Maddie giggled, eliciting a chuckle from Jace, who looked up, almost like he forgot where he was, or what they had just done.
“I know kids aren’t for me, but they’re pretty damn awesome, aren’t they?”
“This one, in particular.”He didn’t want kids or a relationship, and the tone in his voice when he mentioned both made her think they were connected.What was the story there?Hopefully, she’d be out of danger and back on her own in time enough to still have a family of her own.Her current husband may not want them, but Aurelie always had.
Jace smiled.“Aury, you wanna go home and practice what other people do to make cute kids like this?”She nodded and blushed.“Me, too.In fact, if we don’t start heading home in the next five minutes, I have a mind to take you right here in the lobby.”
He winked at her, and she swore her pulse quickened to double time.She wanted him badly, but she also needed to calm her racing mind regarding what the immigration officials would ask once they submitted the marriage certificate.
“How about we grab some late lunch first?I have a list of questions to ask you, actually.”
“I’ll bet you do.And sure.But don’t for a minute think I don’t see right through your ploy to keep me from stripping you naked right here.”He laughed and squeezed her hand with the one he wasn’t holding Maddie with.“It’ll be my treat.My fake wife won’t want for anything, got it?”
Again, Aurelie swallowed hard, the part of her that remembered what he’d said about no relationships warring an internal battle against the part of her that relished the romance of movies and storybooks.She wasn’t in love either, and the more she remembered that, the better off she’d be.
“Fine.This time, at least.Where should we go?”
“Well, that’s where I need your help.The only places I’ve been is the bar and Jules’s, and while the former was the best burger I’ve ever tasted, I think I’m gonna need to expand my palate a little here so my arteries don’t give out on me.”
“How about Joe’s other place?”
“Joe has more than one place?”
This time, it was Aurelie’s turn to laugh.“He owns a sandwich place, and I think you’ll like it.”
At the restaurant, Jace settled Maddie’s car seat next to him in a booth that could have sat four professional linebackers on each side.He patted the seat beside him.
“Come here, you.”
Aurelie obliged, sliding in close until their thighs were touching.He put a hand on the bare skin just above her knee, and she inhaled sharply.Would she ever get used to the way this man kept her nerve endings firing like they were on overdrive?Maybe they should have gone home first, if only to screw this feeling out of her before it distracted her from anything else.
“So, what’s good here?”he asked.
Exhaling slower this time, pleased to have wandered into benign territory, she pointed out a couple of menu items she thought he’d enjoy, taking mental notes along the way about what his tastes included.Miraculously, they weren’t too far off her own, though she did note with particular interest that he seemed to steer clear of anything with spice.With how she liked to cook, she’d be altering almost all her recipes.
Would they eat meals together?She assumed so, but this was all so new, she couldn’t be sure of anything, could she?
They ordered, and Aurelie watched with burgeoning interest as Jace rocked Maddie’s seat until she fell into a peaceful slumber despite the bustle of the small restaurant.
“Okay, time to fire away with those questions, so we can move on to where I get to know you bettermyway.”Again, the wink he flung her direction sent flutters through her chest and stomach that wouldn’t settle.
“Well, I’m glad to know you eat meat.I think that would have been a deal breaker if you didn’t,” she began.The way Jace’s mouth pulled up at the corners while he nodded told her he’d thought the same about her.“And since you brought up kids, you should know I want them.I also don’t want to be my grandmother’s age when they graduate high school.You know, in case the agent asks.”
“I’ll remember to answer the same, then.How many do you want?”he asked.
“Maybe four or five.So, you and I have a short-lived thing here if I’m going to accomplish that before I’m sixty.”He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes.“What’s your middle name?”she asked, afraid to continue down the other line of questioning.
“You’re taking it easy on me, Mrs.Michaels.It’s William.Jace William Michaels.What’s yours?”
It took Aurelie a moment to recover the breath she’d lost when she heard him refer to her asMrs.Michaels.Of course she’d take his name, if only to add to the authenticity of their plan, but it made the severity of what they’d done all the more real to her, not to mention that it was one more aspect of their plan she hadn’t considered until he brought it up.
“Um, I don’t have one.It’s not a tradition where I’m from like it is in America.”
“Hmmmm.Interesting.Now I have a question for you.How do you sleep?”
She cocked her head, confused by the question.“Well, uh, on my side.Sometimes I wake up on my back, though.”Jace smiled, and her skin tingled as his thumb edged closer to the hem of her dress that had risen to an almost inappropriate height when she sat.
“I meant naked or in pajamas?But good to know I can make you my little spoon.”
