N I N E T Y - S E V E N

This was not the way it was supposed to turn out.

Every single thing she’d done so far had only served to infuriate Preston, to elicit yet another condescending berating about all the things she’d managed to fuck up in their short span of working together. The police being called to the gym had somehow been her fault. Her stay at Colton’s being cut short had earned her an earful, regardless of the fact that Kate worked for a goddamn domestic violence organization – and one that found accommodation for victims at that. She did admit that destroying Colton’s mother’s dress had been a grave error, one triggered by her jealousy listening to the breathy moans traveling from their bedroom, Kate’s needy whimpers and Colton’s erotic grunts. She’d started looking for a distraction and lo and behold, the dress had been right there, perfectly positioned beneath her bed as if it were waiting for her. As she unboxed it, realizing exact