Clary would have never admitted it openly but spending time in the mansion held one big benefit. They could enjoy being on their own without having to fear someone would walk in on them. The level of embarrassment to get her bra back dangling from the carved top of a staircase would be mind boggling.
She hadn't been raised to be prude but she was sometimes surprised of the amount of passion she held for Jace. As much as Clary wanted him, she had always been a little self-conscious when it came to herself.
She had never forgotten how small some of the boys and girls in school had made her feel regarding her physical appearance. And somehow she still carried that with her. When she first had discovered her interest for Jace, she had of course heard of his reputation in and around the institute. And having kept that in mind it had quite confused her, she wasn't going to be another nick in his bedpost, making her doubt his interest in her until he revealed his feelings for her among with the fear of ruining what was developing between them.
Jace knew, he wasn't her first but when they finally had gotten together, he had treated her as if he was, letting her set the pace and ensuring her pleasure came first. And this had never changed. Whenever she had felt insecure about herself or her reaction to him, Jace took his time to reassure her, she was safe with him and allowed to explore her sensuality and to express herself freely.
“Didn't you tell me I would regret the bacon theft?”
“It could be my plan took a different direction than intended.”
“I think so too but I don't mind.”
Jace pulled her hand which was intertwined with his up to his lips to kiss her knuckles. Clary couldn't do anything else but smile about the fondness this gesture held.
“Didn't we want to take a look at the garden?”
“I remember this being the plan for today but...”
“Then let's go...”
“Do you really want to get up?”
“It's not so much that I want but I'm afraid, there's no other way.”
“Only five more minutes of snuggling, okay?”
Jace looked pleadingly at her and Clary sighed. She caught herself thinking how she would react if their kids would develop that skill. It didn't take her long to figure their parenting skills would be doomed.
“No, now. Because we both know that you need less than five minutes to convince to not leave this bed.”
“It's not actually convincing if you prefer it anyway.”
“Come on, loverboy. And I'm sure, you'll appreciate a warm and comfy bed even more after having spent some time in the cold outside.”
“You won't stop nagging until I get up, right?”
“For the record I'm not nagging but you're right. I won't stop until you drag your sexy self out of bed.”
“Okay, you've won.”
“It's nice to know you're not immune to flattery.”
“It's not flattery if you're just telling the truth.”
“I give you a bit more time cause it must be hard to get up with such a massive ego,” Clary chuckled and got up.
20 minutes later they were taking a walk through the garden.
“I guess, you kept the staff to take care of the garden.”
“Yeah, because I've got no clue of gardening and I've seen the very sad plants in your apartment.”
“I don't know what it is. My mom and Dot were so good with plants but I fail completely but I do appreciate a garden. What I wanted to ask all the time since we got here, is the fountain on the front lawn still intact?”
“It is as far as I know but to avoid damage through freezing, it's turned off during the winter months.”
“I get that.”
“Is there anything special you'd like to have in the garden?”
“I'd like plenty of roses and peonies. They're so pretty to paint. But I'd leave that to a professional gardener. What about you?”
“I know as much about plants and flowers as about mundane restaurants, so...”
“I see. Are these stables there at the back?”
“Yeah, our family always had horses.”
“I hate to say it but your family has definitely been living up to quite every rich family cliché.”
“Not only us. According to multiple opinions it's amazing to discover Alicante on horseback even though you might need a ladder to get onto it.”
Clary attempted to jab him in the ribs but Jace dodged her.
“Well, at least that horse won't have to fear to collapse under that heavy ego it has to carry.”
“But to be honest, it would be nice to show you around. You have never seen that much of Alicante.”
“That's true.”
“So, that's on our bucket list for one of our next stays here.”
“I'd really like to stay here more often and regularly when we have the time. I enjoy here and I know, you do too.”
“I'd never thought, I'd say this but it's comforting to know where I'm coming from.”
“I don't know if it's only because of your grandmother but all the time Izzy and I stayed here, the name Herondale is still being used with reverence.”
“That doesn't bother you?”
“No, I thought, it would. To be honest I couldn't care less. Jace, I love you regardless where you come from. I would have said yes to you no matter if you had been a Wayland, Lightwood or Herondale. As nice all of this here is, it won't change the way I feel about you. I'm home wherever you are.”
“Does that mean you seriously consider to live here with me?”
“When the time comes that we'll definitely need more space than we have at the institute, yes, we'll move here.”
They portaled back to Brooklyn the next afternoon. Since Clary had heard some gossip, she wanted to know more about, she knocked on a door.
“Clary, you're back. We all had thought, you had already moved.”
“Very funny, Jonathan. I wanted to ask if you'd like to accompany me to a small shopping trip.”
“A shopping trip? Why do I feel like this is only a cover up for something else?”
“Okay, you got me. I heard some interesting gossip, I'd like to have confirmed.”
“What kind of gossip?”
“Oh, come on. Some little birdies told me you had quite a lengthy and diverting conversation at the party with one female guest.”
“There is nothing to tell.”
“Yeah, sure. I've seen photos. Come on, you join me while I need to buy some painting equipment and then you can tell me all about your non flirt.”
Jonathan sighed in defeat.
“How do you know? I've only seen you shortly at the party.”
“I've got bride-napped pretty quickly and Jace had to rescue me to take me to Herondale Manor. Izzy told me about all the hot gossip I missed.”
“By the way how was your trip? Is the mansion as impressive as you thought?”
“Don't try to dodge the more important questions.”
“Okay, I'll tell you but only in exchange for coffee and cupcakes.”
“Deal.”
“Do you really need new painting equipment?”
“Yeah, but it's not much.”
A little more than an hour later they sat down in a small café with coffee and several cupcakes.
“So, as far as I heard, you had talked to a friend of Lydia.”
“Her name is Zoé, she's 22 and got transferred from the Paris institute to teach rune classes in Alicante.”
“Is she French?”
“Her mother is but her father is American. Her parents traveled a lot between the institutes in Paris and Los Angeles. She had started teaching rune classes in the Paris institute.”
“Is that all you were talking about?”
“No, but why you're so curious?”
“Because I want you to be happy and I have to make sure that my brother gets the best girlfriend possible out there.”
“She likes to read a lot and she would have liked to become a playwright. She has two dogs which she has named after two Disney characters because she loved to spend her birthdays in Disneyland.”
“She sounds nice so far. Are you going to see her again?”
“I don't know.”
“From what I've been told, you got along very well. Do you have her number?”
“Yeah, but I don't know if I should call her.”
“Why not if she likes you?”
“But what if she gets into trouble because of...?”
“Jonathan, if she's a good friend of Lydia Branwell who is a distant relative of us, she knows who you are. And believe me, if such an abrasive and obdurate person like Lydia introduces a friend of hers to you, I'm sure, you'll be safe.”
“Should I call her?”
“Hey, I can see, you like her. Take her on a date. If she wanted to be playwright, why don't you take her to a show? I'm sure, Magnus has some good recommendations up his sleeve and has the right contacts for tickets.”
“I'm afraid if I ask him for a recommendation, every single person in Alicante will know in less than 2 hours.”
“I know, he can be a chatty person but he can keep a secret if you ask him to.”
“You won't let this go, will you?”
“Nope, definitely not. I never got to play matchmaker for anyone, let alone for my brother.”
“What if she says no?”
“Then we know for sure that Zoé isn't the sharpest tool in the box. If you don't call her during the next two days to set up a date, I'll arrange a double date between you, her, Jace and myself. And I think, you still remember how disastrous that one double date with Maia and Simon went.”
“You wouldn't...”
“Not if you call her and ask her out.”
“Are all little sisters so annoying?”
“If you ask Jace and Alec, they would probably say yes... I only mean it well.”
“Okay, I call her but only if I get the salted caramel cupcake.”
“That was the last one. Can't we share?”
“No, not if you want me to make that call.”
“Fine. And you have to introduce her to us.”
“You're kidding.”
“No, I'm not. You sort of interrogated Jace after your little whiskey adventure and I get to do the same with your potential girlfriend.”
“I suddenly envy every single child.”
“They're not better. In those cases, the parents do the interrogating and this is much worse.”