Savage Collision: A Hawke Family Novel (The Hawke Family Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

unanswerable questions.
    “There isn’t a card. There isn’t a fuck buddy. They’re from my sister.” The lie slips out so quickly and so easily, I’m confident she’ll buy it.
    Turning to face me, she props her fists on her hips and gives me the “you have got to be fucking kidding me” look. “Your sister? Nora, broke college student, Nora, sent you two dozen white roses that probably cost over a hundred bucks?”
    Shit. Maybe I should have thought out that great lie a little better.
    Caroline doesn’t know about Nora stripping yet.  I hate keeping things from her, but Nora asked me not to say anything, and I can’t rat out my own sister, even to my best friend.
    “Yeah, she got a job and wanted to thank me for all of the support I’ve given her recently.”
    Caroline laughs and sits on the edge of my desk. “Girl, I don’t know why you don’t want me to know who really sent these, but you can drop the act. You’re a terrible liar.”
    She’s right.
    I know any other attempts at deception will be pointless, but that doesn’t mean I have to give her the whole story. I let out a sigh of resignation before dropping my head down onto my desk. “Ugh, fine, they’re from this guy I met the other day, and no, before you ask, we haven’t fucked. He’s my sister’s new boss.”
    I don’t have to be able to see Caroline to know her mouth is agape and her green eyes are bulging out of their sockets at the prospect of a new man in my life.
    “And just how did you come to meet Nora’s new boss?” she asks, the sing-song tone in her voice making me curl my fists at my sides.
    There isn’t any point in continuing to keep it from her. She knows me too well, and she’s the queen of poking and prodding until she gets what she wants. The only thing she hasn’t been able to get out of me is the subject of my big story.
    “I went to make sure she was being treated right.”
    “Ha! I bet you a million dollars you went there to give this poor guy a hard time.”
    I lift my head and throw my best death glare at her. If I didn’t love her so much, she might be the recipient of a cunt punch.
    “You telling me you didn’t?”
    Crap. I did. I push back from my desk, stand and pace around my office, glancing quickly between the flowers and Caroline.
    “Okay, so I kinda gave him a hard time. To be honest, I have no fucking clue why he sent these.” Maybe actually talking about it with Caroline will help me work through my strange obsession with him.
    “Was there a card?” She smirks, and I know she knows there was one and that I probably disposed of it.
    “In the garbage, under my desk.”
    She leans down, grabs the can, and pulls the small, white card from the top. As she reads it over quickly, I watch her eyebrows rise. “Holy shit, he’s asking you on a date!”
    “No, no, he isn’t. He’s demanding my presence at a certain place at a certain time. He isn’t asking me anything.”
    Fucking beautiful arrogant asshole…
    “Aaand that’s a problem because…?” she asks, circling her hand in front of her in an incredibly condescending gesture.
    “Because, I am not one to let a man dictate when, or if, I do something.”
    Caroline doubles over in laughter, tosses the card on my desk, and makes her way toward the door. “That’s a good one, Dani. Just remember, I know all about you and what you let men dictate.” She disappears around the corner and I collapse back into my chair, the offending card mocking me from the desk.
    Fuck. What now?

    “You don’t think it was maybe a tad bit overkill?”
    What? Two dozen white, long-stem roses to a woman I only met once?
    I stare up at Rick, my trainer, as I recline on the bench in the gym and try to look more confident than I really feel. “No, not at all.”
    He smirks at me. “Dude, two dozen roses? I don’t even get my wife two dozen roses on our anniversary,” he says, reaching down to grab another twenty-five pound plate to add to the bar.
    Sweat