Page 30 of Liberating Bells
Josie gives her a big smile and takes her hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Izabel. Ryan’s told me so much about you.”
I smirk as Izabel blushes, and Mark gets closer and closer to having a coronary. His fingers whiten around the champagne glass he holds and the muscles in his jaw twitches.
“Oh, uh, that’s good. This is my fiancé, Mark Snyder,” Izabel introduces. Mark steps forward, taking Josie’s hand, raising it to his mouth, and pressing a kiss to the back of it.
“Pleasure to meet you, Josie. Short for Josephine, I’m guessing?”
Josie’s eyes widen for a second before she snatches her hand back and steps closer to me, pressing her side against mine. “Yes. Josephine. But please call me Josie. Just Josie.”
“Well, please make yourselves comfortable,” Izabel interrupts the awkward introduction and motions around the room. “The buffet will be open in a little while. And make sure you check out the silent auction! Ryan, I think there are a few things you might want to bid on! We’ll be by the table with everyone in a bit.”
I grin and dip my chin toward her. “I will, thank you.”
Mark starts to pull her away. She says goodbye and leaves us with one last lingering look. When they’re out of earshot, Josie turns to me and shudders.
“That guy is acreep.”
I wrap an arm around her waist and pull her into my side. Her own hand wraps around my waist, accepting the comfort. “I know. Why do you think I hate him so much?”
She shudders again as I lead her over to the table where our friends are sitting. Besides them, I’m not seeing anyone else I know: mostly old stuffy professors and history nerds. Definitely not an event I would actively go out and attend by myself, but I’d do anything for Izabel. This society is clearly important to her, thus making it important to me.
We get the usual round of “hellos” once we make it to the table. Juliet stands and fawns over Josie’s dress while the guys watch in amusement. I sit down next to Liam, making sure there’s an extra seat for Josie beside me. She’ll be stuck next to Todd, poor girl. Though based on the fact that Todd can’t tear his eyes off that red dress, I don’t think there will be an issue. I’m silently rooting for my friend; he and Josie would make a good match. He could use a good ass-kicking from her.
Liam nudges my arm with his elbow, grabbing my attention. “Hey, man, did you see Izabel yet? She’s looking awfully gorgeous tonight.”
I don’t miss the inflection. I shoot my friend a questioning stare. “Yeah, I saw her.”
“I heard you guys reconnected on a physical level a few weeks ago,” he says, looking around to make sure no one can hear him. “You know, withthe kiss.”
I rear back, and alarm bells go off in my head. My eyes dart around the room to make sure Mark isn’t close enough to overhear our conversation. “How do you know about that?”
“Juliet. The girls talk. I always get the gist of it after the fact,” he says with a shrug. “Don’t worry, man, I won’t say anything to Marky Mark. But does this mean you guys are back together? Jules is beyond thrilled about that.”
“Getting ahead of yourself, there, buddy,” I respond as I clap my friend on the shoulder. “No, we’re not getting back together. She’s still very much Team Mark.”
I have to chuckle at the crestfallen expression my friend takes on. Most likely because he’ll have to break the news to Jules.
Josie finally gets away from Juliet and comes to sit by me, immediately striking up a conversation with Todd. He seems to have brought his A-Game. Good for him. The buffet opens, and we all get up and make the rounds, filling plates with chicken and potatoes and buttery rolls. The table falls into a comfortable discussion as we stuff our faces.
Izabel and Mark join us at our table, plates in hand. Mark moves to sit closer to me, forcing Izabel into the seat right across from me. He pulls out her chair for her and then pushes it in slightly as she settles. After shooting him a grateful smile, she focuses on her plate.
Mark’s eyes catch mine, and his lips curl up into a cruel smile. I feel my shoulders tense as I hold his gaze, not willingto be the one to back down first. Mark seems to catch on to my game, and he doesn’t waver. The hair on the back of my neck stands on edge.
Josie puts her hand on my shoulder as if she can feel the tension, easily giving me an out from the stare-down. I reluctantly turn to look at her, and she half-smiles my way. Josie casually asks me if I tried the potatoes, and suddenly the tension is gone.
I exhale sharply and reach for my champagne glass. My throat feels dry, my tongue heavy in my mouth. I take a big sip and relish the warmth. It gives me the courage that I usually wouldn’t possess.
“So Bells,” I begin, loving how those blue eyes come to rest on my face, and the worry instantly vanishes from her features. “I spoke with Teddy a few days ago. He was telling me the story about Sage and the dog-grooming incident.”
Izabel grins and shakes her head. “I heard about that too. My sister has never been good at any type of art. I feel bad for their dog.”
“That sure sounds like Sage, though!” I laugh and shoot a sneer at Mark, who is glaring at me. I know it’s immature, getting in a pissing contest with him like this, but I can’t help myself.
“I’m sure Teddy is as scandalized as their dog! The poor thing is practically naked!” Izabel laughs. Her laugh is like music to my ears—Mark grits his teeth.
The conversation morphs organically after that. We chat about dogs for a bit, then back to work. Someone asks Juliet about Ashton, which triggers the kid conversation.
“Do you and Josie want kids, Ryan?” Mark asks me before taking a bite of chicken.
