Page 23 of Be My Traitor

I arched an eyebrow, not bothering to keep the smug grin off my face as I turned my attention to Archer.

“I’m sorry.”

“What was that?” I leaned forward, dramatically cupping my ear as if I couldn’t hear properly. “I didn’t quite get that.”

“I’m. Sorry.” Archer enunciated each word clearly and deliberately so there was no way I could pretend I didn’t understand.

“And what are you sorry for?” Years of running schools and dealing with recalcitrant students allowed me to put just the right amount of patronising into my tone.

“I shouldn’t have told you to stay away from Milly.”

The truth was that Archer had done the right thing for his sister, but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of telling him that.

“It’s good of you to admit that.” I steepled my fingers, resting my chin against them. “But I’m not so concerned about the past as I am about the future.”

“Archer and I have been talking about that,” Ivy said. “Milly doesn’t know the reason why you left the last time and we both think it would be better if we were to keep it that way.”

“Do you, now?”

“Which is why we have a proposition for you,” Ivy continued. “We will let you and Milly keep dating if you don’t tell her what happened before.”

“You’ll ‘let’ me, will you?” I snorted. “I think you’ll find that Ivy’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions.”

“Yes, she is,” Ivy conceded. “But we all know that we could make life very difficult for you. I’m her best friend. There’s plenty of things I could tell her which would end any hope you have of a future with her.”

“And if that isn’t enough, I know Declan and Romy would be more than happy to assist me in running you out of town,” Archer added. “Not that I’d need any help. You never could see things through when push came to shove.”

“Is that right?” I wasn’t going to tell Archer that things had changed somewhat since we’d last met. He’d always relied on his fists to make his point, but I’d been training and if things got physical between us, he wasn’t going to find it as easy as he thought to beat me into submission.

“But that’s not going to be necessary,is it,Archer?” Ivy glared at him. Archer rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“No,” he said. “As long as Lucas treats Milly and Amber with the respect they deserve we won’t have any problems.”

“I think I can safely say I have nothing but love and respect for both of them,” I said honestly. “You don’t have to worry about them. I have every intention of doing the decent thing.”

“You’d better,” Archer snapped. “Because if you doing anything to hurt my sister or my niece, there’ll be hell to pay. And this time when you leave town, it’ll be for good, if you know what I mean.”

I knew exactly what he meant. The one thing everyone knew about Archer was that he didn’t make empty threats. I was sure that if I stepped out of line, Archer would make sure no one could find my body.

Fear wasn’t exactly the best motivation when it came to building a relationship, though.

“I can’t believe you genuinely think this is the best way to protect your sister,” I said. “Don’t you think she has a right to figure things out for herself? Do you really think she’d thank you for interfering in her love life? After all, isn’t that the reason why you’re here – so she won’t find out that you’re the one responsible for her becoming a single mother?”

Archer clenched his fist and slowly released it and I knew my words had hit their mark.

Ivy glanced at him before leaning forward to address me directly. “You’re right, Lucas. Milly’s a big girl and she has a right to make her own mistakes. Even if everyone else can see that it’s a mistake. And if you do your best to make Milly happy but it doesn’t work out, that’s no one’s fault and no one will blame you, will they, Archer?” She nudged her partner with her knee. “Will they?”

“No, they won’t,” he muttered. “But if Lucas turns out to still be the arsehole he always was, then I reserve the right to beat him to a pulp. Does that sound fair?”

“Fine with me.” I shrugged. “I’ve got absolutely no intention of playing any games and my daughter deserves to know her father. I know I wish I’d had that chance.”

“Then I guess we’re done here.” Ivy smiled and stood up, Archer following her lead. I stood up too, mirroring her body language. “It’s genuinely good to see you again, Lucas.” She reached over my desk to shake my hand. “You’re right. Amber should get to know her father. I hope that whatever happens between you and Milly, you make sure that little girl remains the centre of your world.”

“She already is,” I promised.

Ivy and Archer walked out of my office without a backwards glance. I sat back in my chair, slowly swivelling from side to side. There was no way I was going to be able to work on those reports any time soon. My head was reeling with the implications of what just happened. The fact that they didn’t want Milly to know they’d interfered in her love life gave me leverage.

Leverage I might just be able to use to my advantage.

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