Page 35 of Billionaire Bad Boy Auction

PORTIA

I should have expected this. Ever since I came back to town, I’d felt like people were all up in my business. The articles, the whispers, the endless questions about my career—and now, about Dean. I couldn’t figure out why they cared so much. Boredom, most likely. Small towns thrived on drama, and I’d apparently become the main attraction.

Fresh meat.

That was what I was. They just couldn’t help themselves. Add in my back story and my flight too close to the sun and people were eating it up. I had dragged myself out of the small town and they hated me for it. Now that I was back, they were loving my fall from grace. Was I ever in grace? I didn’t think so. If I was, I didn’t put myself there. Someone else did that.

I peeked out the window. I didn’t see Dean out and about. That was good. I felt childish hiding from him, but I wasn’t ready to face him. I was still feeling the burn of being rejected. He got us halfway there and then changed his mind. That was a bit of a blow to the ego. Did he not like what he felt? Was it the way I kissed? Did I stink? Were my boobs weird?

I shook off the thoughts. It was on him. I was glad he stopped things. It saved me from worse regret. When I didn’t see him out and about, I quickly escaped and started the walk into town. The place was packed. I was glad I didn’t try to drive. The traffic was ridiculous.

I walked into Alexis’s shop feeling like I had just run a gauntlet. Alexis looked up from the counter, her face lighting up with a grin.

“Hey, you. What are you doing here?”

I shrugged. “I was bored.”

“I was just getting ready to close up.”

“It’s crazy out there,” I said.

“The festival,” she said.

“The what?”

“The Lake Festival!” She laughed.

I blink, confused. “The what now?”

Alexis rolled her eyes, grabbed a flyer, and waved it in the air. “You know. The big annual summer event? Boats, bonfires, fireworks, entire town getting a little too tipsy on the water? You have to remember from when you were here.”

I hesitated, staring at the flyer in my hands. Lake Festival. Right. I couldn’t believe I forgot. I used to love it as a kid. The smell of popcorn and sunscreen, the sound of laughter echoing across the lake, the way the fireworks lit up the sky. It was magical. It was the event of the summer. Teens and pre-teens wore their best outfits and hung out in packs. It was the oldest mating ritual. I actually had my first kiss at the festival almost fifteen years ago.

But now? Things felt different. The article. The auction. The kiss with Dean. People were already talking, already making assumptions about why I was back in town and what was happening with me and Dean and my job. Did I really want to step into the center of all that? The Lake Festival would definitely leave me very exposed. It would be walking into a feeding frenzy.

Alexis saw right through me. “If you’re avoiding this because of a certain broody mechanic, I swear⁠—”

“I’m not,” I said, cutting her off.

Alexis arched a brow. “Oh? So if I tell you Dean Jackson is probably gonna be there, that doesn’t change anything?”

I didn’t answer.

Alexis grinned. “That’s what I thought.”

I groaned, running a hand through my hair. “It’s not about him. I don’t want to deal with the stares, that’s all. The small-town gossip. The ‘oh, look who came crawling back’ bullshit. That reporter, Lila Sinclair, will be there. She’s going to be hoping to catch me doing something so she can write about it. I don’t want to give her any fuel.”

Alexis leaned on the counter, tapping her fingers. “You can let them talk, or you can pull up your big girl panties and stop caring what they think. Screw Lila. She’s just jealous.”

I exhaled, sinking into a chair. “You make it sound so easy.”

Alexis laughed. “That’s because it is. Go. Have fun. Show them that Portia Watson is back, and she’s not going anywhere. Let them talk. Don’t go into hiding. That just lets her win.”

Maybe it was time to stop caring what people thought about me. Maybe it was time to face the town and my future. Running from it wasn’t getting me anywhere.

She was right—of course she was. Hiding away wasn’t going to change anything. If anything, it just gave people more reasons to speculate about me. What did I care if they talked? Let them whisper. Let them stare. I wasn’t going to let Lila Sinclair or anyone else dictate how I lived my life.

“Alright,” I said. “You win. I’ll go. But if Lila corners me, I’m blaming you.”