I stepped back, motioning for him to come in. Once he was in the door, my mouth went dry. He was big, much bigger than he looked when he was on the porch. I guessed he was almost a foot taller than my short five foot, two-inch stature. He pulled his hat off, revealing dark chocolate brown hair that was a wet mess of short, loose curls. He smiled that movie star smile again. This time I noticed the two big dimples on either side of his mouth.
My heart was pounding so loud, I was sure it was about to jump out of my chest and land on the foyer floor at his feet.
“Whew! It’s brutal out there.” He shook the excess water off his jacket and ran his hands back and forth through his hair, messing it up in the most adorable way.
“Hi, I’m Brody Murphy.” He extended his hand for me to shake.
“Hi, I’m…” My mind went blank. When I paused, he raised a curious eyebrow and smirked at me. Holy crap, I was going to pass out.
Pull yourself together, Kacie.
“Kacie. Kacie Jensen.”
The minute his giant hand enveloped mine, I felt my entire body wake from hibernation. His warm, strong hand acted as an accelerant that set all the cells and nerves in my entire body on fire. I felt like an idiot when I realized that we were done shaking hands, but I hadn’t bothered to pull mine away yet. Quickly, I snatched it back and wrapped my arms around myself, instinctively.
“I took a wrong turn and thought I was on a road. Hard to see it was a driveway. Anyway, my truck is stuck in the mud out there. Any chance I could grab a room for the night?”
My shoulders sank, along with my heart.
“Uh-oh.” He read the disappointment on my face. “Do you not have any rooms available?”
“No, they’re all taken,” I answered in a quiet, almost inaudible tone.
“Oh.” He took a deep breath and forced it back out. “No biggie, I’ll figure out a way to get my truck out and keep going. I’m sure there’s something up the road a little more.”
“Stay right here.” I turned to go find my mom, but she was already coming around the corner from the kitchen.
“Hi there!” my mom said in her typically warm, welcoming tone.
“Hi, I’m Brody Murphy.” He offered his hand again.
“Hi Brody, I’m Sophia Jensen.”
“You have a really nice place here,” he said, flashing his gorgeous smile at my mom.
If there was a direct line to my mother’s heart, it was complimenting her inn. This place was her other baby.
“I was actually just coming to get you. I know we’re full, but it’s awful out there. We can’t send him back out in this weather, Mom,” I blurted out, sounding more desperate than I meant to.
“Of course not, dear.” She smiled curiously at me, before turning her attention back to Brody.
“I don’t have any rooms available, Brody, but I do have a pretty comfortable couch in the family room. It’s not private at all, but it’s much warmer than your vehicle. We would love to have you stay with us.”
“Uh, one problem. I have a dog too. He’s super friendly and completely housebroken, but he’d probably be pretty mad at me if I told him he had to sleep in the truck. Any chance he could sleep on the floor in a laundry room maybe?”
“Absolutely not!” Mom said. “No laundry room for him, he can curl up by the fire.”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”
He was talking to my mom, but looking at me, causing my heart to race.
“Nonsense. You are staying here, so is your dog, that’s final. Come on in and take your wet jacket off and warm up for a few minutes before getting your dog. You’re going to catch pneumonia.”
She put her arm around him and led him toward the back of the house while I followed behind. “You’re just in time, actually. My beautiful, single daughter just made a huge batch of her delicious chili.”
Mom looked back at me and winked. My face flushed as I rolled my eyes, just in time to look up and catch Brody turning around, smirking at me. Suddenly, crawling into the couch cushions and hiding for the next couple days sounded like a wonderful idea.
“Room for one more?” Sophia called out as we entered the kitchen.
I immediately felt comfortable in her big, warm house.
She made her way around the room, introducing me to everyone. We finally got to three little girls, who were staring at me wide-eyed like I was an alien.
“This little one right here is Jenna, Catherine’s daughter. And those two sweet little things are Lucy and Piper, Kacie’s twins.”
My mouth fell open slightly before I could reel the shock back in. I was blown away that Kacie, the cute girl with the messy, copper-colored ponytail, wearing the white chili-stained t-shirt, was a mom. And not just a mom of one, but two. Kacie noticed the surprised look on my face, as her eyes turned sad and darted toward the floor in embarrassment. I suddenly felt like a giant douche.
“Here, Brody, come sit by me.” Ashley started tugging my arm toward the large farmhouse-style table that separated the kitchen from the family room. She was in her early 20s and cute enough, but girls like her who were constantly trying to get my attention were like a tiny sheep in a huge herd.
“Okay, one sec,” I replied before turning to Kacie. “Is there somewhere I can plug my phone in for a bit?”
“Sure.” A tiny smile crossed her face as she pointed to an open outlet on the tile backsplash. “Right there.”
“Thanks,” I said, unable to look away from her gaze.
Once again Ashley tugged my arm. I followed over to the table and sat down next to her, but I couldn’t peel my eyes off of Kacie.
I don’t know what I was expecting when I knocked on the door to this inn, maybe a little old cat lady or a family of cannibals in the woods? Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t her. A pint-sized little cutie whose sparkling green eyes nearly knocked me on my ass.
Every movement she made around the kitchen was hypnotizing, even the way she crinkled her nose when she focused on cutting the cornbread into perfect little squares. She walked over to the large pot on the stove, lifted the wooden spoon to her lips and tasted the chili. I almost lost my shit right there at the table, but I couldn’t look away. I didn’t even care if anyone was watching me watch her. This was the most tortuous, accidental seduction I’d ever been a part of and I was enjoying every second of it.
“So Brody, we’ve all spent the afternoon getting to know each other. How about you? Where are you from?” Henry asked from the family room behind me. I jumped at the sound of my name, turning in my chair to face him.
“I grew up about two hours north of here, but now I live in Minneapolis.”
“Ooooh, I love Minneapolis,” Ashley cooed as she leaned in close, resting her hand on my knee.
“What do you do there?” Henry continued.
Crap. No one here seemed to know who I was and I wanted to keep it that way. Being anonymous was a nice change. The sooner I was out of here and on my way home, the better. I quickly looked over at Kacie who seemed to be just as interested in my answer as everyone else. The minute our eyes connected, she quickly turned back around to the counter.
“Uh … I’m in sales,” I responded.
Really, Brody? That’s the best you could come up with?