Page 43 of Billionaire Bad Boy Auction

Dean shrugged, his mouth full. “It’s not terrible.”

I laughed, shaking my head. “High praise, coming from you.”

We found a quiet spot near the water to sit, the noise of the festival fading into the background. For a while, we just sat there, watching the waves and sharing bites of food. It was weird sitting with him. Sitting and not bickering or making out.

Dean glanced over his shoulder. “People are watching,” he muttered.

I followed his gaze, catching a few curious looks from the crowd. But I didn’t care.

“Let them watch,” I said, shrugging. “They’re just bored.”

Dean shook his head. “They’re talking. About us.”

“Who cares what they think? Not me. And you don’t strike me as the type to give a shit either. If you cared what people thought, you’d be back there faking it.”

He didn’t respond, just stared out at the water.

I sighed, leaning back on my hands. “You know, for someone who claims not to care about what people think, you sure spend a lot of time worrying about it.”

Dean shot me a look but said nothing.

The silence stretched between us, the kind that could either be comfortable or tense. With Dean, it was hard to tell. He was so good at shutting people out. I realized I had been doing that since I returned. It went against my nature.

And I decided I wasn’t going to do it anymore.

I looked down at the stuffed unicorn in my lap, running my fingers over its ridiculous pink mane. “Thanks for this, by the way. I mean, I know you think it’s stupid, but it’s kind of sweet.”

He grunted, still not looking at me. “Don’t get used to it.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I said with a laugh. “I’m just saying, you’re not as much of a grump as you want people to think.”

For a moment, I thought he might actually respond. But instead, he stood abruptly, brushing off his shorts. “We should get back to the festival.”

I frowned up at him. “Why?”

“Because I’m thirsty,” he said.

He reached down and helped me up. Together, we walked back into the fray. I no longer cared that people were watching us.