Smoke Signals by Catherine Gayle Page B

intentional or not—and now he wanted to kiss me like no man had ever done before? I allowed his sensual assault, because even if I couldn’t get a green card through marrying him, he was at least buying me some time before deportation. And frankly, I owed him for that in a big way, and the only means I had of returning the favor was through the use of my body. He hadn’t tried to get me to pay up since we’d come back from Las Vegas. In fact, he’d rejected all my efforts to level things out between us. Until now. Maybe now, we could begin to even the score.
    One of his hands lay firm against the small of my back, arching me toward him. The other rested against my cheek, a caress so tender it might crush me. With gentle pressure, he tilted my head to the side and moved his lips toward my ear.
    “You have to make Tallie think we got married because we love each other,” he whispered, the words so quiet I could barely make them out. “Understand? If there’s an investigation, they’ll question people we know. No one can think we did it just to get you a green card.”
    This was getting worse and worse. I nodded my understanding. After another brief kiss, Razor backed away from me. He reached in his wallet and took out a credit card, passing it over to me. I tucked it in a zippered pocket of my purse where it would be safe. When I looked up again, Razor winked at me.
    “Y’all are just too cute together,” Tallie gushed, bouncing up on her toes.
    “You know how it is,” Razor said. “You meet someone and you just know. Like with you and Hunter.”
    Tallie nodded. “You know, sometimes I think it’s better when you jump in without looking. No time for second-guessing. No questioning if you should or you shouldn’t. You just do it, and then find a way to make it work. That’s not to say it’s easy, but I think it’s worth it in the end.”
    Razor chuckled. “What’s Hunter up to today while you two have girl time?”
    “Putting together the nursery with his brother. He and Kade said it was the perfect time to deal with painting and constructing the crib and all—because I’ll be out of their hair for hours.”
    “Hours?” I repeated, trying not to cringe.
    Tallie gave me a you-can’t-be-serious look. “Of course! Oh, I made an appointment for us to get manis and pedis this afternoon, too. I hope you don’t mind. But if we’re going to shop the way I haven’t done in months, my feet are gonna need it.”
    I shot a look in Razor’s direction, pleading with my eyes. “You could come with?”
    “Oh, that’d be perfect!” Tallie said. “You could carry all our bags, and—”
    “I can’t,” Razor interrupted. He gave me an apologetic shrug. “There are a few things I need to take care of while you’re gone. Besides, I’m sure you two could both use a little girl time.”
    I didn’t want girl time. Being around Tallie for too long was sure to leave me feeling overwhelmed, and I was stressed enough as it was. Everything was shifting all around me, and my feet couldn’t find solid purchase.
    But Tallie said, “Aw, that’s too bad. But we’d probably drive you up the wall in no time anyway.” She pouted a bit, but she hooked her arm through mine and tugged.
    I trudged beside her, glancing over my shoulder at Razor for reassurance. He gave me a smile, but it didn’t do much to ease the panic that had a death-grip on my heart. All I wanted was to go home. But where was that? I wasn’t sure I knew anymore. For now, I supposed it was here, at Razor’s house. But for how long?
    I got into Tallie’s car with the utter certainty that sooner, rather than later, I would be deported turning my stomach to stone. Because I knew exactly what awaited me when I returned to Russia. And it was worse than all that I’d been through since I’d left.
     
     
     
    “OH MY GOD , that’s so good.” Tallie’s words came out in a half moan, half sigh. She leaned back in the pedicure chair with her feet