Three Years in Disguise, One Shocking Reveal

The man holding her looked a few years older than Quinn. He gazed down at her with an amused glint in his eyes.

"What's going on here?" Even his voice was attractive, with a lazy drawl that made his next question sound almost teasing. "Since when do they let minors into bars?"

Quinn was so mesmerized that it took her a moment to find her voice. "I'm twenty-one. I just..."

She was about to explain that she only looked younger when he suddenly leaned down.

The distance between them vanished, bringing his face so close that she could actually see the freckles painted across her cheeks reflected in his eyes.

"Why do you look so familiar?" he murmured, almost to himself. "Do you go to Quinton University?"

Quinn nodded instinctively, and his eyebrows shot up.

"So you're a junior of mine."

Straightening, he turned his attention to the men who had been harassing her. A careless smile played on his lips as he asked, "You've got some nerve, picking on a girl from my university."

The men who had been so arrogant moments earlier went pale.

"Mr. Lawson, we didn't know she was someone you knew..."

They hurried through their excuses before fleeing in disgrace.

It was only afterward that Quinn learned the name of the man who had come to her rescue: Xavier Lawson.

He was one of Bellridge's most notorious trust-fund heirs, a reckless, arrogant young man who did whatever he pleased. The kind of spoiled rich kid who could raise hell and get away with it.

Yet two years earlier, for reasons no one could fathom, Xavier had suddenly donated an entire building to Quinton University and enrolled in its graduate program.

Not that he bothered attending classes very often. Most days, the only sign of him on campus was the occasional luxury car roaring past with him behind the wheel, as if he owned the place.

Still, with a face like his, Xavier had no shortage of admirers.

Rumor had it that the girls crushing on him could form a line that wrapped around the university library ten times. One girl had supposedly even taken her own life over him.

And as the clock struck midnight, welcoming the new year, Quinn came to a startling realization.

She was probably about to become one of those girls.

For the first time in her life, Quinn had a crush.

From that night on, she found herself doing things she had never imagined doing for a guy. She brought Xavier breakfast, folded paper cranes for him, and secretly wished for him whenever she spotted a shooting star.

Once, during one of his basketball games, she even tried to sneak a carton of matcha milk into his bag.

Unfortunately, Xavier and his friends caught her red-handed.

The guys burst out laughing, and one of them was kind enough to warn her, "Hey, Freckles, Xavier doesn't drink matcha..."

Before he could finish, however, Xavier picked up the carton Quinn had brought and drained it in front of his stunned friends.

Then he bent down, bringing his lips close to her ear.

"I prefer strawberry," he whispered.

Catching the faint scent of strawberry body wash on her skin, he let out a soft chuckle.

"Just like you."

Quinn's heart gave a violent thump. Looking into his eyes, which seemed to dance with a smile he was holding back, she knew she was completely, hopelessly gone for him.