Page 17 of Billionaire Bad Boy Auction

“It wasn’t supposed to be romantic! I was just trying to explain that I didn’t mean to bid on him, and the next thing I know, he’s telling me he paid the twenty thousand dollars and expected me to work it off.”

“He paid it?” Alexis nearly choked on her cookie. “Dean Jackson actually covered your bid?”

I nodded miserably. “Yeah, and now I feel like I owe him, which is exactly what he wants. He’s probably sitting in that big house of his, laughing about how he made the city girl fumble around with engine parts.”

“Or,” Alexis said thoughtfully, “maybe he was just being nice.”

I snorted. “Dean Jackson doesn’t do nice. He does smug and condescending.”

“And yet he paid twenty grand for you not to be embarrassed, taught you about engines, and just fixed your door.”

I sighed and shook my head. “It wasn’t all bad until Seth and his friends showed up.”

Alexis’s expression changed immediately. “Seth was there? With his dipshit crew?”

“Yeah,” I said and reached for another cookie. “They strolled in like they owned the place. Beer in hand, the whole nine yards. And of course, they couldn’t resist taking a few shots at me.”

“God, they’re still such jerks,” Alexis muttered. “What happened?”

“What do you think happened? They made comments, laughed about the article, asked why I was really back in town. Same old Seth and his band of idiots. One of them even suggested…” I trailed off, not wanting to repeat the crude comment.

Alexis’s eyes narrowed. “What did they say?”

I shook my head. “It doesn’t matter. It was just stupid guy talk. But Dean shut it down pretty fast.”

“Dean defended you?” Alexis leaned forward, suddenly more interested.

“He kind of got all caveman and got in Matt’s face. Told him to apologize. Said no one disrespects a guest in his shop.” I couldn’t help the small smile. “It was kind of—I don’t know.”

“Hot,” she finished for me. “And then what happened?”

“I left. Took off the coveralls and walked out. I wasn’t about to stick around once those chuckleheads were there. It’s good to see some things never change.”

Alexis leaned back. “Dean’s always been protective, especially when it comes to Seth and his idiots. Doesn’t surprise me he shut it down. What does surprise me is that you didn’t.”

I shot her a look. “Dean shut them up. What was I supposed to do?”

“You used to have no problem standing up to Seth,” she pointed out.

“Yeah, well, that was before I became the town’s favorite failure,” I muttered, brushing cookie crumbs off my lap. “It’s harder to act all tough when everyone already thinks you’re a joke.”

Alexis frowned. “Portia, no one thinks that. You’re just… regrouping. It happens to everyone.”

“Not to you,” I said, not looking at her. “You’ve got your shop, your life here. You didn’t have to come crawling back with a big L on your forehead.”

“I never left,” she pointed out. “Who cares what anyone thinks? So what if things didn’t work out in the city? That doesn’t mean you’re done. It just means you’re figuring out your next move. And this place isn’t so bad.”

“There’s just a lot of bad memories here.”

“Maybe it’s time you make some new memories here. Good ones.” She shrugged. “Maybe with a gruff biker who defended you.”

I rolled my eyes but the idea wasn’t entirely off putting. Dean was trouble, a complicated man who never let anyone get close to him, but he was so damn hot, maybe he was worth a little trouble.