The Private Serials Box Set(18)

**Sweetheart, are you with me?**

Oh, God.

**I’m here.**

I replied without meaning to.

**Will you be ready at five?**

I swallowed hard and my fingers moved over the screen.

**I’ll be ready.**



At five sharp, I watched as a very sleek, very sexy, black Lotus pulled into my driveway. I continued to watch as the driver’s door opened and Preston unfolded himself from it. He was still wearing that sexy jacket and I wondered if he ever went anywhere without it, or even took it off. He had a dark blue t-shirt stretched over his chest, just tight enough to hint at what was beneath it, and a pair of black jeans. He walked toward my front door and I forced myself to stop peering at him through the living room blinds.

I stood and brushed my hands down my front, making sure I looked presentable. When I heard the doorbell ring, I continued to the door, opening it right after I took a calming breath. In through the nose, out through the mouth.

When the door was open, we both just stood there, neither one of us able to hide the fact that our eyes roamed the other.

“You’re not dressed appropriately.” He spoke first, his eyes still running up and down my body.

I looked down at my outfit. “What do you mean?” I was wearing jeans and a soft, white, short-sleeved sweater.

“I mean,” he said, stepping into my house, forcing me to step back and allow him entrance, “you can’t wear that. Go change into something dark, like black. We can’t have you standing out.”

“Where are we going?”

“We’re going to follow Derrek home from work. I’m hoping he’ll head to his other home.”

Well, that stung.

I nodded out the door to his black car with very dark tinted windows. “I don’t think anyone will be able to see me through your windows.”

The corners of his mouth turned up slightly, not a full smile, but a hint of one. He turned and walked further into the house, forcing me to follow.

“Who says we’ll stay in the car?”

I guess he had me there. “I’ll be right back,” I mumbled, grudgingly. When I returned, I looked much the same as I did when Sam and I did our stakeout. I was in black jeans, but instead of the turtleneck, I wore a black, V-neck cotton tee. The jersey knit hugged my chest and I purposefully chose it over the frumpy turtleneck. If I had to look at Preston in his leather jacket and blue, clingy shirt, he would have to endure my tee that gave a slight view of my cleavage. He looked at me when I reentered the room, but quickly motioned toward the front door.

“Let’s get a move on. We don’t have much time.”

The ride to Derrek’s work was silent, and I was okay with that. I spent my time trying to figure out what all the buttons did inside Preston’s Lotus. It looked how I imagined the inside of a space shuttle might: flashing lights, switches, buttons everywhere, and even my ass was warm. He parked across the street from the main door, just like Sam had, and we sat and watched, waiting for him to come out. I was in the middle of wishing we had snacks when Derrek walked out. My breath caught in my throat as we silently watched him walk to his car, and I managed to exhale when he pulled out into traffic. Preston pulled out after him, but we didn’t talk as he tailed him.

Preston was noticeably better at following a car than Sam and I had been. He didn’t need me to tell him where to go, or which direction Derrek’s car was heading, as he seemed to manage both the tailing and driving aspects fairly well on his own. So well, in fact, I began to wonder why he’d even brought me along.

“Why am I here?”

“What do you mean? You want to get your proof, right?”

“Yeah, but I’m obviously not needed. I haven’t said one word and you haven’t asked me one question. I’m not aiding your investigation one bit. So why did you bring me?”

“Where did you meet him?” he asked, keeping his eyes on the road and presumably Derrek’s car.

“What?”

“Your husband. Where did you meet him?”

“How is that going to help your investigation?”

He shrugged. “It won’t. You just seem a little uptight so I thought I’d give you what you want – a little interaction.”

I eyed him, trying to decide whether I was going to answer his question. I finally rolled my eyes and gave him the answer. “I met him at a frat party my sophomore year of college.”

“Hmm,” was his response.

“Hmm?”

“I could totally see Derrek as a frat guy, but you, well, you don’t strike me as the kind of girl who hangs out with them.” As he said this, his head swiveled toward me and his eyes were gleaming, a slight smile pulling up the corners of his mouth.

“I wasn’t, really,” I said, turning away from him again. “Sam dragged me there and I was holding up a wall, drinking alone, when Derrek approached me.”

“And then he swept you off your feet?”

It was my turn to shrug. “I suppose. I mean, it’s not like we were engaged the next day or anything, but I never dated anyone else after I met him that night.”

“How old were you?”

“Nineteen.”

“That’s not a lot of time to cram in a lot of dating experience.”

“I hadn’t had any.” The words came tumbling from my mouth and I wanted to reach out and grab each and every one before he’d had a chance to hear them. I cringed inwardly. Preston cleared his throat and shifted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with my careless and inappropriate confession, and then suddenly, I realized I wasn’t familiar with my surroundings any longer. “I don’t think he’s heading to the same house as he did the other night.”