Page 99 of The Accidental Innkeeper

I looked over and found New York sitting next to Becca, watching the other poor idiots get sold like livestock. She had that look on her face, the one she wore when she was amused but trying not to be, like she was pretending this was all just entertaining nonsense instead of something she was actually paying attention to.

She didn’t look at me. That somehow felt deliberate.

And for the first time since Helen had opened her damn mouth, I felt it low in my body, something hot and inconvenient.

Because this? This was not how I wanted New York to see me.

And it definitely wasn’t how I wanted to feel about it.

I had thought for a second that New York was going to bid on me, against the redhead. The idea hit hard and fast.

I would’ve hated it if she did.

Not because I didn’t want her. Christ. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was I knew she didn’t have that kind of money to throw around. I’d seen her count receipts. I’d watched her juggle repairs like she was holding together a sinking ship with duct tape and caffeine.

I wouldn’t have let her.

And then the redhead lifted her card again, confident, casual, like she was ordering dessert.

Fifteen fucking thousand. That settled it.

New York stayed seated. I saw her shoulders tense, just a fraction, before settling, like she’d made a decision she didn’t love but could live with.

That hit harder than the bid.

Sabrina looped her arm through mine like we were already a thing. “Looks like I got the better deal,” she said, pressing her chest into my side again.

I resisted the urge to yank my arm away. “Looks like it,” I said, neutral, polite, and professional. I used the same tone with clients who asked if I could “just throw in” an extra bathroom for free.

She laughed like I’d said something charming. “You don’t talk much. Do you?”

“I do,” I said. “Just not about nothing.”

She smiled wider. “I like a man of mystery.”

I doubted that. Women like her liked men they could parade. Accessories with arms.

I caught Helen’s eye up on the platform. She froze at what she saw on my face. There it was, that flicker of panic. Like she had a feeling I might just walk. Like she was already calculating how bad it would look if I did.

I considered it. I really did. But I couldn’t. Not when this woman had dropped a small fortune on me. Not when I knew the money was going to good use for scholarships, repairs, and things that actually mattered.

Damnit. I should’ve never agreed to this.

Still, I gave Helen a tight smile, just enough.

Her shoulders dropped instantly, relief flooding her face. If she didn’t relax, she was going to give herself a heart attack before the bidding even finished.

I watched as Helen stepped down the platform and walked over to us, relief written all over her face. “Alex, thank you again,” she said quietly. “I promise, this will be simple.”

I met her gaze. “It always starts that way.”

She winced but then recovered. “Just for today. Dinner. Conversation.”

“Right,” I said. Conversation.

Helen cleared her throat. “We’ll coordinate the details later,” she said to Sabrina. “Alex is…”

“Busy,” Sabrina finished, squeezing my arm. “I know. Isn’t he marvelous?”