All Chapters of In Love With The Wrong Man : Chapter 71 - Chapter 80

The days began to pass faster and faster with the date for my test for my GED quickly approaching. I was nervous, yet anxious to finally get it over with. I was determined to pass, both for myself and for Preston. I had to prove I could be more to both him and I.In the little spare time we had, Preston insisted on taking me to the gym several times to teach me some basic self-defense. It wasn’t easy having him as my supposed attacker. The last thing I wanted to do was try to beat him up or imagine him as ever hurting me. Not to mention he was far too gentle with me to ever be taken seriously. He acted as though I was a fragile glass doll he was afraid of breaking.On the morning of my test, I was a disastrous ball of nerves. Preston kept telling me to breathe on the drive to the test, assuring me over and over again that I was going to be fine.I entered the test room and quickly took a seat. I fiddled nervously with my pencils as I waited for the start. After instructions and packets

“I have to go into the station,” he drew out slowly in his British accent. “I’m sorry, Kate.”“It’s okay,” I lied with the best acting ability I could.He stared at me a moment as though he had so many words to tell me, yet he said none of them. Henodded after a moment and strolled past me toward the stairs. I blew out a breath as soon as he left. Islipped my heels off and collapsed on the couch. He came down moments later, giving me a kiss atopmy head from behind.“I’m sorry, Kate,” he whispered softly to me. “I’ll make it up to you.”My insides sparked alive at his promise as he hurried out the door. I glanced at his suit jacket laying onthe couch beside me and picked it up, wrapping it around myself and slipping my arms into it. I breathedin his scent as I laid down on the couch and closed my eyes. For the first time in a long time, I prayed. For Preston to be called in, it meant there was something major going on. It terrified me to think of him running into a fire and being hu

He flinched as though hurt by my comment. “This is your home too, Kate.” I nodded as I shifted on my feet. He stood up from the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest. “You wanted to talk?”My breath caught as I found myself no longer wanting to confess my deep feelings for him with his friend roaming around the condo. I was assuming he would be occupying the room across the hallway from my own, and the last thing I wanted was to be interrupted in the middle of my confession. “It’s nothing,” I lied as I put on a fake smile for him. “We can talk later. I’m sure you want to catch up with your friend. I was actually going to ask if you would mind if I used your jacuzzi tub for a bit?”Preston studied me with those all too intuitive green eyes which seemed to drill directly into my soul and expose all my secrets. “Of course, Kate. Help yourself.” “Thanks.”He nodded before taking one last, long look at me as though giving me the opportunity to confess my love for him before he turn

“You know I do,” I quickly protested. “You seriously can’t go down that road. I have told you things Ihaven’t told anyone else. I’ve confided in you every single thing…”“Then what’s bothering you, Kate?”A shiver went down my spine as Scott’s words rang in my ears. I stared at Preston, all his kindnessflashing before my eyes, and I realized in that moment how deep of feelings I had for him. I would ratherlay my own life down than allow him to be hurt because of me. If Scott was serious about Paul, therewas no way I could let Preston get involved. And that’s exactly what he would do. He would asserthimself in front of me to protect me. This was my fight. I couldn’t get involved with Preston until Ifinished handling my past. I was a fool to think otherwise.I sighed, as though I had been defeated. “I tripped like an idiot and spilled drinks all over myself.” Ipointed for good measure at the stain on my shirt. “Then I gave the wrong order out, and two of mytables left without leav

I went to work at Kiki’s over the weekend, and to my horror Scott came in both days. He must have figured out I was working weekends, as the other waitresses commented that he hadn’t been in all week. I refused to wait on his table, and besides his constant glare, I had no contact with him.I came home Sunday night to find a note from Preston informing me he was covering another fireman’s shift and would be gone overnight. It wasn’t unusual for him to work overnight, but I always hated it. The condo was always too quiet and lonely. Tonight though was an exception. Brock was still visiting, and he seemed eager to unload his adventures with someone. After a long dinner of listening to his recent dart competition, I headed up to bed.--I slowly opened my eyes, unsure why I was awoken. I rolled over, trying to go back to sleep when I heard the thumping. It sounded like something banging against the condo. I slowly sat up in bed, glancing around my dark bedroom when the doorbell chimed repe