. Eva says she is happy and leaves early. I was glad she left. In earlier books she might have stayed to soothe him and missed her own edge.

The shoot sparks a larger scare. Deanna tells Gideon the videographer taped Brett with Eva years ago and now hopes to sell the footage as a celebrity tape. Gideon hires lawyers fast and seeks a temporary injunction to block sale. He tells Eva after papers go in. Eva feels thankful and queasy together. Thankful because action may save her job and spare her family shame. Queasy because a private part of youth nearly went public, and because Gideon knew the risk before she did.

They work through Brett with therapy tools that mostly hold. Eva admits Brett notice once felt easy beside Gideon force. Gideon admits he hates Brett partly from jealousy and partly because Brett knew Eva before Gideon could shield her. They agree Eva will keep contact short and work only, and Gideon will report lawyer moves sooner. Brett fades after the hearing, though his single still plays on a station Cary favors.

The same weeks bring Monica charity gala. Eva meets Gideon mother, who stays formal and cool, and Anna, another former lover of Gideon, who stays crisp and cutting. Eva holds ground better than in book one. She does not hide in the restroom. She tells Gideon she needs air and he walks out with her without dispute. That small exit felt like progress worth keeping.

Old injuries, Cary, and what tired me

Beneath events, this stays a book about memory. Eva still dreams about Nathan. She still hates being gripped tight from behind. She still needs to label panic early. Dr. Parker gives concrete routines. List warning signs. Leave rooms early. Tell Gideon in plain words what contact feels safe that night. On good nights he hears her. On bad nights he takes it hard and Eva shuts down.

Gideon past stays spare because Eva narrates and Gideon rations words. We get enough. Harm in childhood taught him to run rooms and clocks to feel safe. He hides nightmares in work. He sees his own doctor and shares edited notes. Parker tells Eva she cannot do his therapy for him. She can state needs and watch acts. That counsel shapes calmer talks at home.

Cary holds a full thread. He splits time between a woman who accepts his fluid life and a man who wants him exclusive. He parties less than in book two but still loses sleep and misses a casting. Stanton says he will fund structured help, with no cash for nights out. Eva tries not to mother him. She cooks. She listens when Tati, a woman from Cary past, says she might be pregnant. That news rattles Cary, who wonders about fatherhood while still unsteady at work. Eva says she will stand by what tests show, but she will not cover lies. It echoes what she asks Gideon to give her.

Monica and Stanton shine around the gala. Monica fusses with tables and photos and wants Eva and Gideon to look blissful. Stanton watches doors and checks Gideon plans without asking. After the hospital night Stanton tells Eva he is proud she stayed calm. Monica says she wishes she had shielded Eva better as a girl. Eva accepts it without claiming it fixes years.

Now the criticism, stated fairly. The middle loops. A text about Corinne arrives or Deanna appears or Graves calls. Gideon adds guards or counsel without full talk. Eva protests about privacy. Gideon calls it care. They spend a night close and wake tender and vow to share sooner. Then Brett calls or Anna cuts in and the wheel turns again. The first loop gripped me. By the third I guessed the beats.

Surveillance remains tough to take. Gideon slips a burner phone into Eva purse for emergencies without asking. His team notes where she lunched. Eva calls it management. Day allows both views, which is honest, yet Gideon shifts slowly. If tracking in love stories bothers you, pages past one hundred will chafe. Eva loops too. She withholds facts to test him, then aches when he fills gaps with watchers. Therapy names the cycle without breaking it yet.

Side figures thin out when the loop runs. Jean Francois mostly shouts. Anna mostly slices. Deanna gains some depth when she swaps tape tips for access, but still serves as threat. When Day stays with Cary and Stanton and Monica and Parker, the book breathes. When it returns to jealousy over exes, it narrows. The physical closeness also eats pages. To keep this tasteful, I will say Eva and Gideon seek comfort often in private rooms, written with focus on yearning. Frequency slows plot. I skimmed two such nights. Readers seeking heat may enjoy the pace. I wanted more office and more Cary recovery.

The close steadies. The injunction holds for now. Graves steps back with file open. Corinne leaves hospital with family care and a no contact understanding that pleases no one fully. Cary agrees to face the possible pregnancy news head on. Eva tells Cary she wed Gideon in private, and Cary hugs her with wet eyes, hurt she waited yet glad she told. That hug repaired some book two strain where Eva picked Gideon over Cary each time.

Eva and Gideon finish married in fact and engaged in public tale, with a larger public wedding planned later. They work Monica gala as a pair. They keep two homes for now and discuss merging. They pledge to keep therapy and to bring hard truths there first. Final scenes turn domestic. Breakfast. A work party where Eva presents Gideon without flinch. A talk where they pick words over touch to end a dispute. Deanna has yet to print her worst. Graves has yet to shut her file. Brett single still plays. Threats pause more than end.

If you read the first two volumes and cared about Eva voice and Cary loyalty, continue. You get a quiet wedding and higher family stakes, plus familiar loops. I closed liking Eva more and thinking the pair might last only if candor outruns shielding. That was enough to make me reach for book four, Captivated by You, when ready.

FAQ

Is Entwined with You the third book in the Crossfire series?

Yes. Entwined with You was published in 2013 by Berkley as Crossfire book 3, running 368 pages in the standard trade paperback. It continues Eva Tramell and Gideon Cross after Reflected in You and leads into Captivated by You.

Who is Corinne in Entwined with You?

Corinne Giroux is Gideon former fiancee, now married to Jean Francois. She says she is pregnant by Gideon, is hospitalized after an overdose, and later loses the pregnancy, which strains Eva and Gideon marriage.

Is Entwined with You very explicit?

Yes. Eva and Gideon seek physical closeness often across its 368 pages, though this summary keeps those parts non-graphic. The book also covers trauma therapy, police questions, press threats, and family conflict.