Callie smiled back. “I’m looking forward to it.”
“However,” Liam said, his head cocked to the side, “this raises the question of why you’re introducing her to all of us and not Jenna.”
Dylan held up a hand like a stop signal. “Are you about to try and talk us in to some crazy-ass PR stunt like the bachelor auction?”
Adam snorted. “As I recall, that stunt seemed to work out well for you.” He looked pointedly at Dylan’s hand holding Faith’s—she was the person who had bought the package of three dates with Dylan at the auction.
Dylan grinned, acknowledging the point, and then leaned in to kiss Faith’s cheek, which had turned pink.
“So why are we all here, then?” his mother asked.
Adam drew in a breath and cast another quick look at Callie, to ensure she was coping with his family’s antics. Besides being a little tense—which was to be expected under the circumstances—she seemed fine.
“Callie and I...” he began, wishing he was anywhere but here. “We knew each other before she took this account.”
Dylan made a sympathetic sound. “Callie, sweetheart, if you’ve dated my brother, let me apologize now. He can be a little—”
“Uptight,” Liam interrupted.
“Yeah,” Dylan said without missing a beat. “Let’s go with uptight.”
Adam pinched the bridge of his nose. His life was unraveling and they wanted to take the opportunity to rib him?
“She didn’t date me,” he said when he knew his voice would be even again. “She married me.”
After a moment of stunned silence, the room erupted into questions, each being called more loudly than the one before. Even the babies, Jenna’s daughter, Meg, and Liam’s daughter, Bonnie, joined in on the action, laughing and waving their arms around.
Callie looked over at him, her eyes wide. He didn’t know much about his wife, but from her reaction he guessed she didn’t come from a boisterous family. This was a baptism of fire into the Hawke clan.
“Sorry,” he said, and offered her a tight smile. He loved his family, but they tried his patience at least half the time. He turned back to the horde. “If you’ll give me a chance, I’ll let you know what happened.”
The noise immediately stopped, and Adam could breathe again. “Callie and I met at a conference in Vegas several years ago. We’ve spent time together at the same conference for three years running and at this last one, we made a spur-of-the-moment decision to get married.”
Liam was first to find his voice. “I assume alcohol was involved?”
“Please tell me there was an Elvis impersonator officiating,” Dylan said, clearly loving the entire debacle.
Adam kept his voice even. “Alcohol on both sides, and no Elvis impersonator.”
His mother leaned forward in her chair. “From the fact that this is the first we’re hearing about it, you clearly didn’t plan on staying married. So why are you telling us at all? Are you hoping to make a go of it now?”
“Hey!” Dylan said before Adam could reply. “I just realized why you refused to be part of the bachelor auction. You were already married.”
Adam winced. The auction had taken place just after he’d arrived home from the fateful weekend in Vegas. He might not have been telling the world about the wedding, but neither would he lie and pretend to be a bachelor. However, he ignored the question and turned back to his mother.
“Callie was given this account by the partners of her firm without them knowing about our connection. Unfortunately, a colleague of hers found out and is hoping to blackmail her into handing the project over to him so that he can get the promotion when it’s completed.”
“That’s awful,” Faith said. “I hate petty politics like that. Can’t you tell the partners?”
Callie leaned forward. “I could, but the story would probably get out anyway, and I think with Adam’s connection to Larsland’s royal family through Jenna, combined with his profile here in LA, the tabloids would have fun with the story.”
“And,” Adam added, “that could be disastrous for the trust. Donations could dry up. Not to mention the impact it could have on the coverage of Liam and Jenna’s wedding.”
Both Liam and Jenna opened their mouths to speak, but Callie got in ahead of them. She was a quick study in how to deal with his family, and he appreciated that.
“It’s okay,” she said. “We have a plan.”
Callie looked to Adam, as if for permission to explain. He nodded—it was her idea, so it was only fitting that she explained it.
“We’re going to take control of the story and announce our new relationship. We’ll speak to some journalist friends of mine and have it run in the media, complete with photos. The story will then be about an unconventional start to a sweet relationship. Hopefully, the interest will die down and we’ll be able to go back to normal sooner rather than later.”
“New relationship?” his mother asked hopefully.
Adam almost laughed. Of the entire crazy story, that was the phrase his mother had focused on.
“Sorry, but the story is fake. Callie and I will wait until any interest has blown over, then quietly get a divorce. The only ones who will know the truth are the people in this room and Callie’s family.”
His mother looked disappointed, but there was nothing he could do about that. Besides, she’d soon be gaining two new daughters-in-law. She was doing well enough without him having to add to the count.
“I’m worried you’re doing this for us,” Jenna said with a hand on Liam’s thigh. “You don’t have to—we’ll be fine.”
They might be fine, but he’d be damned if he’d let his drunken mistake hurt his brothers or Jenna’s family. It was his mess and he’d clean it up.
“Callie and I have discussed the potential ramifications on your family, Jenna, but also on the trust and Callie’s career. We’ve agreed this is the best course of action.”
“What can we do to help?” Liam asked.
“We have the situation in hand,” Callie said. “All you need to do is play along and attend the wedding.”
Faith sat up straighter, as if she’d had an idea. “I can do a story on the wedding flowers on my TV segment if that will help.”
Faith had recently started a job with a nationally syndicated gardening show, doing regular segments on flowers and floristry. The job was based in New York, and now she and Dylan split their time between New York and LA.
Jenna nodded. “Liam has a new flower, a snow-white tulip, almost ready to go. Instead of an event for this one, we could use the wedding as its launch. That will give the media something
