The Private Serials Box Set(41)

“No,” I lied.

“Don’t lie to me, Lena. Don’t you f*cking cover for him.”

“Preston,” I whispered. I shouldn’t have called him. “I’m sorry, I have to go.”

“So you’re choosing to protect him?”

“I’m not protecting him. I’m trying to protect you. I can hear how mad you are and I don’t want you doing anything crazy. I can’t win here, Preston. Either I tell you what happened and you f*ck everything up with your temper, or I keep it all inside and Derrek wins again. I can’t take this anymore.”

“I’m coming to your work.”

“Please don’t. Everyone here already thinks I’m crazy with the way I showed up this morning. I just wanted to hear your voice. I thought maybe it would calm me down.”

He was quiet for a moment and all I could hear were his rapid breaths, but with each passing moment, they slowed. Then, finally, he asked calmly, “Can I pick you up when you’re off?”

I sighed in relief at his voice, soothing and warm. This was the Preston I’d wanted to hear from, the man I thought could make me feel better about the terrible morning I’d endured.

“I’d love that,” I whispered.



Later I received a text message from Sam.

**That f*cker called me at work this morning asking how I’d spent my weekend.**

**What did you say?**

**I told him to go f*ck off.**

I laughed, a real, loud, therapeutic laugh. I felt more tension lift from my shoulders and smiled, looking down at my phone.

**You just made my day.**

**Are you ready to tell me what happened between you two?**

I sighed, because I really wasn’t. I wanted to tell her, eventually, but I’d just managed to calm down and focus on my work.

**Can we meet for lunch tomorrow? I just need a day to let my mind wrap around everything.**

**Sounds great. But call me if you need anything before then. I know you’re going through a lot right now. I just want to make sure you don’t push me out of your life.**

Her words made me frown. I was going through a lot and perhaps I needed a little space to figure everything out, but Sam was my best friend and I couldn’t imagine going through life without her.

**I would never push you out, Sam. I need you more now than ever. Just bear with me for a little while. I will see you tomorrow.**

**See you then.**





Chapter Five


That evening when I left work, Preston was waiting outside my building, leaning up against his Lotus, like every woman’s Sixteen Candles fantasy. Arms folded over his chest, ankles crossed, sexy black leather jacket stretched over his shoulders; he looked just as I liked to picture him in my mind. I walked up to him with a smile on my face, a true miracle after the day I’d had.

“Hey,” I said as I stopped a foot away from him. We’d spent the weekend in bed together, but all of a sudden, I was unsure how I was supposed to greet him, especially since we were in public. I was very much still married and still trying to appear the happily married person I’d always hoped I’d be.

“Hey,” he said in response, the corner of his mouth perking up as if he could read my mind and knew all I really wanted to do was press my mouth against his and run my fingers through his beautiful hair. He jolted away from the car and opened the door for me, making sure I was snugly inside before closing it. I watched him walk around the front of the car and get in on his side. He started the Lotus, which purred like a cat looking for some affection, and drove out of the parking lot.

Once we were out of the lot and a few blocks away, he reached across the console and placed his hand on my knee, gently squeezing. I turned my head toward him, smiling shyly, thankful he’d made the first move to touch me. I still wasn’t sure how we were progressing from our weekend together. I reached down to his hand, which he turned over, lacing his fingers through mine.

“I’ve got some news,” he said as he expertly took a corner with only one hand on the wheel.

“Please let it be good news.”

“It’s not bad news, but not really good either.”

“Okay, well, let’s get it over with then.”

He stopped at a red light and turned to look at me.

“The house he goes to? The one Jessica lives in as well? His name’s not on the deed. It’s just in her name. I was hoping he owned it and that could be some piece of evidence against him, but either she owned it before they started seeing each other, or he was smart and put it in her name. The car she drives is just in her name as well.”

“Damn,” I whispered. “What else can we look at?”

“I’m still trying to access bank statements to see if they share an account, but honestly, if the house is just in her name, I doubt he’d make a mistake like share a checking account with her. Other than that I can try to find small things, like electric bills, water bills, stuff like that, just to see if we can prove he lives there, but a piece of mail isn’t necessarily going to hold up well in front of a judge.”

“So you’re saying the house was our best bet and we lost it?”

“All I’m saying is that the house isn’t in play anymore.” He accelerated as the light turned green, but he looked over at me briefly. “I’ll find something, Lena. I promise.” He squeezed my hand. “I’ve got a few more ideas,” he said, not elaborating. I didn’t push, either. I trusted him to do his job. I was instantly reminded that this was a job to him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that anymore. I’d hired him as a private investigator to help me make a clean exit from my marriage, but in the last few days everything had changed. Now, at least for me, it felt as if he was helping me escape my marriage for different reasons. Perhaps, I hoped, because he wanted to be with me, free from Derrek and his twisted ways. But, to be honest, I wasn’t sure what Preston wanted after all this was over.