Page 16 of The Green Card Baby Deal

They watched the channel Luis had indicated they should watch, fully prepared to make fun of him in the nicest possible way. The interviewer began by asking him about his history, how he rose from a simple brewery owner to the business mogul he is today. She asked him about his recent acquisition, and Luis spoke of his appreciation for the little brewery he had acquired, how he wanted to preserve their culture while simultaneously giving them more resources to do what they do best.

Clara was only half paying attention, but her sister was suddenly rapt — no, shocked. “Luis Morales?” she said, her voice a thin gasp. “You’re dating Luis Morales? Do you have any idea who that is?”

Clara shrugged and popped another kernel in her mouth. “A beer guy?”

“A beer guy.” Dawn rolled her eyes and slapped Clara on the knee. “You never pay attention to current events, do you?”

“If by ‘current events,’ you mean celebrity gossip, no.” Clara had to admit to herself that she was getting a little irritated. “Tell me what I’m missing.”

Dawn took a deep breath and began her revelation. “Luis Morales isn’t just a beer guy. He’s a billionaire beer guy. His company owns way more than just breweries, even though they started in that arena.”

Clara’s mind snagged on the word billionaire. Surely Dawn was exaggerating. “Okay, but seriously. How rich is he?”

“Sis.” Dawn shook her sister by the shoulders to get her attention. “He’s. A. Billionaire.”

Clara just sat in silence for a while. She was stunned. Why hadn’t he told her? She supposed he didn’t want her to enter into an agreement with him just because of his celebrity status. Or maybe he was worried she would refuse him because of it. After all, any child she had while married to him would live a public life whether they wanted to or not. “He should have told me,” she muttered.

On screen, Luis was looking into the camera, talking about his youth, growing up in Colombia, and how happy he was to be living in America. “If I had never come to this country,” he said, “I would never have met the love of my life.” Then, to Clara’s ultimate shock and a little bit of horror, he leaned in and opened a small box. “And that’s why I want to ask her…”

“Oh, no no no!” Clara shot up and shouted at the screen. “You take that back, mister. You didn’t give me all the information.”

“Clara Ashford…” Inside the box he held out was probably the biggest diamond she’d ever seen, glittering in the spotlight they likely had pointed at him. “Will you make me the happiest man in the world? Will you marry me?”

Dawn screamed, and Clara buried her face in her hands. “This can’t be happening. What have I gotten myself into?”

“He proposed!” Dawn said after her shock had worn off enough for her to speak. “But you only just met him.”

“It was love at first sight, I guess.” Clara did not sound at all convincing.

“Are you going to say yes?”

“I’d be a fool not to, wouldn’t I?”

Dawn didn’t respond to that, but she didn’t need to. The answer was obvious. Refusing Luis Morales, famous billionaire and “beer guy,” would be a choice Clara could see herself regretting for the rest of her life. She flashed to a different possible future and saw herself with a man who was never home, working sixty hours a week while Clara raised their children in a one-bedroom apartment, if she could even afford that in this city. She saw her exhaustion, and if it got bad enough, she could see herself regretting ever becoming a mom.

If she said yes to Luis, however, she’d be taken care of for the rest of her life. She’d have help with her children. Maybe she could even take better care of her parents as they aged. No one in her family would ever want for anything ever again. Surely a little fame was worth that. She turned to Dawn and shrugged. “I guess I’ll say yes.”

Dawn narrowed her eyes. “Do you love him?”

Clara hesitated too long before answering. “Sure. I guess I do.”

CHAPTER 9

CLARA

Every time her engagement ring drifted in front of her eyes, Clara did a double take. Was that really her hand? She could hardly believe it. After her sister left and Luis returned to his penthouse, she’d received the engagement ring without much pomp or circumstance. Although, if it wasn’t all her imagination, she could have sworn Luis’s hands trembled as he slipped it onto her finger.

He made room for her in his ample closets, gave her his bedroom, and set up another in his office for himself. The bed in his office was easy to fold away for when guests came over, just in case they went snooping. The marriage had to appear legitimate. And it had to happen quickly — she would have to start planning right away. When Clara balked at that, Luis had reminded her that she would have help. He had many aides and assistants working for him, and he would assign a few of his most trusted to Clara.

That was how she got to know Meredith and Patricia, or Patty as she insisted everyone call her. They were both bubbly women in their twenties and made Clara feel even older than she already did.

Today, Luis’s two assistants were taking Clara to taste cakes and try on wedding gowns. Patty and Meredith sat at a round table with Clara, and they all chatted like old friends.

“Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, or carrot?” Meredith asked.

“Hmm…” Clara thought hard about it. “Well, carrot just makes me think of an antique shop.”

Patty burst out laughing. She had one of the most infectious laughs Clara had ever heard. “How does a cake flavor remind you of an antique shop?”

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