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“And I’m the witness,” Alex added. “Obviously.”

“These are the forms that require signatures,” he said, almost dismissively. He dropped a few pens on the table while he read out a bunch of laws that I paid no attention to. We signed the forms, and I backed away for Alex to sign away.

He observed them with a single, cursory glance and pulled out an official stamp. He signed it, filled out another form, and handed it to Mia and me to sign.

He droned on about a few more formalities, but all I could do was stare at Mia’s signature beside mine on the certificate, my stomach doing weird little flips.

“And that’s that,” Alex announced with a clap, startling me out of my thoughts.

“Not quite,” the official stated. “There will be a short period during which the marriage will be approved and various processes are followed. We’ll contact you for the official marriage certificate once it’s all taken care of.”

“Semantics,” Alex huffed. She gathered us and marched us out.

We reached the sidewalk again before my train of thought landed on a new rail. “Wait,” I said, grabbing onto Alex’s forearm. “We can’t let the others know.”

“The others?” she repeated.

“Hayden, Cam, Taylor.” I sighed. “It was difficult enough to bring you in on this given the hell you gave me. I don’t need this to become the butt of every joke at brunch.”

Alex rolled her eyes but grinned. “Whatever.” She chuckled. “But congrats, you two! Remember to celebrate like newlyweds, okay?”

Chapter 7

Almost Married… Now What?

MIA

IntheweekafterI got married, to my boss of all people, my nerves were endlessly fried. Every sound, no matter how insignificant, had me jumping out of my seat and spinning around in surprise.

It was enough that Clara noticed on the very next day, her usually wide eyes narrowed in concern. “Are you okay?” she whispered, getting down onto her haunches next to my desk. She’d begun to speak in hushed tones around me, which I both appreciated her for and hated myself for.

“Just feeling a little jumpy, I guess,” I explained, hoping my half-smile was convincing enough. She hummed and glanced at the empty coffee cup on my desk.

“No more of that then,” she suggested. “Want me to make you some tea instead?”

“Actually, yeah, please,” I told her, taking a deep breath. “Maybe chamomile if we have any.”

“I’ll grab some from the cafe downstairs,” Clara said, placing a hand on my shoulder as she stood. She hurried out of the office, leaving me to my thoughts once more.

I’d gotten a call from Immigrations almost immediately, letting me know they’d be reviewing my visa now that I was married. It meant that I’d be able to stay here, but the fear of them issuing a formal notice for an interview hung over my head constantly.

I knew Reid very well, at least as far as our relationship as employer and employee. Beyond that, however, there were many things I didn’t know about her. Andmanythings she’d probably never know about me.

A year… That’s what Reid had said. We’d be married for at least a year. Would that mean I’d be stressed out until it was finally over?

“You look very deep in thought.”

I jumped again and almost knocked over my coffee cup. I looked up at Reid who watched me closely, her eyes wary.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded quickly, my head bobbing up and down until I realized I’d been doing it too long. “Yeah, of course,” I said, clearing my throat. “Just keyed up on caffeine.”

Reid frowned and set her laptop bag on the edge of my desk, her dark blue shirt stunning against her ivory skin.

“You love caffeine,” she reminded me, and I wanted to slap myself. “I’ve seen you drink four cups of coffee, one after the other, andnotbounce off the walls.”

“I must have hit my limit today.” I chuckled, not able to hold her gaze for longer than a few seconds.