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!”
Jace smiled, but his eyes were cold in a very keep-your-hands-off kind of way.
Ben grinned, holding his hands up in surrender, as he walked out after Isabelle.
Jace regretted being the designated driver already. He wasn’t sure how he was going to watch her being stalked like prey without a beer to mellow him.
“Isabelle! Jace!”
Isabelle turned to make sure Jace was following as she smiled over at Maia standing on a chair, jumping up and down.
“Is your sister drunk already?” Isabelle whispered, as they headed over.
Jace smirked. “Nope.”
“Oh, wow.”
“I know - wait until the alcohol hits,” he told her playfully.
Isabelle smiled nervously as she crossed the distance between them, bracing when Maia threw herself into her arms.
“You made it!”
“We sure did,” Isabelle replied, squirming a little with the constant affection.
Maia let go of Isabelle, and appraised her, running her eyes up and down Isabelle’s frame with a frown on her face.
Isabelle picked at her dress anxiously. “What?”
“You look better in my dress than I do,” Maia told her, looking miserable.
Isabelle looked aghast. “No I don’t.”
Maia sighed deeply. “You do. I don’t have the boobs or the sexy curves to fill it out like you do.”
Isabelle looked up at Jace for help so he pushed forward and twirled around.
“Well? What about me?”
Maia raised an eyebrow. “You couldn’t pull it off either.”
“Oh, ouch!”
Maia smacked Jace away dismissively, and put her arm through Isabelle’s.
“Come on babe, let’s go say hi to everyone.”
As she left, Maia gave Jace a warning glance, which he returned with a glare.
With Isabelle in good hands, Jace relaxed and settled himself into the party. He made small talk with a few guys he used to play footy with, before heading over to Matt and lounging on a leather couch, perfectly positioned to provide a perfect view of Isabelle.
He scoffed to himself - a freaking leather couch outside. It was pretty much a sign that said ‘we burn money for fun.’ As he sipped his drink and watched the group around Isabelle grow bigger, he felt eyes burning into him. And not just one pair.
He looked around to see the majority of guys at the party staring at him with interest.
“What’s their deal?” he asked Matt.
“You just rocked up with this Sports Illustrated looking girl with no explanation. In this town, that’s kind of a big deal.”
Jace raised an eyebrow. “Sports Illustrated?”
Matt groaned. “Oh grow up Jace. Just because I’m practically married to your sister, doesn’t mean I don’t have eyes. Isabelle is banging, any i***t could see that.”
Matt then looked around and grinned. “Rather, every i***t already has.”
As if on cue, Jace found himself slowly being surrounded - the press of male bodies reeking of alcohol and sweat overwhelming him.
A rough hand pushed him in the chest.
“What the hell, dude?”
He turned his attention to Tyler, playboy of the town. He was also arguably the best looking dude with that body he spent hours toning at the gym, like the show pony he was.
“Where have you been hiding her?”
Grunts of agreement followed him.
Jace tried to be nonchalant. “She’s my new neighbour. I’m just helping her settle in.”
Matt snorted in disbelief as hope crossed the faces of the guys around him.
“So, does she have a boyfriend?” Tyler pressed. “Is she available?”
Jace felt his insides freeze. How the hell was he supposed to answer that? He certainly didn’t own Isabelle, but there was no way in hell he was going to pass her up as the flavour of the month for these clowns.
“She doesn’t have a boyfriend,” he said tersely. “But she’s not available.”
The guys looked at him then, and maybe for the first time ever, Jace felt like they were actually noticing him for more than that stoner at a party. They were starting to see him as a potential threat, and he was surprised to find the caveman in him welcomed it.
“Still, it would be rude not to introduce myself,” Tyler said lightly, with a cocky grin.
“She won’t be interested,” Ben drawled, as he walked over.
“What the hell’s that supposed to mean?”
Ben waved back to Isabelle, who was politely listening to Slater as he practically drooled in her drink. Just as Jace was about to turn away, Isabelle looked over at him and smiled, lifting her hand in a wave.
“Go and talk to her for ten minutes, she isn’t like the other girls here. She’s smart and funny, and completely seduce-proof.”
Tyler scoffed. “No one is seduce-proof.”
Jace’s hands curled into fists. “She’s not a game for you to play.”
Tyler smirked as he backed towards Isabelle. “Guess we’ll find out.”
If it weren’t for Matt’s iron grip on his arms, Jace would have launched himself at the little s**t. He had seen what happened to the girls Tyler had grown tired of so quickly. Like hell Jace was going to throw Isabelle to the wolves.
“So – a girl, huh?”
Jace kept his eyes on Isabelle and Tyler, as he answered Ben.
“Yeah, yeah. There’s just something about her.”
“She’s definitely on a different level of hot,” Brandon, Tyler’s right hand man, sighed.
“She’s beautiful,” Jace corrected firmly.
“She’s so sad,” Ben said quietly, finally breaking Jace’s anxious gaze at Isabelle.
“What?”
“She’s sad,” he repeated. “I was just talking to her before, and her eyes were so f*****g sad even though she was smiling. I almost gave her my Mother’s shrink’s number.”
Jace wanted to punch him out. Why did Ben have to be perceptive and sensitive? Wasn’t being rich and attractive enough? Didn’t Jace have enough odds stacked against him with Isabelle as it was?
“She doesn’t look sad now,” Matt mused. “More like uncomfortable.”
Jace looked over to see Tyler all up in Isabelle’s space as she backed away with a forced smile.
“Hmm, looks like she really is seduce-proof,” Brandon said.
“No,” Jace said, as he strode away. “She’s just not stupid.”
The look of relief on Isabelle’s face as soon as she saw Jace was enough to speed Jace’s heart up, and give him the courage to wrap a protective arm around her.
“Jace, I’m so glad you’re here,” Isabelle said brightly, although she shifted away from his touch slightly.
He smiled down at her reassuringly.
“I was just telling Isabelle that we should get a water volley ball game going - it is, after all, a pool party.”