[4 Seasons 01] Seducing Summer Read Free Page A

photographer.”
    “Ah.” That made more sense. “What did you
do then?”
    “I was hired by a national TV news program
as a trainee war correspondent. I shadowed an older guy and went with him to
Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Spent a lot of time around Army guys and loved it
so much I signed up.”
    “So what happened? Why did you leave? I’m
guessing because you were wounded—in the leg, yes?” She’d detected a slight
limp when he’d walked in.
    His eyes met hers for a moment. Hesitant,
wary, guarded. He’d meant to keep that a secret, but now she’d asked him, he
didn’t have a choice unless he intended to lie outright. He didn’t like that
she was so observant, and had guessed things he’d wanted to keep to himself.
    He shifted in the seat. On the surface, it
looked as if he was making himself more comfortable, but she sensed unease in
his posture. He didn’t like talking about it. She waited for him to change the
subject, but instead he said, “I was out on a scouting mission. We stumbled
across a hidden base and they opened fire on us. I took a bullet in the thigh,
crawled off into a hole somewhere, and passed out. They didn’t find me for
three days, and by then it was infected. They operated, and it healed, but it’s
not good enough for active duty.” He shrugged. “I didn’t want an Army desk job.
Didn’t seem much point in staying in.”
    “Is it still painful?”
    “Sometimes.”
    In the other office, she could hear Neve
answering the phone, the whirr of the photocopier, the clang of a spoon in a
cup as someone—probably Bridget—made a coffee. Outside the office, she heard the
sound of traffic in the busy streets, and somewhere in the far distance the
whine of a police car. Inside, though, the comforting tick of the clock on the
wall filled the room.
    Gene sat patiently, his gaze fixed on hers,
calm, a tad challenging. There was something he wasn’t telling her, but she
couldn’t work out what it was.
    Callie uncrossed her legs and re-crossed
them. His gaze stayed on her face, which she found interesting—no sexy slide
down her body, no suggestive looks or comments. Either he didn’t fancy her, or
he was determined not to bring sex into the office, for whatever reason. Of
course, he could be married, or at least have a partner, in which case kudos to
him for not straying.
    Suddenly, it became quintessentially
important that she discover if he was single.
    She shook her head a little, hoping it
would dislodge the issue from her brain. His professionalism ranked him high on
her list. However, working with him would be a nightmare, surely, whether he
was married or not. Wasn’t it weird that a once-soldier wanted to be a PA? Or
was she being sexist? The thought made her uncomfortable, as she was a great
advocate of women being able to do any job they chose. And if she believed in
equality, it had to work both ways.
    She frowned. “So instead of taking an Army
desk job, you decided to go into secretarial work? What’s the difference?”
    He shrugged again. “Freedom. I’d had enough
of being told how to live my life.”
    “Why not go back into journalism?”
    “I’ve seen enough of the world, and I’m not
getting any younger. I just want to settle down.”
    “How old are you?”
    “I’ll be thirty-two on Valentine’s Day.”
His eyes dared her to find that funny.
    She bit her lip. “Married?”
    “No.”
    “Living with anyone?” Oops . That
wasn’t relevant to the job, but it had slipped out.
    “No.”
    “Children?”
    “No.”
    “Girlfriend?” She was taunting him now,
wondering how far she could push him.
    His gaze remained steady. “No.”
    “You don’t like talking about yourself,”
she observed, curious about this guy, whose impassive expression held a
multitude of secrets, she was sure.
    “I’ve just told you more about my injury
than I’ve told anyone in a long time.” He looked slightly puzzled at that.
    Callie studied him, intrigued. He
fascinated