Page 14 of Take My Place

“Surprise me.” Something told me I won’t have much of an appetite if I am dining with my father.

* * *

I spendthe rest of the day a nervous mess, dreading the confrontation with my father after escaping his mansion. I have a bath to relax, but it’s impossible. With nothing to do but lie in the water, my mind is free to run through countless scenarios of what might happen tonight, none of them good.

Going through my new purchases a little later, I am glad I’d listened to Romy when he suggested I buy a couple of power suits for House business meetings. As Romy’s fiancée and representative of House Archaic, it is expected for me to be involved in plans and discussions about the future of the town and how we would work together as we move forward.

Now it seems the most sensible thing to wear to send out a signal to my father I am not to be messed with.

I decide to put on a black trouser suit with a white blouse. The cut of the jacket emphasized my waist, flattering my figure without being revealing. Romy had thought of everything during our trip, including a brand-new pair of high-heeled Jimmy Choos to go with the suit, the extra height making me feel strong and powerful.

Putting the finishing touches to my makeup, the bright red lipstick I’d selected made me look like I was out for blood. My father isn’t going to know what hit him.

The intercom buzzed with a message from Romy asking if I’m ready yet.

“I’ll be right down.”I take one final look at myself in the mirror.

Not bad, Ivy. Not bad.

As I strut out to Romy’s Mercedes, he wolf whistles and makes me smile.“Wow, Ivy. I loved that on you when you tried it on, but the way you’ve put it all together.” He shakes his head admiringly. “I’m one lucky guy.”

“Yes, you are.” I get into the passenger seat and Romy takes off.I stare out of the window, nervously nibbling at a hangnail.

“You okay?” Romy reaches over and gives my thigh a gentle squeeze. “It’ll be alright, you know. I’ll be right there, and so will the guards. If your father tries to do anything, anything at all, we’ll put him down, but he won’t. He’s not stupid.”

“It’s not that.” I sigh. “It’s just that…”

“What?”

“This is going to be the first time my father and I have sat down as civilised human beings to have dinner together. What will we even talk about? I don’t know the man and I don’t want to know him. Can’t we pretend I’ve got a migraine or something?”

“Wecan,” Romy says slowly.

“Let’s do that then.”

“If you really want, I’ll turn the car round right now,” Romy replies. “But if you miss this dinner, it’ll cause more problems than it would solve.”

“Why?”

“Your father would automatically assume you’re not really unwell.”

“And he’d be right.”

“But he would argue that it’s a Navarre plot to keep you away from him.”

“That’s crazy! It should be obvious I don’t want to see him.”

“Maybe.” Romy nods. “But the way things work in this town, that doesn’t matter. You should have figured that out by now. It’s all about how you can spin it and, in this instance, your father could use your failure to show up for dinner to launch an offensive against us and insist on us handing you over to his custody. It could get very nasty very quickly. He’ll withdraw his consent for our marriage.”

“So what if he does? It’s not like his opinion matters. If he is going to be like that, I’d marry you as soon as we can arrange it. Heck, we could elope.”

“Much as I’d love to do that, there’s a number of reasons why it wouldn’t work,” Romy explains patiently. “Tradition matters in this town. A wedding like ours is a chance to make a political statement and consolidate our Houses’ power. But if your father isn’t supportive, he could disown you and name a new heir.”

“I thought the whole point of kidnapping me in the first place is because I am the only true heir.”

“And you are,” Romy agrees. “And that is why he brought you here. But if you don’t play by the rules, your father would be perfectly entitled to decide you no longer hold any value for him and fall back on Plan B. Choosing a new heir who isn’t related to him isn’t ideal, but it’s an option. If he does that, it puts you in danger. You’re no longer useful to House Navarre, so my father would want to get rid of you.”

“So we get divorced. So what?”

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