Page 12 of Broken Bonds

CELINE

“What kind of condition is the house in?” Ace let go of my arms to run a hand through his wet locks, pushing them out of his eyes. I hated how effortlessly sexy the move was.

I frowned at him, not understanding his question. “What do you mean?”

“Is there food, water?” he elaborated, and I nodded, watching the rain fall harder outside of the garage. His bike was still outside, getting soaked.

I roughly cleared my throat. “You might want to bring your bike in before it gets taken away with the rain.”

“Crap, I forgot!” His face dropped, and he ran out into the rain. Something in my chest twisted. Aidan would have abandoned me and my feelings for his stupid bike, but Ace had been so intent on calming my nerves and soothing me that he’d forgotten all about his.

Squinting through the heavy rain, I could barely make Ace out until he was right in front of me, pushing his bike into the garage beside my Jeep. He was properly soaked now, water dripping from him everywhere. He must be so cold. Discomfort tightened my insides. He was in this state because of me and my ignorance over basic car stuff.

“I’m sorry.” I looked down at my dirty, wet Converse, unable to look into his eyes.

“Don’t worry; she’s been through worse.” He laughed, shrugging his jacket off to reveal broad shoulders and veiny forearms.

He reminded me so much of Aidan and the way Aidan was with his bike before the accident. And yet, Ace was the complete opposite of him. Ace was kinder than Aidan ever was, and he didn’t pressure me to get on his bike. He wasn’t self-absorbed. Aidan would’ve argued until I caved, but Ace sensed my trepidation and dropped the subject, even staying so I wouldn’t be alone.

“I’m sure we have some towels inside you can use to wipe her down.”

He smiled at me—a genuine smile—and I felt a little lighter. “Thanks. That would be great. When was the last time you guys used this place?” He followed me into the house, closing the garage door on our way in. The sound of the rain was quieter in here, but the house was cool, making me shiver.

“Probably a month ago. We usually leave some water here and some canned food. Worst case, there are some goods in the freezer. I just hope we don’t lose power.” I grimaced. “There isn’t a generator here.”

Ace hummed, looking around to take the open-plan living room and kitchen in. “I’ve been watching the news, and there’s a big possibility that the storm might miss us here, so a generator might not even be necessary. I’m more concerned about flooding, but—God, that view isspectacular.” He was looking out the big windows in the lounge where the view was out of this world. It was the main reason my parents bought this house two years ago, and we came here often for weekend getaways.

The ocean was visible through the windows, and the waves were angrily crashing against the shore. Usually, they were blue,but now they were gray and churning with white-tipped crests. It was both majestically beautiful and horribly terrifying.

“It better not flood. I can’t lose my Jeep. I just finished paying her off.” He looked at me, amusement and shock glimmering in his eyes.

“You paid for the Jeep? No help from your parents?” Of course, he would think that; everyone did. But my parents were firm believers in making their children pay their own way as much as possible. In their opinion, how else were we meant to learn responsibility and the meaning of working for what we have?

“No, I bought her crashed. I paid my dad’s workshop to fix her up and then slowly started adding the upgrades. It’s been a long journey, but every penny was worth it.” I rubbed at my chilled arms. “I can sell her now for a pretty penny and buy something newer, something faster. I’ve been thinking about a BMW.” I lifted one shoulder in a semi-shrug.

“If you weren’t such a pain in the ass, I would say you were perfect for me.” He laughed, using the kitchen dish towel he found in a drawer to dry his hair and face. My cheeks warmed instantly, surprised at his compliment.

“Too bad I’m not interested, Asshole.” He laughed even louder this time.

“Calm down. I’m not looking for a relationship.” I left him in the kitchen to find a towel for his bike. I could hear him rummaging through the kitchen, opening doors and drawers, making loud noises. It was kind of obnoxious, but it also felt weirdly intimate that he was making himself at home in the beach house so easily.

When I came back into the kitchen with a couple of towels, Ace was peering into the freezer, the light casting an eerie glow over his face. “See anything good?” He jumped in surprise, banging his head on the top of the freezer. I snorted a laugh.

“Some pizza, bread, and ice cream. Sounds like the essentials to me.”

Such a man.

“I hope we have peanut butter and jam for the bread. Here are two towels.” I passed them over to him. “One for you and one for your girlfriend.”

He rolled his eyes but muttered a quiet, “Thank you,” before heading back to the garage.

“I’ll be upstairs if you need anything,” I hollered before the garage door slammed behind him.

The house may have appeared big, but in reality, it wasn’t quite as big as it looked. For starters, there were only three bedrooms upstairs—a master for my parents, and a Jack and Jill set-up for Ryan and me. Sharing a bathroom with my messy brother had to be the worst part about this house, but we had done it for almost my entire life.

Finding an old pair of sweats and a shirt from high school, I couldn’t have been happier to have a hot shower. Peeling my wet clothes off was a relief on its own, but I hadn’t realized just how cold I was until I stood under the steaming hot water.

Ten minutes later, I was dressed in my old, worn-out clothes with my wet hair piled on top of my head in a sloppy bun. I muffled a scream when I opened my bedroom door to find Ace standing there, fist in midair. He jerked back at the strangled scream, looking just as alarmed as I was.

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