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breath, feeling the sting in my lungs. Those words went directly into my heart, making my hands shake. It was something I never expected her to say. She may not love me, but there was something there. Of everyone she knew, she wanted to share this experience with me. She wanted to marry me. Which means she must trust me. “That means a lot to me.”
    “I’m just sorry I’m dragging you through this.”
    “No,” I said quickly. “I want this.”
    “You do?”
    She had no idea how much I wanted this. “I’m honored that I get to marry you. And I’m grateful it wasn’t Dean.” I smiled to dissipate the tension.
    “I am too.” She laughed at the look on my face.
    I kissed her. “We’ll get through this—together.”
    “I’m so lucky I found you. You’re the perfect person for me.”
    What is she doing to me? She’s killing me. Stop making me fall more in love with you! “How so?”
    “No other man would agree to this if they actually wanted to get married. If you weren’t the way you were, you would have said no because you value marriage. If you were any other way, this wouldn’t have worked.”
    No, you’re totally wrong. “I did it because I care about you—a lot.”
    “I know that too.” She rubbed her nose against mine then pressed her breasts against me. I knew what that meant, and any other time, I’d gladly get it on. But we had somewhere to be.
    “It’ll have to wait.”
    ♫
    When we arrived at the Department of Immigration, Prudence was tense. I held her hand and escorted her inside. I handled the secretary until we took our seats. I kept her hand on my thigh and rubbed her knuckles with my thumb. There were a lot of things I wanted to say to her, but I didn’t think it was appropriate for the venue.
    We were finally called into a conference room. A bald man wearing a wrinkled suit sat across from us at the table. It was humid and warm, like they never aired out the place. It was dark, causing shadows in the corners. I knew the atmosphere wasn’t helping Prudence.
    “Ms. Prudence Clearwater?” The man looked through his paperwork then stared at her.
    “Yes,” she said in a confident voice. I knew she was terrified but she hid it well.
    “Is this your lawyer?” he asked without looking at me.
    “No,” I said. “I’m her fiancé.” I pulled her hand on the table so he could see the engagement ring that cost a small fortune. The rare quality diamonds cast rainbows every time you looked at it.
    He stared at the ring then met my gaze. “I’m Clark. I’ll be taking care of you today.” He looked at the ring again. “I’m assuming this marriage is your last attempt to stay in the country?”
    “No,” she said. “This is the man I love and I’m going to marry him.”
    “What a coincidence,” he said with a laugh.
    I glared at him. “Don’t talk to my fiancé like that.”
    He eyed the size of my arms and shoulders, but he didn’t apologize. Instead, he sighed and looked at her. “I understand you’re intent on staying in the U. S. I can’t say I blame you. But you didn’t follow the paperwork properly and you’ve expired your visit. And this new route you’ve taken to stay here is going to crash and burn. I suggest you think it through before you commit. I’ll look the other way.” He opened his folder then skimmed through it. “If you marry an American citizen to gain residency in this country, both parties will be breaking federal law, which can result in a hefty fine, jail time, and permanent exile for the non-citizen.” He looked at Prudence. “I suggest you think this through.”
    “We already have,” I said firmly. “Your pathetic attempt of intimidation means shit to me.”
    “Fine,” he said with a laugh. “We’ll do it your way. I will monitor you closely, all the events prior to the marriage. If I have any reason to suspect this relationship is bogus—any reason at all—I will immediately take action against you. As a government worker,