Page 21 of Take My Place

“A while,” Romy says. “I woke up ages ago, but you looked so cute and peaceful lying there I didn’t want to disturb you. But now you’re awake, do you want some breakfast? I can order something up from the kitchen or if you prefer, I can cook something for you right here.”

“Would you mind making me something?” I hate asking, but if we ordered something from the kitchen, they’d know I’d spent the night here and I’m not comfortable with the idea of everyone knowing my business.

“Anything for you.” Romy kisses me on the top of my head before getting up.

I roll over to my side, watching him as he gets dressed. I love the lines of his body, the well-defined muscles calling for me to run my hands over them.

“I’ll be right back,” he says. “Eggs and bacon okay?”

“Great.” I nod, lying back in bed as a smile plays about my lips. Memories of last night come into my mind and I can feel myself getting wet again at the thought. Romy might have played the field, but unlike some of my past encounters, he’d really learned from his experience to know his way around a woman’s body.

It makes me jealous to think of him with anyone else, but we all have a past.

Maybe we should go and disappear off to that deserted island and spend the rest of our lives making each other feel good. Although it’s hard to imagine that sex between us could be better than it was last night. If that is just the start of things, I wonder what our connection will be like once we have a chance to get to know each other’s bodies better and learn what really set us off.

“You look deep in thought,” Romy says, coming back into the room carrying a tray. “What’s on your mind?”

“You,” I reply honestly, as I push myself up to a seated position. The blankets fall down, revealing my breasts, but I don’t care. It isn’t anything Romy hasn’t seen before.

“Glad to hear it,” Romy grumbles, as he put the tray on my lap and moves to sit next to me. Not only has he made me bacon with scrambled eggs, there were sausages, mushrooms and fried tomatoes. To the side of the tray is a vase with a single white rose and a newspaper is tucked by the plate.

“Wow. You’ve really gone overboard,” I say, tucking into a perfectly cooked sausage. “I had no idea you could cook. How did you get the rose?”

Romy shrugs. “I put a quick call in to Johnson.” Seeing my frown, he hurries to reassure me. “Don’t worry. He doesn’t know you slept in my room. I told him I wanted to surprise you, so when he brought up my morning paper, he brought roses as well. I want to bring you flowers every day and breakfast in bed every morning.”

I raise an eyebrow. “Why do I get the feeling you’re just saying that? You don’t have to go so over the top to impress me, Romy. Just be yourself. That’s more than enough for me.”

“Sorry,” Romy shrugs. “I’m used to turning on the charm with women. Sometimes I forget you’re not like the other girls. And just so you know, if youwerelike the others at the Academy, I’d never have agreed to my father’s plan. It’s not just you who has the right to say no to a proposal, you know. Anyway, why don’t you read the paper? Tell me what’s going on in the world.”

I unfold the paper and lay it out flat on the bed next to the tray so I can read it.

“King Town Express,” I say. “There’s a surprise. This town has got so much going on, it needs an entire paper to itself to cover it all. Let’s see… There’s a fundraiser at the Academy in a couple of weeks to raise money for charity.”

“More like an excuse for all the Houses to one up each other to see who can be the biggest donor,” Romy nods.

“Sounds about right.” I reply as I turn the page. “Hmm. That’s interesting.”

“What?”

“In the gossip column there are some photos of my dad boarding his private jet and a commentary asking why he’s been spending so much time in Italy recently. He didn’t mention Italy last night, and he certainly had plenty of opportunity considering all he talked about was himself. I wonder what’s going on?”

“He’s probably got a mistress out there,” Romy says. “That column’s notorious for trying to make something out of nothing. I don’t know why they print it–the news is interesting enough without all these cryptic hints about who’s having an affair or who’s argued with whom. Find something more interesting to print, why don’t you?”

I laugh and turn the page, only to gasp when I see what is written there.

In simple, bold print were the words, “Ivy Archaic. Will you marry me?”

“Romy? What’s this?” I hold up the paper to show him the full-page ad, although he obviously already knows what is there.

“You said you wanted a romantic proposal,” he shrugs. “I figured what’s more romantic than telling the whole town how I feel about you?”

He gets off the bed and down on one knee. He takes a small box out of his pocket and opens it to reveal the ring we’d picked out together. “Ivy Archaic, you’re an incredible person and someone I admire more and more as I get to know you. I want to spend the rest of my life learning what makes you happy and doing my best to make all your dreams come true. I want to be your knight in shining armour, your protector, the man you turn to because you know I’ll keep you safe and always be there for you. Will you marry me?”

There is only one answer I could give, but where the last time I agreed to marry him because his father hadn’t given me any choice, I am starting to think that maybe, just maybe, we could make a marriage work.

“Yes.”

Romy takes my hand and slips the ring on. I look at it on my finger, admiring the way it catches the light.

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