[4 Seasons 01] Seducing Summer by Serenity Woods Page A

to be someone from his
office, then smiled when he saw the name of his best mate.
    “Hey, Felix.” He lay back in the deckchair,
one arm tucked under his head. “How’s things?”
    “Hey, Gene. Yeah, all good here, thanks.”
    “Finally got back to work?” Gene liked to
tease his lawyer friend about his extra-long summer break. Felix worked at the
biggest law firm in Wellington, and, like many firms in New Zealand, they
closed for several weeks over Christmas and January.
    “Only just. Apparently some companies make
you go back to work before February. It’s shocking.”
    Gene laughed. “What’s up?”
    “Thought I’d share some news with you.
Coco’s pregnant.”
    “Ah, mate.” Gene was genuinely pleased for
his friend. Felix had married the head secretary of his law firm the previous
year, and he’d mentioned that they’d decided to try for a family straight away.
“That’s wonderful news.”
    “Yeah, we’re pleased. It took a while, and
there’s always that niggling thought in the back of your mind that you’re not
going to be able to have kids, you know? So it’s a relief.”
    “When’s it due?”
    “She’s just three months, so July.”
    “Great. I bet she’s happy.”
    “A mixture of nervous and excited, yeah.”
Felix chuckled. “Anyway, how did it go today?” Gene had told him about his
undercover mission.
    “Well, she agreed to take me on, so that’s
the first step done. She’s touring the country starting Monday, so I’ll be away
for a couple of weeks.”
    “What’s she like? As bad as her mother made
out?”
    Gene watched a ferry heading toward the
harbor, the sea behind it glinting in the evening sunshine, the color of
Callie’s eyes. “Ah, no. Not really. She’s nice. Young. Smart. Funny.”
    Felix said nothing for a moment. Then he
said, “I see.” Gene could almost hear the smirk behind the words.
    “Don’t start,” he said wryly.
    “And she works for a lingerie firm? Does
she get to try out some free samples?”
    Gene decided not to tell him about Neve’s
parties. “Honestly, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I’m her personal
protection officer—that means I have to be glued to her side for the next three
months. It’s going to be torture.”
    “Oh…” Felix drew the word out. “You really
do like her. I was teasing before.”
    “There’s nothing not to like. She’s
gorgeous. It’s going to be like the Temptation of St. Anthony. Except my name’s
not Anthony. And I’m no saint.”
    “Now ain’t that the truth.”
    “Felix…”
    “I don’t see the problem.”
    “The problem is that I have a job to do. I
can’t afford to get distracted.”
    “Surely it’ll be easier to protect her if
you’re… you know, sleeping in the same bed?”
    “Jeez.”
    “Look, I can’t remember the last time I
heard you talk about a girl with a smile in your voice. Why not have a bit of
fun over the summer?”
    Gene couldn’t stop himself smiling at that.
“That happens to be her surname.”
    “Summer?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Well there you go. It’s a sign. You’re
heading north next week, aren’t you?”
    “Yeah, south first, then north after my
birthday.”
    “It’s fucking hot in the Northland. Toby
says it’s been hot and sultry for weeks. Sounds like a bit of Summer seduction is on the cards.”
    “I can’t.”
    “Yeah.” Felix snorted. “That sounded real
convincing.” Someone called in the background, and Felix said, “Coco’s ready
and we’re going out. Got to go. Speak later. Let me know how you get on.”
    “I don’t…” But it was too late. Felix had
hung up.
    Gene blew out a breath and slipped the
phone back into his pocket. He’d only known Callie for an afternoon. She might
be completely different when he got to know her properly, when he was with her
day in, day out. She might irritate him by talking all the time. Perhaps she
was untidy, or hated the music he liked, or refused to eat unusual food. There
were a million