Chapter 2

The roar of an engine snapped me out of my daze. A sleek, midnight-blue sports car pulled up to the curb. The door swung open, and a tall, broad-shouldered man stepped out.

Knox.

He looked like he’d stepped straight off one of the magazine covers I’d seen him on—six-foot-five and powerful, with a chiseled jaw, piercing blue eyes, and a perfectly tousled head of dark brown hair. His shirt clung to his muscular chest, and his jeans looked like they’d been custom-made to fit every inch of his sculpted frame. Even in my heartbreak, his handsomeness stunned me.

He shut the car door and strode toward me, fast and determined.

“Knox,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, “you didn’t have to—”

He cut me off by pulling me into his arms. One hand cradled the back of my head, the other curled around my waist, anchoring me to something solid and safe. How could someone so strong be so gentle?

I buried my face into his chest, tears soaking into the soft fabric of his shirt, and let the weight of it all finally go.

“I caught... h-him... cheating,” I managed to hiccup out against his chest.

Knox gently pulled back just enough to look into my face, his brows knit with concern. “Who was it, Alex? Who cheated on you?”

His name caught in my throat. “Andrew,” I said finally. “We’d been dating for two years. He was pre-med, brilliant, charming... my dream guy.”

Knox’s jaw clenched. “Doesn’t sound like much of a dream to me.”

I let out a shaky breath. “He was. At least, I thought he was. Till I saw that bimbo bouncing up and down on his dick.”

Knox let out a low laugh. “You always had a way with words.” Then he locked his gaze on mine and his blue eyes made me forget how to breathe. “Look, this guy’s obviously not as brilliant as he seemed if he cheated on you.

His voice was steady, but there was something underneath it. Protective. Angry. Like he wanted to fix it.

I wiped my face and sniffled, managing a small, “Thank you, Knox.” I tilted my head. “Why are you even in L.A.? I thought you were on the East Coast.”

“Photo shoot,” he said with a shrug, like it was the most mundane thing in the world. “Some new ad campaign for a sports drink, I don’t know. The marketing people handle all that stuff. I just show up, flex a little, try not to look too sweaty.”

I raised an eyebrow. The cocky, self-assured Knox I remembered from when we were kids was back.

He grinned. “Oh, and I’ve got a dinner tonight with a pop star who’s apparently ‘very into athletes.’ Or so my agent says. Her music sucks, but she’s hot as hell, so why not?”

There he was. The arrogant show-off who used to call me nerdy and compete with me over spelling test scores. Before I could come up with a snarky putdown, I heard a voice shouting for me.

“Alex!”

I knew it was Drew, searching for me.

“That him?” Knox asked, his voice aggressive and protective again.

“Can we go? I really don’t want to face him,” I said.

Knox’s arms loosened around me, and he started to move past me, heading in the direction of Drew’s voice.

I grabbed his arm, pulling him back. “I need to beat the shit out of this guy on your brother’s behalf.”

“Knox, he doesn’t need a beating, please, I just want to go home.”

Drew stumbled around the corner and came to a sudden stop when he spotted us. His face twisted with something like guilt—until his eyes landed on Knox.

“Who the fuck is this?” he snapped, voice hard and rising.

He started to puff himself up, taking a step forward, but when Knox stood to his full height, all six-foot-five inches of him, Drew faltered.

“Wait... you’re—Knox Carter? The quarterback?”

“Sorry, I sign autographs for children, but not man-children,” Knox said with a smirk.

“How do you know him, Alex?” Drew said as he tried to step around Knox, but found himself blocked.

“Old family friend,” Knox said coolly. “Now get out of here.”

Drew’s eyes darted to me. “Alex, what the hell? He’s your bodyguard now? You’re my girlfriend.”

I squared my shoulders and stared him down. “Not anymore.”

Knox stepped forward, the threat in his posture unmistakable. “You heard her.”

Drew stood there, frozen on the sidewalk, his mouth slightly open as Knox took my hand and led me toward his sports car. Every step felt like a silent victory. Knox opened the passenger door and helped me inside with a steady hand on my back.

He walked around to the driver’s side and fired up the engine. I didn’t say a word as we drove away—but I did turn in my seat, roll down the window, and shoot Drew the middle finger without breaking eye contact.

He flinched.

God, that felt good.

Knox drove us a few quiet blocks until we pulled up in front of my apartment building—the one I barely remembered walking away from earlier, half in a daze. He turned to face me.

“You really should’ve let me hit him,” he said, half-serious, half-teasing.

“What if I told you I already did?” I blurted out.

“You what?” he laughed in disbelief.

“Well, I slapped him—”

“That doesn’t count as hi—”

I cut him off. “Then I punched him. Right in the nose. Made it bleed. Now my hand hurts like hell.” I flexed it in my lap, and Knox immediately reached for it, turning it gently in his big, warm hands.

“Let me see,” he said.

“It’s fine,” I murmured, but didn’t pull away.

He studied the swelling across my knuckles with a tenderness that made my chest ache. “We’re icing this the second we get upstairs.”

He let out a loud laugh and hugged me again. “I’m so proud of you. Your brothers will be too when you tell them—”

“Proud?!? I’m not proud of it! I’m always the one that says violence is never the answer. You should know that by now.”

Knox tilted his head, his smile fading into something curious. “Is that why you never come to my games? Because of the violence?”

I laughed under my breath. “Please. I grew up with three brothers. I’ve seen worse in the backyard. No, I don’t go because... well, it’s hard to watch a game when every girl in the stadium is moaning over you every time you make a play.”

He smirked, cocky as ever. “Can’t help it if the ladies appreciate all this.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re impossible.”

His smirk softened. “But seriously, I’d really like it if you came to my next game.”

“Maybe,” I said softly.

Knox’s eyes lingered on me, sweeping over my face with a kind of quiet awe. “You look... different,” he said, his voice low, as if he wasn’t sure if he should say it aloud.

“I got pretty,” I said with a shrug.

“No, you didn’t get pretty.”

Was I going to have to slap a second man tonight?

Before I could give him a piece of my mind, he leaned a little closer. “You were always the prettiest girl in the room to me, Alex.”

My heart did a backflip, but I couldn’t let him know that.

“Yeah, right,” I said, trying to sound unbothered.

He leaned back, resting one arm on the steering wheel. “Today might’ve been shit for you, but honestly?” He looked over at me, grinning. “It’s kind of a great day for me.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Why’s that?”

“You’re finally single.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please. You tortured me as a kid. Dunked my head in the pool, stole my diary, replaced my shampoo with glitter.”

“We’re not kids anymore, are we?” he murmured.

He leaned in slightly, and I felt the space between us disappear. He smiled like I’d already said yes. Any other woman on earth would.

Every instinct screamed at me to roll my eyes, shove him away, make some sarcastic remark about inflated egos and NFL arrogance. I’d always hated his entitled jock, God’s-gift-to-women act—the way he knew he was hot and acted like the world owed him something for it.

And my brothers? They’d lose their collective minds if they ever found out I’d kissed Knox Carter. I didn’t want to cause all that drama.

I should’ve pulled away. Should’ve gotten out of the car, slammed the door, walked away.

But I didn’t. It felt good to be wanted after what Drew had just done to me. And then I remembered—I was still wearing the black lingerie under my hoodie. Suddenly, I wanted to see how he’d react to it.

He was so close now I could smell him—clean and warm, like cedarwood and something distinctly male. His shoulder brushed mine, and when I turned my head, our faces were only inches apart.

My breath caught as Knox leaned in a little more, his lips hovering near mine, his eyes fixed like I was the only girl left in the world.