My cheeks blushed instantly.
Liam questioned, “You think you would take him back?”
I shook my head, but my mouth already betrayed me when it said the wordif. That must mean I would consider it, right? Luckily the waitress came over and gave Liam our check. He looked at his watch and frowned.
“We probably should get going. Time just seems to fly when we talk. I want to make sure we get a perfect parking spot.”
He overpaid again, but this time I let him. For some reason it felt like this was part of his rebellion against his past life. Liam took my hand as we crossed the parking lot and helped me into the car. The sun was almost set as we drove to Myrtle Park for movie night. I guided him to a spot where I knew we’d be noticed. Then I sat back and prayed I would make it through the evening without crying.
Liam
Marco looked like a complete douchebag. It took one to know one. She may have been right. He was like the Italian version of me. The old me. The one that didn’t really give a crap about anyone or anything. I didn’t say that to Isabella, of course, but I thought it.
She had pointed it out when his car pulled into the lot. I assumed the girl he was with was Gina. They didn’t park too far away. My car had already drawn a lot of attention and Isabella was managing to juggle conversations with four different people who had approached us. She really was extraordinary.
Quite suddenly, the crowd around us dispersed and I saw panic hit Isabella’s eyes. Reaching out, I took her hand and squeezed it. A few seconds later, Marco was on my side of the car, his arm around Gina. He started asking questions about the Ferrari until he finally looked up and noticed Isabella next to me.
“Bella?”
She actually flinched, and I finally realized that Marco must have been the only one that called her that name. Thinking back on the few times others had spoken to her, they called her Izzy or Isabella. I felt like an idiot. She could have told me. It must have killed her to have me calling her Bella. To my surprise, she turned to Marco and smiled.
“Hello, Marco.” She paused for a second and then added, “Gina.”
Marco looked to the two of us and glared.
“What are you doing in this dude’s car? Does your father know you’re here?”
I could feel her tense, but her words came out polite.
“He’s my date, and yes.”
“You’re dating?”
That was from Gina. Even when I was a jackass, I never wanted to hit a girl, but right now, I really, really did. I raised Isabella’s hand to my lips and smiled.Fight with kindness,I thought.It’s what Isabella would do.Throwing a little dig wouldn’t hurt, though. These two had no idea I knew who they were.
“Lucky for me, right? I don’t think there is anyone in the world that could compare to my Bella.”
She squeezed my hand gratefully, and I smiled.
“Are you friends of hers?”
Playing dumb was so fun. I should do it more often. Isabella started to snicker next to me, and Marco focused on her.
“He calls you Bella?”
She shrugged.
“I like the way it sounds when he says it. Why?”
Playing dumb, I opened my mouth again.
“Sorry, am I missing something?”
Isabella moved close to me and shook her head.
“Nothing important.”
Wrapping my arm around her, I pulled her closer. The movie screen lit up and she sighed.
