He turns to face me and leans his head to the side. “Are you pissed, man? I’m not doing anything with Bella. How am I pissing you off?”
“I didn’t say me.” No, I’m confused. I’m a little bothered that Sophie seems to be jealous when it comes to Gunner but no one else. Maybe it’s because she’s more confident with me and Holden?
“Who?”
“Sophie.”
He shakes his head. “No. Sophie knows I would rather be the one to have her on my arm. Bella means nothing to me. She’s barely a friend.”
“Sure. Just be careful with how she touches you. You guys seem … interesting.”
“We talked at the falls when I went back to get Holden’s stuff, but it was silly stuff, the kind of stuff a person says when they’re nervous about getting married.”
“And people who are getting married, or about to, do stupid things.” I remind him. “So just … be careful.”
“Bella loves Matthew. We all know that. She knows that. Everyone here knows that before we even got here.” He insists.
I hold my hands up. “I’m not saying you’d do anything. I know that you wouldn’t, but I’m just saying that… she seems rather nervous about this and is steadily getting closer to you.”
“I wouldn’t abuse Sophie’s trust like that.” He growls. “I know you wouldn’t either. Holden’s never been crazy about Bella, and Roman is so utterly wrapped around Sophie’s finger he wouldn’t dare to hurt her. None of us would. So there’s nothing for us to worry about, okay?”
“Hey. I’m not picking a fight, Gun.” I assure him. “I’m just rather worried about how Bella is acting and how fragile all this is. We know better than most how … how bad things can go.”
Gunner nods and messes his hair up with his hand. “Let’s get back to the table.”
“Sure.”
We sit back down after Gunner hands Sophie her drink. She grabs his tie and looks up at him. I can’t place that look, but I know it’s not good. She whispers something in his ear, then grabs his hip.
He smiles. “Promise, sweets.”
She nods and lets him go before picking up her conversation with Holden. “Really? You can get a paint job for it? And one that looks like traditional tattoos? That sounds right up your alley.”
“I wouldn’t have it for a week though, which makes things pretty difficult.”
“I’m sure I can work from home for a week and manhandle you.” She winks. “You know, help you get places … do things … lend a hand.”
He chuckles and nods. “I’ll let you know so you can take care of me.”
“Happily take care of you.”
“Yes, baby.” He keeps his voice low when he gives her the endearment.
Sophie leans towards me and rubs my knee. “You okay, handsome?”
“I am. Just a lot on my mind.”
“Want me to fix that?” It’s a sweet offer, I can tell. “Tell you what, if you dance with me, I’ll give you a hand job under the table.”
“Bribing me with sex, huh?” I tease.
“Or painting. I may have snuck a canvas on the plane so we could paint tonight … if you guys leave me with any energy.” She giggles.
“Hi everyone!”
We all turn at Bella’s voice.
“I just want to thank everyone for joining us for the destination wedding. We’re truly humbled by the amount of love and kindness you’ve shown us.” Bella says, tapping her heart.