Page 22 of The Billionaire's Distraction

And then, as if conjured by her thoughts, a certain dark-eyed, muscular behemoth filled her mind.

Tony.

She swallowed hard, gripping the steering wheel.The car wasn’t just repaired.It wastransformed.And she loved it.Heaven help her, she did.The temptation to drive aimlessly around the city, just to enjoy the feeling of the wheel in her hands and the freedom of going anywhere, was overwhelming.

Freedom.A commute that usually took over an hour by bus and train—cut down to twenty minutes behind the wheel.She glanced at her phone.She actually had extra time.For once in her life, she wasn’t scrambling.

Then her relief faltered.“No.I can’t do this,” she whispered fiercely.

She couldn’t—wouldn’t—accept this.Not from him.A cup of coffee was one thing.But this was too much.A gift like this came with strings, and she refused to be tangled in Tony Mancini’s strings.

Her phone was in her hand before she realized it.She scrolled to his number and hit call.

He answered on the first ring.“Naomi, are you okay?”

Her throat tightened at the sound of his voice, deep and steady, wrapping around her like warm velvet.She almost forgot why she’d called.“Yes,” she managed finally.“I’m fine.But… what did you do to my car?”

“The guy at the mechanic’s shop where you dropped it off didn’t fix it.Not really.”

She heard faint movement on his end—the scrape of a chair, the click of a closing door—before silence fell.

“So… why does it look like this?”she demanded, her voice dropping to a harsh whisper even though no one was around.She hunched her shoulders, phone pressed tight to her ear.“It looks like a brand new car!”

“Good,” he said simply.“I had some of my men look it over and fix it up properly.”

“But… how?”Her voice pitched higher, panic breaking through.“I walked past that shop last night.My car was still sitting behind the chain link fence.It looked awful!”

“I know a guy,” Tony replied, casual, as though that was all the explanation required.“There should be a security system installed too.Stop by after work and I’ll show you how to use it.”

Her knees went weak.She gripped the steering wheel tighter.“Um… I can’t pay for this.Any of this.And I definitely can’t afford a security system.”

“You don’t owe me anything, Naomi.”His tone was firm.Final.“I’ll see you after six tonight.”

The line went dead before she could protest.

Naomi lowered the phone slowly, staring at the blank screen.Her pulse thundered in her ears.Should she laugh?Cry?Throw her phone?His audacity was unbelievable.He just—what?Snapped his fingers and rebuilt her car overnight?Installed a security system without even asking?

Her lip trembled even as she bit it hard.

Should she even keep it?She’d sworn never to owe anyone anything—especially not a man.Especially notthisman, who was equal parts dangerous and magnetic.

She should refuse it.March the keys straight back to him.

And yet, when she glanced at the glowing time on her phone, her chest clenched.Extra minutes.Extra freedom.

Her hand caressed the wheel, stroking the now-smooth vinyl, torn between pride and relief, irritation and gratitude.

One thing was certain: nothing about her life was simple anymore.Not with Tony Mancini in it.

She’d drive the car over to his place and give it back.That was the plan.Then he could sell it, recoup whatever outrageous sum he’d spent, and that would be that.He’d tried to gift it to her, but she wasn’t going to be one of those women who melted just because a man threw money around.No, she’d do an “Uno reverse” right back at him.

As far as she was concerned, she’d already let the car go.The corrupt mechanic had made sure of that when he’d announced that ridiculous three-thousand-dollar bill and laughed when she’d told him she couldn’t afford it.Mentally, she’d buried the car and moved on.And this?This shiny paint job, these polished headlights, even the fresh gleam in the chrome—this wasn’t hers.It was something else now, something far too extravagant for her conscience to keep.

She inhaled deeply.It even had a new car scent.How in the world did he even manage that?She hadn’t realized how much she loved this smell, how comforting it was.

Still, determination hardened within her.

But she couldn’t help wondering, “How in the world had he made this happen so fast?”Naomi stared at the dashboard as though it might whisper back the secrets.Even the steering wheel was wrapped in leather, the grip slightly softened, her hands sinking into it in a way that made driving suddenly luxurious.