Paired With His Fate

CHAPTER 3

Adriana melted into Marcus's arms. She didn't mean to—he was all wrong for her, hung up on the past and, worst of all, he'd followed her into the hall. But he was so strong and so much more comfortable than a man with his hard body should have been. He smelled like citrus and male. The combination was soothing yet made her a little breathless.

How dare Marcus listen in on her conversation with Shawn and then make her feel better, all while reminding her how sexy he was?

The tears dried up instantly. She pulled away.

"I wasn't trying to invade your privacy," he said sincerely.

Something had shifted between them. His solemn gaze met hers squarely and the weird vibe from before had vanished. She nodded and shot him a tiny smile. "It's okay."

"Do you need to leave? You're welcome to take the limo to go see your friend."

Her heart squished. "That's really nice. But Shawn is my brother's girlfriend and things are…" Complicated. Always emotional. Impossible to solve. Take your pick. "They got into a fight and she's worried about Aaron."

She bit her lip and choked back the rest. Marcus didn't need to be dragged into her dirty family laundry.

Historically, a fight between Aaron and Shawn led to poor choices on her brother's part, and Adriana always picked up the pieces. Shawn was amazing, patient, and Adriana wished her brother could see how much his alcoholism was hurting the woman who loved him.

"I remember your brother. He was a few years younger, right? Played lacrosse."

"How in the world did you remember that?"

Adriana couldn't even recall telling Marcus she'd go to the prom with him. But she'd done a lot of mean things to people in high school—some deliberately, some on accident—but either way, she'd learned exactly how selfish she'd been back then while dealing with Aaron. You couldn't take care of someone self-absorbed without seeing your own actions through that lens.

Marcus contemplated her. "I had a huge crush on you. I made it my business to know everything about you."

Heat spiked through her cheeks and there was no way Marcus could have missed the blush, not with her fair skin. "You flatter me."

"Every guy in our class had a crush on you. You were the head cheerleader. Beautiful. Unattainable."

She smiled. Lately, that life seemed like it had happened to someone else and Marcus brought back a bit of the nice part for a brief moment. "Oh, so nothing special, just your run of the mill crush."

His gaze captured hers with a touch of undisguised heat and something snapped, crackled and popped inside.

"There's nothing run of the mill about you, Adriana."

She forced herself to look away, though it was hard. "Maybe once, but that was a long time ago."

The reminder was harsh. She desperately needed positive, forward momentum in her life, not someone stuck in the past. If she'd realized Marcus had such clear memories of her, she'd never have agreed to this match.

"Let me help you." Marcus nodded toward the exit and held out his hand to her. "With Aaron and Shawn. I'll come with you in case you need a referee."