Page 37 of Valentine’s Billionaire Auction

As we pulled away from the estate, I leaned back against the seat and let out a shaky breath. My lips still tingled from the kiss, and my chest felt tight with a mix of anger, confusion, and something I didn’t want to name.

“You’re quiet,” the driver said, glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

I crossed my arms. “Just processing.”

“Are you okay?”

I heard the concern. This guy worked for Roman and was probably used to women running out of his boss’s house in tears.

“I’m fine. I just… I don’t know.”

“Did you accept the offer?” he asked.

“I accepted,” I said. Saying it to someone else made it real.

He chuckled softly. “It’ll be nice to have someone new around for the next six months. Driving Mr. Kelly around can get… interesting.”

I snorted. “Interesting? Or infuriating?”

The driver’s eyes twinkled with amusement in the mirror. “A little of both.”

“Yeah, he can be a total asshat,” I said before I could stop myself.

The driver burst out laughing. “On some days.”

I smiled faintly despite myself. “How do you put up with him?”

He shrugged. “I understand him, I guess. He’s lost a lot.”

That made me pause. “Lost? He has more than anyone I’ve ever met.”

“From the outside looking in, sure,” he said, meeting my gaze briefly in the mirror.

I frowned, filing that away for later. There was clearly more to Roman Kelly than met the eye, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to unravel that particular mystery. This was a temporary business arrangement. No sense in getting my feelings tangled up in it. Better for Roman to remain a locked puzzle box.

For now, I needed someone to talk to. Carla was at work, so I asked the driver to take me there. I didn’t want to go home and spin out thinking about what I had just agreed to. I needed Carla to tell me I wasn’t crazy. Or that I was crazy and needed to tell him hell no, it was never going to happen.

“Of course,” the driver said.

He flipped the turn signal and maneuvered through the traffic. My mind was a whirl of emotions—frustration, longing, fear, excitement—all tangled together like a messy ball of yarn. Part of me was still thinking I was caught in some wild dream and I was going to wake up at any second. This was not the kind of thing that happened to people like me.

“I’m Anthony, by the way,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll be spending some time together.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Anthony. I hope you’ll call me Kaira.”

“Of course.”

When he pulled to a stop at the bar, I thanked him and hurried out, not giving him a chance to open the door for me this time. The bar’s familiar noise greeted me. It wasn’t exactly swanky. It was all very casual with blue-collar people hanging out. The music was just loud enough to drown out the noise, but not too loud that you couldn’t have a conversation.

I found Carla behind the bar chatting with a couple of other people. When she saw me, she looked at me with surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I needed to talk to you.”

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“That sounds like a no. What happened?”