Karma. This was karma. I’d been amused by the idea of Josie having to face Tess and Skye but looking at the suspicious expressions on Ryker and Cole’s face, I was not going to fare much better.
“My priority right now is not to get into trouble with the immigration office. Everything else I can handle.” There. That sounded like a smart answer.
I looked around the room, but Josie was still sitting with Tess and Skye. I felt the need to be connected to her, to touch her.
When I’d told her that today half my brain was still on the Maldives, what I’d meant was that my mind had been on her. After being with her twenty-four hours a day for the past few weeks, it had felt strange to be without her today, as if an integral part of me was missing.
Honestly, I’d never been more grateful that Josie had insisted neither of us see people during these years. I couldn’t share Josie. I was starting to wonder how I’d be able to let her go at all.
“Survived?” I asked her as we walked to the car a while later. I undid the top button of my shirt. August in New York was smothering. The humidity made it all worse.
“Yes. You?”
“They weren’t as hard on me, but Ryker was already trying to rope me into going out with them. Cole even offered to be my wingman.”
Josie stopped in the act of reaching for the car door handle. “What did you tell him?”
I brought a hand to her waist, right over her stomach. She was so damn tense.
“No, of course. You and I agreed not to see other people. And that was before I had you, Josie. I’d be crazy to want anyone else. I’m yours.”
I felt her muscles go lax. “Okay. Okay. So, now what?”
Even though she had her back to me, I could feel her smiling. I brought my mouth to her ear, enjoying the way she leaned into me, as if she didn’t want to risk missing any word. I trailed my fingers from her shoulder down to her elbow, drinking in her reaction. She sucked in a breath, shimmying against me.
“Now, I’m going to spend the evening proving what a good husband I am, wife.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
Hunter
The week after returning from our honeymoon, the immigration services asked me to come in for an interview for my green card. I was relieved they hadn’t asked Josie to come in too. Still, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit I was nervous as hell when the case worker asked me to come to her office.
“Mr. Caldwell, we’ve received your green card application, and I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“Sure.”
“You’ve lived in the United States since you were four years old. Why haven’t you applied for a green card before?”
“Honestly, I didn’t have time and didn’t think it was too important. My parents were British citizens, and they’d never had issues with their visa.”
She looked down at my file, drawing check marks.
“But yours wasn’t renewed.”
“Hence why I decided to go directly for the green card.”
“And you got married in the meantime.”
I stood still, watching her carefully. “I did.”
“Thought you’d kill two birds with one stone, eh?”
“Josie and I have been friends for a long time.” I was still calm, but I wouldn’t be able to keep so for too long.
“A large percentage of sham marriages happen between friends. People rarely trust strangers with something like this.”
I could feel myself losing my composure. I had to force myself to keep my voice even.
“This is not a sham marriage.”
“That’s for us to determine. You have a good track record—a successful business, charity work. But we still have to investigate.”
“Any other questions?”
“No.”
That unsettled me for some reason. Usually, the less questions the better. But they’d asked me here for an interview, and we’d only covered a few things.
What had been the purpose? Catch me off guard?
By the time I arrived at the office, I was in a worse mood than when I’d gone in for the interview, but there was a small light at the end of the tunnel: Skye and Tess were dropping in at lunch so we could look at their business plan.
To my surprise, when I entered the meeting room, Ryker was there too. On second thought, it made perfect sense. As a Wall Street guru, he knew what investors were looking for. Besides, we all met about once or twice a week for lunch anyway. Before a Ballroom Gala, we sometimes had to discuss details, but mostly it was an opportunity to catch up. Everyone worked in the Manhattan area, so it was easiest to meet for an impromptu lunch than schedule dinners.
Skye and Tess were all smiles, pointing to the take-out bags they’d brought.
“Ladies, this is enough food for ten people.”
“We went a bit overboard, but we just couldn’t decide. Besides, we know you had your interview today. Thought you might need some comfort food,” Skye explained.
“Or just comfort,” Tess added. “How did it go?”
I waved my hand. “Not worth talking about.”
“But they didn’t question Josie, right?” Skye asked.
“No. It was just me.”
As I sat down, I became aware that everyone in the room was watching me. I narrowed my eyes.
“Wait a second... your visit isn’t just about the business plan, is it?”
Tess groaned, turning to Cole. “You gave us away? We told you we do our best work if he’s unprepared.”
Cole shook his head energetically. “No, I think he just put two and two together.”
“Cole here tells us he worries about you. You can’t focus,” Skye said.
Tess grinned. “He thinks you’re sick. We think you’re mooning over Josie.”
I blinked. “Mooning? That’s a low blow.”
Ryker held up a finger. “Um, no. Bringing Mom in would have been a low blow.”
“Language aside, it’s not all an act, is it?” Skye asked.
“Shit, if I’d known you’d go all gung-ho on him, I wouldn’t have asked for your help,” Cole said. I looked at him and Ryker. I was completely unprepared to answer my cousins’ questions.
“Let’s not be hasty,” Ryker said.
Tess cocked a brow. “Brother, I’m not sure you’d realize you’re in love even if it smacked you at the back of the head.”
He grinned. “Love is not my domain, but I can bring in my charm and humor to any situation. I’ve been told it helps relieve tension,” Ryker said.
“Why do you think I asked you over?” Cole teased.
Ryker clutched his heart. “Because my Wall Street expertise will be invaluable for the business plan.”
I took advantage of the fact that he mentioned that to switch topics. “That’s right. Tess, Skye, I thought you said you wanted us to look over your business plan together.”
“Yes, but that doesn’t mean we can’t multitask,” Tess replied.
I narrowed my eyes. “Business plan. Now.”
Skye grinned. “Your lack of answer is an answer anyway.”
Tess nodded. “We’re good with that. For now.”