The Private Serials Box Set(24)

“That’s the only part that matters right now.”

“His money can’t be so important to you that you’d basically sell yourself. That’s what you’re doing, Lena. You’re selling yourself if you go with him. You’re pretending to be his wife for money. What does that make you?”

Now it was my turn to be angry. “What, exactly, are you trying to say?” I turned out of the living room, headed to my bedroom and walked to my window, pulling the curtains back just slightly. Just enough to see his black Lotus in its usual spot a few houses down.

“I don’t want you with him.” This statement was spoken in a voice still firm and a little angry, but also pleading.

His words evoked so many emotions from me it was hard to nail one down. The overwhelming feelings were happiness and warmth. Preston cared enough about me to want to keep me from Derrek. Whether this was out of just macho dominance or genuine concern, it didn’t matter. It’d been years since someone cared about me and I wanted to wrap myself up in it. But all of that happiness was tamped down by my need to get out of my marriage intact. I couldn’t let my emotions ruin my plans.

“Preston, I don’t want to be with him, either,” I said as I looked at his car. I strained to see his form through the windows, but he was too far. The urge to lay my eyes on him was overwhelming. Just to see him. That was all I needed. “Will you do me a favor?” I whispered.

“Anything,” he replied, making my eyes close and the breath steal away from me.

“Can you get out of your car for just a moment?”

He didn’t answer, just opened his car door and got out, walking to the front of it, staring right at me in my bedroom window. I bit down on my lips to keep myself from asking him to come in, because I knew, without a doubt, if I invited him in the game would be over.

“You’re always gone when I wake up. How long do you stay out there?”

“Until I know for sure you’re safe.” His answer was both infuriating and beautiful.

“Goodnight, Preston.”

“Sleep tight, sweetheart.”



The next night, I found myself wasting a fantastic dress on Derrek. I turned in the mirror to check the back of the dress. Yup. What a waste.

From the waist up, the dress was all black lace. It had a tight collar neck with capped sleeves. The lace came down the back, but in the front there was a rather large keyhole. It was big enough to show decent cleavage, but not distastefully. The lace went down to my hips where it met a soft, pink flowing material that floated out around me whenever I moved, swishing in a way that made most girls smile. It was the kind of material that made you want to move to see and feel the fabric swirl around you. It had a high-low hem, so the front came to just above my knees, but the back floated all the way to the ground. The lace was used in the bottom half of the dress as detail, and swirled daintily around my hips and curves.

My dark hair was up in a sophisticated twist with a few tendrils left down to curl around my face. My makeup was soft and natural. The only jewelry I wore were the diamond solitaire earrings my father gave me for college graduation and my wedding ring.

I heard the front door open and took a deep breath in, trying to ready myself to spend an evening pretending to be happy with my husband. I heard him walking toward the bedroom and my eyes moved to the door. He walked briskly through the door, glancing at me, then moving back toward the dresser, where he stopped and opened the top drawer. I noticed he was in a tuxedo and I wondered, briefly, where he’d gotten ready. Then I laughed softly because I realized exactly where he’d dressed. I also noticed he spared not even three seconds to admire me in this dress, in which I looked fantastic. But just as quickly as his eyes passed over me, the thought flitted from my mind. I didn’t need or want him to desire me. I wanted out. Unfortunately, I was forced to spend the next few hours with him.

“Are you ready to go?” he asked as he put new cufflinks in.

“Yup,” I said, popping the P at the end of the word.

“Great, the town car is outside waiting for you.”

I wasted no time walking outside, only stopping to grab my coat. As I walked down the path to the waiting car, I saw the black Lotus drive slowly past my house and my heart rate spiked, knowing Preston was inside the car. The car continued down the road, turning at the corner, and then disappearing. I took in a sharp breath when I heard the front door close behind me and heard Derrek’s voice.

“Lena, we don’t have all night. Let’s go.” He was being impatient. Fantastic. I climbed in the car, hoping Preston didn’t follow us. I didn’t need this kind of drama tonight. I just wanted to get the event over with and go home, hopefully without Derrek, and hopefully with Preston in his car down the road. It was selfish of me, I realized, but I also didn’t care. What I didn’t need was Preston making a scene. I hoped he was smart enough to realize that and keep his distance.

An hour later, we were fully surrounded by Derrek’s co-workers and employees. There were many other people in attendance and occasionally Derrek would pull me away to meet people he was trying to network with. I played my part: smiled, nodded, and pretended to be interested in their conversation. I also withheld from shooting glares at Derrek when his hand rested on the small of my back, or he leaned over and placed soft kisses on my neck behind my ear. In the past, these gestures would have left me swooning, my heartbeat pulsing through my veins, my need for him building, the anticipation of our night in bed filling my mind. Instead, I tried not to roll my eyes when he touched me. At one point, I found myself fantasizing about Preston kicking my door down and rushing to find me in bed, waiting for him, naked.