Page 7 of The Bet
“I know,” she replied, looking at his cheeky and adorable face. So different now to that first time she had met him. “I would expect nothing less.”
“Don’t forget your swimming costume. I’ve got my Iron Man swimming trunks ready.”
“I won’t.”
“Tobias says we’ve got the whole place to ourselves, and the entiresea.” His eyebrows lifted as if he couldn’t comprehend the enormity of the sea belonging to one man. “And there’s a pool. Or was it four pools, Mommy?”
“It doesn’t matter if there’s one or ten you can only ever go in one pool at a time,” his mother replied.
This seemed to satisfy Jacob. “Can I sit next to you on the plane?”
“I don’t know.” Izzy looked at Savannah. She had no idea about the travel plans. All she knew was that it was some place in Fiji.
“Honey,” Savannah said, holding out her hand as Jacob came in for a cuddle. “I need to discuss a few things with Izzy. Why don’t you go and play for a while?”
“Okay.”
“Are you sure you’re fine about taking a few days off college?” Savannah asked her. “I would hate to impact your studies, and I know that your semester has only just started.”
Savannah had obviously picked up on her hesitation, and it can’t have been that difficult because she hadn’t exactly gushed like a prepubescent teen when Savannah had first made her the offer.
Rich men were crooks and creeps and she didn’t trust them. The only reason Izzy was even considering taking those few days off, with a weekend in the middle so it wasn’t that much time away from her studies, was because she needed the money, and because she would be surrounded by people. Savannah wasn’t going to leave her alone with Tobias, the way Cassia Shoemoney had. Still, it would be an easy few days, and Cara would never forgive her if she turned the opportunity down now.
“I’ll be okay,” she insisted. She would work like crazy and make sure she was all caught up as soon as she returned. “I adore Jacob. I think we’ll have a lot of fun.”
“Good. Jacob feels so comfortable with you, and that’s important to me. I find myself trusting people less these days.”
“I understand.”
“It’s not as if my parents wouldn’t take care of Jacob, they would, but I think he would get bored. And I want them to enjoy the wedding. I want you to enjoy the wedding and your time there as well. I just feel that Jacob would have a better time with a younger person running around with him. I was hoping Rosalee would come—she used to look after Jacob before, but her daughter-in-law is about to have another baby, and she doesn’t want to miss it.”
“Don’t worry about me, or my studies. I’m really looking forward to it. I’ve never been to Fiji.”
“Me neither,” Savannah confessed. She bunched her hair over one shoulder, and sat back, looking happy and worried at the same time. “There’s so much to do. Sometimes I get so overwhelmed.”
“I can imagine.” She was worried about spending a few days on the island, but Savannah’s whole life had changed. It was a gigantic leap. No wonder she looked slightly flushed. “But you’ll be fine. I think it’s normal, a new bride feeling anxious.” She smiled at her, and Savannah returned the smile.
“I have some paperwork for you to sign. I’m sorry to make it so formal.”
“Don’t be. I understand.”
“It’s just that Tobias is completely paranoid about his privacy, especially when it comes to personal matters.”
“It’s fine with me. Where do I sign?”
“Here,” said Savannah, pointing. “And you’ll consider my offer to be available on weekends? I just need a little help, what with the house move, and other things …”
“I can let you have my final answer once we get back?”
“Once you get back?” Somehow she sensed that this wasn’t the answer Savannah had wanted. “That’s fine.”
“Ummmm.” Izzy cupped her chin. “Where do we get the … uh… plane?” Did she go to the airport?
“I’ll get Morris to pick you up, and take you to the airfield.”
“Morris?”
“He’s the chauffeur,” Savannah explained. “Oh, and you’ll have to get used to the bodyguards.”
Bodyguards?
“They’ll be following you, us, everywhere. It’s a bit daunting at first, but you soon forget about them.”
“Cool.”
Bodyguards? A chauffeur picking her up and taking her to the airfield, before she got on the private jet?
Cara was going to hyperventilate when she told her.
