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

wouldn’t read too much into it, and he wouldn’t get carried away. Control would be maintained.
    She offered a pretty solitaire diamond for approval and he murmured, “It’s perfect,” before dropping a kiss on her temple.
    A delicate pink flush stole up her throat to bloom on her cheeks. He knew it was probably embarrassment, but in the role of besotted new husband, he chose to interpret it as Callie liking his touch. A thought more appealing than it should have been.
    When they’d made love in Vegas, she’d responded to him with no reservation—something that had moved him deeply. Now that they knew each other a little more, would she still be unguarded with him if they made love? Or would that have been lost because of their complicated relationship?
    Of course, the point was moot—she was the last person he should be thinking of sleeping with. If they did, how would he be able to walk away from her a second time? It had been hard enough when they had no ties between them besides a piece of paper. Now? Things were so much trickier.
    And one thing was certain—walking away once this was over was imperative. He didn’t want their fake relationship to become real. At least on that they were in agreement.
    He glanced down at Callie as she tried on wedding rings and a thought hit him with the force of a Mack truck—
were
they in agreement?
    Callie had wanted to dissolve their marriage, and seemed uncomfortable with their current arrangement...but what if she was secretly hoping this could turn into something more?
    “Very fine choices,” the jeweler was saying. “I can see you have exquisite taste.”
    The man began putting the trays back into the special briefcase, and Adam stood, still reeling over the questions in his mind.
    “Thank you, you’re very kind,” Callie said.
    “Yes, thank you,” Adam echoed. He moved to the side to give Callie room to stand, but this time he didn’t stay close to his wife or touch her. He needed to be certain of what she was thinking before he did that again. Why had they never explicitly discussed it?
    He walked ahead and opened the front door for the visitors.
    The jeweler stuck out his hand. “I’ll give you a call the moment the rings are resized and ready to be picked up.”
    “I appreciate it,” Adam said, shaking his hand.
    The two men left and Adam was once again alone with Callie. It was the perfect opportunity to have an honest conversation about where Callie saw their relationship heading, yet part of him wanted to put it off. If she was hoping it would evolve into something permanent he’d have to lay his position on the line, which would hurt her. Callie was the last person he’d ever want to hurt.
    Then again, if she really did feel that way, the longer he let it go before addressing the issue, the more she’d be hurt. He had to do it now.
    She turned. “I’ll just head—”
    “Can we talk about something first?”
    “Sure,” she said, turning back and folding her arms under her breasts.
    Now that he’d started, he wasn’t quite sure how to word it. The topic called for finding a balance between clarity and sensitivity.
    He drew in a long breath. “Ah, I just wanted to touch base with you about our situation.”
    “What do you mean?” she asked, her head cocked to the side.
    “We made this plan that day in my office, and since then it seems to have taken on a life of its own.”
    She chuckled. “It has rather become a bit of a monster, hasn’t it?”
    “Do you want to call it off?” he asked, watching her reaction carefully.
    Without hesitation, she shook her head. “I want the partnership. And from Jenna’s figures, it’s helping the trust.” She unfolded her arms and tucked one hand into her back jeans pocket. “Do you want to call it off?”
    “No, I made a commitment and I’ll see it through.” He shifted his weight, wishing he’d found somewhere more comfortable for this conversation. “I also need to check that you’re