Page 78 of Wild Promise

“Good.” He stood, signaling the meeting was over. No handshake. No warmth. Just a man who’d gotten what he wanted and was already thinking three moves ahead. “I’ll have my team reach out after the holidays with something formal. In the meantime, try not to do anything else impulsive.”

I stood, buttoned my jacket again, and turned for the door.

“And Zane.”

I stopped but didn’t turn around.

“I hope your Melina knows what she’s getting into.”

Every muscle in my body locked. Her name in my father’s mouth made something dark and primal rear up inside me. “She’s off limits.” My voice was hard, and my resolve iron-fucking-clad. “To you. And anyone connected to you.”

He laughed, sending a chill up my spine. “That almost sounded like a threat.”

“No. It’s a promise.” I walked out without waiting for his response.

He didn’t get the last word this time. Not when it came to her.

Because she was more than worth it. Every miserable second in this glass tower. Every piece of myself I’d just handed over. She was worth it all.

And that was something he’d never understand, because he’d never loved anyone enough to sacrifice a goddamn thing.

The elevator mirrored me on the way down. This time, I looked. The tie still choked me, but the man staring back was different than the one who’d ridden up with his eyes on the floor. He still wasn’t comfortable. But he was done fucking hiding.

The lobby was busier than before. The MBA kid was gone. Probably upstairs, impressing someone, beginning the career he’d spent years preparing for. Good for him. At least he wanted to be here.

I pushed through the revolving door and stepped onto the sidewalk. Manhattan hit me like a wall. The noise, the cold, the crush of bodies moving in every direction. All of it was too fucking much.

The resort was gone. The bar was gone. The life I’d built, the only life that had ever felt like mine, was traded for a maybe. A leash my father would hold until he decided when to pull.

But I’d made my choice. And for the first time, it wasn’t about hiding or performing or being the guy everyone expected. It was about choosing something real. Committing to it. Trusting that the man I was becoming was worth more than the one I’d been pretending to be.

Melina might not forgive me. She might not even let me explain. But if there was any chance she could see past what I’d done to why I’d done it, I had to try.

It was the hardest choice of my life, but I’d made it for the right reasons.

Now I just had to get home and prove it.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Melina

The moment my alarm went off, I was angry.

It wasn’t the same sharp, righteous anger I’d felt initially. That boiling rage had burned itself out by the end of day one.

No. This was duller, and a hell of a lot heavier. The kind of anger that had settled into my bones, making even the simple things, like getting out of bed, feel like a fight.

Or hell…maybe this wasn’t anger at all anymore. I just didn’t know what else to call it.

Today was the Noma corporate dinner. Tomorrow was the Winter Festival Dance. Two nights that would make or break everything I’d worked for, and so far, all I’d managed to do was go through the motions.

Shower, coffee, a smile for Lucy that pulled at my lips but did nothing for my mood. I checked on Dad, who was having a good morning and didn’t need me hovering. Olivia gave me a look across the kitchen table that should’ve pissed me off. Instead, I felt nothing.

Thankfully, she kept quiet. She knew better than to ask how I was.

They all did. I’d made myself clear when I’d come home with mascara smeared halfway down my face and told them it was over. I didn’t want questions. Or platitudes. Or even their concern. And above all else, I didn’t want to hear his damn name.

I didn’t even want to think it.