“Thanks, Kacie. I’m a lucky man.” He reached over and squeezed Lauren’s hand as they smiled at each other.
“Okay, if you two are going to do that all day, you’re gonna make me puke,” I teased as I squatted down in front of Lauren’s niece, Molly. “Hey Molly. Piper and Lucy are so excited to play with you today.”
She grinned shyly and hid behind Lauren’s leg.
“So, who all is going? Did you call Alexa and Derek?” Lauren asked.
“Yeah, she’s a sloth. She had a long week and apparently her delivery boy called in sick today, so she had to get up super early and make all the deliveries. She went home and crashed again.”
“Bummer. All right, well let’s get moving!” Lauren clapped her hands in excitement.
“Let me grab the girls and my bag from the kitchen.” I turned and started down the hall with them trailing behind me.
Brody was standing in front of the fridge, scratching his chin.
I looked at him, feeling incredibly guilty. “We’re gonna head out. I’ll see you later?”
“Yeah, I’ll be here.” He turned and smiled at me sweetly, nodding respectfully at my friends.
“Holy shit! You’re Brody Murphy!” Tommy exclaimed.
Brody looked over as Lauren smacked Tommy’s arm and covered Molly’s ears. “Tommy, watch your mouth!”
“Sorry, babe, but he’s Brody Murphy.” Tommy just stared at Brody, his eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
“Hey man, nice to meet you.” Brody walked over and shook Tommy’s hand.
Tommy returned the handshake like an eager kid. “Wait … what are you doing here?”
“Uh, I’m staying for the weekend. Kacie and I are … friends.” Brody looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
“Kacie! How could you not tell me you’re friends with Brody Fucking Murphy?”
“Tommy!” Lauren and I both reprimanded at the same time.
“Is he going with us? Are you going with us?” Tommy blurted out, his eyes jumping back and forth between Brody and me.
“Jesus, calm down, Tommy. I hope you’re this excited to meet our firstborn one day.” Lauren sounded annoyed.
“Uh, well if our kid comes out as the NHL MVP, then yes.”
“Okay, can we just stop all this and go, please? Girls! Come on!” I hollered down the hall. Lucy and Piper came running and huddled around Molly, hammering the poor girl with questions.
“Yes … but … is Brody going?”
“Yes, Brody is going. Come on already.” I threw my hands up in the air and grabbed my bag off the counter, slinging it over my shoulder.
“I am?” Brody looked at me, utterly confused.
“Yes, you are. Let’s go.” I started pushing everyone toward the front door.
“I smell like fish.” He argued, spinning around to face me.
“You smell great, hush.” I grabbed his shoulders and turned him back around, thoroughly enjoying the view from behind.
Once outside, Lauren turned to me. “Uh, my car isn’t going to fit everyone, we’ll have to take two.”
“No biggie, I can drive too.” I shrugged my shoulders.
“Mommy, can we ride in Molly’s car?” Lucy asked, sticking her bottom lip out.
Piper stepped up behind her, clasping her hands together. “Pleeeeeeeeease?”
“It’s fine with me.” Lauren opened the car door, waving them in.
“Can I ride with Brody?” Tommy copied the girls, sticking his bottom lip out and clasping his hands together.
Lauren narrowed her eyes and glared at him. “Only if you want him moving to Italy with you instead of me.”
Tommy’s eyes drifted up toward the sky, pretending to contemplate her offer. Lauren sighed and got in her car with Tommy right behind her.
“Wanna drive my truck?” Brody grinned at me.
Before I could answer, he tossed his keys to me and walked to the passenger’s side of his truck. I looked down at his keys in my hand, panic-stricken.
“Your truck? No way! I can’t drive a truck.” I fiercely shook my head.
He peeked his head around the back of the truck and grinned at me. “Get your ass in the truck and turn the key.”
I climbed into his truck, my heart thumping so loudly against my sternum, I was sure he could hear it.
“What do I do?” I tried to act composed, but my insides were rattling.
Brody’s hand reached over and squeezed my knee. “Hey, look at me.”
His face was relaxed, with a lopsided smile showing off one of his sexy dimples. His eyes were serene.
“Relax, it’s just a truck. It’s an automatic. You know what to do. Come on, start her up, they’re about to leave without us.”
I don’t know if it was his warm hand on my knee or his soothing voice but I felt much better, calm even. My confidence grew with each second as I put the key in the ignition and started the engine. It took me a few minutes to get used to the bigger truck and the engine, which was much more powerful than my little SUV.
“So, what made you change your mind?” Brody asked, propping his foot up on the dashboard.
I turned my head toward him without taking my eyes off the road. “Change my mind?”