His 24-Hour Wife (The Hawke Brothers 2) (2 page)

“Like hell.” There wasn’t much that Adam hated more than a bully, and he refused to let Callie become the victim of one while he had any power over the situation. “The trust won’t work with a man who’s blackmailed his way to get the role.”

“If I step back and you refuse to work with him, he’ll probably still plant the story out of spite. We’d both still lose.”

Callie’s entire demeanor was professional, but underneath she had to be rattled. Every protective instinct inside him reared up, ready for whatever needed to be done.

“Give me one minute.”

He stood, strode over to his desk and pressed the buzzer for his receptionist. “Rose, cancel all my meetings for the rest of the day.”

“Certainly. Do you want me to give a reason?”

“Just that something unexpected has come up. Then reschedule them as soon as you can.”

“Consider it done.”

He grabbed a legal pad and pen and returned to his wife. It wasn’t just Callie’s job in danger, though that alone would be enough to make him take action. No, he wouldn’t let his stupid mistake create trouble for his brother and future sister-in-law. His Vegas wedding had been out of character for him, and since then he’d taken the consequences seriously—he hadn’t let himself drink more than a glass or two of alcohol at a time, and rarely let his control slip even an inch. This was just another consequence that needed addressing.

And he could fix this. That was what he’d always done in his family—fix things. The only difference was that this time, Callie was the one with the PR expertise.

“So, how do we handle the PR fallout when the story hits the press?”

A tentative smile crept across her face. “You want me to stand up to him?”

“Well, I certainly don’t want you to give in to blackmail.” He frowned, searching her features. “What did you expect me to say?”

“I don’t know. Thing is, I don’t really know you that well, so it’s a pleasant surprise that you’re willing to stand behind me.”

She might not know him as well as, say, his brothers did, but surely she at least knew this much of his character? “Callie, I know our history is a little unconventional, but don’t ever doubt that I’ll stand behind you.”

“Thank you,” she said, and for one brief, shining moment he recognized the passionate woman from Vegas who’d snagged his attention from the moment he’d laid eyes on her in the bar. “That means a lot. And it goes both ways.”

“I appreciate it. Now, what’s our first move?”

She tapped a bright red fingernail against matching red pursed lips as she thought. “We need to get ahead of the story. Be on top of it and create our own story.”

“Sounds good,” he said. “How do we do that?”

“We need to come up with our own version of our wedding.” She rose to her feet and started pacing, her words coming rapidly. “Create a new truth—it was love at first sight. Make it a sweet story, not the sleazy version that the tabloids will want to print, and get that new truth in the media ASAP to beat the other story. My contacts will help get it out quickly.”

Adam made a few notes, and then looked them over. “It doesn’t seem like enough—it will be one version versus the other.”

“True,” she said, holding up an index finger, “but that’s only step one.”

He smiled. “Good.”

“The second part is to give them the current story.”

He made another note on the legal pad and asked without looking up, “What sort of current story?”

“Something about us.” She stopped pacing.

“About us being together?” he asked warily.

“That would be best.” She rested her hands on her hips, her mind obviously going at a million miles per hour. “Perhaps that we’re ready to have a real wedding.”

He hid the instinctive flinch. If they were to find a workable solution, he needed to be open to all ideas in this first brainstorming phase. “How does that help?”

“Then, the story of our Vegas wedding becomes a very sweet, love-at-first-sight beginning to our current relationship and can’t harm my career or your family. I’ll let my bosses know before the story appears, and apologize for not disclosing the fact sooner, saying we’d agreed not to tell anyone before the announcement.”

“A wedding,” he said, this time allowing his skepticism to show.

She shrugged one slim shoulder. “It doesn’t have to be forever, just until the story dies down and we can quietly separate and go back to our normal lives.”

“How do we explain the intervening months?”

“I’m not sure. Give me a moment.”

Again, she tapped her nail against pursed lips and, as he watched, he sat back. She was even more beautiful in real life than she’d been in his dreams last night. They’d been back in the Vegas hotel bed where he’d kissed that same lush mouth and covered her naked body with his. His blood began to heat. He stared at the light fixture in the ceiling as he brought his wayward body back under control.

“Okay,” she said, gracefully sliding back into the chair across from him. “What if we say we gave it a go at the start but circumstances tore us apart. However, we never lost touch and recently we’ve begun to work through our problems and can finally announce that we’re ready to begin a life together as husband and wife.”

He released a long breath, mentally checking all angles. “That roller-coaster history will feed in to the explanations when we break up again afterward. What will it take to convince them that we didn’t just make this story up as a stunt?”

“Besides the story itself, which we’ll give to an entertainment journalist I trust, I’ll have friends leak details to key journalists. We’ll also need to appear in public together, and do some media interviews. Then we’ll have the wedding.”

The last item on her list caught him off guard. His mouth dried. “You really want to go through with an entire wedding?”

Callie, on the other hand, seemed entirely unfazed by the prospect. Apparently she had nerves of steel. “We’re already married, so it won’t change anything legally. Either way, we’ll still need to get a divorce at some stage.”

Adam swallowed hard. She was right. Besides the cost of a wedding, which would barely make a dent in his bank balance thanks to the success of Hawke’s Blooms, marrying her again wouldn’t make any important difference—they were already married. But being around her, spending significant amounts of time near that lush mouth, just might change everything...

Two

F
our and a half hours later, Adam looked around his brother Liam’s living room at his collected family. Liam and his fiancée shared the sofa, a baby in each of their laps. On the opposite sofa were his youngest brother, Dylan, and his fiancée, Faith. Dylan and Faith now split their time between New York and LA; Adam was lucky they happened to be in town for this meeting. His parents were in two armchairs near Liam’s elbow, and he and Callie rounded out the group.

Everyone was chatting in twos and threes, catching up on each other’s news. But it was time to face the music. Adam’s gut clenched tight.

He turned to Callie and quietly said, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” she answered, her expression not giving away much.

Bracing himself to lay out his mistake in front of the people whose opinions counted the most, Adam cleared his throat. His family quieted and turned to him, waiting.

“Thanks for adjusting your schedules so you could come out here on short notice. I needed to introduce you to Callie Mitchell. Callie is taking over the PR for the Hawke Brothers’ Trust.”

Both his brothers raised eyebrows at him, but Jenna jumped right in. “I’m thrilled to meet you, Callie. You probably already know, but I head up the trust, so we’ll be working together.”

Callie smiled back. “I’m looking forward to it.”

“However,” Liam said, his head cocked to the side, “this raises the question of why you’re introducing her to all of us and not Jenna.”

Dylan held up a hand like a stop signal. “Are you about to try and talk us in to some crazy-ass PR stunt like the bachelor auction?”

Adam snorted. “As I recall, that stunt seemed to work out well for you.” He looked pointedly at Dylan’s hand holding Faith’s—she was the person who had bought the package of three dates with Dylan at the auction.

Dylan grinned, acknowledging the point, and then leaned in to kiss Faith’s cheek, which had turned pink.

“So why are we all here, then?” his mother asked.

Adam drew in a breath and cast another quick look at Callie, to ensure she was coping with his family’s antics. Besides being a little tense—which was to be expected under the circumstances—she seemed fine.

“Callie and I...” he began, wishing he was anywhere but here. “We knew each other before she took this account.”

Dylan made a sympathetic sound. “Callie, sweetheart, if you’ve dated my brother, let me apologize now. He can be a little—”

“Uptight,” Liam interrupted.

“Yeah,” Dylan said without missing a beat. “Let’s go with uptight.”

Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. His life was unraveling and they wanted to take the opportunity to rib him?

“She didn’t date me,” he said when he knew his voice would be even again. “She married me.”

After a moment of stunned silence, the room erupted into questions, each being called more loudly than the one before. Even the babies, Jenna’s daughter, Meg, and Liam’s daughter, Bonnie, joined in on the action, laughing and waving their arms around.

Callie looked over at him, her eyes wide. He didn’t know much about his wife, but from her reaction he guessed she didn’t come from a boisterous family. This was a baptism of fire into the Hawke clan.

“Sorry,” he said, and offered her a tight smile. He loved his family, but they tried his patience at least half the time. He turned back to the horde. “If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll let you know what happened.”

The noise immediately stopped, and Adam could breathe again. “Callie and I met at a conference in Vegas several years ago. We’ve spent time together at the same conference for three years running and at this last one, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to get married.”

Liam was first to find his voice. “I assume alcohol was involved?”

“Please tell me there was an Elvis impersonator officiating,” Dylan said, clearly loving the entire debacle.

Adam kept his voice even. “Alcohol on both sides, and no Elvis impersonator.”

His mother leaned forward in her chair. “From the fact that this is the first we’re hearing about it, you clearly didn’t plan on staying married. So why are you telling us at all? Are you hoping to make a go of it now?”

“Hey!” Dylan said before Adam could reply. “I just realized why you refused to be part of the bachelor auction. You were already married.”

Adam winced. The auction had taken place just after he’d arrived home from the fateful weekend in Vegas. He might not have been telling the world about the wedding, but neither would he lie and pretend to be a bachelor. However, he ignored the question and turned back to his mother.

“Callie was given this account by the partners of her firm without them knowing about our connection. Unfortunately, a colleague of hers found out and is hoping to blackmail her into handing the project over to him so that he can get the promotion when it’s completed.”

“That’s awful,” Faith said. “I hate petty politics like that. Can’t you tell the partners?”

Callie leaned forward. “I could, but the story would probably get out anyway, and I think with Adam’s connection to Larsland’s royal family through Jenna, combined with his profile here in LA, the tabloids would have fun with the story.”

“And,” Adam added, “that could be disastrous for the trust. Donations could dry up. Not to mention the impact it could have on the coverage of Liam and Jenna’s wedding.”

Both Liam and Jenna opened their mouths to speak, but Callie got in ahead of them. She was a quick study in how to deal with his family, and he appreciated that.

“It’s okay,” she said. “We have a plan.”

Callie looked to Adam, as if for permission to explain. He nodded—it was her idea, so it was only fitting that she explained it.

“We’re going to take control of the story and announce our new relationship. We’ll speak to some journalist friends of mine and have it run in the media, complete with photos. The story will then be about an unconventional start to a sweet relationship. Hopefully, the interest will die down and we’ll be able to go back to normal sooner rather than later.”

“New relationship?” his mother asked hopefully.

Adam almost laughed. Of the entire crazy story,
that
was the phrase his mother had focused on.

“Sorry, but the story is fake. Callie and I will wait until any interest has blown over, then quietly get a divorce. The only ones who will know the truth are the people in this room and Callie’s family.”

His mother looked disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about that. Besides, she’d soon be gaining two new daughters-in-law. She was doing well enough without him having to add to the count.

“I’m worried you’re doing this for us,” Jenna said with a hand on Liam’s thigh. “You don’t have to—we’ll be fine.”

They might be fine, but he’d be damned if he’d let his drunken mistake hurt his brothers or Jenna’s family. It was his mess and he’d clean it up.

“Callie and I have discussed the potential ramifications on your family, Jenna, but also on the trust and Callie’s career. We’ve agreed this is the best course of action.”

“What can we do to help?” Liam asked.

“We have the situation in hand,” Callie said. “All you need to do is play along and attend the wedding.”

Faith sat up straighter, as if she’d had an idea. “I can do a story on the wedding flowers on my TV segment if that will help.”

Faith had recently started a job with a nationally syndicated gardening show, doing regular segments on flowers and floristry. The job was based in New York, and now she and Dylan split their time between New York and LA.

Jenna nodded. “Liam has a new flower, a snow-white tulip, almost ready to go. Instead of an event for this one, we could use the wedding as its launch. That will give the media something else to focus on besides digging for the truth.”

That could help. Liam’s work breeding new strains of flowers had been part of the reason their company had made a mark in the world of flower retailing. Jenna had organized red-carpet launches for the past two new blooms, and Faith’s skills as a florist had ensured the most recent, the Blush Iris, had been presented to best effect, garnering them maximum exposure.

“It’s gorgeous,” Faith said, turning her excited gaze to Jenna. “Since you weren’t firm on a name yet, perhaps we could tie it in? Call it the Bridal Tulip.”

Jenna and Faith fell into a conversation about the flowers, while his parents took the opportunity to welcome Callie into the family, even if only temporarily. Adam watched, until his brothers approached him, blocking Callie from view.

Liam pulled Adam to his feet and clapped him on the back. “I can’t believe you’ll be the first of us to get married.”

“Will be?”
Dylan said. “He already
is
married. We’re going to have to watch his drinking from now on.”

Despite knowing it was a good-natured joke, Adam bristled at the thought of having to be watched like a child by his younger brothers, of all people. He tried to move away, but his brothers had boxed him in.

“You know,” Liam said, pretending to think, “I don’t remember the last time I saw him drunk.”

Dylan grinned. “Now we know why. It makes him feel matrimonial.”

Ignoring them, he shouldered his way past, reached for Callie’s hand and then raised his voice to be heard over the din. “Much as I’d love to stay and enjoy Liam and Dylan’s brand of support, Callie and I have to leave. We’re meeting with her family, as well, tonight.”

Within a few minutes, they had extricated themselves and made it to the car. Yet, even as he started the engine, his shoulders wouldn’t relax. No one liked to have their screwups made into a joke, but still, it had rankled more than it should have for his family to witness the consequences of the only time in years he’d lost control.

And this farce was only just beginning...

* * *

Callie glanced over at her husband’s strong profile, and a shiver raced down her spine. She’d spent most of the day with him, but there was something different about being in close quarters together in the dark cabin of the car. More intimate than a large, bright office and much more personal than a room with his entire family.

She felt the pull of him more strongly here, with nothing to claim her attention but his masculine beauty. His scent. Him.

His hands were firmly gripping the steering wheel and he seemed unsettled.

“That went okay?” she ventured.

“Sure, if you like publically admitting to your drunken mistakes and having them turned into wisecracks by your brothers.”

At the words
drunken mistakes
, she cringed. Her reaction was stupid since she already knew Adam regretted their marriage, but still, she couldn’t help it. It was like a slap in the face.

No point being squeamish now, especially when it was her job that was forcing them to make their situation public. She sat up straighter. “Let’s put your brothers behind us and move on.”

“Fine with me,” he said, rolling his broad shoulders. “Fill me in on your family so I’m prepared before we arrive. Are they likely to mock? Chase me with a shotgun?”

“No, it’ll be all safe and calm. My parents are both teachers, happily married and loving parents. They’ll want to know the details, but ultimately they’ll support whatever I choose to do.”

“Siblings?” he asked as he smoothly overtook a car full of teenagers who had their music up loud. She tried not to be mesmerized by the way his hands and arms worked to control the car.

“One sister, Summer. She’s also my roommate.” And best friend. In fact, Summer was the only person Callie had told about Adam when she’d returned from Vegas. She’d spilled the beans on the spontaneous wedding, her toe-curlingly handsome new husband and her hope that it might grow into something more one day. A hope that had turned out to be in vain.

“Will she be there tonight?” His voice was deep and rumbling, almost a physical presence in the car.

“She said she’d come for moral support. She already knew about Vegas, and I filled her in on the phone this afternoon, so she’s up-to-date on the plan.”

She and Summer had always been inseparable. Even since she was ten and Summer was eleven, they’d had a plan to conquer the world. As they’d grown up, the plan had changed a few times, but their ambition hadn’t wavered. By the time they’d reached college and found they both had a flair for PR, they’d decided that they’d one day open their own firm, Mitchell and Mitchell. In the meantime, they were working in different firms so they could gather a broader range of skills and contacts. Either one of them making partner would give them the best springboard into their own firm, so it had always been a priority.

Along the way, they were both supposed to find men they loved, but who were also movers and shakers. Men with power and social influence. Men somewhat like the man sitting within touching distance from her now. Her husband.

The remnants of a child’s idea of a successful life could still be seen in their life plan, but it was more than that. It was the American dream. Their parents were comfortably middle-class, and happy with their lot, but Callie and Summer had always dreamed of more.

That she had accidentally ended up married to someone who didn’t want to stay married only set their life plan back a little. But she and Summer would get through this and get back on track after Callie was free to divorce Adam Hawke.

As they neared her parents’ house, she gave directions until they finally pulled up in the driveway. Summer’s car was already here, so they were all systems go.

“What a nice home,” Adam said, his tone polite.

Callie looked at the modest, single-story brick house, conscious of how it must seem to him. The gardens were bursting with flowers, but to Adam’s expert eye, they would be nothing special—daisies and other plants that were easy to grow. And, though she knew he’d come from humble beginnings, it must have been a long time since he’d been inside a house that wasn’t luxurious and stylish. She wondered what he was thinking, but his expression gave nothing away.

“Come on,” she finally said. “Let me introduce you to my family.”