Page 97 of To Tango, with Desire

“Well, you just stick with me, and I’ll have you up to scratch in no time.” She placed her empty glass on the foot of the statue, then hooked her arm through mine. The smell of alcohol hung in the air. She was a pretty woman, and whoever had done her filler and fake boobs had made them seem natural enough. But there was a hard edginess to her that left my skin crawling.

“It’s lovely to meet you, but I think I need to find my husband.”

“Stay.” She gripped my arm. “I haven’t had a chance to catch up with Zane Nasser’s child bride.”

A chill ran down my spine.

“I need to—”

She tugged me closer, and even though she was small, her hold on my arm was painfully tight. “I’m sure you’ve heard all about me from your husband.”

“No, actually, I haven’t. You’re hurting me.”

Her smile turned into a grimace. “Pity, I contacted him to offer my congratulations last week. I know it was a bit late, but to be honest I was annoyed not to have received an invitation to the wedding.”

“It was family and close friends.”

“I was almost family. Once, a long time ago.” Her sly expression only confirmed my suspicions.

The human leech and stage-five clinger had to be Chloe. Zane’s ex. And it took every bit of my good manners not to snap off a bit of the sculpture and clock her on the head with it.

“Close but no cigar.”

She bared her teeth now, and I took the opportunity to say what had been whirling in my head since I’d found out about their engagement.

“You know, you might drape yourself in the finest of clothes and get the most expensive plastic surgery, but deep down inside, you have to live with the fact that you’re ugly. I don’t mean all this.” I gestured to her face, tugging my arm out of her death grip. “I mean in here.” I poked at her chest. “Because what you did to my husband was disgraceful. And the thing is, Chloe, you can never take it back. You’ve shown your true colors, and I just want to thank you for doing that. Because if you hadn’t been a lying, cheating slut, then I wouldn’t have been able to meet and marry Zane.”

She sputtered now, her chest heaving. “You’re just in it for his money.”

“Oh, you mean his billions of dollars? Aren’t you just a shallow little thing. Must hurt knowing you fucked up.”

“I landed myself a rich husband, too, sweetheart, so let’s not pretend we’re not both in it for the same thing.”

“You’ve no idea who Zane is, do you? No idea how strong or kind or generous he is because you were just some gold-digging floozy.”

Her derisive laughter was short and sharp. “Oh please, I come from one of the most respected families in society. I grew up rich.”

“But you’ve no class.”

“Listen, Zane will tire of you soon enough. You’re young and pretty, and once he’s used you, he’ll move on.”

“Jealous, Chloe?”

“If I wanted your husband, I’d only have to snap my fingers and he’d come begging to take me back.”

“Will I now?”

I turned at the sound of Zane’s low rumble. He slipped his hand around my waist, drawing me in.

“Reggie isn’t doing it for you?” Zane jerked his head at a white-haired man a few feet away. Reggie looked across at Zane, frowning for a moment before making his way over.

“It’s been years since that happened, Zane. I’m a different woman now.”

Zane shook his head. “No, Chloe. You’re still the same spoiled brat that you always were. And what happened was ten years ago. I’ve no interest in rehashing it.”

“You’ve no idea what you’re missing. We were always good together. We can be amazing if you give me another chance. I know you still want me—”

“Chloe, dear, I think it’s time we left.” Her husband, a steely-eyed man at least thirty years her senior, grabbed her arm. “Too much Champagne,” he muttered. Reggie lowered his voice, whispering in her ear. After a minute, she grew compliant and allowed him to tug her away, but not before she glanced over her shoulder.