Without moving his folded hands from in front of his mouth, he raised one eyebrow in response to my sarcastic tone. He stood up from the table and slowly stalked over to me, stopping just inches from my chest. His left hand rested on the island to my right, while his other hand purposely grazed my elbow as he leaned in, reaching for the bag of chocolate chips and pinning my hips to the island.

“Just thought I’d help you make pancakes.” His taunting tone was husky with underlying meaning as he bent down, his lips nearly touching mine. “My specialty is licking … the spoon when you’re done.”

My heart was pounding against my ribcage; my pulse off the charts. The edge of the granite counter was digging into my lower back, but all I could concentrate on was trying to slow my breathing, and I was failing miserably. He was intimidating, playing with me like a cat played with a mouse, but I wasn’t going down without a fight.

I leaned up on my tippy toes and softly kissed his lips, barely making contact and then pulled back. When he came forward for another taste, I spun around giggling. “You stink, Fish Boy, and I don’t let smelly men lick my spoon. Go shower, then we’ll talk.”

He groaned from behind me and dropped his head on my shoulder. “You’re dangerous, Kacie Jensen, you know that?” He gave me a tap on the butt as he turned and headed upstairs to the shower.

Dangerous, huh? I’d never been called dangerous before. I kinda liked it.

After breakfast, I finished cleaning up the kitchen while Mom was up front, seeing a few guests out. Fred snored off his pancake coma on the couch. Lucy and Piper were in the family room by Fred, quietly coloring pictures of the horses from the fair yesterday. Brody went upstairs to pack up his bags. This was the part about this whole thing that was going to suck, saying good-bye. Less than twenty-four hours since our first kiss and I was already having doubts. There were just so many things that could go wrong. Was this really going to be possible? Were we going to be possible?

I wiped off the placemats and carried them to the pantry. Reaching up to put them on the shelf, I was startled when Brody’s strong arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me in close. I quickly looked past the pantry door.

“Relax, they’re still coloring,” he whispered into my ear as he leaned over and gently kicked the pantry door closed with his foot.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, inhaling his freshly showered scent. He smelled clean, yet outdoorsy. I let myself relax into his hug, losing myself in his comfort. His strong arms wrapped around me like a warm cotton sweater making me feel tiny and protected. He loosened his grip just enough for me to turn to face him. I laced my fingers together and swooped them around his neck, his hands resting on my hips.

“This has been an interesting weekend, huh?” I asked coyly, staring into his mesmerizing eyes. He grinned, flashing me his champion smile.

“To say the least. I don’t want to leave, but I have some things I have to take care of this week.”

“That’s okay, it’s probably good that you’re going. I need to clear my head.” I sighed.

Concern rolled across his face. His brows pulled together as he tightened his grip on my waist.

“Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, nothing like that. It’s just all happening so fast, I need to breathe.” I smiled to reassure him and myself.

“Kacie, I like you, there’s no doubt about that. When I went home last week, I couldn’t stop thinking about you. That’s why I came back. The more I know about you, the more I want to know.” He bit his lower lip and paused for a second, thinking about what he was going to say next. “I’m in no rush, I’m not looking to get married tomorrow. Hell, I wasn’t even interested in having a relationship until I met you. And now that I’ve met you, walking out that door with no plans to see you again isn’t an option. We can take this as slow as you want, just give it a chance.”

My heart raced around my chest, probably in an attempt to leap out of my body and land at his feet as an offering. I closed my eyes and took a deep cleansing breath before responding.

“I like you too, Brody, more than I want to, actually. I’m not used to this feeling. It scares and excites me at the same time. We’re so different—our worlds are so different. And the thought of putting myself out there to be hurt again-”

“Stop right there.” He cut me off as he took my face in both hands, squatting to be eye-to-eye with me. “You’re not a conquest and I don’t play games. I told you I haven’t really ever done the girlfriend thing and you haven’t done the boyfriend thing in a long time. Let’s figure it out together.”

His persistence beckoned me. The way he sounded so sure, so certain … maybe this would work.

I smiled at him and clasped my hands over his. “You’re right, it’s silly not to try. But … under a couple conditions.”

He let go of my face and stood up tall, crossing his arms across his chest. “Conditions, huh? Interesting. Hit me.”

“Well … first the girls can’t know anything is going on. I always said if and when I dated someone, he wouldn’t meet the girls until we were very serious. No way was I going to have a bunch of guys floating in and out of their lives. I know this thing between us wasn’t exactly planned, and you’ve already met them. Hanging with them is okay, but no kissing, holding hands or anything like that when they’re around. Deal?”

He flared his nostrils and narrowed his eyes at me, contemplating what I’d just said. “Deal. But … that just means when I’m alone with you, I’m going to be extra … attentive. Double deal?”

Every vein in my body damn near exploded from the surge of excitement that jolted through me with that sentence. I had no idea what he meant, but I wanted to. The possibilities were endless.

“Deal,” I replied, my head held high and my voice deceptively confident.

“Is that it?”

“One more,” I answered, biting my lip. “No pressure.”

He looked confused as he arched a brow at me. “No pressure?”

“Yeah, you said we’re taking this slow and I’m good with that.” I looked into his dark green eyes, wondering if I would be able to keep my own deal. “Nothing serious. Let’s just have fun. No pressure. Get it?”

“Got it. No pressure.” He smirked, entertaining me.

Swallowing the lump in my throat, I suddenly needed air. Being this close to Brody, with all of his energy focused on me was intense, overwhelming. “All right, I gotta check on Lucy and Piper.”

I walked over to the pantry door, and just as my hand grabbed the knob, Brody’s arm shot in front of my face and grabbed the doorjamb on the other side of me, blocking my path.

Baffled, I looked up at him, butterflies swarming my stomach.

He licked his lips as a sexy grin spread across his face. His gaze burned down on me.

“Pay the toll.”

Instantly, my butterflies morphed into pterodactyls.

“Where’d you disappear to this weekend? As if I didn’t already know.” Andy badgered sarcastically on the other end of the line.

“Uh … Kacie’s.” I yawned, still half asleep.

“No shit, Sherlock. How did that go? Did you two crazy kids profess your undying love for each other? Will I be getting a wedding invitation in the mail?”