Room for You(25)

My room at the inn was painted a calming shade of bluish gray, and thank God I don’t mind that color because I stared at it for two hours while I was hiding from Kacie. Not that I wanted to avoid her, but I knew I got under her skin in the kitchen and I wanted her thinking about me for a couple hours before dinner, so I was out of sight. I stretched out on the bed, wondering what she was doing right now. Was she down in the kitchen giving the girls dinner? Was she reading on the back deck? Was she sitting at the island chewing on her bottom lip while concentrating on her nursing stuff? It was killing me to be this close but not talking to her so I grabbed my phone.



HEY I WOULD LIKE TO PICK YOU UP FOR DINNER AT 7PM IF THAT’S OKAY?



I tapped my foot impatiently, waiting for her response.



K: 7 IS FINE. YOU ARE WEIRD.



WHY AM I WEIRD?



K: WE ARE IN THE SAME HOUSE, YET YOU ARE TEXTING ME. LIKE I SAID, WEIRD.



JUST SO YOU KNOW, I’M VERY BUSY UP HERE DOING ALL SORTS OF IMPORTANT THINGS.



K: UH HUH. FRED WENT UP A WHILE AGO TO ASK IF YOU WANTED TO FISH FOR A BIT AND HE THOUGHT HE HEARD SNORING.



THAT WAS DIESEL.



K: SURE IT WAS. WHERE ARE WE GOING TONIGHT, ANYWAY?



THAT’S FOR ME TO KNOW AND YOU TO FIND OUT.



K: WELL, YOU HAVE TO GIVE ME A HINT. I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO WEAR.



DRESS CASUAL. WEAR THAT LITTLE BLACK NUMBER.



K: WHAT BLACK NUMBER?



THE ONE YOU WERE WEARING IN THE BATHROOM WHEN PIPER OPENED THE DOOR.



K: ASS :)



Oh, I see you’re back again, smiley face. I hope you’re ready to get your ass kicked this time. I’m gonna turn that one eye into a wink if it kills me.

I had forty-five minutes until I needed to pick Kacie up for our date, time to get moving. I grabbed my keys, left Diesel sleeping in my room and headed downstairs.

“Hi Brody!” Lucy and Piper called out as I passed the kitchen. No sign of Kacie anywhere.

“Hey Twinkies! I’ll be back soon, okay?”





“Shit!” The clock on my truck dashboard read 6:57.

Cutting it a little close, Murphy. Don’t blow it.

I rang the doorbell. Sophia opened the door, her face contorted with confusion.

“Hi, Ms. Jensen. I’m here to pick up Kacie.”

She giggled and stepped back. “Oh, you’re adorable. Come in, Brody.”

“These are for you.” I handed her a small bouquet of tulips.

“They are beautiful, thank you.” She furrowed her brow at me, still trying to figure everything out. “Hang on, I’ll get Kacie.”

She disappeared around the corner and I stayed in the foyer, waiting for my … friend. Lucy and Piper came tearing toward me from the back family room.

“Brody, are you sick?” asked Piper.

“Yeah, do you have a fever?” Lucy asked, tugging on my shirt.

I bent down to her level as she felt my forehead. “Nope, not sick. Why?”

They looked at each other and shrugged.

“Mom was on the phone with Auntie Alexa and she said you were hot. If you’re hot, you have a fever. Do you need medicine?” Lucy continued the inquest.

“She said I was hot, huh? Interesting. I promise you, kiddo, I’m not sick, but thanks for checking on me.”

I held my hand up and they each high-fived me before they ran off.

Kacie came around the corner and my mouth started salivating. She had on a white, lacy tank top and khaki shorts that showed off more of her legs than I had seen before. Her hair was pulled up in a messy bun with a few random pieces falling onto her collarbone. The closer she got, the more her green eyes sparkled. She looked simple, yet incredibly sexy. I was going to need a f*cking straight jacket to keep my hands off of her all night.

“Hey,” she said, smiling at me.

“Hey there.” I leaned forward, giving her a quick “friendly” hug.

She smelled unbelievable; a lethal cocktail of flowers and her pheromones sent my mind into a goddamn tailspin. I wanted to drop to my knees and beg her to blow off the friend idea right now, but Viper’s words kept ringing in my ear. ‘Turn the tables, prove her wrong, and then make her beg.’ Still drunk on her scent, the thought of Kacie begging for anything was enough to make me hard right there in the foyer.

“Ready to go?”

A small, skeptical smile splayed across her lips as she nodded at me. I stepped back and opened the door for her, following her out. She turned left off the porch, heading for my truck.

I reached out and grabbed her hand, tugging on it gently. “This way.” I nodded to the right.

She looked surprised. “That way? There’s nothing over-”

“Shh. Follow me.”

She didn’t resist again, gripping my hand back and following me around the side of the house. We didn’t talk while we walked across the backyard or for the couple hundred feet down to the lake. I peeked back at her, silently congratulating myself at the confused look on her face.

When we got to the edge of the yard, I made a slight left, still pulling her behind me. We stepped onto the creaky wooden boards of the pier and I looked back at her again. Her eyes were fixed on the blanket and candles at the end of the pier. She looked at me and smirked, shaking her head.