Page 21 of The Green Card Baby Deal

“Sounds like a good man,” Clara’s father said.

“He is,” Luis confirmed without hesitation. “But he’s not in the business anymore. He wanted me to take over for him because he wanted to see me flourish while he could still enjoy it. At least, that’s what he said. Maybe he just wanted to keep an eye on me.” Luis gave Cara’s family a half smile. “Anyway, I spend most of my time wondering whether what I’m doing with his business is making him proud, and lately, I haven’t been able to confidently answer that with a yes.”

Dawn crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow. “Go on.”

“Well, this little brewery reminded me of my father, of what he created and what he cared about. I thought bringing them into the fold and giving them free rein might be a good start to getting back to my roots.”

He watched as Dawn narrowed her eyes. Clara could tell her twin was messing with him, but Luis probably wasn’t accustomed to being messed with like that. Dawn gave him her harshest look and then broke character and grinned at him. “I like it,” she concluded. “Sounds like a good plan.”

Luis visibly relaxed.

Anyone would be forgiven for assuming Dawn had finished her interrogation, but the conversation at the dinner table proved otherwise. “So, how long did you know my sister before you proposed?” Dawn asked.

Luis’s face colored as he considered how to answer. “I haven’t known her long, it’s true,” he admitted. “But I like to think I know her well.”

“You do, do you?” Dawn crossed her arms and refused to start eating the meal her mother had placed in front of her until she was satisfied with Luis’s answer. “Okay, let’s play a game.”

“Dawn,” Clara said.

But Dawn would not be deterred. “When we were kids, Clara had a stuffed animal she carried with her everywhere. She never set that thing down. So what kind of animal was it, and what was its name?”

Luis’s eyes went wide. He looked like prey, afraid for his life. Clara looked around at both her parents to see how they were feeling. She wasn’t surprised to find them both amused. Dawn could do no wrong, and her protectiveness of Clara was more endearing to them than annoying. It always had been. Poor Luis, though. Clara decided to make it a little easier on him. While everyone’s eyes were focused on Luis, she formed one hand into the shape of a cat’s claw and took a subtle swipe at the air. Then she nodded meaningfully across the table to Luis.

“A cat?” he guessed.

Dawn pursed her lips at him. “Its name?”

“This was not at all the sort of thing anyone discusses on their first dates.” Clara did her best to defend her new fiancé, but Dawn would not be dissuaded.

“Name?” she asked.

Clara tapped Luis’s shin under the table with her foot, and he glanced across to her. She held up her handbag and pointed to it.

“Purse?” Luis looked unsure.

Clara aggressively shook her head, pointed to her handbag again, and then tugged at the cardigan hanging off the back of her chair.

“Black?” Luis said.

“Close,” Dawn conceded. “But no cigar. It was Blackie. Okay, so the stuffed animal wasn’t your most memorable conversation. Surely you talked about first crushes, right? I mean that’s what my husband and I talked about on our first date. So who was Clara’s first crush?”

Clara broke in. “This is so stupid, Dawn. You’re only doing it to make him feel like he’s not the king of the world, when you know as well as I do he practically is. I mean what’s he done to you anyway? Nothing. There’s nothing he could do to someone like you. You’re practically unsinkable.”

Luis’s eyes lit up. “Leonardo DiCaprio!”

Dawn turned her glare to Clara. “That’s cheating, you know.”

“A nudge in the right direction isn’t cheating,” Clara said. “Anyway, how’s he supposed to remember all this stuff about me? It’s inconsequential.”

“Not if he loves you, it isn’t.” She had a point, so Clara bowed her head in defeat. “Favorite flower?” Dawn said, turning back to Luis.

Their mother gripped Clara by the shoulder quickly. “Clara, can you help me in the kitchen for a moment?”

Clara had to wonder whether her mother was leaving Luis to the wolves — well, wolf — on purpose, but did she really have a choice? “Sure, Mom. Let me know what I can do to assist you.” She looked back at Luis meaningfully on her way to the kitchen. “I’m always happy to give you aid.” She saw Luis quickly pull his phone out under the table and start texting frantically. Good. He got the message. His assistants, who were with her when she chose her wedding bouquet would be able to answer that question.

In the kitchen, Clara helped her mother stack dinner dishes and plate dessert, which turned out to be her absolutely delicious rhubarb pie. “He seems nice,” her mother said, and Clara got the impression that talking about Luis privately was the real reason she’d been called into the kitchen.

“He is nice.”

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