#Chapter 7: Old Friends

Ella POV The sudden touch of Alexander’s hands on my back, exposed from the courageous dip of my dressline, made my skin feel like it was on fire. “Why would I do that, darling?” he laughed. “She keeps making these jokes lately, all because I forgot to rub her feet last night.” Rub my feet? I couldn’t decide if the laugh or the embrace or the imaginary foot-rubbing was more unsettling. All three of those things were so out of character for him that it briefly made me wonder if he had been replaced with a lookalike in the past thirty seconds. “You never rub my feet,” I hissed, pushing my palms into his chest. “You’re a liar.” Alexander held fast and chuckled. “Women,” he joked, eliciting some laughs from the people around us. The only people who weren’t laughing were Sophia and Gabriel. My father, for appearances, managed a faint chuckle. “Alexander, what are you talking about?” I whispered, suddenly turning angry. “And let me go—” But the