Page 71 of In a Perfect World

So, because desperate times called for desperate measures, I had used my father’s phone to text her, and when she had replied that she’d meet me, I’d never felt so fucking relieved in all my life, and that included when she had come home from Mexico.

I had also deleted the text and her number from my father’s phone, wanting to respect her privacy as much as possible.I knew that she wanted nothing to do with me, and I suspected that her decision also included the rest of my family.

At any rate, once again, I was waiting for her by the oak tree, praying that I hadn’t lost her for good.Three months or three years, I loved her every bit as much as I’d had when we’d driven towards the border, and nothing was going to change that.

I wasn’t sure how long I’d been waiting for her, but when she finally showed up, she’d chosen to disguise herself again, and I couldn’t blame her.Even though her celebrity had died down a bit, meeting me was still a huge risk to take, and if a crazy paparazzo got any pictures of us together, who knows how they’d spin the photos.

As soon as she was close enough for me to hear her, she asked, “What’s so important, Kairo?”

Her voice hit me square in the chest, and it was unfathomable how much I missed her.Three months of biding my time, letting my father do his thing, and I wasn’t even sure how I had managed to get through each day.Working endless hours had been my only saving grace, but even that hadn’t staved off the lonely nights of not hearing Triana’s voice.Before I had fucked our relationship all up, we had spoken or texted every night before going to bed.

“Have you seen the news lately?”I asked.“Have you heard about the lottery?”

She nodded.“Yeah...I was watching the news when you texted me earlier.”

“That was my father’s doing,” I confessed.“He came up with the idea, and he’s the one who proposed it to the others.”

Her head reared back in surprise.“Why would he do that?”

“Because he wants me to be happy,” I said, skipping the bullshit.“He wants to see me happy, and he knows that I can’t be without you.”

“Kairo-”

“No, Triana,” I said, cutting her off.“Just...just listen, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you,” I told her.“These three months don’t mean shit when it comes to how I feel about you.I love you, and my dad found a way for us to be together, and so...that’s what I’m doing here.I’m asking you to forgive me and to give me a second chance to get it right this time.”

She immediately scowled.“What are you talking about?It’s a lottery that thousands of people are probably going to enter, but only two people will be chosen, Kairo.How does that help us?”

I let out a deep breath, knowing that she wasn’t going to like this next part.“Our names are guaranteed to be chosen in the first lottery,” I finally explained.“All we have to do is fill out the application to enter.”

Triana’s dark eyes widened with disbelief.“What?”

“Our names are going to be pulled,” I repeated.

“Why...why would...it’s supposed to be a random drawing,” she practically squawked.“How is that even going to be possible?”

“The panel will review the applications, but the governing body from each region will pull the names of the entries,” I answered.

She started shaking her head in confusion.“Okay...well...while I understand your father being able to pull your name, what makes you think that Benicio Cortez will pull mine?”

“The first selection isn’t going to be random, Triana,” I finally admitted, and her eyes looked like they might pop right out of her head.

“I’m sorry,what?”

Yeah, she definitely wasn’t going to like this part.

“The first selection will appear like a random drawing, but the Administrators all agreed that the first round of migrants should favor the lottery in the best light,” I said, trying not to wince at the political stench that was going to, hopefully, favor me in the end.

“So, the first so-called lottery winners will be political pawns?”she practically gasped.

I nodded because it was the truth.“By pulling my name, it’ll show that the Administrators believe in the idea so much that they even encouraged their own children to enter the lottery.”

“And what about me?What advantage could I possibly give to the idea?”she asked.

“It’ll be a slap in the face to Mexico’s earlier offer to grant you residency in their country,” I answered.“It’s Benicio Cortez’s way of shutting down any rumors that you’d been trying to cross your way into Mexico.”