They separated in the gym, Jack searching for Leah and Bella looking out for anyone she knew.
She spotted Jessica, her wife, and Mike Newton chatting at the makeshift bar and smirked as she thought about seeing his face in the headlights at the beach.
Mike met her stare and grinned. She smiled back ruefully, mentally kicking herself for their drunken flirting - all because she had wanted Paul to believe he couldn't affect her the way he did, and adult Mike fit so well into the cacophony of men she'd dated and promptly forgotten about.
Going on a date with Mike now was the absolute last thing she wanted to do.
She started toward him, intending to greet him politely. Midway across the room, the feeling of someone watching her made Bella stop and check her surroundings - and what she found nearly made her swoon.
Paul wore an entirely black suit, tie, dress shoes, and the cockiest grin she'd ever seen. The appreciative gazes of other women around the room followed as he passed, but he kept his eyes on Bella. His hair was slicked back, his facial hair freshly trimmed, and a silver chain dangled at his hip. He lifted one hand to adjust his cuff, and she spotted two rings on each hand. Between his menacing size, the suit, haircut, and the half-smoked cigarette tucked behind one ear, he looked like some sort of mobster.
Whatever the look was supposed to be, it worked for him. Bella was afraid to move a muscle and leave a puddle on the floor. The question was, why was he here?
From behind her, she heard "Bella. Hey. Glad you're here!"
Half-dazed from ogling her husband (again), Bella slowly turned to Mike. "Um. Hey."
"Glad you could make it. You look great!"
"You too," she said politely.
Her skin tingled as she felt Paul's warm hands grasp her hips as he pressed his chest to her back and kissed the back of her head. Mike's eyes went wide as he stepped back, looking confused.
"Um…" He gestured between them and chuckled nervously. "I was going to ask if you'd brought a date tonight, but…"
Paul said, "Oh, I'm not her date. We probably should have explained the other night. I'm her husband."
Bella's mouth fell open as Mike nearly dropped his drink. He said, "Come again?"
She glared up at Paul for putting her on the spot, and he just stared back at her affectionately, chuckling. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before addressing Mike.
"I wanted to talk to you about that. I wasn't trying to mislead you, Mike, and I didn't lie when I said Paul and I barely knew each other. That was true."
Paul interrupted, "We got married on a whim and were estranged for seven years."
Bella closed her eyes, both angry and embarrassed, as Paul firmly repeated, "Were estranged."
Mike nodded. "I'm guessing that means you reconciled."
Simultaneously, Bella said, "Not quite," as Paul said, "Yes!"
Again, Bella glared at Paul. He scowled back at her as she asked, "What are you doing?"
Mike said, "Uh, I'm… going to let you two sort out… whatever the hell this is. Bella, I'll find you for a dance later?"
"Two," she reminded him on principle as she kept her eyes on Paul.
He raised his eyebrows at her challenge, but Mike was already walking away. "Poor Sap thought he stood a chance." Suddenly, he reached up and patted something against Bella's chest. She looked down below her left shoulder at the nametag he'd stuck there.
Bella (Swan) Lahote. Oh, he has some nerve!
She hissed, "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Are you trying to play head games with me?"
To her irritation, he grinned, looking entirely unbothered by her rising temper. "Nope. Just protecting what's mine."
A little too loudly, she asked, "What's yours?!"
She tried to ignore it as several people looked their way and lowered her voice. "The main reason I'm even in town right now is because you asked me for a divorce! Do you plan on announcing that tonight, too?"
"Oh, I already did." Paul grinned as he reached up to brush a stray tendril from her face, and she pulled out of his reach.
"You… what?!" Bella gaped at him in shock. "T-to who?"
Glancing around their surroundings, he said, "Oh. Just the pack. Billy. Sue. Emily. Everyone." Meeting her incredulous glare, he continued, "Angela already knew. I confessed everything to her back when Quil got injured. Now, she always kept it to herself. But everyone knows after the meeting we had today."
Bella felt like her face was on fire with the anger roiling through her. "And why would you do that? Why would you cause a shitstorm like that? Do you want everyone pissed at me?"
He laughed, pushing her straight from angry to furious. "How do you always assume the wrong thing? No one is mad. Shocked, yeah. Mad, no. Well, except maybe Devon."
Bella rolled her eyes. "Well, he doesn't exactly like me, so I don't care."
"Oh, no," Paul said, chuckling as he shook his head. "You're wrong there, too. He likes you a little too much. After the bonfire, he sees you in a new light, and I had to knock him down a peg or two. Literally."
"You… lost your temper with him, then?" Paul looked away with a firm nod. Bella scoffed. "Wow. Why?"
"The little bastard planned to try hitting on you when he sees you again. I made sure he knows that will not be happening."
Bella grimaced at the thought of Devon trying to hit on her again. Ew.
Paul threw his head back, cackled, and damned if his handsome face didn't make her want to smile, too, despite how furious she felt. How could he have told everyone without talking to her first? It was one thing to know she'd gone home with him after the bonfire but to announce their seven-year deception like that.
She asked, "How did Jake handle it? Was he pissed?"
Paul reached up to stroke her face. Bella had to restrain herself from leaning into his touch like she wanted to. You're supposed to be mad at him, damn it!
"For about ten seconds. Then, just… surprised. Jake said he was happy for us as long as we are."
Bella scoffed. "A little too late, isn't it?"
She gasped in surprise as he grabbed her waist and tugged her toward him, pulling her flush to the front of his body. Paul pressed his lips to her temple.
"Is it too late, Bella?" He pulled back to cup both sides of her face, tilting her head back to stare into her eyes. "How I see it is this… You're mine, Bella. I'm yours. Whether we get divorced doesn't matter. That's just paper."
Bella blinked back tears. "What the fuck do you want from me, Paul? Please, just tell me what precisely you're hoping to accomplish here. We are different. We want different things. You listed irreconcilable differences on the papers, remember? And abandonment. I'm going back to Florida…"
"I don't want you to," he interrupted as he frowned. "I want you to stay here with me and Jamie."
Her heart skipped a beat at his words, and the pang echoed through her chest. "I'm no good for either of you."
"You're wrong."
"I don't belong here, Paul."
"You're wrong about that, too."
"Um… guys?" Leah's voice drew their attention as she and Jack approached them. She leaned toward them and whispered, "Maybe you two should take this out in the hallway? Like half the gym is staring over here wondering what the fuck you two are fighting about."
Bella glanced around them and blushed as she made eye contact with a dozen people in three seconds. "Argh!"
She turned to her right and spotted Quil and Angela slowly heading toward them, both wearing knowing smiles, their dark eyes sparkling with mischief.
Bella grabbed Paul's hand and jerked him behind her as she headed toward the door.
