Page 50 of Take My Place

Why is Lucas lying about his identity? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. This whole town is built on subterfuge and deceit, but this is taking things to a whole new level. Not only has Lucas lied about who he is, my father has placed him in my school to get close to me, or at least, that’s how it looks.

“Everything okay?” Lucas asks, as the bell rings for the end of that session. “Still up for our coffee? We can always make it another day if you prefer.”

“No, no. I’m fine. Might as well get it over and done with.”

“Wow. Talk about making a guy feel welcome.” Lucas’s tone is light and he doesn’t seem to take offence, but I feel bad about being rude.

“Sorry, Lucas. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”

“Maybe you can tell me all about it over our coffee.” We walk together out of the Academy and in the direction of the coffee shop that is a favourite among Academy students.

“I thought I was supposed to be helping you catch up in class?”

“I’ve got a high IQ.” Lucas shrugs. “I’m sure I’ll pick it up pretty quickly and then we can spend the rest of the time getting to know each other before you have to run back to your boyfriend.”

“Fiancé,” I correct.

“Ah yes. Don’t you think you’re a little young to be getting married?”

“When you know, you know,” I tell him. “Why wait?”

“Because there’s a world out there waiting to be experienced?”

“Like I’d get to see any of it. I’m the heir to House Archaic. I’m supposed to spend the rest of my life in this miserable town.”

“It doesn’t seem that bad to me,” Lucas says. “And your dad’s house is pretty impressive. I wouldn’t mind inheriting it.”

“You can have it then,” I tell him. “I don’t want any of my father’s dirty money.”

“So, that’s why you’re marrying Romy? To let him take care of you so you don’t have to take anything from your dad?”

“No, I’m not marrying him for his money, if that’s what you’re trying to say,” I say. “And if you’re just going to insult me then you can forget about coffee.”

“Hey, no offence intended.” Lucas holds up his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I’m just trying to understand you better, Ivy. You’re a real enigma. I’ve asked around about you and nobody knows much. You didn’t grow up here, so you don’t fit in, which is something I can relate to. We moved around a lot when I was younger.”

“Really? Why?” I try not to make my curiosity too obvious, but this is the perfect opportunity for me to learn more about who Lucas really is. I just have to keep the focus on him and get him to open up.

“Mum has to travel for her work,” he tells me. “And she didn’t like the idea of leaving me with tutors or sending me to boarding school, so I had to go with her. It’s cool though, I saw a lot of the world and now I’m fluent in French, German, Italian, Mandarin and Japanese because of all the places we went to. But the downside is that it got pretty lonely. We were never in one place long enough for me to make friends, so after a while I stopped bothering. It is easier to keep to myself than try to get close to people I’d never see again after we left.”

“There is this thing called the internet you know,” I say. “Why can’t you speak to them on Zoom or stay in touch on social media?”

“Meh.” Lucas shrugs. “It’s hard to coordinate calls when you’re in different time zones. And out of sight, out of mind. Once you’ve left the country, people forget about you pretty quickly. Besides, Mum doesn’t like me to be on social media. She says it’s uncouth to be in people’s faces all the time and no one cares what you’re having for dinner.”

“Uncouth, huh?” I’m not sure I buy into Lucas’ explanation, but we arrive at the coffee shop, so I push open the door and lead the way over to the counter.

Coffee, Coffee, Coffee is an independent coffee shop which prides itself on fast service with a smile and good quality. It is so close to the Academy it could have served rocket fuel and still done a roaring trade, but the drinks were delicious so the place is usually packed with students on a free period wanting to get a break from the common room.

“I’ll have a hazelnut hot chocolate with marshmallows,” I say. “Lucas?”

“Iced caramel latte, please.” He takes out his wallet, but I wave him away.

“This one’s on me,” I tell him. “Call it a welcome to the Academy.”

“Nope. That’s nice of you, but I’m paying,” he says. “Mum would never forgive me if she heard I went out for coffee with a lady and didn’t pick up the bill.”

“Fine.” I’d been involved in enough of these male ego driven conversations to know when it is best left alone. “If you want to pay, be my guest.”

“We’ll take a couple of blueberry muffins as well,” Lucas says, handing his card to the barista.

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