Page 46 of To Tango, with Desire

Before long, it was time to cut the cake. According to Tilda, Zane had arranged the whole thing. I knew that Tilda must have told him devil’s food was my favorite. The rich chocolate hit the spot after an evening of dancing, and the icing was so light, I went back for seconds.

I was about to suggest another dance with Zane when his phone pealed.

“Work?”

“Kade.” He grimaced and was about to put his phone back in his pocket when I stopped him.

“Answer it.”

“It’s your birthday. The fucker can wait.”

“It might be important.” Nobody called at this hour unless it was an emergency.

Zane cursed, planting a kiss on my forehead before leaving to take the call.

And it startled me to think I couldn’t wait for him to come back.

ZANE

I stomped up the stairs, trying my best to curtail my anger. Fucking Kade. The man was a leech.

A drunk one.

Who the hell called someone in the middle of the night like that? Just because I wouldn’t take this fucking meeting with him.

According to my secretary, he’d visited my office again, this time leaving an outline for a business proposal. He probably suspected that I’d deleted the email he’d sent.

I didn’t want his apologies for the past. I didn’t want him bringing up this shit all over again. As far as I was concerned, our relationship had died the moment he’d fucked me over ten years ago. The bastard hadn’t shown remorse then. He hadn’t even cared.

So what had changed?

I felt the blood pumping through my body and I needed a minute to calm the fuck down. I knew I shouldn’t have answered the phone, but I’d made a promise when Omar had died and I wasn’t about to let some ghost haunt me from the grave because I’d broken it.

Not that I was a superstitious guy, but I didn’t want to push my luck.

I straightened my suit, taking a minute to breathe. Would I ever truly forgive Kade?

I knew the answer to that just as well as I knew how much I was worth.

His betrayal hurt more because he’d been the only sibling I’d known. Like an annoying kid brother. And while our relationship had been fraught through the years, I had stupidly considered him family.

But ever since Omar had died, Kade had said he was lost. His father had been a big part of his life and now he was on his own. He’d pleaded for my forgiveness, a second chance to make this right. He’d been drunk, his speech slurred, but I wondered how much of it had been genuine.

This new business he wanted me to invest in was apparently the way to bridge that chasm. To make amends. My gut screamed at me to back the fuck off, but my loyalty to the only father figure I had ever known said otherwise.

No, something was up and I would get to the bottom of it. Kade’s drinking was out of control. That wasn’t new, but it was concerning.

I didn’t want to remember the past. Not now. Not tonight.

Something had shifted in Amira since the last time I’d seen her. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but there was something about her tonight that was different. She looked stunning in her short red dress, and all I wanted to do was whisk her away from this party and take her home. To remind her of all the ways I could pleasure her.

By the time I climbed the stairs, the crowd had begun to thin. It was late now and many of her friends had already left.

And that was when I spotted her, on the dance floor with the tall blond guy. The man was holding Amira’s hips while thrusting his own. There was only the smallest of gaps between them. I didn’t stop to think as I stormed across the room.

The blond guy was holding my fiancée in a way he had no right to.

I felt the invisible band snap, unleashing my anger. Before I could reason with myself, I grabbed the back of the guy’s silk shirt. I yanked him away from her, stepping between them.