Protected by the Bad Boy
A Bad Boy Sweet Romance
Evangeline Kelly
Copyright © 2020 by Evangeline Kelly. All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book shall be used or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior written permission of the author. Protected by a Bad Boy is a work of fiction. Names, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locations, or people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. https://www.esv.org/resources/esv-global-study-bible/copyright-page/
Table of Contents
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Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
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Chapter 1
Kayla
My heart crashed against my ribs as I stepped on the gas and my vehicle sped up. Every muscle in my body tensed. I might not make it. Oh, Lord, please, let me get there on time. Please. My breathing came quick and shallow, and I had to concentrate on inhaling and exhaling. Panic wove its way from my stomach to my chest. If I didn’t make it in time… Ugh. That would not be good.
Finally, the coffeehouse was in the distance, and I prepared myself to park and run inside. I hung a left into the driveway of the outdoor mini-mall and maneuvered my vehicle in one of the spaces next to the Busy Bean Coffeehouse. Throwing off my seatbelt, I nearly lost it right then, but I pulled myself together and managed to get out of the car.
Seconds later, I was racing through the front doors of the coffee establishment, my two braids flying behind me, with one thought in mind. The restroom.
I knew exactly where it was, thankfully, and wasted no time getting there. Except... When I placed my hand over the doorknob and turned, it didn’t budge. The only women’s bathroom in the place was locked because someone was already in there.
I could hear two people moving around, and a child was prattling on about something, her voice high pitched and sweet. I loved kids, but they were notoriously slow in the restroom, and that wasn’t a good thing at the moment. The child started singing, and it was so cute I had to smile, but I was dying here. Seriously dying. Squeezing my eyes shut, I leaned over and rested my hands on my knees, blowing out a breath. Hurry up, hurry up!
My bladder felt like it would explode any second if I didn’t get in there soon. I straightened and opened my eyes, feeling someone’s gaze on me. I glanced to the left, noticing a giant of a man wearing a white tank top that hung loosely on his muscled torso. He wasn’t a giant exactly, but he was head and shoulders above everyone else. He had to be at least six-foot-five.
Four others stood with him in line and two of them were looking at me as well, but his gaze was the one that caught my attention the most. A couple of moments were all I needed to take in the rest of him. Dark brown hair. Strong jaw. Five o’clock shadow. He was watching me with an intense expression, like I was the most ridiculous creature in the world, and I sure felt like it at this moment.
He was very good-looking. Very good-looking, indeed. Yep, I registered that even in the midst of my crisis, but it didn’t matter. I had no time for men, at least not in regard to romantic relationships.
Inside the restroom, the water turned on at the sink and there was movement as if someone was finishing up. The child asked a question, and a woman patiently answered but didn’t seem in any particular hurry.
This was so bad. I shuffled my feet from side-to-side, nearly hopping, and blew out another breath. Never again would I wait this long to use the bathroom. Here I was, a grown woman, making a spectacle of myself in a coffeehouse. Good thing I would probably never see these people again.
Involuntarily, my eyes moved back to the man, almost as if a magnet drew me to him. This time, he was staring at me in disgust, but not like I repulsed him, exactly. It was similar to the type of expression one mom gave another when a child threw a tantrum in the middle of Target—that knowing look with a hint of judgment. Why he was watching me like that… I had no idea. It was as if my needing to use the restroom was ruining his day in some way.
Just when I thought I was about to have an accident right there in Busy Bean, the door flew open and the woman walked out with a young child around three years old. She scolded the child for something, but the little girl was not listening. The child had her hand in the air as if trying to catch an imaginary butterfly, and it was almost comical, but laughing was the worst thing I could do at the moment. All my energy had to be directed at holding my bladder tight. The woman glanced at me apologetically and smiled. “Sorry. She got ahold of the toilet paper before I had a chance to stop her.”
“It’s okay. No worries.”
Once they’d cleared the doorway, I sailed inside and shut the door,
