For a horny seventeen-year-old who’d grown up with nothing his entire life, Della and her world fascinated him. At the time, he’d been convinced he loved her, and they’d get fucking married after high school. Instead, before Christmas break, she’d dumped him out of nowhere and gotten back together with her old boyfriend. Turned out he’d just been a way to get back get back the guy for cheating on her. He’d never forget the expression on her face when she told him it was over.
“Come on, Keith,” she’d said, staring at him like he was shit on her shoe. “How could you not see this coming? Why on earth would someone like me be with someone like you?”
“What does that mean?” he’d asked as his young heart broke.
She’d laughed and given him a haughty smirk. “Ever heard the expression trailer trash, Keith?” she’d asked, before turning on her heel and jogging to where her ex was waiting to rekindle their relationship.
They’d married a year later and divorced five years after that.
Recalling the event through the eyes of an adult, he realized what he’d felt wasn’t love, just teenage infatuation. But the sting of humiliation had stuck with him and soured him on the wealthy. To this day his hackles rose whenever someone so much as glanced at him as though he was beneath them.
Yeah, rich people could shove their entitlement up their collective asses.
CHAPTER FIVE
MICHAELA STEPPED INTO the lobby of KB’s Garage around eleven the following morning. An hour ago, someone from the garage, not Keith thankfully, had called to let her know the tire was in and she could swing by at any time to have it put on. As attractive as he was, she’d embarrassed herself in front of the man enough for one lifetime.
The click of her heels across the short distance to the desk alerted the man behind the counter to her presence. He glanced up from the computer, eyes widening as he took in the sight of her.
Her steps faltered as a quick flash of panic rushed her. Oh, my God, had he recognized her? She reached up and fingered the ends of her short, brown hair.
The man gave her a wide grin as he folded his arms across his chest. “Well,” he said, raising an eyebrow. “You are either new to town or just passing through.”
What? How did he know?
She froze, midway to the counter. Only her heart still moved, slamming against the wall of her chest.
Oblivious to her internal freak out, the man behind the counter kept on grinning. “There is no way I’d have missed taking out a woman as hot as you. So, which is it?”
Stagnant air left her lungs in a rush of relief. Of course he would wonder about her. This was a small town, and he was being friendly. Flirting, even. Had she become so paranoid she could no longer pick up on flirty banter and a welcoming smile?
Clearing her throat, she pasted on what hopefully was an approachable a grin. “Brand new in town as of two days ago.”
“And car trouble already? That sucks.”
“Just a blown tire. Nothing major.”
“Ahh, you must be the Audi owner I spoke with this morning. Michaela, right?”
“That’s me.” There, she could be friendly too.
He rested his lean but toned and very tattooed forearms on the top of the high counter. Something about his eyes seemed familiar to her. “So, did your boyfriend or husband move here with you?”
Michaela couldn’t help it. She laughed out loud. “That was the most blatant fishing I think I’ve ever heard.” The man was handsome for sure, though a little less bulky than she typically went for. With very dark hair in a pompadour style and deep blue eyes, he certainly had that tall, dark, and handsome thing going on only with an edge due to the tattoos, a few rings, and gauges in his ears.
Without an ounce of repentance, he shrugged and laughed along with her. “Hey, I had to check if there was competition before I ask you ou—”
The door between the garage bays and the lobby swung open at that moment and in walked none other than Keith with his focus on the paper he was holding. Instantly her gut tightened at the sight of him. The man was too sexy for his own good. Maybe she still needed more therapy if the first man she felt an attraction to in months was also the one who couldn’t stand the sight of her.
“Seriously, JP, could you maybe let one female customer walk out of here without hitting on her.” His head popped up. “Oh, Michaela. Hey.”
The way his face went from teasing to flat so fast would have been funny if she wasn’t the cause. The playful atmosphere deflated faster than a balloon pricked by a pin.