Page 20 of Hail Marry
“Yeah. I went to court to ask for my record to be expunged, but the judge denied the petition. Without a clean record, I can’t get the visa.”
“Jeez. That’s…ridiculous. So much for the justice system.” How can a scammer take advantage of and threaten an old woman, but it’s the person who confronts him who pays the price?
“I’m so sorry,” I say, wishing I could help. Maybe Ishould’vebought him a spa package. The man deserves a break. “And there’s really no other option?”
“No. I mean, I could get married, according to my agent.” He grimaces. “So no. No other options. Without the right to work here, I can’t play professionally. Besides, the draft is in a few weeks. There’s just no time. Anyway, that was more than you bargained for. And I didn’t come here to talk about me. I came to check on you. You sure you’re doing okay?”
“Yeah,” I say distractedly. My mind is buzzing with an idea. An absolutely insane idea. Off-the-charts deranged.
Or is it? For the past few days, I’ve been racking my brains to figure out how to thank Luca for saving my life, and now I know exactly what he needs most.
“Icould marry you,” I blurt out.
He blinks. “Sorry, what?”
A laugh I’ve never produced before comes out of my mouth. It sounds almost as insane as what I’m about to say. “I could marry you.” I say it like I’m offering to give him a ride to the bus station. “Hey, we got engaged already, right? Marriage is the natural next step.” Not even I can tell how much of me is joking.
Luca looks at me like I just hopped off a spaceship and am inviting him to board. Or maybe he’s wondering if my head injury is having delayed effects.
Maybe it is.
My eyes widen as a thought occurs to me. “Or maybe you already have a girlfriend, in which case, that would be a great option too. Do you guys need a witness? A maid of honor? Best woman? Wedding planner? Registry organizer? I can be whatever you need.” I finally manage to stop the word waterfall, and it goes quiet.
“I don’t have a girlfriend,” Luca says, perfectly brief.
We stare at each other for a few seconds, and in his eyes, I see him playing through this scenario I’ve offered up, entertaining the idea of getting married so he can pursue the dream he thought impossible.
The more I think about it, the more it makes sense. Unless I save his life—a highly improbable scenario given how capable the man looks of taking care of himself—I can never fully repay him for what he did for me. But this…this would be huge for him.
And I have no plans of getting married anytime soon. Or possibly ever.
This, at least, feels like something meaningful I could do. Something exciting too. Just the thought of it has my mind and heart racing. Isn’t that what I’ve been looking for?
He breaks his gaze away. “No.”
I scoot a couple feet closer toward him. “Why not? You saved my life, Luca.”
His head shakes. “That’s different. Helping you was one second. This would be…”
“Longer than one second?” I offer.
A scoffing laugh escapes him. “Yeah.”
“I onlyhavethose seconds thanks to you. Besides, it’s not like it’d be permanent.”
He stares at me, his jaw shifting.
“Look,” I say, “I’m just saying it’s an option worth considering. And maybe youronlyoption?”
He’s quiet, his eyes searching my face. “You can’t be seriously offering to get married.”
I raise my brows. Ryan spent so much time telling me what I should and shouldn’t do that I’m suddenly in a double-dog-dare-me mood. “Can’t I?”
“You’re in your prime, Victoria. You should be dating and falling in love and…all that.”
“Not interested,” I say flatly. “Tried it. Not a fan. Zero out of ten recommend. But if that’s your way of sayingyouwant to be dating and?—”
“No.” His response is firm and hard, and the room goes quiet. Something tells me there’s some history to that answer. When he speaks again, his voice is gentler. “I just want to play football.” He looks at me. “Why would you even offer that? What’s in it for you?”
