never been nervous around Luc. The truth is, she never got nervous about much of anything. Especially Luc. Everything about him, from his slow, easy grin and low, patient voice to his dark, compassionate eyes, naturally put people at ease. He could be intimidating as hell when he wanted to be. She’d seen it. But unless the situation warranted it, he chose not to be.
“I wanted a minute to talk in private,” he said, snapping the door closed behind him. He crossed the two steps to her desk and sat on the edge. She could be mistaken, but he looked a little uneasy, which wasn’t like him at all.
“There’s something I need to ask you,” he said.
What a coincidence. “There’s something I need to ask you, too.”
“Why don’t I go first,” he said.
Now that she’d worked up the nerve, she couldn’t back down. “I think I should go first.”
“What I have to say might impact what you have to say.”
All the more reason to say it right now. The last thing she wanted was to make a huge deal about this. If she made a fool of herself, so be it.
It sure wouldn’t be the first time.
Luc was watching her expectantly, and she knew that the longer she dragged this out, the harder it would be. What she was about to ask him was no small favor. She wouldn’t blame him at all if he said no.
Okay, Jules, you can do this.
Hoping he didn’t hear the slight quiver in her voice, notice her unsteady hands or the erratic flutter of her pulse, she said, “I may have come up with a way to stay in the country. But I need your help.”
His brow rose expectantly. “What kind of help?”
Her heart lodged in her throat, so when she opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. For several seconds she sat there like a fool, the words frozen in her vocal cords.
Wearing a quirky smile, Luc asked, “Are you okay?”
Yes and no.
She was being silly. He was her best friend. Even if he said no, it wouldn’t change anything. Hopefully it would only be slightly humiliating.
Come on, Jules, just say it.
Gathering her courage, she said, “You know that I really don’t want to leave the US.”
“And I don’t want you to leave,” he said.
“Royal has become my home. I feel like I belong here.”
“You do belong here.” He said it as if there were no question in his mind. “And you know that I’ll do anything I can to help. As a matter of fact—”
“Please, let me finish.” Earnest as he appeared, he might want to take that back when she told him her plan. “I’ve looked into every possible avenue, but there’s only one way I’ve come up with that will assure I can stay.”
She paused taking a deep, empowering breath. Then another.
“Are you going to tell me,” he asked, looking mildly amused. “Or do you want me to guess?”
Oh, for Pete’s sake, just say it, Jules. “We could get married. Temporarily of course,” she added swiftly. “Just until I can earn my citizenship. Then we can get a quickie divorce and pretend it never happened. I’ll sign a contract or a prenup. Whatever makes you most comfortable.”
Luc blinked, then blinked again, and then he burst out laughing.
Wow. There it was. Her worst nightmare realized.
“You’re right,” she said, quickly backtracking. “It was a ridiculous idea. I don’t know what I was thinking.” She shot to her feet, when what she really wanted to do was curl up in the fetal position and wallow in shame. “Let’s forget I said anything and go have lunch.”
She tried to duck past him, and he wrapped a very large but gentle hand around the upper part of her left arm.
“Just hold on a minute,” he said in that firm but patient way of his. From anyone else it would have come off as condescending. “It is not ridiculous. Not at all. I’m laughing because I came here to suggest the exact same thing.”
It was her turn to blink in surprise. Did he mean that, or was he just trying to make her feel less stupid. “Seriously?”
“But it is a legally and morally gray area. I wasn’t sure if you would be willing to risk breaking the law.”
Desperate times required desperate measures. “I’m willing if you are.”
“We can’t risk anyone else knowing the truth.”
“I won’t tell if you don’t.”
“Drew knows. He’s the one who suggested it. But we can trust him. And I won’t lie to my mother.”
Julie had never known Drew to be anything but a stand-up guy. If Luc trusted him, so would she. And she would never expect Luc to lie to Elizabeth, nor would she want him to.
Julie had no one else to tell, except her sister, Jennifer, who probably wouldn’t care anyway. When she married her husband, an older, wealthy man she’d met on a trip to New York, he became the center of her life. She quit college and set her sights on being the perfect trophy wife. Between charity balls and country club brunches with the other trophy wives in her elite social circle, she had little time for her nomadic, unsophisticated sister.
Though she had never actually met Jennifer’s husband—nor did she care to—her sister’s description of him gave Julie a bad feeling. He sounded very controlling, like their father. But now was not the time to dredge up those old memories. She had promised herself a long time ago that she would never look back in regret, but instead learn from her past and always move forward. Always strive to better herself. Marrying Luc, though completely unexpected, would be just another leg of her journey.
“Having second thoughts already?” Luc asked, and she realized she was frowning.
“No, of course not. Just wondering what happens next.”
“Drew suggested we have the ceremony and reception at the club and we have to do it soon.”
“How soon?”
“How’s this Saturday afternoon looking for you?”
This Saturday? That was only five days away. She knew absolutely zero about planning a wedding, but less than a week sounded ridiculously fast. “Is it even possible to put a wedding together that quickly? And what about immigration? Don’t we have to have an interview or something?”
“My attorney is taking care of all of that. And as for the wedding, we’ll keep it simple. Close friends only. Very informal.”
“I
