10. Luis

CHAPTER 10

LUIS

O n the day of their first appointment with the fertility clinic, Luis found himself pacing around his penthouse while Clara tried on different outfits. He kept telling her not to worry, but he couldn't manage to take his own advice. He poured himself a shot of whiskey and quickly downed it before jogging upstairs to see what the holdup was. Clara stood in front of a full-length mirror in a white skirt and a pink cashmere sweater.

"You look great," Luis said, and she jumped at the sound of his voice. Apparently, she hadn't known he was standing behind her. "It's just a doctor's appointment," he said to reassure her as well as himself. "It's going to be fine."

"But what if they say it's already too late?"

"There's no sense worrying about that before you even know." Her cheeks were pinker than usual, he noticed, and her whole demeanor just seemed softer. He longed to hold her, but he didn't dare. It wouldn't be professional. She wanted their business arrangement to stay professional, and admitting that he fantasized about her during the day, that he missed her at night even though he'd only ever spent one with her, was just not professional. He clenched his hands into fists and resisted his own desire. "Let's go. It'll be fine. I'll take care of everything."

As soon as those words left his mouth, he saw her shoulders drop and her expression relax. He'd been able to calm her, to make her feel safe. Luis was prouder of that than he was of his entire corporate empire.

He took her to her appointment in his best limo so she would be distracted on the way. It worked. Clara was stunned by things Luis took for granted on a daily basis. She loved the TV screen that lowered at a voice command. She loved the drinks on hand, though she didn't choose to have one considering she was going to a doctor's appointment. She loved the seat warmers, of all things, and the way the windows could tint and fade to whatever shade she wanted.

"You'll be bored of all this one day, you know," Luis said.

"Not possible." She was commanding the TV to retract like it was the best game in the world. "Why? Are you bored of it?"

Luis nodded, though he was suddenly ashamed to admit it. "But it doesn't seem so boring now," he said with a smile. "So maybe it just matters who you're sharing it with."

Clara laughed like he was joking, though he wasn't. "Cheesy."

He leaned in too close and looked directly into her eyes. "You like cheesy."

Her smile dropped and her cheeks colored. "Okay, you got me. I do like it."

"Good." He leaned back and crossed his arms. "Then you and I will get along just fine."

They pulled in to the parking garage at the fertility clinic so Luis and Clara could exit the vehicle and enter into a private waiting room without prying eyes. "You'll learn to hate the paparazzi," Luis said. "But don't let it dissuade you from our arrangement. I can protect you, no problem."

Why did he feel the need to reassure her? Finding another woman to take his deal would be easy as pie, but the very thought of it made Luis feel sick. For some reason, losing Clara felt like the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. He considered why, and then denied it immediately. No one fell in love that quickly except in the movies. It was ridiculous. He was just emotional because he was stressed, obviously.

While the private waiting room was far more comfortable than most, it had the usual lack of good reading material. Some magazines here and there, which Clara picked up and started leafing through. They were mostly maternal magazines for obvious reasons. Luis hoped they weren't just stressing her out more.

Soon enough, the nurse called Clara back, and Luis almost followed. His muscles tensed as he forced himself to sit back down. Though he was pretending to be her partner, he had to recognize the reality that he was not. In a situation such as this one, he would not be the person she went to when she learned whatever she was about to learn. He was not her shoulder to cry on and not her triumphant hug if everything went her way. That would probably be her sister. She did seem unusually close with Dawn, and Luis had to admire that. Family was deeply important to him, too. He thought about his own family back in Colombia, how his mother would want to be there for the wedding. But would she still want to attend knowing the whole thing was a sham just to validate his continued presence in the US? Maybe not.

Just as Luis was about to pick up a magazine himself to quiet his own thoughts, Clara returned with the nurse. It seemed far too quick for a whole appointment, and he looked at her quizzically.

She shrugged. "Pregnancy test."

The nurse explained. "It's just standard procedure. Doesn't mean anything more. We make everyone do them."

"So now we wait," Clara said.

"More of that, is it?" Luis tried to smile, but the stress was starting to get to him. He needed this to work out for more reasons than one, whether he wanted to admit it or not. What if they told her she couldn't have a child even with IVF? What if it was hopeless? He'd given Clara the don't-worry speech, but he still seemed unable to take his own advice.

The nurse broke in, "It shouldn't be too long. You two hang tight, now." And she left them alone together.

Clara glanced over at Luis and smiled knowingly. "You look even more nervous than I am," she said, teasing him. "Don't want your family to find out you've been living in sin?"

He laughed with her, but of course, that wasn't it at all. Whether she knew what was really bothering him, he had no idea. Every minute felt like an hour until the nurse finally came back into the waiting room. "Follow me," she said, and this time Luis just obeyed. There was something odd in the way she was speaking, and Luis didn't like it.

When they both got into the examination room, they sat side by side. Clara reached over and held Luis's hand. Her own hand was shaking, and he squeezed it to reassure her. "It's going to be okay," he said. "You'll see."

The doctor, a willowy woman in a crisp white coat, walked in with a clipboard and sat down at the desk. "So, you're here to discuss the possibility of fertility treatments?"

Clara nodded. "I've been told my fertility is declining at an accelerated rate. I just want to make sure I don't lose my chance."

"You won't," the doctor said, and she seemed awfully sure of it for someone who had yet to even take a stethoscope to her patient. "If it's a baby you want, then I have good news for you."

Luis found himself leaning back in his chair, away from the news that he could sense was coming. Before the doctor even said the words, "You're already pregnant," he heard them like an accusation in his head.

Clara's jaw dropped, and then she burst out laughing. "Good one!" she said.

The doctor didn't laugh. "I'm not kidding. We can retest you, of course, but I can almost guarantee it'll be the same result. The test wasn't ambiguous. You are absolutely, one hundred percent pregnant."

"But I… haven't…" Clara cut herself off, and her eyes slid to Luis. Now the accusation was crystal clear.

"Are you sure it's mine?" he asked quietly.

She rolled her eyes. "I suppose it could be a supernatural entity who entered my womb while I was asleep, but other than that…"

He tried to shrug casually, but his heart was thundering in his chest. "I guess my family is pretty fertile. I do have quite a few brothers and sisters."

"You could have mentioned it before," Clara said.

"You told me you couldn't get pregnant."

"Okay but I was also drunk."

"So was I," he countered.

"And you were really, really hot," Clara added.

"So were you."

The doctor cut in. "If you don't mind my asking. Are you not the one who gave her that ring? Is this an unwanted pregnancy?"

Luis slumped in his chair, devastated for some reason. "No, she is my fiancée, as of a few days ago. We just… hadn't meant to move this quickly."

The doctor smiled reassuringly. "These things happen all the time. It's nothing to be ashamed of, and you got lucky. You got exactly what you wanted, just a little sooner than you expected. This might be a little overwhelming right now, but take some time to let it sink in, and I think you'll find yourself looking forward to your new family in no time. At the very least, you'll save a little money on my services."

Luis groaned. "Money was not the issue."

The doctor laughed. "Oh, that's right! I almost forgot who you were. You look so worried, Mr. Morales, but don't be. Congratulations are in order!" She stood and helped Clara to her feet. "Congratulations to you, too! For the baby and the wedding. May everything go according to plan from here on out."

For some reason, that sounded more like a curse than a blessing. Luis shook the doctor's hand and thanked her. Then he walked back to his car with Clara in silence, racking his brain to figure out what exactly was troubling him. It shouldn't have been anything, really. This was what they had planned. It was just that the baby was supposed to come after Luis had gotten what he wanted.

"Aha!" he exclaimed at last. "I think I get it now." His enthusiasm startled Clara, so he reached over to take her hand reassuringly. "Sorry for that," he said.

"Just what is it you suddenly get?"

"That news had me shaking in my boots, and I had no idea why. But it's probably just because you've got what you want now. Maybe you won't want to marry me after all. You certainly don't have to if you don't want to. Our agreement was that I would pay for your fertility treatments. Now you don't need them, so maybe you don't need me."

She leaned in and looked at him closely, as though she was trying to read his mind. He noticed, once again, just how bright blue her eyes were and found himself unable to look away. "A deal's a deal," she said. "It doesn't matter how you gave me a baby. You did it. Even if it was just your magical virility." She laughed, but he couldn't join her. The relief he felt when she spoke those words was shocking to him. Once again, it wasn't that he was worried about losing the deal he made with her. He was worried about losing her, full stop.

"You will still benefit," he said to convince himself just as much as he wanted to convince her. "You'll still never have to worry about money or childcare again. Your family will still be provided for. Even your sister's children."

Clara's eyes suddenly softened, and Luis was sure she could see the worry in his expression. "It'll be okay. You and I are going to get married, and it'll be the happiest of marriages as far as anyone in the public knows. I know you don't know me very well, but if you did, you'd know I always keep my word. Always."

Luis took a deep breath and sat back. "I'd say let's drink to that, but you probably shouldn't have any." He winked at her, and pushed down his fears. There was no chance in hell he wanted to tell her what was really troubling him, but it was about time he at least admitted it to himself. He was falling hard for her. And he wanted her to fall just as hard for him.

The way he saw it, he had until the day he walked her down the aisle to win her heart. He was not going to trap her in a loveless marriage, that was for sure. He'd already decided to provide for her, if for no other reason than his gratitude that she'd even be willing to consider such an arrangement with him. And when the time came, he'd offer her a way out without losing the benefits she was looking forward to. Until then, he was going to pull out all the stops to make her want him for a husband — a real husband — just as badly as he wanted her for his real, once-in-a-lifetime, wife.