"No," Luc said, realizing that he was being unnecessarily rude. And frankly, he could use the company. "I'm sorry. I just got some bad news today."
"It must have been pretty bad to put you in such a foul mood."
"Julie's request to extend her visa was denied."
Drew's eyes went wide with disbelief. "No way."
"I couldn't believe it, either." Nor was he willing to accept it. But when it came to plausible ideas to stop this from happening, he was coming up short.
Drew shook his head, expression solemn. "After all she's done for this town since the storm, they should be giving her a medal, not kickin' her to the curb."
Luc's thoughts exactly.
"What are you going to do?" Drew asked.
At this point there wasn't much Luc could do. Despite her objection he'd made a call to his lawyer, who had confirmed what Julie had told him. It was a done deal. "Let her go, I guess."
"Dude, you can't do that. You can't give up on her."
"I'm out of options."
"I'll bet there's one thing you haven't considered," Drew said.
"What's that?"
"You could marry her."
Marry Julie? His best friend? Drew was right, he hadn't considered that, because it was a ridiculous notion.
"Julie is like me," he told Drew. "She's very focused on her work. Neither of us has any plans to marry."
Drew rolled his eyes, as if Luc was a moron. "It wouldn't have to be a real marriage, genius. But it would be enough to keep her in the country."
A pretend marriage? "Not only is that a preposterous idea, it's illegal. We could both get in serious trouble. We could go to prison."
Drew grinned. "Only if you get caught."
Luc could hardly believe that Drew of all people was suggesting he break the law. "And if we do get caught, what then?"
He shrugged. "Volunteer in the prison infirmary?"
Luc glared at him and Drew laughed.
"I'm kidding. Besides, it would never come to that. No one in this town would ever question the validity of your marriage."
Confused, Luc asked, "Why is that?"
"Are you kidding? You two are inseparable. Or at least, as inseparable as two workaholics can be. Most married couples don't spend as much time together as you two do."
"We're colleagues. It's part of the job description."
"It's more than that. You just...I don't know, fit."
"Fit?"
"People have been waiting for you guys to hook up. And there are others who think that you must already be knocking boots."
Annoyed that anyone would make that assumption, Luc said, "People should mind their own damn business."
Drew shrugged. "Small towns."
That didn't make it any less irritating. He and Julie didn't have that kind of relationship, nor would they ever. Yeah, he may have had the hots for her when they first met, but he had been reeling from his ex-fiancée, Amelia, abruptly calling off their engagement, and Julie had just come out of an emotionally rocky relationship herself. Before they'd had a chance to get over their former significant others and explore a physical relationship together, they had become pals instead. She was his buddy, his confidante. He would never do anything to jeopardize that. "We're just friends, and that's all we'll ever be."
Looking exasperated, Drew said, "Dude, it doesn't matter. You would be married in name only. Consider the alternative."
He had, a million times since she'd hit him with the bad news. Although the term bad news didn't quite measure the depth of his feelings when he imagined her leaving. Living thousands of miles away. Who would he talk to? Who would remind him to pick up his dry cleaning, or share late-night Indian takeout with him in the break room on those evenings when they were both too jammed to leave the hospital?
There had been nights like that for weeks after the storm, performing surgery after surgery. Some successful, some not. While volunteering for Doctors Without Borders, he had seen his share of heartbreaking situations and managed to stay detached and objective for the most part. A disaster in his hometown was a completely different story. Without Julie to lean on, to keep him grounded, he would have been a wreck. She was his anchor, his voice of reason.
Did he love her? Absolutely. But that was very different from being in love. And finding a new research assistant would be a nightmare. Julie knew his work inside and out. Training someone new would take more time and energy than he cared to expend.
"I obviously don't want her to leave," Luc said. "But if we were caught and something happened to her, I would never forgive myself."
After she was gone they could keep in touch through email and social media. They could even video chat on their computers or phones, though it wouldn't be the same as having her there. But was defrauding the government and risking both her freedom and his the answer?
"I'm telling you, no one is ever going to know," Drew insisted. "Even if the truth comes out, you're a local hero. Can you name one person in town who would turn you in?"
He made a good point. And even if there was an investigation, he and Julie knew each other as well as any married couple. He had no doubt they would pass any test with flying colors. The question was: How would Julie feel about it? She was the one with the most to lose.
"I guess it couldn't hurt to bring it up and see what she thinks," he told Drew.
"Great. I suggest a small-to moderate-sized ceremony and reception at the club and a long relaxing honeymoon somewhere tropical."
A wedding was one thing, but leaving Royal? That was out of the question. "I wouldn't have time for a honeymoon. I'm needed here."
Drew laughed and slapped him on the back. "Dude, you're a brilliant and devoted physician and, yes, this town needs you, but everyone needs a break now and then. No one will blame you for wanting a honeymoon. When was the last time you took time off? And I mean real time."
Luc tried to recall, and came up blank. It had definitely been before the storm. And probably quite some time before that. A year, maybe two. Or three. He'd traveled all over the world volunteering with Doctors Without Borders. That was how he'd met Julie. Their duties had taken them to many exotic and unfamiliar destinations, but it had been no vacation. Maybe they could use a break...
Luc shook his head. He and Julie married and taking a honeymoon? Until today the thought had never even crossed his mind. And it wasn't that he didn't find her appealing, both mentally and physically. Any man would be lucky to win her heart. He'd found her so appealing when they first met, it had been a little difficult to be objective. Practicing medicine in a developing country, the accommodations weren't exactly lavish. It wasn't uncommon for all the volunteers, male and female alike, to share living quarters, where modesty took a backseat to practicality. He was used to seeing his colleagues in various stages of undress. But in the case of Julie, he would often find his gaze lingering just a little longer than most would consider appropriate. But if she'd noticed, or cared, she'd never called him out on it. The issue was exacerbated by the fact that Julie didn't have a bashful bone in her body. In his first week working with her he'd seen more skin than the first two months he'd been dating Amelia, his college sweetheart and ex-fiancée. She'd had enough body hang-ups for half a dozen women.
But he would never forget the day he'd met Julie. He had just arrived at the camp and was directed to the tent where he would sleep and store his gear. He stepped inside and there she was, sitting on her cot, wearing only panties and her bra, a sheen of sweat glistening on her golden skin, her long, reddish-brown hair pulled into a ponytail. He froze, unsure of what to do or say, thinking that his presence there would offend her. But Julie hadn't batted an eyelash.
"You must be Lucas," she said, unfazed, rising from her cot to shake his hand while he stood there, caught somewhere between embarrassment and arousal. It was the first of many times he'd seen her without her clothes on, but that particular memory stood out in his mind.
He and Julie had seen each other at their best, inventing surgical tools and techniques that they knew would change the face of modern surgery, and at their worst, unwashed and unshaven for weeks on end covered in bug bites from every critter imaginable. They had been to hell and back together, and they always, under any circumstance, had each other's back. Was this situation any different? Didn't he owe it to her?