Paired With His Fate

CHAPTER 6

The cheerleaders had been a nice touch, if Marcus did say so himself.

Adriana's perma-grin was thanks indeed for the difficult chore of calling up one of his golf buddies who was married to the director of the Dallas Cowboy's cheerleaders. The conversation had taken less than ten minutes.

Having money had its perks.

Marcus wound through the crowd toward the buffet table, where he'd last seen Adriana's shimmering form. He wasn't sorry he'd sent the dress as a gift-when he said it was made for her, he meant literally. It had been designed for her from the ground up. He'd like to shower her with such things on a regular basis but so far, he'd been forced to be inventive about how he indulged her.

And one of these days, she'd say yes when he asked her out. He didn't plan to stop until she did.

One of the cheerleaders, a knockout blonde who'd been eyeing him all night, captured him expertly with a manicured hand to his arm as he passed by her.

"Mr. Braun, I've been dying to meet you. I'm Samantha."

"Please, call me Marcus."

That had been a mistake, judging by the barracuda-like glint that sprang into her gaze. He was only being friendly because this woman had done Cheer Up a favor by making an appearance at this event. Obviously, she'd taken it as encouragement.

"Marcus. That's one of my favorite names," she purred. "I'd love to buy you a drink later tonight. Or whatever else you might prefer."

The suggestion was blatantly in-your-face, as were her well-showcased assets. Her come-hither expression said she'd be up for drinks or a naked romp in his limo-or both-if he was so inclined.

Since this was their first conversation, he suspected she wasn't intrigued by his mind.

It was easy to decline. "No, thanks. I appreciate the offer and your participation in the charity ball, but I'm here with someone."

Which was true and yet maddeningly false.

Samantha drifted off, likely in search of her next target, and Marcus gratefully scouted around for the only woman he wanted to talk to.

"There you are." He drew alongside Adriana, who was hiding out in a corner nibbling on canapés. He handed her the glass of champagne he'd snagged on the way and clinked her glass to his. "Congratulations. Including all the online donations thus far, we should clear around seventy-five total on the event."

"Dollars?" She chugged champagne with a frown. "I was hoping for a little more than that."

"Thousand dollars," he corrected and bit back the grin. Long gone was the spoiled rich cheerleader with a mean-girl mentality. Her mind didn't go straight to the dollar signs, not anymore. If it ever did.

Her expression lit up and it warmed him in places better left cold in public.

"Seventy-five thousand dollars! That's impossible."

"You made it happen, sweetheart." Was it bad that he left out the part about how he'd included an anonymous donation himself to hit that mark? "You can open up shop in a couple of weeks. The most important question is whether this is what you envisioned when you came to me with this idea."

She nodded vigorously. "Absolutely. It's about making a difference in someone's life. I haven't been able to do that with Aaron. With Cheer Up, I can. I want to wake up each morning and know that I'm going to do something amazing that day."

"And you will."

Adriana had blossomed over the last month into someone he hardly recognized as the girl he'd had a crush on. She was a different woman now, one he urgently wanted to be close to. He'd called EA International during the second week of this project with Adriana and closed his account.

He'd met his match. Now he just had to convince Adriana of it.

Yes, money had its perks...it was supposed to fix everything in his life, allow him to get the girl. But a billion dollars hadn't bought him the one thing he longed for-true love.

Ironic that he'd escorted Adriana to a charity ball much like this one on their first date, and spent the evening assuming she was as vapid as the cheerleader he'd just brushed off. How much time had he wasted not seeing the real Adriana?

What more depth was waiting there beneath her surface, ripe for him to discover?

He couldn't take his eyes off his date as she stood on the raised dais overlooking the ballroom and thanked everyone for coming. The event was over and by all rights, Adriana should be hopping into the limo with him so they could go back to his place.

But she'd needed time to sort out... something, and he'd silently given it to her.

"You ready to shoot me down again?" he asked as the gorgeous redhead waltzed toward him, drawing every eye in the place. "This is when I say, 'let's get out of here' and you say, 'not tonight,' right?"

Her demure smile didn't bode well. "You guessed it."

He nodded as if he was okay with it. Which he wasn't. He'd bided his time, waiting for her to see him in a new light, as well. Thus far, he'd been disappointed. No longer.

They made their way through the crush of people exiting, schmoozing as they went because working the crowd was part of the job.

Once outside, he let her lead the way toward the limo until she was even with the hulking lion statue flanking the steps. He pulled her into the shadow of the beast and backed her against the stone.

"Adriana," he murmured. "It's tonight."

Then he did what he'd first fantasized about doing ten years ago at another formal event, which had been denied to him then and denied to him again over the last month.

But when he laid his lips on hers, the kiss exploded into so much more than a simple fantasy. She came alive in his hands, fluid and hot. Her mouth opened, inviting him in, and he went willingly. Her essence flooded his mind, his heart. Why had he waited so long to make a move when this was possible?

He wanted to make this woman his, once and for all.