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Bella
Bella wondered whose brilliant idea it was to host an award ceremony at a photography exhibition about a war at a modern art gallery. She never — not in a million years — would have gotten in the car with Daniel if she had known what exhibit was showing. The exhibit information was conveniently missing anytime anyone (Chris, her mother, Daniel) brought up the award ceremony.
A part of Bella knew she shouldn't have trusted Daniel. It was probably her mother's idea to use that sweet man to twist her arm and emotions into showing up when she'd already said, 'Hell no! Chris could accept that dumbass award' when her mother brought it up at tea.
Mental note: In the future, decline all new ‘traditions’ with her mother. Never once had her mother wanted to have ‘tea’ until two weeks ago. Bella should have known her mother’s invitation was nothing more than a plot.
Bella caught sight of her mother and the board for the Frazier Foundation (one of her mother's charitable foundations) in a corner, completely ignoring the entire Syria exhibit.
Beside her, Daniel searched for her brother, so Bella took advantage of the distraction and bolted for the kitchens, mixed herself a quick drink, and plopped on the counter. Bella would hide and check in with her partner, Alicia until someone needed her for the literal handing over of an award, handshake, and stupid photo op. Of course, Alicia was busy or didn't hear her phone. Bella left a voicemail.
Bored and waiting for a callback, Bella sat on the icy stainless steel counters in the kitchen and swiped her long trench coat back and forth, singing off pitch. Long dark blond curls tied down in low pigtails were now falling apart from latent steam as the serving staff uncovered hor d'oeuvres in the kitchen.
The door flew open to reveal Lucas. He stood there, tapping his foot and scowling at her. And he looked good. His suit was crisp and fresh-looking even after a day of meetings and tailing after her brother. He’d even forgotten to remove the obnoxiously red candy cane tie she gave him. The one he'd balked at on the first night of their Twelve Movies of Christmas tradition, and yet here he was wearing it.
Bella: 1000 points
Lucas: Uh. Actually, she didn't know. They were probably even. Bella kept every single gift Lucas had given her and wore even the most ostentatious clothes he'd given her without remorse.
Bella raised her glass to him and sang, “Fa la la la la la la la...la?” Then wiggled her ass on the freezing counter a little extra at the end for effect. It worked.
His scowl deepened. But his baby blue eyes were trying very hard not to laugh, which made Bella more determined to break him. He would laugh, or she would eat that fuzzy Santa hat she left in Daniel's car.
Lucas pointed out the door. “The party is out there.”
“Last time I checked, I was the party.” Bella tipped her glass again. Her phone rang, volume turned up to max, but she pushed the call to voicemail. Then gave Lucas a sultry eyebrow waggle. “Going to come party with me, Midwest?”
"Your mother will boil both of us alive if you don't come out now and accept this award." Sure enough, Lucas checked over his shoulder. Mother dearest must be on the warpath. "The mayor is here!" he said.
Bella took a moment as if she was considering Lucas' words, but really she was busy evaluating Lucas. He looked freaking phenomenal in the silverish gray three-piece suit, including her awesome tie. Lucas should have girls falling at his feet with his deep voice, golden hair, and clear blue eyes. One might call him dreamy if he weren't her best friend and currently trying to drag her out for torture.
Glass already half empty, Bella took a big swig. “Nah. Mother doesn’t cook. She might freeze us or feed us to wolves or...” His arms tightened around his chest. Bella grumbled, “No silent night for me.”
And then he did it again. Aww. Fidgety Lucas meant a very stressed out Lucas. “Gosh, you’re hard to please. Not even a smile because I’m here and haven’t made a huge scene? I mean, who sends a director to wrangle up a lowly little doctor like me?”
Bella topped off her drink from a tumbler with ice sitting next to her.
The joke didn't work. Lucas silently glared back at Bella, his lips pressed into a tight line. Eventually, he leaned into the frame, holding her gaze until Bella broke and glanced down into the vibrant drink in her hand.
"That isn't one of the dresses your mother sent over, is it?" Lucas said and nodded at the flap of her trench coat left open. Bright green and red had been peeking through.
She whipped the coat closed. No, it definitely wasn't a dress from her mother. "You don't work for my mother, Mr. Holt, Director of Distribution and Sales. And my wardrobe is not part of your duties."
“Do you want your mother to come back here? She really will...”
Bella sharply inhaled, preparing to scream and beckon her mother. Lucas launched himself into the kitchen and clamped her mouth shut. “Please. Don’t.”
Bella won. She couldn't care less if her mother came in. Whenever they got around to giving her the dumbass plaque, everyone would be pissed at her, anyway. If she didn't embarrass the hell out of her family, her dress would do the job just fine.
"Chris was right," Lucas whispered in her ear.
A shiver ran down her spine, but Bella suppressed it and pried his hand from her mouth to ask, “What was he right about?”
“You’re pure evil.”
"He didn't say that," Bella said and fixed his lopsided tie. He'd been fidgeting and trying to fix it himself without a mirror, or Chris had 'fixed' the tie and tried to strangle Lucas instead.
“He implied it.”
Bella couldn’t argue. For her brother, she always was especially devious.
“What are you doing back here?” Lucas pleaded.
Wait staff carrying trays of empty champagne flutes ducked around Lucas, swapping their trays for trays of hor d'oeuvres. As one server passed by, Bella grabbed a piece of mini toast with lobster, popped it in her mouth, and with her mouth full, said, "Snatching up the freshest food before the masses have a...what?"
Impatience boiled over in Lucas. He cocked his head, and she'd attack him if she had access to a pillow. Maybe she could drag him to the gym instead of slinking out to accept a dumb medal or whatever. They could wrestle it out for real.
Tonight, though, she had a sinking feeling she wouldn’t win if she started a fight, pillow or not.
Bella shook her phone at him. “I had to make a call. I’m not even supposed to be here. I’m supposed to be doing the holiday health screening event. The doctor Christian placed there is a...” Lucas rolled his eyes again.
“Don’t give me that look!” Bella whined. “That doctor can’t even explain why a blood draw is necessary to one of the community members! Mr. Keeler was screaming at everyone that they were trying to steal his blood.”
Lucas almost broke.
“I should be there. Not here! Can’t you just whisk me away back to the health screening event and after I promise to split a pizza and six-pack with you?”
Any sane person would think begging was below her station in life, but no one wanted Bella at this awards ceremony. Least of all, Bella. Plus, Christian and Lucas didn't want to be stuck here making sure she didn't do something considered 'embarrassing' or 'over theatrical' or 'dramatic.' The nicest terms people had for categorizing Bella's actions.
It would be easier and less problematic if she weren't at the ceremony. No one said she had to accept said plaque. Christian could very well have accepted on her behalf.
Of course, pizza and beer were not a hugely attractive offer, but he knew it was the best she could do after swearing off using her trust fund money. Right now, her only other option was to attempt to win over Lucas with her charming personality. Judging by the death stare boring straight into Bella's soul, her offer was out of the question.
Bella cursed Daniel’s emotional manipulation again.
"I can't do that," Lucas said. "Your mother..."
“Ugh! You don’t work for my mother.” Bella moaned and kicked her legs.
"How adult of you," he said, pointing at her flailing legs like she was a child trapped in a thirty year old's body. "And I don't work for you either." His eyes narrowed on her, though he did smile. At least she finally broke him.
“Come on, Lucas! I can’t go out there. Have some mercy. It’s the holidays!”
Lucas held out his hand for her. Then he replied, “You just need to step out this door and accept the plaque from the mayor, Bells. That’s it.”
He broke out the nickname. Low blow.
Begrudgingly, Bella took his hand. “Then you’ll drive me back? You! Not Daniel. Not a taxi.”
“Then I’ll drive you back to the rec center. You can explain phlebotomy and blood analysis and vaccinate people to your heart’s content. I’ll even treat you to pizza and your favorite hard cider.”
“Fancy.” Bella threw an elbow into his side and gave him a lopsided smirk.
She clutched at the drink in her hand, and Lucas responded by squeezing her other arm, then looping it around his arm. At the door, Bella stood on her tiptoes, peering through the window at the life she had left behind. The life she didn't belong to anymore and avoided at all costs.
A room full of socialites. People who cared about nothing more than exterior beauty, social standing, and net worth. Dresses that cost more than cars. Judgment. Gossip. Everything portrayed in the media was only the tip of the iceberg for the privileged class.
“Can I place any and all blame on you for anything I do once I step outside those doors?” She asked. Bella took a gulp of the bright red, tart cherry drink.
Lucas grinned his most charming grin. Damn him. Two in one conversation. He was finally warming up. Thank God he could never begrudge her for long. “Congratulations, Dr. Astor.” Then he tugged on her jacket’s shoulder. “You are wearing a dress, right?”
“Sure.”
A whole two steps into the gallery, and they were assaulted by a nearly life-size photo of Bella, which she hadn't noticed earlier in her haste to find a hiding spot.
At first glance, the photo in front showed a pile of rubble and billowing dust overhead. Bella's eyes took a moment to adjust, and she realized not all the debris was brick and rock. There were people. Pieces and whole. The dust settled on bodies thrown into walls and rubble indiscriminately.
Six months ago seemed like a lifetime ago until she was face to face with herself in stark black and white. Black streaked her head and hair. Slumped against a torn apart wall. Syria. Outside the health center.
A rush of emotion left Bella limp.
Lucas tried to keep her moving when he realized why she’d stopped. His eyes followed hers. “This...you weren’t supposed to—”
“It’s fine.” Bella put on a brave face and tried to brush off the remnants of her time overseas before it threatened to engulf her. Her time in Frontier Doctors became a time her family ignored. Gone nearly five years was treated almost like it didn’t happen.
“Come on. You don’t have to—Bells, I’m so sorry. Chris had them move the photos with you to the back because he assumed you’d stay in the front...”
She ended his nervous rambling by pecking him on the cheek.
“Lucas, it’s fine. I’m fine. It’s all fine.”
"Yes, you sound fine." He straightened his suit coat nervously, constantly tugging and pulling on it when his nerves took over. "I'll go get Christian. Or do you want..."
She shook her head, and the curls of her pigtails tickled her neck. Lucas understood. He always understood. He could leave Bella to her thoughts to search for her brother. She'd prefer the quiet than the crowd and spotlight until the last minute and would stay right there, as promised, trying to reconcile her two lives, past and present, until someone told her they were ready for her.
That day in the picture was a blur. Hell, the days all blurred together around that time. The days in the hospital, the surgery, the flights home. Syria seemed like a strange dream that didn’t happen until her shoulder hurt. Pain twinged her shoulder now.
Her thoughts returned to the day, struggling to remember what had happened. She'd been on the edge of their allocated zone, but the blast was too close. Enough to knock her over and send debris flying all around her.
Seeing herself lying against the remnants of a building was surreal.
Someone cleared their throat behind her and brought Bella back to reality.
"When I came for the opening, you were up front, where you belong."
Bella wheeled around. Her hand trembled at that voice. She clutched harder to the glass, praying she’d heard wrong.
“Bells?”
No, she hadn’t heard wrong!
Bella turned and found Preston Warren and his ridiculously perfect deep dark hair, combed back with the perfect amount of stubble along his chiseled jawline, making him look chic instead of sloppy. Eyes so dark they almost looked black, blending perfectly with his hair staring at her. Pres was still as perfect as freaking ever. “Wow. You look...”
Five years’ worth of repressed rage grabbed at Bella’s and set the world spinning.