Empire High Betrayal (Empire High #3) - Ivy Smoak Page 0,87

with trash? Stupid mutt.”

Sir Wilfred whimpered in her arms.

I pressed my lips together. Sir Wilfred was growing on me. Every time Isabella was mean to him, I loved him a little more. And I hated that she treated him just like she treated me. It looked like he was shivering in her arms. Probably because her hands were so freaking cold. Or maybe he was just scared of her like I was.

“Isabella, there’s a gate in the backyard. Why don’t you let Sir Wilfred play out there during the party?” I would have offered to let him stay in my room. But then all my clothes would somehow get cut up. I reached out and petted his cute little furry head.

“Sir Wilfred is not a peasant,” she snapped and pulled him away from me. “God, now he’s dirty.” She dropped Sir Wilfred back onto the ground like he was diseased from my touch.

This had to be animal cruelty. “Isabella, I don’t think Dad would…”

“Let me just stop you right there. Daddy doesn’t care what you think. At all. He loves me most. And he’ll always believe me over you.”

I couldn’t pull a prank on her. But I could stand up to her. She may have been a better Sandy. But that didn’t mean she was better than me. And it certainly didn’t mean our dad loved her more. He couldn’t possibly. And it was about time I pushed her off her high horse. But I didn’t have time to think about what to say. Because suddenly Old Time Rock and Roll started blaring through the speakers right behind us.

And Matt literally slid into the ballroom in his socks. He was wearing a dress shirt without any pants.

He didn’t dress up as Danny Zuko!

“Oh my God, he’s doing the Risky Business dance!” Kennedy said.

Matt spun around and pretended to sing into a candlestick. Then he ran over to one of the huge fake pumpkins and jumped up on it.

Everyone was cheering and clapping. I saw a flash out of the corner of my eye. Kennedy was snapping pictures of the whole thing.

I stepped around Isabella to get a better view.

Matt jumped off the pumpkin, landing on his knees. The fog on the ground dispersed around him as he pretended to play an air guitar.

And when he got up, he locked eyes with me. He tossed the candlestick to the side of the room before sliding across the floor, grabbing me around the waist, and dipping me low.

Everyone was whistling and applauding like crazy.

And I was laughing so hard that it hurt. I kept laughing as he lifted me back up and pulled me into his chest.

“You look beautiful, baby,” he whispered in my ear.

“You’re not wearing any pants,” I said through my laughter.

He stepped back, keeping our fingers intertwined. “Huh. How ‘bout that?”

“You’re amazing.” I smiled up at him. Matt had all the confidence in the world. And I was pretty sure if anyone else had dressed up in the same outfit as him, he wouldn’t have cared. “That was quite the entrance. I thought you were lying about needing one.”

He laughed. “I know how much you like when I make a fool of myself.”

“You never make a fool of yourself. Everyone in this room loves you. But I love you most.”

He smiled down at me. “I love you most.”

I stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, but he turned his head and captured my lips with his. A few people whistled again. Matt was definitely winning best male costume. And I didn’t care if I won too. I’d already won, because I had him.

“Come on,” Matt said. “Let’s dance.” He grabbed my hand and Kennedy’s hand and pulled us onto the dance floor.

He didn’t acknowledge Isabella’s Sandy costume. I wasn’t sure if he just didn’t notice because he was too busy dancing with me and Kennedy. Or because he really cared about Isabella so little. Either way, it was a win for me.

Matt broke out a weird robot dance move and then pointed to Kennedy. She moved her arms robotically too and then pointed at me. I took a few straight-legged steps and bent over, doing the best robot I could.

And the three of us couldn’t stop laughing.

Matt was a great dancer. Me? Not so much. But I’d never had so much fun. Tonight couldn’t be more different than homecoming. That disaster of a night, I’d been torn between Matt, Miller, Felix, and even James if I was being