Isabelle's Story, A Bentley Sisters Novel

by Lauren Beaumont

  It had been over a month now that they'd been together, and Isabelle had never been happier. She felt like she was finally getting her life back under control and on track. She frowned. Not that that was just due to Alex, she assured herself. Clearly, she'd have sorted herself out sooner or later anyway, but it was certainly a happy coincidence that Alex had appeared around the same time!

  Turning away from the window, she approached her closet and began to trawl through her selection of dresses. It was Meg's hen party, or 'bachelorette party' she grinned to herself, remembering Alex's words, tonight, but she'd been so engrossed in her writing that she hadn't had time to go out and buy a new dress for the occasion. If she was honest with herself, she knew she hadn't been out much at all recently. With Alex, her days were way more structured than they used to be when she was on her own and chose randomly whether she wanted to work through the day or, if she fancied, through the night, spending the day sleeping off a hangover instead! But now, she tended to allocate time during her days more rigidly, to enable her to see Alex when he left work in the evenings. Sure, she wasn't overly strict about it, and if one of her friends was around during the day she allowed herself the luxury of taking time off to meet them for lunch or coffee, after all that was one of the perks of working for herself, but she tried to make those occasions the exception rather than the rule.

  Rummaging through the closet, she found a short, fitted red silk dress that still had the tags on it. She remembered buying it earlier in the year, but had stowed it in her closet and pretty much forgotten about it. It would be perfect for tonight! Meg's hen party was dinner followed by dancing at a nightclub in Mayfair. Not quite Meg's usual style but she'd decided to do something a bit different for her party.

  As she took the dress out of closet and searched for stockings and shoes, she grinned as she remembered dinner last week with her sisters and, of course, their partners. She and Alex had been kidding themselves to think that they could keep their fledgling relationship quiet from them. As soon as they'd found out that Alex was back in London they'd been trying to arrange dinner with him which, on reflection, was unsurprising. After all, he'd played the part of older brother to all of them as they grew up, although Bel knew that she was the only one who had stubbornly refused to see her relationship with him as brotherly in any way! Deciding to bite the bullet with them, she'd told them over pre-dinner drinks, before the men had arrived to meet them after work. Aside from their initial astonishment they'd been delighted without exception, not only to see Isabelle so happy but also knowing that it would mean they would see far more of Alex, whom they'd all missed during his long stint abroad.

  Although, she remembered, they'd teased her mercilessly. Lily in particular had teasingly pointed out that from what she remembered Alex was a dead ringer for Luke and Tom in his general protectiveness and attitudes, which Isabelle had hotly denied, refusing to acknowledge the disbelieving looks from her sisters. Even Elise, on whom Isabelle could usually rely for enlightened support, seemed amused by the turn of events, pointing out that it seemed she was the only one to have escaped the bonds of a dominant man! Whilst Meg and Lily laughed at Elise, Bel shot her a look of daggers, but Elise was so laid back that Bel's dismay just amused her more, particularly when the men arrived and it was clear that Alex was indeed cut from exactly the same cloth as Luke and Tom, as all three men clearly got on like a house on fire immediately.

  With an exasperated grimace, Isabelle began to dressed, pulling on the red dress and running her hands down her sides to smooth the material as she assessed herself in the mirror. She was determined to ignore her sisters' collective teasing. She knew it was good-natured, and they were genuinely happy for her, but if she thought about it too much she couldn't help but become anxious. Tonight, she thought to herself, she was just going to go and have a good time. Quickly, she checked that the flat was relatively tidy. Elise was in town for the hen party, before she was scheduled to jet off to yet another far-flung location for her work, and she tended to stay with one of the sisters while she was in London rather than keep an apartment of her own. They were all so easy going that they didn't need to plan much in advance where Elise would stay, and she tended to keep a basic supply of clothes and essentials with each of them, just in case. But even so, Isabelle did a quick check to make sure there was a semblance of order to the apartment before leaving a voicemail on Alex's cell phone to remind him that she was out that night and then dashing out the door.

  By midnight, Isabelle realised that she was out of practice. Glancing over the dance floor, she could see Megan dancing happily with a crowd of friends, and usually Isabelle would have been the one leading the crowd, but she genuinely felt exhausted. These days, she was usually in bed by midnight as she'd gotten used to getting up at 6.30 in the morning each day, when Alex had to get up in order to be at the hospital early. Without realising it, her routine had subtly shifted to become more attuned to his, more structured, days. She sighed, there was only one thing for it, and went to the bar to order herself a large vodka with Red Bull™, figuring that the caffeine would keep her going for a while longer.

  "Bel!" Elise skipped over to her, "Come dance!"

  Isabelle glanced down at the drink she'd just been handed, to which Elise said instantly, "Oh, come on Bel, you can gulp that one down in one! Remember the days when we used to line up the drinks, and dance until dawn?"

  Laughing at her sister, she tipped the drink back down her throat, swallowing the sweet mixture in one, and let herself be led out on to the floor to join Elise in dancing away to the hits blaring out from the massive speakers circling the floor. It didn't take long for the caffeine to hit her, and she felt herself getting back into the rhythm of the music as she swayed her hips in time to the beat and let her body move to the tune.

  Wanting to make the most of the night, Bel kept up a steady stream of her caffeinated alcohol, feeling all her inhibitions gradually strip away, even as the room took on an increasingly blurry appearance as a result. After a while, she grabbed Elise.

  "Hey, let's do those shots again!"

  "Shots? Are you serious?" Elise laughed, already slightly unsteady on her own feet, "We haven't done that since college days!"

  "Exactly! Come on, the bar will be shutting soon anyway. It'll be like old times!"

  "In old times, we'd have been finding another bar when this one closed!"

  "We can still do that!"

  "I reckon Alex will have something to say over that!"

  "Hmmph!" Isabelle pulled a face at her sister, "He won't care. He knows I'm out tonight anyway."

  "Well, if you're sure." Elise hardly needed any convincing. In the far-flung places where she spent so much of her time photographing the wilderness, fresh water was a luxury let alone a bar with all the supplies a girl could wish for!

  Together, they perched on high stools by the bar, and ordered a series of tequila shots, ignoring the sceptical look of the bar man who seemed reluctant to pour the drinks.

  "Are you sure ladies?" he asked, politely, clearly thinking that they had already had more than enough to drink.

  "Of course!" Elise was indignant and, taking in his youthful and slightly nervous expression, plastered her best smile to her face and batted her long lashes at the boy, who couldn't be much more than 21 if he was a day.

  With some less than subtle flirtation, Elise had their shots lined up for them within minutes and was playfully teasing the bar man and coaxing him to bring them some freebies on the house. Isabelle grinned. It had been a while since she'd seen her sister on this kind of form and, together, they gulped back the shots, as the bar man lined up more.

  "So," Elise raised her voice to be heard over the music, "Do you think it's serious between you and Alex?"

  Too inebriated to be able to field the question, Bel giggled like a schoolgirl, "I think so. I hope so, but it hasn't been very long, so I guess we'll see." She frowned, "It's not like I'm much good at long term relationships."


  Now it was Elise's turn to laugh, "But that's because you've usually shown men the door pretty quickly as soon as you get bored! I can't see Alex standing for that."

  Bel grinned, "Probably not," she admitted. "You do like him?" she asked, suddenly anxious to know that her sisters truly did approve.

  "Like him?" Elise asked, astonished, "Of course I like him. I love the guy. Well," she clarified, "not in that way, but like a brother, even if he is a bit bossy. I still remember him telling me off all the time as a kid. He was a bit of a pain in the butt when it came to stuff like that, although." She grinned and batted her lashes comically. "He was always a pain in the butt who oozed sex appeal!"

  "Elise!" Bel spluttered over her drink, causing the bar man to look over at them curiously.

  "Well it's true isn't it? The guy even knows how to work that bossy attitude to his advantage. Although," she added glumly, "it was never much fun to be on the receiving end of it. He, Luke and Tom really are too similar for their own good."

  "Do you really think so?"

  "Hmmm, Tom and Luke somehow discovered that I often photograph on location alone, and have had a fit over it. I reckon as soon as Alex hears about it, he'll join in their crusade."

  "But doesn't Alex know how you work?"

  Elise shifted uncomfortably, "Well, when he asked in emails ages ago, I may have stretched the truth a bit, you know what's he's like." She shrugged, "it seemed easier at the time than having an argument with him across the Atlantic."

  Isabelle giggled, "Maybe it will do them all good to know that they can't control everything around them!"

  Elise laughed, "Maybe! Besides, I've actually been thinking of taking up a role that's a bit more settled. I've been offered something in London, that will base me here for most of the year, but which still has opportunities for me to go and shoot on location when I want."

  "But that's great!"

  "Yeah, but I need to think about it properly, as it would be such a big change for me. We'll see."

  "Hey, Ladies!" the bar man called over to them both, but his eyes were still focussed on Elise, "It's last orders now as we'll be closing soon. May I get you anything else?"

  They looked at each other, exchanging a wicked glance, and at the same time nodded at the bar man, with Isabelle exclaiming with a drunken hiccup, "Line up another round!"

  By the time the music ended and the lights flickered on in the club, Isabelle and Elise could barely sit upright on their stools and the bar man was now looking at them with real concern.

  Megan and Lily came over to them, "Hey, we're going to get the club to order us cabs. Shall we get you one too? Elise," Lily turned to her sister, who was trying to negotiate half sitting half standing on the stool that refused to obey her commands, "do you want to come back with us or are you staying with Bel tonight?"

  "Home?" Isabelle and Elise echoed in unison.

  "Why would we go home? Come on, let's find another club." Bel launched herself at her sister, stumbling and falling over Lily in the process.

  Megan and Lily looked at each other and winced.

  "Look, Steve here," Bel waved over at the bar man, "he'll get us some more drinks here while we figure out where we're going, won't you Steve?"

  The young man flushed and looked embarrassed, "I'm sorry, but I really can't. The bar's shut now and it'd be more than my job's worth to serve drinks now."

  "Oh come on," she urged him.

  "Please, really I can't," he said, even as Elise began to bat her eyelashes at him again and ran her fingers up his arm to distract him whilst Isabelle began to make her way behind the bar herself to liberate some more tequila, trying to be subtle but falling over on the way and having to have Lily help her back up on to her feet.

  "I'm fine, really," she slurred her words and tried to shake off her sister.

  "Not from where I'm standing you're not", a deep, masculine voice resounded from behind her and she froze on the spot, recognising that voice, even as she heard Lily say, etched with relief, "Alex!"

  "It's okay, Lily," she heard him say as clearly he came closer to them, although Isabelle still refused to turn round. "I'll take care of this now. Are you and Meg okay?"

  "Sure, we're fine, we were going to get cabs home, but I'm not sure what Bel and Elise are doing."

  "Bel and Elise aren't going to be doing anything, I can promise you that," stern disapproval laced his voice before, deliberately lightening it, he turned to Lily and pressed a light kiss to her forehead, "Besides, you and Meg don't need to get cabs, Tom should be here any minute and will drive you and Meg home."

  Isabelle's heart sank. It was bad enough that Alex had turned up, but to throw Tom into the mix as well was just unfair.

  "Oh! But he didn't need to do that! I promised him that we would get cabs."

  Alex looked down at her indulgently and gave her a quick hug, "And you really thought we'd let you do that? It's no trouble at all. Tom would have been here sooner but some of the roads are closed through the West End and it's taken him a bit longer than he thought to get across town."

  Lily smiled with the confidence of a woman who knew how much she was loved and cherished, "Okay. That's really sweet of you both to come and pick us up," but her smile turned to concern as she gazed over beyond Alex's shoulder to where Megan was trying futilely to pluck Elise up from the floor, and to where Isabelle stood, resolutely with her back to them.

  Quickly, he moved to Elise and, plucking Meg away from her gently, he bodily picked up Elise and placed her on one of the chairs rather than risk putting her back on the stool from which she had fallen in the first place.

  Quickly signalling to the bar man, he apologised for the women's behaviour and asked whether, despite the bar being closed, he would mind getting them a couple of glasses of water. Relieved, the bar man was happy to oblige, and Alex held out one glass to Elise.

  "Elise Bentley, you will drink that water now!" His tone held no opportunity for argument.

  Lowering her eyes, Elise felt herself transported back to being a teenager as she suffered Alex's stern telling off and wilted visibly under his disapproving gaze.

  "Never have I been so disappointed, Elise! I don't know what's happened to you over the years, but I'd expected better from you!"

  He turned to Isabelle, "And you can turn right around young lady and stop trying to hide!" He swung her round to face him and placed the second glass of water in her hand.

  "Drink that, Isabelle. No!" he said firmly, as he saw her open her mouth to try and interrupt him, "Not a word from you! We'll be discussing this at length when we get home, but trust me, you don't want to push me on this right now!"

  "What on earth!" another deep, clearly dismayed, male voice penetrated the group, and they turned to see Tom standing there, taking in the situation.

  Immediately, he went over to Lily, "You're okay, love?" relief clearly washing over him as she nodded and lent up on tiptoes for a quick kiss.

  "And Meg?" He caught the arm of the young woman who was as good as his sister, equally relieved when she too nodded, and caught the traces of a grin tweaking her lips as she said, "But I reckon that's more than can be said for these two!" indicating Elise and Isabelle.

  He nodded silently and went over to where Alex stood by the two dishevelled looking women who were beginning to regain their sobriety and realise the trouble they were in.

  "It looks like you're going to have your hands full with Bel," Tom said, turning to Alex, "How about you take her home, and I'll take Elise back with us and get her sobered up?"

  "Are you sure?" Alex asked, "I don't mind taking them both back. The consequences are going to be the same for Isabelle regardless."

  Tom nodded, understanding what Alex meant completely. If he were Alex, he would do exactly the same. "It's fine. Let me take Elise home with us. Luke and I can have words with her tonight. He's at their place, as he didn't want to crash Meg's party. We can catch up tomorrow."

  Nodding in agreement,
Alex thanked the other man and went up to Elise, who looked up at him dolefully. "You've lucked out, Elise. Tom's going to take you back with him and Lily tonight. You're lucky he hasn't known you as long as I have, so he'll probably go easier on you. If it were me, you may as well know, you'd be over my knee having your butt paddled so hard you wouldn't be sitting down for a week after the performance you put on tonight."

  She gasped at him, "Yes," he said, his voice hard. "You've disappointed us all, Elise, and don't think we won't be having words over this!"

  As tears welled up and began to fall down her cheeks, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Alex."

  Looking down at her, his voice softened just slightly and he stroked her head before saying, "Go home with Tom and Lily, Elise, and be good, okay?"

  She nodded, and silently made her way over to where Tom was waiting with the other women, looking just as stern as Alex.

  As the group left, and Alex remained with Isabelle, he turned to her and saw that she was looking up at him apprehensively, her former bravado gone.

  "You have a coat?" he asked tightly.

  She shook her head, "Just, just my purse." She gulped.

  He nodded. "Okay, let's go. My car's outside," and in wretched silence she followed him out the door.

  * * *

  She sat, perched tentatively on the edge of his sofa. It was nearly 3 am, but she felt neither drunk nor tired. On the contrary, her nerves were ringing out so loud she could practically hear them. Alex had driven back to his house practically in silence, other than a terse instruction to her to fasten her seatbelt. He hadn't even given her the option of returning to her apartment. She'd thought about asking him if he would just drop her off there instead, but one look at the grim expression on his face and she'd thought better of it.