Page 98 of The Accidental Innkeeper

The woman blew Dust-guy a kiss. He laughed, genuinely this time, shaking his head as he stepped forward to accept his fate.

I sat there, my hands folded in my lap, and my heart doing something uncomfortable but manageable.

Weird, sure. But right.

I watched Dust-guy hop down from the stage and approach the winner, who was already saying something animated, already touching his arm like familiarity was a foregone conclusion.

And for the first time since the auction started, I let myself look away.

I hadn’t bid.

And even though part of me wanted to rewind the last five minutes and make a very different choice, I knew one thing for certain.

Some things weren’t meant to be won with a paddle and a number.

Even if they looked finger-licking good in a tool belt.

20

ALEX

Icouldn’t believe I fucking agreed to this.

First it was Dottie, hitting me with those sad eyes she knew would get to me. Then Helen pulled out a whole soppy story about how I never volunteer for anything in town, and this was my shot now. That I should give back or whatever the hell that meant.

Give back to what? I paid my taxes. I fixed things people had given up on. Took what was broken and made it solid again. That should count.

Yet, like a fool, I agreed to it.

I’d agreed to help build their platform for this thing—lumber, bolts, measurements. That was my lane. I knew where I stood with wood and screws. They didn’t flirt. They didn’t guilt-trip.

Somehow, between hauling planks and checking load limits, Helen had talked me into volunteering too.

Which was how I ended up here.

“You have such strong arms,” said the red-haired woman who’d bought me for the day.

Fuck me.

She batted her eyelashes, and edged closer, close enough that her enormous breasts brushed my arm like it was intentional. Which, let’s be honest, it absolutely was. She smelled like expensive perfume and entitlement.

If she thought those made her sexy, she was an idiot.

“I’m Sabrina,” she continued, still touching me. “And you’re Alex.”

I frowned, resisting the urge to pull away. “Have we met?”

“No,” said Sabrina, smiling wider, her expensive veneers gleaming as her hand slid just a little higher. “But I know you. I’ve been watching you for a very, very long time.”

Christ.

I looked away before my face gave anything away. Her face was… tight. Medically pulled into a permanent look of surprise. I never understood why women feel the need to do that to themselves. If they think they’re fooling us, they’re wrong. It never looks natural. It just looks expensive and uncomfortable. And wrong.

I turned back to the crowd, and that’s when I heard it.

A laugh—light, familiar, and sharp in a way that cut through the noise.

I knew that laugh. Worse, I couldn’t get it out of my head.