His 24-Hour Wife (The Hawke Brothers 2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

organically.”
    Callie drew in a shallow breath and met his gaze, and he was certain she was remembering the same moments he was. When she’d laughed and flirted with him at the conference cocktail party. When he’d rested a hand on hers at the bar. When they’d kissed and his world had tilted. When they’d only just made it back to his room before tearing each other’s clothes off. When they’d shared more champagne in the bed and accidentally spilled some on their bodies...
    The air felt thick with the memories, and Callie’s eyes darkened. Most of the blood in his body headed south, but Adam refused to let himself get carried away. He flicked a glance at her sister, who was watching the interplay from across the table, and sighed. This situation wasn’t about what he wanted in this moment. It wasn’t about fun or entertainment—they were practicing so the world thought they were in love, and he had a responsibility to play his part. He would do that and do it well.
    He locked down every physical reaction to the woman beside him, every stray thought or memory. Then he found a fake smile and gave it all the enthusiasm he had, and fed Callie a spoonful of his rice.
    She gave him the same overly bright smile back and opened her mouth to receive the fork.
    “That’s better,” Summer said. “Though, Callie, can you put your fingers around his wrist to hold it steady?”
    Callie complied and Adam refused to react to the warmth of her hand encircling his wrist. To the scent of her skin as she leaned in. To the effect on his body of seeing her lush mouth opening.
    “Great,” Summer said. “Now look into each other’s eyes.”
    Holding his expression in place, Adam focused on Callie’s silver-blue eyes, and thought about the pile of paperwork waiting for him on his desk. Spreadsheets and graphs. Anything to ensure he didn’t let himself get caught up in a moment that wasn’t real.
    Callie looked back at him as she gripped his wrist a little too tightly and ate the food from his fork.
    Summer sighed. “That wasn’t believable. How about we clear these plates away and try a few poses in the living room?”
    Callie winced. It was a small movement, and if he hadn’t been this close and focusing on her face, he might have missed it. He turned his wrist so he could grab her hand and gave it a slight squeeze, offering reassurance. As he realized what he was doing, he felt like laughing. He’d never had trouble attracting women in the past—hell, he’d even attracted this very woman in the past—yet here he was, offering reassurance because she was going to have to spend a few minutes touching him.
    After the table was cleared, they moved into the living room and Callie’s sister spent ten minutes arranging them in various poses. It was awkward and he’d pretty much rather be having a root canal than be arranged like puppets by someone he’d just met. Worse was that he was still fighting the simmering desire for his fellow puppet.
    Finally, Summer said, “Hang on. Let me show you something.” She grabbed a digital camera and hooked it to a laptop, then took a few photos of Adam with an arm around Callie’s waist. “Have a look at these.”
    Adam moved to the laptop screen and saw the image. He looked stiff and unnatural, and Callie looked almost pained.
    “That’s not good enough,” he admitted.
    Callie bit down on her bottom lip. “We’re going to have to try harder.” She spun away from the laptop and the evidence of their awkwardness, and took in the room. “What if we put on some music? Maybe we could dance. That would give us something to actually do so we didn’t feel self-conscious.”
    “Good idea,” he said. In one sense the closeness of dancing could be dangerous, but if he and Callie took back control of the situation he also might be able to regain control of his body. It was worth a try.
    Summer headed for the sound system in the corner, and seconds later, a modern day crooner’s