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“Excuse me, please.” He nodded at her, made his way into the gala, and was met almost immediately by Dahlia’s father.

“Tate! Good to see you, boy.”

Tate kept his smile in place with great fortitude. This trip had been a mistake without Stephanie. “Good evening, Mr. Casselman.”

The man clouted his arm. “Justin to you, son. Did you run into Dahlia out in the lobby? She was watching for you.”

“I did.” Tate looked the man in the eye. His grandfather’s business associate looked like he was already deep in the alcohol. “I’ll tell you what I told her.”

Justin leaned closer, smiling. “Yes?”

“I’m married. My lovely wife’s name is Stephanie. Due to a family emergency, she wasn’t able to be here today.”

The man guffawed. “Nice story. I’m sure I’d have heard about it if you’d acquired a ball and chain.”

Tate had purposefully kept the news on the down low, but he’d expected it to get out by now. Why had Grandfather not mentioned it to his associates? Maybe he didn’t really believe Dahlia was looking for a solid chance to dig her claws into Tate. Grandfather wouldn’t intentionally sabotage Tate’s marriage, would he? No, he approved of Stephanie. Liked her.

Dahlia’s fingers tightened around Tate’s bicep again, and he stepped aside.

This was going to be an amazingly long evening, and he couldn’t wait to get back home.

To Stephanie. In Montana.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Stephanie’s cell phone rang. It would be Tate, right? He was an early riser and had likely forgotten that Chicago was an hour ahead of Jewel Lake. “Hello?” she asked groggily. If he expected coherent conversation from her, he should have waited a bit to call. Or come home already. Or never left her to begin with.

“Stephanie?”

Not Tate. She blinked and sat up in bed. “Yes?”

“It’s Sage. You probably haven’t seen the Chicago newspaper yet.”

“No. Why would I?”

“I came down to the Golden Grill to help my mom open up, since Dad’s got a nasty cold. Anyway, the papers they’re subscribed to were already on the doorstep, and I glanced through a couple while the coffee pot ran through.”

Dread began to writhe in Stephanie’s gut. “Whatever you’re trying to say, spill it, already.”

Sage released a noisy breath. “There’s a photo at the head of the entertainment section. I swear the paper just opened there. I wasn’t looking for anything.”

“Spill. It.”

“There’s a photo from a big party of Tate in a tux with a woman. A woman with blond curly hair. He was smiling at her. Holding her hands.”

Jealousy and fear entwined and clambered up Stephanie’s throat.

“You… didn’t have a makeover and go with him, after all?”

“Of course not. My mom is sick.” Stephanie held back her emotions with all the force of her will. How could Tate do this to her? He’d invited her to come along and made it sound like an adventure. Would he have snuck out and met his old girlfriend even if Stephanie had been with him? “Gotta go.” She ended the call, turned her face into her pillow and let out a scream.

“Mama?”

Aargh. It wasn’t all about her. Tate had destroyed Jamie’s life along with hers. What was she going to do? She peeked at the little boy standing in the playpen looking at her with worried eyes. “Hey, baby.”

His eyes crinkled when he smiled at her, his tiny white teeth shining.

One thing she knew: she’d fight Tate for Jamie. Tate worked too much. Stephanie would make sure Jamie never wanted for time or attention.