Page 17 of Fake Out Hearts

Navigating this isn’t going to be easy, and I’m not cavalier about that. Generally, I try to avoid interacting with the government as much as possible, but marrying a foreigner isn’t exactly the most uncommon thing in the world, so it’s not like we’re blazing a whole new trail here. And as long as we color in the lines, we won’t have anything to worry about.

Sure, the government will grill us about our relationship history and want us to prove that we’re really a unit with shared finances and living arrangements and all that other crap, but we don’t have to worry about that right now. We still have plenty of time to sort all that out, and thanks to being a member of theAces and the money that brings, we’ll have access to some of the best lawyers in the country.

“What do we do now? Run down to the county courthouse and make it official?” Becca asks.

“No way. If we’re gonna do this, we’re doing it right.” I chuckle, then reach for my phone on the bedside table next to me. I fell asleep and forgot to charge it, so the battery is low, but there’s still plenty of charge to make a few phone calls. And that’s all I need.

“What does that mean?” she asks, leaning forward to steal a glance at my screen as my fingers fly across it. But I’ve already started a call, so I hold it up to my ear so she can’t see who I’m calling.

“No peeking.” I grin at her. “If we’re gonna have a shotgun wedding, we might as well do it in the most classic place.”

“What about the team? Don’t you have to travel back to Denver today? Or play a game somewhere or something?”

“Nope. The Aces are staying an extra night here in LA before we head back to Denver, so I’ve got time. Now hold that thought,” I say as the line clicks over to an automated voice recording. I smash the zero button on my keypad until I get a live agent.

“Good morning, Mr. Camden, and thank you for calling North Star Travel. My name is Holly, and I’ll be your dedicated personal concierge today. How can I help you?”

“Good morning, Holly,” I say, smiling at Becca because I know she can hear every word. “I need help booking a flight for two from LAX to Las Vegas today. As soon as you can find, and preferably in first class, but I’ll take whatever is available.”

“Of course, Mr. Camden. Do you have a preference on airline?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Okay. Do you mind if I put you on a brief hold while I search?”

“That’s fine.”

“Great. I’ll be back with you in a few minutes.” Holly switches me over to a hold, and generic pop music fills my ear.

“I can’t believe you’re doing this. Thatwe’redoing this,” Becca says, staring at me in disbelief, but she laughs after a second. “You know this is totally insane, right?”

I shrug. “I like to move fast when things feel right. Doesn’t make me crazy. Makes me decisive.”

“Right, ‘decisive.’ That’s the word,” Becca says, although she seems to be getting just as caught up in this as I am.

“So, your favorite color really is blue, right?” I ask, and she lifts her eyebrows at me.

“Uh, yeah. But we already went over that.”

“I know. But if we’re gonna sell this marriage as the real deal, we’d better make sure our stories match and we’ve got all the details right.”

“Oh god,” Becca groans, slumping over on the bed. “You’re right. I didn’t even think of that. I don’t know anything about you!”

I reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “Hey, don’t worry. We’ve still got plenty of time to go over all that.”

“What are we going to say about how we met? And why we decided to get married so fast? I mean, the breakup and everything that happened last night was on camera. It’ll wind up on Shawn’s show for sure.”

I frown at the mention of her ex. “Notallof it was on camera. Shawn the asshole dumping you was, sure, but the cameras were nowhere around the two of us after that. We can just say there was a connection between us that neither one of us could deny.”

She flushes a little, biting her lower lip as she looks at me. What I just said isn’t far from the truth, and I know it. Therewasa connection between us that felt pretty fucking undeniable in the moment. But that’s why I feel certain this will work. Even though I only proposed marriage because I know how badly she wants to stay in the country, the kernel of truth will be there when we talk about how we met and how we just clicked.

“But isn’t it going to look suspicious that you and I decided to get married the day after Shawn dumped me though?” Becca asks, the flicker of heat fading from her eyes as worry replaces it.

As much as I wish I did, I don’t have a good answer for that question. She’s right, there’s a chance some people will think that the two of us had something going onbeforeher breakup with Shawn, and the last thing either of us wants is to give that douche a chance to spin the story in his favor. And I’m sure that once he hears about this, he’s going to lose it and do everything he can to interfere just out of principal.

But I’m not going to let any of that stop us.

“People fall in love and get married overnight all the time. Britney Spears did it, so why can’t we?”

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