Page 12 of The Green Card Baby Deal

“Me, too.” She turned to face him. “Pretty sure you’ve ruined me for any future partners. I will never, ever forget this.”

He smiled and kissed her throat one last time. “Glad to be of service.”

CHAPTER 7

LUIS

The following morning, Luis rose early like he always did, showered, dressed, and readied himself for the day. All the while, the beautiful woman he’d taken to bed last night nuzzled into his pillow, which she’d stolen from him in her sleep. She was disheveled, adorable, and the fact that she was still in the bed she had shared with him made everything he was going through seem somehow manageable. He found his optimism every time he looked at her. Everything was going to be all right as long as she stayed.

But she wasn’t going to stay, was she? They’d already agreed to keep things simple. They’d talked about both of them just needing a boost, and sex seemed like the perfect prescription to soothe the residue of their bad days. But the longer Luis stared down at the girl he’d brought to a hotel on a whim, the more he wanted to keep her.

It was weird, he thought, not like him at all to fall in love with someone he barely knew. He’d never been so impulsive. And now that he was sober, he couldn’t blame the beer. He was usually more careful in his decisions, deliberate in everything he did. But Clara made him want to throw caution to the wind and take every single chance he ever passed up. In short, she made him feel brave, impulsive. And God, yes, he really did want to keep her.

She stirred, and Luis quickly turned away from her so she wouldn’t see him staring. “Feeling like a little room service?” he asked.

She rolled out of bed, gathered her clothes, and to Luis’s supreme disappointment, started putting them on. “I don’t think my pocketbook can take another hit,” she said with a laugh.

Luis cocked his head at her, unsure what she was talking about. “Another hit?” He had bought her drinks, hadn’t he? Yes, he definitely had. It was automatic for him at this point. It just seemed wrong to let anyone pay for their drinks when he had been given so much good fortune in his life. Luis’s philosophy, which was one more thing he had picked up from his father, was to put any gifts the universe gave him to good use. Pass the luck around, his father would say. So he did. Then it dawned on him. “Clara, the room is already paid for. I took care of it on the way in.”

“Right, but I’m going to give you half. I won’t let you pay for all of it yourself, not after the treat you gave me last night.”

“Treats,” he corrected.

She laughed knowingly and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, standing on tiptoe to plant a kiss on his lips. It felt like goodbye, and Luis was desperate to put a stop to her leaving. “Well, if anything, I owe you for that,” she said.

Luis shook his head. “You don’t owe me a thing, Clara. Let me order us some room service. It’ll be my pleasure to keep your company just a little longer.”

She chewed her lip while she thought about it and finally came to a decision. “Oh, why the hell not. It’s been a fun night, why shouldn’t it be a fun morning, too.”

“That’s the spirit!” Luis cried, almost too loudly. “Pick anything off the menu. Don’t worry about the price, pookie. I’m a very successful businessman.” He used a cartoonish rich-person accent to make it sound like a joke, but of course, it was far from funny. He was more than successful — he had more wealth than a small country. This evening wouldn’t make a dent in his empire, and every moment he spent with Clara was one he would pay for a thousand times over if he could.

Clara picked up on the role play and quickly adopted an accent that sounded like a bad imitation of Zsa ZsaGabor. “Whatever you say, dahling.” She was having fun, assuming this was all a game, and Luis wanted it to go on forever. All his problems were just background noise when he was with her.

She ordered a modest breakfast and coffee, and Luis decided to add a chocolate-covered fruit assortment to it because, even if she refused to treat herself, he was going to do it for her. She took a shower while she waited for the food, and when she emerged from the steamy bathroom drying her hair with a towel and wearing a cozy white robe, Luis said, “You look delectable.”

“Yeah, sure.” Clara laughed. She didn’t believe him, so he scooped her into his arms and kissed her deeply. His hand drifted down and he gave her ass a squeeze to prove his point. No chance he was going to let her forget last night so soon.

“Delectable,” he repeated into her ear. “I’m so hungry, and it’s not for breakfast.” Her cheeks reddened, which let him know he’d made an impression. Good. Now he just had to make a thousand more.

They ate breakfast together at the table by the window, and it was delicious. Luis had ordered extra food and then pretended not to want it so Clara would eat more. He could tell she’d held back when ordering to go easy on him, and she had no idea how completely unnecessary that was. Luis found her thoughtfulness every bit as attractive as her absolutely exquisite body.

Halfway through his omelet, Luis got an idea. It popped into his head out of nowhere, and as soon as he thought of it, he couldn’t think of anything else. There was a chance it could work, but if he brought it up now, would Clara think he was crazy? “If I paid for your fertility treatments, would that help?”

She blinked at him and set her English muffin down before she could take a bite out of it. Her eyes clouded with disbelief until she finally burst out laughing. “Oh, that’s funny! Good one. You almost had me.”

But Luis wasn’t laughing. “No, I’m serious. I’ve been thinking about it, and I think we might be able to help each other out. I need legal residency, and you need money.”

“And?”

“You can give me legal residency, and I can give you money.”

She squinted at him and took a slow sip of coffee. “I can give you legal residency, how?”

Luis shrugged, hoping some nonchalance would soften the blow. “Marry me.”

Clara came very close to spitting her coffee out in shock. “Excuse me?”

“If you marry me, I’ll have legal residency, and I’ll pay for your fertility treatments.” He grinned. “Hell, I’ll even be your donor if you like.”

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