A silence that makes me want to cry for more reasons than one. Especially after what I’d learned from Addison yesterday.
I suppose all the signs were there. Sure, I figured he found me attractive when we first met, but a lot of guys do. That doesn’t necessarily mean anything. There’s a big leap between attraction and love.
But apparently Theo covered the distance.
When we arrive at the immigration office, I feel sick to my stomach. Nervous, guilty, scared, a bit heartbroken. But I take a deep breath and follow Theo up the stairs.
The waiting room smells like stale coffee and lemon cleaner, and a kind receptionist takes our names and gestures for us to sit.
I bounce my knee without realizing it, tapping my fingers against each other. The minutes tick by, my mind buzzing until—
Theo’s hand hesitantly reaches for mine, stilling it against my thigh. “Hey,” he murmurs, leaning closer. “We’re gonna be fine.” It does calm me, surprisingly. Enough to get a good breath of air into my lungs.
“Sorry,” I whisper. “I just keep thinking I’m going to say something wrong.”
“You won’t,” he says easily. “We know our story.”
Our story.If anything, our fling should have brought more realism to this whole situation—more confidence, resolve—but instead, it’s thrown me off my game even more. Especially now that …
I glance at him. He looks calm—annoyingly so. Relaxed in dark jeans and a button-down, his hat resting on his knee like this is just another errand. Not the thing that determines whether I get to keep my life.
Whether I get to stay.
But regardless of his cool demeanor, I know he’s taking this just as seriously as I am. If not more so. It’s one of the first things he said to me after our fight on Monday. “This changes nothing. We’re still getting you that green card.”
A door opens.
“Cora Walker and Theodore Strickland?”
Theo stands first, tugging me gently up with him. “That’s us.”
We follow the officer down a narrow hallway into a small office. There’s a desk, two chairs in front. The officer—a woman in her fifties with kind eyes and a no-nonsense bun—gestures for us to sit. “I’m Officer Rollins. This interview is to determine thelegitimacy of your marriage. I’ll be asking questions separately and together. Answer honestly.” It’s a rehearsed speech, clipped, to the point.
Theo’s hand is still on mine, and I realize I haven’t moved to pull it away.
“Let’s start simple.” She looks at me. “When did you and your husband meet?”
“Two years ago,” I answer without hesitation. “At Thatcher Ranch. I’m an on-site veterinarian, and he’s a ranch hand.”
“When did you start dating?” she asks Theo.
“Last fall.”
I nod quickly in agreement.
Officer Rollins’s eyes flick up. “Who asked whom?”
Theo smiles, slow and fond. “I asked.”
My stomach flips. Because that part … technically isn’t a lie.
“And how did he ask?” she presses.
I swallow. “He cooked dinner. Burned the first attempt.” We didn’t discuss this, but I assume Theo will go along.
“I did not burn it,” Theo says mildly. “It was … charred.” I can’t help but smile. It feels like the old Theo and Cora again.Us. Joking, laughing.
Officer Rollins flips a page. “When did you decide to get married?”
