Rachel Bailey - His 24-Hour Wife

Then he laughed, a low rumble that seemed to fill the room. “I’m starting to remember why I married you.”

“And what drove you away again,” she said and smiled. After a day spent in bed, gradually sobering up, Adam had suggested a divorce. She’d been having so much fun—and was, in all honesty, so dazzled by the Adonis who’d proposed to her—that she would have given their marriage a shot. But she’d had no rational argument for staying together, so she’d agreed.

Still, after three months, neither one of them had started those divorce proceedings. She didn’t know Adam’s reasons, but there was a small kernel of hope deep in her chest that maybe he wasn’t quite ready to cut all ties with her yet.

He indicated two upholstered chairs near the windows, which, sure enough, offered a premium view of Los Angeles below. “Take a seat. Can I get you a drink?”

She knew he probably meant coffee or tea, but still she winced, remembering the gin she’d stupidly had before coming. “No, I’m fine. I won’t be here long.”

He nodded and took the chair across from her. Then his expression turned serious. “What do you need, Callie?”

For a moment all she could focus on was the sound of her name on his lips. His voice was deep and still sent a warm shiver through her. Three months ago he’d whispered her name in the heat of passion. Had murmured it when she’d kissed the smooth skin of his abdomen. Had shouted it as he’d found his release. More than anything, she wanted to hear him say her name again. Then his question registered, and she straightened her spine.

“Why do you think I need something?”

His forehead creased into a row of frown lines. “I just assumed...” He let the sentence trail off. “After all this time, I figured if you were contacting me, you must—”

“I don’t need anything,” she said, holding up her hands, palms out. “I’m here as a courtesy, to let you know something.”

His jaw hardened. “You’re getting married?”

The way his mind worked was intriguing. She remembered that from their short time together—she’d been constantly fascinated by the things he said.

“No, I’m up for a promotion.” Her PR firm had finally given her a chance to make partner—something she’d been working toward for years—and she wasn’t going to let the opportunity go.

“Congratulations,” he said. “So how does this involve me?”

“They’ve given me an assignment. If I handle this project well, I’ll make partner.” At twenty-nine, she’d be the youngest partner in the history of the firm.

He raised one eyebrow. “What’s the assignment?”

“The Hawke Brothers’ Trust.” His company’s new charity raised money for homeless children; it had already made a splash with various events, including a bachelor auction, and was now ready to move to the next level. Something Callie was looking forward to being a part of.

“Ah,” he said, and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t realize Jenna had brought in your company.”

Adam’s future sister-in-law, Princess Jensine of Larsland, had helped to create the charity and was in charge of day-to-day operations. Callie had suspected Adam wasn’t aware that her company had become involved. Which was why she was here, warning him, before she started work on the project.

“There was a good chance we’d run in to each other in a meeting or something, and I wanted to give you a heads-up before that happened.”

“I appreciate it. So,” he said, offering her half a smile, “how have you been?”

Despite being married, they didn’t really know each other well enough to catch up. They had no basic information to catch up on. So she said, “Good, and you?”

“Good,” he said, nodding.

It was awkward, so she took a breath and refocused. “I was thinking that maybe we should have our stories straight in case anyone puts two and two together.”

He rubbed a hand over his chin. “You mean about us being married?”

“Since I’ll be working with members of your family, it’s a possibility.”

“It won’t happen. They don’t know I—” He swallowed. “They don’t know what happened.”

“You didn’t tell your family that you got married?” She hadn’t expected he would brag about a short-lived Vegas wedding, but equally, she hadn’t expected that he’d keep it a secret from his two brothers. In the short time they’d spent together, he’d mentioned he was close to his younger brothers.

He shifted in his seat. “Did you tell your friends and family?”

“I didn’t tell everyone, but I told my sister.” She moistened her lips. “You seriously didn’t tell anyone?”

His face was unreadable. “I don’t generally telegraph my mistakes to the world.”

Asking her for a divorce had pretty much shown he had thought of their wedding as a mistake, but still, there was something in the way he held himself tall in the chair—and in his tone as he said it—that had made her feel small and insignificant. She’d thought of their time together as something wild and crazy, something out of character, where they just went too far. She hadn’t thought of herself as someone’s mistake. It hurt more than she would have expected.

But now that he’d made his feelings crystal clear, the stupid part of her needed to let go.

She took a breath. “While I’m here, we really should talk about a divorce.”

“Already underway,” he said without hesitation. “I’ve filled in the paperwork and was just waiting for my brother’s wedding to be over before filing it.”

“Oh, right. Good.” Everyone knew Adam’s younger brother was marrying Princess Jensine of Larsland, so Callie could see that he wouldn’t want to draw attention when the media could be hunting for stories.

“I didn’t want my alcohol-fueled decision to have ramifications for him.”

Flinching, she stood and hitched her bag over her shoulder. “I should go. Let me know when you’re ready to file the divorce papers.”

“Callie.” He reached out to her as he stood, and then let his hand drop. It was the first time his voice had held a note of tenderness since she’d entered his office. He’d been the only man who’d ever affected her with merely his voice, and she wobbled. “I’m sorry,” he said. “That was probably harsh. I don’t want us to part on bad terms.”

“It’s fine,” she said, summoning a polite smile. “But I’ve taken up enough of your time. I just wanted to give you some forewarning and I’ve done that, so I’d better get back to promoting the Hawke Brothers’ Trust.”

He held her gaze for a heartbeat or two, searching her eyes. Then he nodded and stepped back. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”

Callie smiled and slipped out the door. Halfway down the corridor, her cell rang, and she paused in the reception room to answer it. A colleague’s name flashed on the screen: Terence Gibson. He’d recently been up for the same promotion as Callie and his competitiveness had bordered on excessive. Since she’d been offered this project with the chance to win the promotion if she did well, she knew this wasn’t going to be a congratulatory call.

“Hi, Terence,” she said.

“I can see why the partners gave you this assignment,” he said, not bothering to hide the malice in his voice.

She punched the elevator button. “And why is that?”

“Being married to one of the clients will certainly give you an edge.”

She froze.

“Oh, you mean they don’t know about your marriage to Adam Hawke? Oh, dear. I wonder what upper management will say when they find out. It will hardly make them feel as if they can trust you, and I hear they value open and clear communication in their partners.”