Free Between Loves (The Pendant Series Book 2) by Cynthia Austin Page A

and I were like this horrific car accident. He destroyed me, and as much as he tried to fix me, the damage was beyond repair. Then Adrian had come along and picked up the pieces of my broken heart. He was willing and able to salvage whatever he could. I’d realized now that the pieces of my heart were in his hands. If he could piece them back together, I would be his forever.
    Just as I was finally beginning to acknowledge my growing feelings for Adrian, I came crashing into my dark-haired prince. I had stopped at the market on Main Street to get a bottle of water and more importantly get off of the streets in the event Ray was searching for me.
    Lo and behold, as I was entering the store, Adrian was exiting.
    “Fancy seeing you here, Ms. Sinclair. The forces of nature seem to keep bringing us together.” He acted refreshingly calm and carefree.
    I brushed my fingers through my hair and pulled down a clump to cover up my stitches as I silently prayed I still looked presentable.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked coolly as I walked past him and entered the garishly lit store. I made my way over to the cooler section and grabbed some bottled water. Adrian followed me to the counter, holding up his freshly purchased sandwich.
    “My gourmet dinner.” He laughed.
    I frowned at the battered sandwich that looked like it had been made yesterday morning and rolled my eyes.
    “That looks disgusting.” I handed the clerk a five-dollar bill and waited for my change.
    Adrian unwrapped the sandwich and took a huge bite out of the soggy mess.
    I almost gagged.
    He looked as if he had to force the sandwich down and I just shook my head. I handed him my water and he washed the repulsive meal down. I figured that we’d already shared a bottle of liquor together, so we may as well share the water too. I didn’t mind sharing germs with someone as cute as Adrian.
    Although I was still angry with Ray, I knew I couldn’t leave Chrissy at the bar alone with him, and so I headed back across the street. Adrian walked with me, making no attempt to leave. I thought about suggesting his departure, but then remembered that Ray was still seeing Lilly, so I really didn’t care if it angered him that I was with Adrian.
    Besides, Chrissy still wanted to meet him and now seemed like the perfect time for introductions.
    We finally arrived at the old rundown building but instead of going inside, I propped my body against the cold cement wall and gazed into Adrian’s eyes. I preferred to stay out here in the cold all night long with him rather than face off with Ray inside that damn bar.
    “Why’d you run off tonight? Did I scare you away?”
    I didn’t want Adrian to know that his very presence intimidated me and so I shook my head and feigned confidence. We sat there silently, the green-eyed god and the scared rabbit.
    “I thought you were leaving on Friday.” He finally queried, “Headed to the city of Angels to be your boyfriend’s trophy.”
    Adrian had a special talent for ripping me out of the here and now and watching me crash to the ground.
    “Yeah well,” I struggled as I tried to assure him that I was in control of the situation between my boyfriend and me, “It looks like there has been a slight detour.”
    Without warning, Adrian reached out and brushed his fingertips along the top of my hairline where the monstrous stitches were aligned. I attempted to flip my hair in front of my face to hide the eyesore but Adrian grabbed my wrist and held it firmly.
    “Don’t,” he whispered, staring intently at my forehead as he assessed the damage.
    Abruptly, the smile left his face and his green eyes darkened with anger. Chrissy had to be wrong about suspecting Adrian as the killer. One look at his face was inescapable proof that this man was not capable of hurting me. He was my protector.
    I asked him, “That girl you knew, the one with the necklace, was she your girlfriend?”
    Now it was my time to rip Adrian out of the present