If anyone knew what I was doing they’d probably think I’d lost my mind.
Well, everyone but Shane, apparently, because he was right here next to me, going along with my crazy scheme.
“You good?” he asked, causing me to turn and look at him.
We were currently about thirty thousand feet in the air … on a flight to Las Vegas.
I nodded slowly.
“I think so.”
Shane’s lips turned up and he placed his hand on my leg.
“You know, you can change your mind at any time. We don’t have to do this, we could just go gambling and hang out at the pool until our flight back home.”
I smiled at him, grateful that he was being so cool about everything.
Wait, why was he being so cool about this? Wasn’t he freaked out at all? Didn’t he have any questions? Reservations?
I felt my brow furrow when I asked, “Do you think we should talk this out some more? Set up some ground rules?”
“Yeah, sure, sounds like a good idea,” Shane said easily.
It felt like his hand was searing my skin beneath my jeans, and I was very aware of how close we were sitting.
“You’ve taken this all in stride. Like, just jumped in with both feet. Aren’t you at all worried?” I asked, careful to maintain eye contact and not get distracted by his full lips.
It wasn’t easy. I’d been caught staring at too much of him already, I needed to put a lid on this attraction. The last thing I needed to do was give in to the chemistry between us. That was not what this upcoming marriage was about.
Shane lifted one shoulder in response.
“I’m a big believer in things working out. Sure, I’ve been stressed over my visa situation, but then you knocked on my door and it felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. Yeah, we have some stuff to work out, but I can’t help and think whatever it is we need to do to make this work, will be better than the alternative.”
I nodded, thinking that was a good way to look at it. Still, I couldn’t help having doubts.
“Okay,” I began, reaching into my travel bag to pull out my notebook. I opened it to the notes I’d jotted down last night. “So, we’re on our way to Vegas to get married … check. Once we get back, I’ll put the offer in on the house. Hopefully we can get a quick close, and move in by the end of the month. Once we know, we can put in notice with our current apartments and schedule movers. In the meantime, we need to get to know as much about each other as we can, and come up with a good story for our whirlwind romance.”
I looked up to see Shane grinning at me.
“What?” I asked, wondering if I had some powdered sugar on my face from the doughnut I’d grabbed in the airport.
“Nothing. I just think it’s cute you made a list.”
“Lists help make sure you don’t forget the details,” I replied, a little too defensively.
“Lists are sexy,” Shane agreed, which brought me to my next few points.
“Also, you’re going to need to stop that,” I said, pointing my pen at him in a swirling motion.
“What?”
“Flirting. You can’t flirt with me because it confuses things. And, you can’t flirt with other women, because it’ll look like you’re not serious about me.”
“Flirting’s part of my DNA.”
“Well, do your best to stop.”
“I’ll try.”
“Thanks. We also have to talk about exclusivity. I don’t expect you to be celibate for the next five years, but I’d really appreciate it if you were discreet.”
“Five years?”
“That’s what I read, but we can talk to Reardon to find out for sure. I think once you have been a resident for five years, you can apply for citizenship. Once you have that, you’re home free.”
“So, you plan for us to stay married until I’m a citizen?” he asked, his eyes warm, yet intense.
“Well, yeah, however long it takes. This needs to be beneficial for both of us … We each get what we want.”
Sure, it would put any plans I had to start a family and have a real marriage on hold, but the whole point of this agreement was for me to get the house and Shane to get to stay in the US permanently. It would be shitty of me to try and move forward without ensuring we were both successful.
“Are we telling your family?”
I chewed on my lower lip.
This was a question I’d been asking myself repeatedly.
“I’m not sure. I don’t want to lie, but I also don’t want to put anyone else in a sticky situation, you know?”
Shane nodded.
“If not, we have to convince them that we’re in love, or they’ll know something’s up. Especially Dillon.” I tapped my pen on my chin as I thought about it. It made my stomach hurt. I seriously hated lying to my family and I’d have to be a great actress to fool my twin. “We’re heading to Gabe’s camp next week for setup. I think that would be a good time for us to really sell them on our relationship. They’re gonna be surprised, maybe skeptical, at first, but I bet we could pull it off.”
“I’ll have to talk to Annabeth about getting the time off.”
I gave him a pointed look. “If we tell her we are using it as a kind of honeymoon, she’ll be pushing you out the door. Aunt Annabeth is dying for me to get married. The only Lewis cousin not in a serious relationship … She’ll be over the moon.”
“Okay, but, you’ll have to put flirting back on the table. No way will anyone believe we’re together if I’m not all about you. That goes for physically as well. How do you want to handle that part of it?”
My stomach did a little summersault at the thought of PDA with Shane.
“Well, yeah, in public, we’re going to have to be convincing, but in private, it’s hands and hot looks to yourself.”
I put in that last bit because, seriously, the way he was looking at me right then was hot enough to singe.
“All right,” he said, his grin a little wicked. “I can keep my hands to myself, if you can.”