Page 13 of Take My Place

Oddly, my heart beats hard in my chest, and I find myself smiling. “What are you going to do?”

Romy taps the side of his nose. “That would be telling. Leave it with me. I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”

* * *

“Master Romy,Miss Ivy. Mr Navarre wishes to see you in his study immediately,” Johnson says, coming out to greet us as we arrive back at Romy’s house. I refuse to think of it as my home, even temporarily. I’m not planning on spending a second more here than I have to.

“I’ll just take my bags up to my room, then I’ll go see him,” I say.

“No need, Miss Ivy. I’ll have them brought up for you,” Johnson kindly tells me. “Mr Navarre is most insistent you were to go see him without delay.”

“Fine. Thank you,” I sigh.

Romy takes my hand as we walk along the long corridor that led to Ben Navarre’s study. My instinct is to pull away, but I don’t, knowing I am going to have to keep up this charade for a while yet.

Romy gives my hand a reassuring squeeze before knocking on his father’s door.

“Come!”Ben looks up from his computer, smiling as he sees us coming towards him.“There’s my favourite young couple,” he says. “I trust you now have a wardrobe suitable for a Navarre bride?”

“I’ve got what I need,” I say.

“Excellent.” Ben nods his approval. “Make sure you wear something suitably striking when you go to dinner with your father this evening.”

“Dinner? With my father? This evening?” My blood runs cold and my stomach lurches at the thought of being in the same room as that man, let alone having dinner with him.

“Yes. While I can appreciate you may not wish to see your father at this moment in time, it is important he sees that you’re healthy and being taken care of. He cares about you, Ivy.”

“Ha!” I choke back a laugh. “That man cares about no one but himself.”

“He may not have a conventional way of showing affection, but trust me. You are very important to him.”

Yeah, as a bargaining chip in the sick games people play in this town.

“Plus, of course, if he doesn’t see that you are here of your own free will and happily engaged to Romy, your father would be perfectly entitled to see your residency as an act of aggression and take appropriate retaliatory action.”

“What?”

“Your dad could take revenge on us in the name of rescuing you,” Romy translates.

“Yes, I understood that, thanks. But my father lost any rights over me the moment he made me prisoner in his house and attacked R-”

Romy squeezes my hand, warning me to keep my mouth shut.

“It’s all about appearances in this town,” he reminds me, his eyes drifting to his son. “As long as everything looks okay, it is, regardless of what’s really going on.”

“You’ll be heartened to hear that Romy sought your father’s approval before agreeing to marry you,” Ben says. “As soon as we discovered your whereabouts, we put everything in place for you to enjoy Navarre protection. Remember–you owe us for putting a roof over your head. Once you have met with your father, you won’t ever have to see him again unless you choose to. You have my word.”

“So if I meet him tonight, that’s it?” I want to be sure before I say yes.

“That’s it,” Ben nods.

“Okay. But I’m not going to his house. I’m not risking him doing anything. We go for dinner in a crowded restaurant and I want Romy with me.”

“I will book two tables, one for you and one for Romy,” Ben partly agrees. “Your father is very clear that he wanted time alone with you, but he cannot complain if Romy happens to choose to eat in the same place. In addition, I’ll have guards stationed about the place, so if your father does try something foolish, he’ll regret it. We’re here to protect you, Ivy. Nothing bad is going to happen.”

I am sure Ben means what he says, but my father is bad to the bone. Wherever he goes, trouble follows.

“Now, what type of food would you like? Italian? Chinese? Mexican?”

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