Free His 24-Hour Wife (The Hawke Brothers 2) by Rachel Bailey Page A

taken a throwaway comment and thought about it. Moreover, he was making an effort to do something.
    There was more to Adam Hawke than she’d even suspected.
    * * *
    Adam answered the security buzzer and let the jeweler through the gates out front. Luckily the man had been able to schedule a visit for the same afternoon. Well, either it was luck or enthusiasm over being the provider of rings for a wedding that was getting media coverage. Either way, Adam appreciated that it would be dealt with so quickly. He was no fan of loose ends.
    He’d let Callie know the jeweler was on his way and she was waiting in the foyer for him.
    “I guess it’s showtime again,” she said with a half-hearted attempt at a smile.
    He dug his hands in his pockets and sought a calm that he didn’t currently feel. “We’re back to a couple in love.”
    There was a small change to her stance, a slight stiffening in her spine, but then she relaxed her shoulders and gave him a more believable smile. Still not a real one—he had memories of those burned into his brain from their time in Vegas.
    “At least we’ve had a little practice this time,” she said brightly.
    “Listen, when he’s here, just choose whatever ring you want.” He said it casually, just wanting them to be on the same page, but as the words left his mouth he realized how unromantic that had sounded. Sure, they were playing roles and she didn’t need romance when no one was looking, but still, didn’t all women dream about moments like this? He gave himself a mental slap. He should be sensitive.
    “Sorry, that sounded very...”
    “Unromantic? Practical?” she queried. He nodded and she chuckled. “Adam, don’t worry about my delicate sensibilities. For better or for worse, we’re in this together. And if we can’t be honest with each other, then who else have we got?”
    “Okay, good.”
    The doorbell chimed and Adam opened it to the jeweler, Daniel Roberts, who was accompanied by a well-built man in a suit carrying a heavy-looking reinforced briefcase.
    Adam stuck out his hand to the first man. “Thanks for coming on short notice, Mr. Roberts.”
    “Good afternoon, Mr. Hawke. Mrs. Hawke. You’re very welcome. Thank
you
for choosing us.”
    Adam slid an arm around Callie’s waist as he stepped back to allow the men entry. Interesting how natural it felt to hold her against him. They’d been pretending to be a couple for less than a week, yet already it was beginning to feel like second nature. Like she fit him perfectly.
    They all walked into the living room, which now had more people in it in the past twenty-four hours than Adam could remember ever being there before. Once they were settled, the jeweler brought out tray after tray of exquisite rings.
    Callie played her part well by oohing and aahing and looking tickled pink as she modeled various rings for Adam, and he, in turn, smiled indulgently.
    He also spent the time acting like a man besotted, which generally involved sitting on the armrest of the sofa she’d chosen and touching her.
    Even though she’d given him permission to touch her in these situations, he still wanted to respect her boundaries, so he settled on stroking the skin from her shoulder down to her elbow—a fairly innocuous area. It was silky soft beneath his fingers and every stroke made his gut swoop. The scent of her coconut shampoo surrounded him, cocooning him from the rest of the world. Perhaps spending time together in this charade would be more pleasant than he’d anticipated.
    Thankfully, Callie took the lead in choosing the rings, finding a plain gold band for him and offering it up to him for an opinion. He didn’t care, as long as he could stay like this, touching her skin, surrounded by her scent, pretending to be in love with her. In some ways, this was a perfect way to spend a day. He could spend some time enjoying being near her, with the safeguard of them both knowing the limitations of their arrangement. Callie