“Half the men on this ranch would marry you if given the chance,” Theo quips, and my gaze locks on his in surprise. His jaw clenches, and he looks away quickly. He clears his throat and reaches a hand up to the back of his neck, stretching uncomfortably.
I shake my head. “Okay, it might be the only option left, but it’s insane. I can’t find someone to marry me. Besides, don’t they interview you for that kind of stuff? It’s not like I can just pull a random stranger off the street—they’d know we’re faking it.”
Theo’s hand, resting on the counter beside the laptop, clenches ever so slightly. “Marryme.”
The words seem to echo in the small cabin, filling the room, pushing the walls apart they’re so big. Our gazes meet in the silence that follows, mine daring him to say he’s serious, and his daring me to accept.
“What?” I eventually say, my voice hoarse.
“Marry me,” Theo repeats, his tone clearer this time. He shuts the laptop, swiveling on his stool to fully face me. His knees brush against mine, and it sends something akin to electricity shooting through me. I blame it on the heightened emotions of the evening, the stress, the crazy scheme he’s proposing. “We’ve known each other for two years. We’re best friends. We know everything important there is to know about each other. No immigration officer is going to doubt the relationship.”
My lips part, unsure of what he’s really asking me. Is this just a ploy to keep me here or … is he asking me something more?
“And after you get your green card, we can divorce,” he adds, the words feeling stilted and wooden.
I nod quickly. Of course. The green card. Just the green card. Good. I swallow thickly. “What’s in it for you?” I ask.
Something flickers across his face, but then it’s gone. “Why would there need to be anything in it for me?” he asks.
I give him a look. “Because marriage—even if it’s fake—is a big deal. It’s not like you’re just letting me crash at your place or something, this is—”
“You’re one of my best friends, Cora,” he interrupts. “That’s what’s in it for me.”
His words shock me into silence for a few heartbeats. “You’d really do that for me?” I ask quietly. Because as insane as it sounds, the idea of going back to Canada feels even crazier. I’d be starting over. No friends, no family, no job, nothing.
It’s … terrifying, actually.
Theo nods, his blue eyes boring into mine with a sincerity I rarely see.
The silence stretches for one, two, three heartbeats, and then he breaks it.
“So, what do you say, darling?” he says with a smile, and even though I know the use of the pet name is in jest, there’s something about hearing it from his lips that feels comforting. “Marry me?” It’s the third time he’s said it, but now it’s really a question.
And I know it’s not real—not really—but it has my heart stuttering all the same. Even so, it might just be the easiest answer of my life.
“Yes.”
Chapter four
Theo
Whattheactualhellam I thinking? I can’t marry Cora Walker.
I mean, I would love to marry her.
But I can’t marry her.
But I can’tnotmarry her.
So here we are, sitting at the dining table in my kitchen, discussing our imminent marriage. Last night was a blur. We’d spent hours in her tiny cabin going over all the possible ways for her to stay in the country. Practically proposing to her on the spot was not part of my plan. Not at all. But as the idea of her leaving seemed more and more likely, something happened in my chest. Constriction. Like someone was in there, a fist on my lungs, squeezing, harder and harder and harder. And if I didn’t find a way to keep Cora here, I’d eventually use up all the air I had and die on the spot.
I was sure she’d say no. Laugh me out of her cabin.
But she said yes.
And I truly don’t know which answer would have been worse.
“A quick courthouse wedding,” Cora says in agreement, nodding down at her phone. She tucks a strand of her chin-length blonde hair behind her ear, biting her lip in thought. “Looks like licenses are easy enough to get.”
