His 24-Hour Wife (The Hawke Brothers 2) (13 page)

Liam looked from the guard back to him. “Seriously? You called security on us?”

“I’m busy. I asked you to leave and you declined.” He turned to his guard. “Jonah, will you please see my brothers out?”

“Certainly, Mr. Hawke.” The guard took a step into the room, and Liam and Dylan both held up their hands in surrender.

Adam had met Jonah back when they’d opened their first store and Jonah had been a homeless teen sleeping on the front door stoop. After Adam offered him a job and supported his career, Jonah’s loyalty to him was beyond question.

“Adam,” Liam growled, and Adam felt like smiling for the first time in days. Maybe his brothers’ arrival had been good for him after all—seeing them thrown out of the building should help his mood considerably.

“Hang on,” Dylan said. “Jonah, you work for Hawke’s Blooms, and the three of us are joint owners. That means all three of us are your boss. Any two of us can overrule a decision made by the third.” He turned to Liam. “Motion to overrule the cranky one behind the desk?”

“Seconded,” Liam said. “Motion is passed. You can stand down, Jonah.”

Jonah swung around to Adam, his raised eyebrow asking how he should proceed. Adam swore again. It wasn’t fair to put an employee between them in a family fight.

“You can return to your desk, Jonah.” He offered an apologetic smile. “Sorry to involve you.”

The guard looked unconvinced. “Are you sure, Mr. Hawke? I can stay in the corner here and keep an eye on things if you’d like.”

Adam sighed, resigned to his fate. “No, I’ll be fine.”

With one last look at Liam and Dylan, Jonah left.

“You know,” Dylan said, frowning, “after that stunt, I don’t think we should offer our help.”

“Good. That’s settled.” Adam turned back to his computer. “I’ll see you later.”

Liam’s chair creaked as he sat forward. “No, he’s annoying, but he helped both of us when we were in the same situation. We owe him.”

“No, you don’t,” Adam said in exasperation. “You can go.”

Ignoring him, Dylan crossed an ankle over his knee. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Late,” he said dismissively.

“It’s two o’clock in the morning.”

Adam shrugged. Even if he’d been at home, he wouldn’t be able to sleep. His bed reminded him of Callie, and when he lay in it, he could almost feel her body pressed to his, hear her soft breathing, smell her floral shampoo on his pillow. He gave himself ten minutes a day to lie there, holding her pillow, missing her, but to get any sleep he used the sofa.

“You’re in bad shape.” Dylan tried to appear sad, but couldn’t quite hide an undercurrent of amusement at his brother’s misfortune. “As I was saying before we were interrupted by someone
calling security on us
, Liam and I have some expertise in being left. Though I should point out that the woman I love only went across state lines, whereas his woman left the country.”

“Hey,” Liam said. “She comes from another country. She was going home.”

Dylan waved a hand in the air. “Whatever. What we need to do now is make Adam realize he’s making a big mistake so that he goes after her.”

Adam glanced at the ceiling and prayed for patience. “You two always were slow. I’ve been looking for her for a week. She’s not at her place and she’s not answering her cell. She’s disappeared without a trace.”

Liam sat back, all comfort and ease. “You couldn’t have been looking too hard. Jenna and Faith had lunch with her yesterday.”

Adam went still and then rounded on them. “Where is she?”

Dylan shook his head. “They won’t tell us. Faith said something about the three of them needing to talk about how stupid the Hawke men can be. Which is crazy, because I—”

Adam held up a hand. “Get Faith on the phone. Or Jenna.”

Dylan shrugged. “Neither one of them will break. Those two are better than the CIA with secrets. You might have better luck with Callie’s sister.”

Adam shook his head as he blew out a breath. “Summer said she didn’t know where Callie went.”

Summer had been his first phone call as soon as he’d realized what a humungous mistake he’d made. She’d taken a message and promised to pass it on as soon as she heard from Callie, but had said she couldn’t make any promises about when that would be since Callie was incommunicado. Adam hadn’t been willing to wait, so he’d kept looking.

A self-satisfied smile danced around Liam’s mouth. “She was at lunch with the others yesterday.”

Adam swore again. “So they’ve closed ranks.”

Part of him was pleased that Callie had people who supported her enough to create a shield around her, but dammit, how was he supposed to find her if none of them would talk?

“You look like you could use some advice after all.” Dylan was far too smug for Adam’s tenuous grasp on control. His brother was clearly unaware just how tightly Adam was currently gripping the armrests of his chair.

“The only thing I need,” Adam said through a tight jaw, “is information about Callie’s whereabouts. You’ve both admitted you have no idea where she is, and are unable or unwilling to talk your fiancées into sharing the information.”

“What have you tried?” Liam asked.

“Everything. I’ve left about a billion messages on her cell, checked in with her sister, her parents, the friends I’ve met and her work, trawled through her social media pages, called random hotels at places where she likes to take vacations.”

Liam frowned, suddenly serious. “Have you considered she doesn’t want to be found?”

“Says the man who followed a woman to another country after she ran away from him.”

“True,” Liam said, his eyes full of sympathy, “but Jenna’s family helped me speak to her. And she helped Dylan find Faith. If Jenna and Faith won’t help this time, and Callie’s family won’t help when they know where she is, perhaps it means you should let her go.”

Let her go? Simply give up? The emptiness inside him screamed in rebellion. Besides, she might not want to be found now, but that was because he’d said crazy things to her, before he’d realized what she meant to him. That she meant everything to him.

At the very least he owed her the truth. He just hoped with every fiber of his being that she let him give her a whole heap more than that.

He straightened his spine and stared down his brother. “There’s something I need to say to her. If I say it, and she still wants to be left alone, I’ll do it.” His heart would break in two, but he’d honor her wishes.

Dylan rubbed his stubbled jaw, apparently considering Adam’s words, and then nodded. “Well, if she won’t listen to you, perhaps it’s time you do something she can’t ignore.”

Hysterical laughter bubbled in Adam’s chest before dying in his throat. “Like what?” Did they realize he’d tried everything he could think of already? Why else would he be in his office at two in the morning, chasing flimsy leads?

Dylan turned to Liam. “Seriously, I can’t believe we voted to make him the boss of the company.” Then he faced Adam again. “I don’t know. You’re the ideas man, and you’re the one who knows Callie. But it had better be something she won’t expect, so she knows you’re serious, or it’s not worth doing at all.”

Adam started to frown, but then an idea struck him, one so simple yet so perfect that his heart leaped to life again. He could do this. He’d explain everything and show her he was serious. He reached for the phone and started leafing through papers, looking for Callie’s friend Anna’s number.

“You do remember it’s after two in the morning, right?” Liam said.

Swearing, Adam dropped the phone and speared his fingers through his hair. Now that he had a plan, every second it was delayed was agony, but his brother was right. He’d have to wait a few more hours.

He stood and reached for his suit jacket. “Time you two went home,” he said and herded them out his office door. “Actually, why are you here at this time of night, anyway, and not at home with those fiancées you worked so hard to win over?”

His brothers shared a look before Liam said, “Jonah.”

“The security guard who was going to throw you out was the one who called you?” Adam huffed out a laugh. “He’s always taken his job of looking out for the staff seriously. I’ll have to give him a bonus.”

“Right after you find Callie, right?” Dylan said from beside him.

“Oh, yeah.” Adam closed his office door behind him, feeling a sliver of optimism starting to glow in his chest. “Nothing’s happening before I do that.”

Twelve

W
hen
her cell rang, Callie was reading a book in a deck chair on the veranda
overlooking the beach. She checked the caller ID, an action that had become
second nature in the past week.

Since the announcement of her split from Adam had gone public,
her phone, email and social media had gone crazy. The only calls she’d been
taking were from her parents, Summer, Jenna and Faith. She’d had a few from
random friends, but unable to face the world just yet—or the world’s
questions—she’d decided to return the calls when her impromptu vacation was
over.

Although there was one person she’d made herself call on the
first day—John Evans, her boss. She’d explained the hiccup with the Hawke
Brothers Trust account, and promised that she was working on a new campaign. He
hadn’t been impressed, but was prepared to give her a chance. She had a meeting
scheduled with him next week to look over her new ideas, which meant she needed
to start having those ideas soon...

This time the call was Anna Wilson, and Callie debated whether
to answer or not. Anna was a friend, but she was also a journalist, and she was
probably hoping for a scoop on the breakup. Admittedly, Anna hadn’t been part of
the flurry of online stories and gossip pieces that had broken out since she’d
left Adam. Many of those articles had claimed a secret source who had all sorts
of completely untrue morsels of information, and who was likely Terence Gibson.
Anna had stayed silent so far, but perhaps she now wanted to wade into the
water.

Callie sighed. Her vacation was coming to an end and she was
going to have to start facing the real world soon, and Anna was probably a good
place to start, so she thumbed the answer button.

“Hi, Anna,” she said as brightly as she could manage. “How are
you?”

“Hey, Callie. I’m good, thanks.” There was a short pause on the
line. “I was just wondering... Have you seen my column today?”

Yesterday, when she’d seen the headline, “Anon Source Claims
Hawke Wedding a Scam,” she’d sworn off the web. There was nothing she could do
about Terence having a field day at her expense, but she didn’t have to put
herself through reading it. “Sorry,” she said, tucking her legs up underneath
her. “I haven’t had a chance.”

“You should have a look.”

“I’m actually in the middle of something. I’ll grab a few
minutes later this afternoon.” Or perhaps tomorrow. Or even the next day.

“Now, Callie. It’s Adam.”

A chill raced down her spine. “What do you mean, it’s Adam? Is
something wrong?”

“He has a message for you and it’s running in my column
today.”

Callie leaned back in her chair, the sudden rigidity in her
muscles dissipating. There was no way Adam would have done something so public
about something that was private. He must have given an interview about the
trust, or about the company, and mentioned her name when questioned. His words
might even have been written for him by Jenna, to keep it on the track they’d
decided to take.

Callie ran her free hand through her hair. “Okay, thanks. I’ll
check it out.”

“Really, Callie. You need to see this.” Anna’s voice was
insistent, which was strange. “Promise me.”

Her stomach clenched. It was clear that there was more to this.
“I promise. I’ll look at it now.”

They ended the call, and Callie retrieved her laptop from her
suitcase where she’d put it yesterday after the sham headline. In the time it
took her to boot up her computer, her cell practically exploded with messages.
She checked a few and they were all saying the same thing. Adam had left her a
video online. Adrenaline spiked through her system. He couldn’t have actually
addressed something to her, could he...?

When the laptop displayed its welcome screen, she opened her
browser and found Anna’s column. Before she’d braced herself, Adam’s face
appeared on her screen, as dear and beautiful as she’d remembered. A harsh
pressure pushed against her chest, making it hard to draw breath.

And yet, it was Adam like she’d never seen him before. She’d
seen him disheveled from lovemaking. She’d seen him after he’d had too much to
drink in Vegas. She’d seen him windswept on the beach. But this? This Adam had
eyes that were wild and untamed. He seemed to be exerting no control over
himself to keep his guard up. He wasn’t trying to keep part of himself
hidden.

And he was doing it in front of the world.

His words finally registered—she’d been too busy looking at
him, desperate for his face, that she’d paid no attention to what he was saying.
Clicking on the play button, she dragged it back to the beginning and
listened.

“Callie, I’ve tried every method to find you that I can think
of, and a few more. I was stupid, I know that, and I’m begging you to overlook
that fact. Hoping and praying that I haven’t destroyed your feelings for me. If
that’s happened, I understand, and all I can say is I’m sorry. For
everything.”

Hot tears built until the image on the screen blurred and she
blinked them away, unwilling to miss a second of Adam’s message. She still
couldn’t believe this was public, that he was saying these things, knowing that
anyone could see.

“If there’s a chance you could ever feel the same for me again,
then all I want to say is, I love you.” He paused and swallowed. “I love you so
much I’ve been going crazy without you. Not knowing where you are.”

A stab of guilt pierced her chest at causing him pain. When
she’d left, she’d only been thinking of her own emotional survival, and had no
expectation that her leaving would cause him this much sadness.

“I’m sorry, Adam,” she whispered at the screen, but his
recorded message continued on regardless.

“I guess you could say I’m emotionally compromised after all,”
he said and offered a sad smile.

She let out a surprised laugh through her tears.

“One last thing, Callie. If you do still feel the same, if it’s
possible that you still want me, I’ll be waiting at the place it all started.
This week—same day and time, at the place I first proposed.”

The video ended, but she was lost in the memory of walking past
a small Vegas chapel and his saying, “Hey, I have a crazy idea. Let’s get
married.” And fueled by alcohol and infatuation, she’d pretty much squealed a
yes
then jumped up and hugged him,

It had been a Tuesday, about eleven o’clock at night. She
double-checked her computer’s calendar—it was Monday. He wanted to meet her
tomorrow night at 11:00 p.m. in Vegas.

Everything inside her wanted to go, to meet him and feel his
arms around her again. She’d been lying awake every night since she’d left him,
dreaming of a chance to be held by him again. But something even stronger was
gnawing at her belly, holding her back.

There was no question he was being genuine on that tape. He’d
exposed himself in a way she’d never thought he was capable of. But what if he
regretted it now?

He’d made declarations to her before, made vows, and then
changed his mind the next morning. Would he even be waiting in that chapel, or
was the tape something he’d made in the middle of the night and already
regretted? Was he working with his lawyers right this minute to get the video
taken down?

And even if he made it to the chapel tomorrow night, would he
change his mind in a day, a week, a month or a year?

The sad truth was, she wasn’t sure if she could trust him with
her heart. Was a potential future with Adam Hawke worth the risk?

* * *

Callie huddled closer to her sister under the bright
yellow umbrella as they trudged down the wet Las Vegas street. Her thoughts were
all crammed together in her head so hard, all jumbled, and none of them clear
enough to even consider properly.

“Stop it,” Summer said.

Callie flinched and then frowned at her sister. “What?”

“I can hear you second-guessing yourself from here.”

“Actually, I haven’t first-guessed yet, so there’s nothing to
second-guess.” She’d been too busy replaying Adam’s message in her mind to do
much more than walk in a straight line.

“Oh, come on,” Summer said, rolling her eyes. “You’re here.
That’s a decision.”

Callie placed a hand over her chest, as if she could brace her
heart, and then admitted the awful truth. “It might not even be an issue. I
don’t think he’ll come.”

“Of course he’ll be here.” Her sister waved her concerns away
with a flick of her wrist. “No one who saw that video—which is everyone in the
country—could doubt that he’s head over heels about you. Plus, you’re a trending
topic on social media and the consensus is definitely that you’ll both turn up.
The people have spoken and they’re demanding a happy ending.”

“That’s lovely of the people,” Callie said, trying not to
cringe at being the topic of so many conversations, “but I don’t think the
weight of public opinion is going to affect Adam’s decisions.”

“Well,
I’m
sure he’ll come.” Summer gave her a smug
smile. “I hate to say this, but you knew I would at some point... I told you he
loves you.”

A seething mass of confusion churned in her gut. How easy it
would be to simply believe what he’d said. It would be a dream come true. But
life was rarely that simple.

She glanced over at her sister and tried to explain. “Adam
changes his mind quickly. Last time, it was less than twenty-four hours after
promising me the world that he asked for a divorce.”

“You two barely knew each other back then,” she pointed
out.

“Which is why I was blindsided.” In some ways, the pain of that
time was still fresh. It was sitting on the sidelines, warning her, trying to
keep her safe from being hurt in the same way again. “Now I know him and I
understand how much he hates being...emotionally compromised.”

“But you’re here, you’re going to meet him, so what’s the
plan?”

Callie stopped and looked out over the light but steady rain
that hit the pavement and the palm trees, and was bouncing off the umbrellas of
people around them.

“I’m waiting to hear what he says and I need to see him in
person for that, not a video message. I’ll know by his eyes.” She had to see how
deeply he was affected. In the meantime, the agony of having no idea if this was
real or not was killing her.

As they rounded a corner, Adam came into view. He stood alone,
a large, black umbrella shielding him from the rain. A few feet behind him, his
brothers and their fiancées stood huddled together in an alcove in front of the
chapel.

At the sight of him, her body froze, as if it had gone into
internal meltdown. She couldn’t take another step, couldn’t even feel—her
emotions had become numb, as well.

He wore dark trousers and a coffee-hued shirt, his hair clearly
damp, his shoulders tight. Tension flowed off him in waves as he scanned the
area around them. She’d never seen a man more magnificent.

As soon as he saw them, his shoulders relaxed a fraction and he
strode over. Summer squeezed her hand and nodded her greeting to Adam. Adam
returned it and edged his umbrella over Callie. As soon as she was covered,
Summer scurried off to stand in the alcove with Adam’s family.

Adam’s gaze was dark and intense. “I wasn’t sure you’d
come.”

“I wasn’t sure you’d be here, either.” She was still cushioned
by the emotional numbness, or she would never have been able to get those words
out as evenly.

“Didn’t you see the video?” he asked, his voice rough. “I told
you I’d be here.”

“You forget, I’ve been through this with you before and you
changed your mind once you had time to think it through.” She’d tried to say the
words gently—this was about having the truth on the table, not about
accusations, but still she saw him flinch.

“That was different, and so long ago. Everything has
changed.”

She glanced at the chapel with its flashing neon lights, and
then over at their siblings and partners, all gathered and pretending not to be
watching them, and her emotional numbness dissolved. The emotions of the past
few weeks came crashing in on her in a tidal wave, and it was all she could do
to stay upright.

She rubbed a hand over her eyes and then looked at him. “Adam,
what are we doing here?”

“You tell me. I’m here to marry the woman I love. What about
you?” His eyes were unwavering, challenging.

She shrugged one shoulder, determined to keep her distance
until she was ready. “I’m still thinking about that one.”

“If it helps your decision, I’ve done a lot of thinking, and
I’ve let go of the comparisons to my grandfather. I’m more like my brothers than
I ever was like him, and Liam and Dylan are stronger men, better men, with Jenna
and Faith in their lives. I want that. I’m ready for that. With you.”

That did help, but there was more, and she hardly dared
ask...

There was no moving forward until she heard his answer, so she
straightened her spine and asked outright. “What about your self-control?
Letting your guard down?”

“Not an issue. When we were together, I was letting my guard
down without even realizing it.” His Adam’s apple bobbed up and down. “I thought
control was the most important thing in my life, but it’s not. You are.”

He reached into his pocket and drew out a velvet box. She
recognized the logo of the jeweler who’d customized the rings they’d chosen.

Her bottom lip trembled, so she bit down on it to keep it
still. “You really want to get married here, and not at a fancy place with all
your friends?”

“You were right. The fancy version we were planning was about
everybody else—the trust, the media, your job. That suited our purposes at the
time, but what I want now is something stripped back. Something that’s just you
and me and the promises we want to make to each other. Although,” he said with
the trace of a smile, “I can’t promise my words will be as pretty as the ones
Summer wrote for me.”