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?
“Interesting. What do you sell?”
“Sports equipment,” I answered confidently, hoping it sounded convincing, but also boring enough that he wouldn’t ask anything else. I wasn’t a very good liar. Before he could ask anything else, I turned my attention to Fred.
“So Fred, how long have you lived here?”
“Oh, about 10 years now. I worked for the previous owner and when they sold the place to Sophia, she asked me to stay on and I was happy to.” He looked over at Sophia and winked. Sophia smiled back as she finished setting down the plates.
“Brody, you look very familiar. Have you done any acting?” Henry looked right at me; his eyes squinted as he studied my face.
Ashley sat up straight and gasped. “Do you know any movie stars?”
I laughed uncomfortably, wishing someone would stop this impromptu interview before I said something stupid.
“Nope, never done acting.” Looking at Ashley I added, “And sorry, no movie stars.”