Home is Where the Heart Is (Home #1) (9 page)

Fuck, he was checking himself out in the mirror.

It was pretty new to him this intense attraction he felt towards her. He knew love at first sight was bullshit, but there was definitely something starting between them that had the potential to be something special.
It was another reason he was going to stay sober tonight. He knew exactly what every guy at the party was going to be thinking when Isabelle walked in, and he was going to need all his self-control and faculties to stop him from pulling their arms off if anyone got too close to her.

Just the thought of some of the douchebags at his school tarnishing her with their touch had him wanting to beat something until he forced the murderous urges away. This was exactly what she didn’t need after what she’d been through.

He turned to the mirror and scowled at himself.

Get your shit together and do not screw this one up.

*

Sweat dripped down the back of Jace’s neck as he sat on the plush grey couch in Isabelle’s living room. His foot tapped nervously waiting for Isabelle to emerge, and he fought against cringing under her father’s shrewd gaze.

“So Jace, have you lived here long?”

He turned to Isabelle’s Dad with his nerves really kicking in.

“My whole life, Sir.”

Her dad’s lips quirked. “James is fine…for now.”

Jace nodded, wiping sweaty hands on his shorts.

“Women,” James said in exasperation. “Why it takes so long to get ready is beyond me.”

“Perfection takes time, Dad.”

Jace nearly gave himself whiplash he turned to Isabelle so fast.

His mouth dropped. “Wow!”

Isabelle looked incredible.

Her long hair was half pulled up and braided across her head like a halo, the rest falling in soft curls. She was dressed in one of Maia’s fitted, black dresses that dipped down low at the front so her bikini was visible, along with ample cleavage.

She’d put some make up on so the bruises were mostly covered and her eyes were nearly blazing they were so bright.

It took James clearing his throat loudly for Jace to realise he was practically drooling in her house in front of her parents.

He finally gave an approving nod.

“You look good, Angel.”

James snorted. “Angel? Please, devil in angel’s clothing seems more fitting.”

Isabelle stomped down the stairs, shooting her Dad a withering look before grabbing Jace’s arm and attempting to tow him away.

“Whoa now, young lady, not so fast.”

Isabelle sighed in frustration. “What now, Dad?”

James Mason crossed his arms, all humour gone from his face.

“I don’t want you getting into any trouble tonight - no drugs, no hard partying-”

“No fun,” Isabelle interrupted. “I know the drill, Dad.”

James turned to Jace his eyes cold and deadly. “No sex.”

Jace felt his face redden as he nodded. At the same time Isabelle smacked her hand to her forehead.

“Dad! You couldn’t even give me one night without embarrassing me?”

James remained stoic. “No later than one o’clock, got that?”

“I’ll have her home in time,” Jace said firmly.

James eyed him piercingly, his eyes searching for something, anything that would indicate it was a mistake to let his daughter out.

“I’ll be waiting up,” he said gruffly. “Keep your phone on you.”

With one last threatening look at Jace, James strode out of the room leaving the two of them alone.

“I’m so sorry,” Isabelle cried, her cheeks flaming.

“It’s all good. You’re lucky to have a Dad who cares so much.”

“I’m so embarrassed!”

Jace shook his head. “You don’t know how lucky you are.”

She looked at him then, or rather, looked through him and Jace felt more exposed than ever.

She didn’t break eye contact until her phone started ringing.

She pulled it out hastily and silenced it but not quickly enough for Jace to miss the name.

Tate, with a heart next to it.

“Admirer of yours?” he asked casually.

Isabelle’s eyes widened. “Tate? No, he’s just my friend, well he’s my best friend…was…well I guess he still…I mean…”

She broke off and took a deep breath. “We grew up together; our Dads are best friends.”

“Any reason you’re dodging his calls?”

Please say it’s not some messy love thing.

Isabelle flinched visibly before her shoulders sagged. “I’m the worst.”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

Her eyes became haunted once more. “He knows me better than anyone, and that means there’s no hiding or shielding myself from him. Any lie that I might tell, any secret I may want to hide, he will see right through, and I guess I’m just not ready to be that vulnerable just yet.”

Who was this girl?

“Makes me a coward, right?” she sighed.

Jace thought about how he kept everyone, even his own twin at arm’s length, and shook his head.

“Not at all.”

Isabelle seemed to realise just how much she’d opened up to him and immediately crossed her arms over her chest, moving back a bit defensively.

“Should we get going?” she asked briskly.

Jace smiled and led the way out. “Sure.”

He guided her over to his house and then through his garage where his black v8 ute was parked.

“Is it just us?” she asked, eyeing the Ute with interest.

Jace grinned playfully. “My baby only seats three. I didn’t think you would want to sit on my lap so Matt and Maia took her car and went ahead.”

He was rewarded with a blush. He loved that he affected her, no matter how small.

“Are we going to be late?” she asked, eyes wide with worry.

“We
are
the party, Angel, so it’s impossible for us to be late,” he laughed, feeling on top of the world.

“Are you always this cheesy with your other girls?”

“What other girls? I only see you.”

“That’s because I’m the only one here,” she said impatiently.

He winked. “Exactly.”

As she blushed again he brushed past her to open the passenger door.

“Ladies first.”

She looked at him, eyes speculative.

“What?” he said, feeling self-conscious.

“You’re weird.”

“Is that a good thing?”

Please say yes. Please say yes.

She actually gave him a mischievous smile. “Maybe.”

Making sure she was in safely, he shut her door and practically danced over to his side.

So far, so good.

Now all he needed to do was fend off about twenty testosterone filled guys and he’d be sweet.

*

“Oh…wow,” Isabelle sighed.

Jace nodded as he pulled up to the house. “Bit excessive, right?”

As they exited the car and Jace locked up he turned to see Isabelle staring open mouthed at the three storey mansion.

“This is your friend’s house?” she breathed.

“Well, it’s his parents house, but he lives here too.”

Isabelle just stared.

Not that Jace could blame her. The house was awesome.

White house with lots of glass windows everywhere, a perfect green polished front yard, lawn complete with a bridge and fish pond. Inside, it was pristine with white walls, black tiles and expensive pretty much everything. It boasted six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a movie theatre and, of course, a pool with water feature and slide.

“I’ll get Ben to give you the grand tour once we’re inside,” he said as he took her hand and pulled her forward.

“Wait! I have stage fright!” she whispered as they paused by the back gate.

Jace snorted. “Are you kidding me?”

The warmth in her smile practically melted him.

“I’ll be there the whole time, OK? And if you hate it after an hour, we can leave.”

She stumbled back like he’d hit her.

“Whoa, are you OK?”

She nodded but her hands were shaking. “Yeah, it’s just a bit of déjà vu.”

“Give it twenty minutes,” he amended. “You still hate it, come grab me and we’ll go.”

She nodded and Jace once again joined their hands, took a deep breath and then pushed through the gate.

As soon as they walked through, Jace’s confidence wavered. Every single eye was trained on Isabelle and every single male eye, apart from Matt, glittered with lust gazing at her.
He knew she was going to attract attention, but this was goddamn ridiculous. Scowling at any of them who made the mistake of catching his eye, Jace tried to make it clear with his glare that she was off limits.

While concentrating on the reaction of the other partygoers, Jace had temporarily forgotten Isabelle and missed her silent panic attack. He gave her his full attention now and noticed how wide and panicked her eyes were as she started backing towards the gate.

Keeping his hand wrapped around hers firmly, he backed up so he was right near her ear.

“It’s OK,” he murmured.

“Everyone is staring at me,” she whispered, her voice filled with worry.

“They’ve never seen an angel before. Allow for adjustment.”

She rolled her eyes at him but gave a small smile and stopped trying to back away.

“Do you want a drink?” he asked, hoping to distract her.

“Or ten,” she muttered.

Jace smiled. “Come on, I’ll give you the tour.”

He fought hard to conceal his surprise as Isabelle tightened her hand in his, looking up at him expectantly.
With a small nod he led her into the extravagant house, first stopping in the massive kitchen.

“It’s like something out of a movie,” she whispered as her eyes took in the marble counter tops, three fridges, two walk in pantries and a huge chandelier hanging over the bench.

Jace just grinned at her, enjoying the innocent wonder in her eyes.

“Cruiser?” he asked, offering her the bottle of pink alcohol.

With a grateful smile she took the drink from him, pulled the top off and took a tentative swig.

“It’s yum,” she said taking another sip.

“You’ve never had that flavour before?” he asked leaning against the counter.

She shrugged. “I don’t really drink and when I did it was usually nothing girly or sweet.”

His eyes perked up in interest. “Are you a dark angel then?”

Isabelle snorted. “Yep that’s me - biggest bad ass out.”

“Should I be locking my doors at night then? I mean, you do know where I live.”

She leant in close enough that his breath hitched when her scent consumed him.

“That wouldn’t keep me out if I wanted to get in.”

They stayed in that moment, close enough to kiss but not quite touching until the screen door opened and they both jumped apart with their faces flushed.

“Jace! What’s up, man?”

His jaw clenched as he prayed for the strength not to punch Ben in his perfect fucking face.

Riding out the violent urge, he plastered a tight smile on his face.

“Hey man, when are your parents back?”

Ben shrugged. “Didn’t say.”

Isabelle’s mouth dropped. “Aren’t you worried you’ll get busted?”

Ben turned his dark eyes to her and gave his most charming smile. “They aren’t stupid but neither am I. Everything they care about is locked up, I pretty much keep everyone outside, and the house is always cleaner than when they left it, so there’s really no problem.”

Isabelle nodded and took another sip, shifting closer to Jace.

“My name’s Ben,” he offered his hand. “Your party host, which means anything you need, it’s my job to get for you.”

“I’m Isabelle. Does everyone get this treatment?”

Ben winked. “Only the pretty ones.”

“Well, since I’m the prettiest, what do I get?” Jace interjected, moving to stand behind Isabelle with an overbearing need to stake his claim.

Ben looked between the two of them for a few moments and then smiled brightly again.

“An ego check, my friend,” he said finally, but his tone was friendly and he’d eased away from Isabelle.
Isabelle giggled and relaxed a little bit into Jace, although her eyes took Ben in with appreciation.

Yep, he was a dream boat all right. Even Jace could see the attraction which naturally just pissed him off more.

Ben grabbed a beer from the fridge and then gestured them towards the door.

“Come on, you can’t just steal her away. Let’s go socialise and show Isabelle how it’s done.”

Isabelle walked out first, leaving the two boys alone.

“Oh my God,” Ben mouthed to Jace. “She is so hot!”