chances with the immigration services.
By dinnertime, I still hadn’t decided anything. I felt like I needed more details, and yet I couldn’t come up with them on my own.
What would our life together look like? How often would we have to be seen in public?
As husband and wife, we’d be expected to show some PDA. My skin tingled at the prospect. And therein lay my problem. Could I live with Hunter for three years, pretend I was head over heels in love when we were in public, and not actually fall for him?
At five o’clock, I still wasn’t sure about my course of action but canceled my evening plans. I wasn’t in the mood to go out.
I wondered what Hunter was doing tonight. Was he on a date? My stomach churned unpleasantly at the thought. I circled back to my sheet of paper, crossing over the words “pros” and “cons.” The new title was Demands and Conditions.
I had no problem coming up with a lengthy list. I was a lawyer, after all. Setting up a framework and boundaries was second nature to me.
After I wrote down everything I could think of, I surveyed the list, biting the end of my pen. Hunter would think I was out of my mind.
I jumped when my phone started buzzing. Hunter was calling. No time like the present to bring this to his attention, but I couldn’t work up the courage to answer. I could barely bring myself to write down some of the conditions. How was I supposed to say them out loud?
I fretted so long that the phone stopped buzzing. But I couldn’t put this off. If I was going to go through with this, I needed all the facts. Drawing in a deep breath, I called him back. He answered right away.
“Hey. Are you still out?” he asked.
“What? Oh... I stayed in. Wasn’t in the mood for anything. I’ve been thinking about what you said....”
“I’m listening.”
“So... I made a list of things we should discuss.”
He laughed. “You have a list?”
“Hey. Don’t mock me. I think better when I see things in writing.”
“Hit me up.”
“First things first. We’d sleep in separate rooms.”
“It wouldn’t be real, Josie. Of course, I wouldn’t expect you to share my bed.”
“I’m glad we clarified it.”
“What’s the next point?”
“I just want paperwork. No wedding.”
“Amelia will flip her shit. Mom too. Your family too. Why no wedding?”
“Because when I do wear a white dress and walk to the altar, I want it to be real.”
“That’s fair,” he said after a few seconds. “Do you want anyone to be at the courthouse, or just the two of us?”
“Amelia would disown us both if we didn’t invite her, so I don’t think we’ll get away with that. It would make my family happy too. And your mom.”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized it wouldn’t work. “Crap. I don’t think we’ll get away just with a courthouse wedding.”
“I don’t think so either. We’ll need a party. This is pretty much the only wedding anyone’ll get for me.” I wasn’t sure why he didn’t want to marry, but this wasn’t the first time he’d made his thoughts on the subject clear.
“Party’s fine,” I muttered, even though I’d secretly hoped we could just spring it on everyone that we got married in secret.
“What’s the next point?”
I cleared my throat, tapping my pen against the sheet. There was no point beating around the bush.
“Neither of us can see other people during the duration of our engagement and marriage. You’re well known in business circles. If anyone gossiped that you’re sleeping with someone else behind my back, I’d be everyone’s laughingstock. The reverse is true for you. And it would give the immigration services serious reasons to suspect we’re just putting on a charade.”
There was a long pause, and I was convinced this was a deal breaker for him.
“You’re right. I hadn’t thought of that,” he said finally. “Why don’t I take you out to dinner and we’ll go through the rest of the points on your list?”
“No need.”
“You canceled your plans because of me, future fiancée. The least I can do is make it up to you.”
I grinned, flipping on my back, deciding on the spot to go through with this. “When you put it like that, it sounds like a great idea. I’ve already eaten, but I won’t say no to dessert and cocktails. Take me somewhere fancy.”
“Demanding fiancée.”
“I’m still your girlfriend for now, right?”
“You’re right. Demanding girlfriend.”
Hot damn, I