Page 37 of To Tango, with Desire

My mouth gaped open. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“Maybe not. But I want you as my wife.”

“Why?”

“It’s time that I settle down, and I want you to be that woman.”

“What about the woman you were considering at the mixer?”

His brows quirked.

How had I been so damn obtuse? It had been me all along.

I thought he’d come to the store to see if I would be his mistress. But this? This was much, much worse.

“What about Kiki?”

“I told you already, Kiki’s a friend.”

“So that makes everything okay? We’ll get married. End of story.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“You’re touched in the head, you know that, right?”

“Let me rephrase this, Amira. You will be my wife. We will be getting married. End of story.”

“Zane—”

“You’re mine,” he all but growled. “From the moment I touched you, we both knew that you’re mine. And no man will dare to come near you knowing it.”

“Bring, bring.” I picked up a pretend phone. “Ancient Egypt’s calling, and they want their archaic ideology back.”

“Amira.” The guttural reply was filled with frustration.

“Find another mail order bride, Zane, because I’m not it. I have no interest in an arranged marriage.”

There was a light knock on the door and my mother entered.

She grasped my hands and the look of relief on her face broke my heart. She’d never, not once since I’d told her my dreams of having my own fashion line, looked at me like that. “You’ve made us so proud, habibti. Your father is calling all his friends now. They will announce it on the local radio.”

“Mom, listen—”

“There’ll be a notice in all the papers, Nasrin. I’ll give your daughter the grandest of weddings. Luxury all the way.”

“We’re not—”

“We’ll be family, Nasrin.” Zane turned to my mother. “And I promise you that I’ll take care of your husband and your family like you’re my own.”

“Ya Allah, what did we do to deserve such generosity?” She reached out, hugging him.

I swallowed my protests watching as my dad hobbled into the room. I couldn’t bear at that minute to wipe the pure joy off their faces. Maybe I was a coward, but I didn’t have the heart to shatter their dreams, even though this marriage would shatter mine.

Had I truly appreciated how important it was for them to see me wed?

My stomach churned. I couldn’t think about that right now, I couldn’t handle seeing the disappointment on their faces.

Damn it, Zane was playing dirty. I knew it, he knew it, but bless them, my parents had no clue.