Room For Just A Little Bit More (Cranberry Inn Book 2.5) Read online

  Room for Just a Little Bit More

  Copyright © 2014 by Beth Ehemann

  Cover Design by Sarah Hansen of Okay Creations

  www.okaycreations.com

  Editing by Megan Ward

  Interior design by Angela McLaurin, Fictional Formats

  https://www.facebook.com/FictionalFormats

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.

  All rights reserved.

  kk@dpg

  1 - Kacie

  2 - Brody

  3 - Kacie

  4 - Brody

  5 - Kacie

  6 - Brody

  7 - Kacie

  8 - Brody

  9 - Kacie

  10 - Brody

  11 - Kacie

  12 - Brody

  13 - Kacie

  14 - Brody

  Epilogue - Kacie

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  To my husband, Chris, who taught me what unconditional love is. You often say that you’re lucky to be with me, but I’m really the lucky one. Thank you for all the swoony inspiration you’ve provided over the last 17 years. You’ll always be my Brody.

  “Hello? Earth to Kacie! Are you gonna stare at that thing all day or what?”

  My eyes shifted from my engagement ring to Alexa, who was sitting across the island from me. “You’ve had one of these for a million years now. I’ve had mine less than a day. Cut me some slack.”

  She rolled her eyes and leaned back, stretching her lower back. “Yeah, yeah. In a week, it’ll be old news. Trust me.”

  “What’s your problem, Negative Nancy?”

  “This kid is the problem. It’s what, the size of an apple right now? How can it be causing me pain already?” She grimaced.

  “Everything is stretching and moving. It’s probably gonna hurt for a while, unfortunately.”

  “Yeah, well, remind me to ground him when he comes out.”

  I laughed. “Today it’s a he? Yesterday it was she.”

  “Who the hell knows what it is?” She threw her arms up in frustration. “Derek wants it to be a surprise and it’s driving me crazy. He wants that delivery room moment to be magical, and all I’m worried about is my vagina stretching out and all of my organs sliding across the floor.”

  I chuckled. “That’s slightly dramatic, don’t you think?”

  “Hell no!” Her eyebrows pulled together as she glared at me. “I’ve watched Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve watched those women scream and beat the crap out of their husbands.”

  “It’s fake, Lex. All for TV, I promise. If you ever change your mind about finding out, I just might know someone with access to an ultrasound machine.” I winked.

  “I’ll have to remember that the next time he refuses to go get me cream cheese wontons at one o’clock in the morning. Ruining the sex of his child would be the perfect payback.”

  “If you say so.” I turned to the fridge and grabbed a bowl of grapes, setting them between us.

  “So, enough about the devil child. Let’s plan this wedding.” She wiggled her eyebrows.

  “I just got engaged last night!”

  “Yeah, and if you want to have your reception at Graybil Gardens or Beelow Hall, you better book today. Those are the best places to get married within a fifty-mile radius, Kacie.” She reached over and grabbed a few grapes, popping them into her mouth. “I had a woman come in last year to finalize her flower order who told me that she’d booked Graybil Gardens three years earlier and didn’t even meet her fiancé until a year later.”

  My mouth fell open. “Seriously?”

  “Yep.” She nodded slowly. “Talk about being optimistic, huh?”

  “Or desperate,” I joked.

  “Obviously,” she agreed, “but my point is all those places book up fast. You might even have to ask Brody to use his star power to get you in.”

  Brody and I had been engaged roughly fifteen hours. I was on such a euphoric high from him asking me to marry him, I hadn’t even thought about the actual wedding itself, nor was I in any hurry to, but Alexa was stressing me out.

  “Lex, we haven’t discussed any of that. We haven’t picked a date, talked about a location. We haven’t even told Lucy and Piper yet.”

  “What the hell are you guys waiting for?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know. We wanted to tell them together, and Brody told Fred he’d help him organize a bunch of stuff in the garage today.”

  “You two are the weirdest people I know,” she accused playfully.

  “Why?”

  “Maybe not both of you, but you for sure.”

  “Me?”

  “Yes, you.”

  “Why?” I shrieked.

  “Most women have been planning their weddings since they were five. You’re the exception. I doubt you’ve ever really thought about your dream wedding.” She stared right at me, waiting for an answer.

  I looked down at the island and tried hard to remember a time I’d given serious thought to my wedding, but I couldn’t find one. “You’re right.” My glance lifted back to hers. “At one point in time, years ago, I had hoped to marry Zach, but I always figured with our money situation it would be a courthouse thing. Once we split, I never really thought about it again.”

  “Well, I definitely don’t think the money thing is going to be an issue now.” She chuckled.

  “No, but some big, fancy wedding isn’t really my thing either.” I cringed at the thought of anything too stuffy. “You know that.”

  “Better than anyone.” She grinned, shaking her head. “What time is it?”

  I looked down at my phone. “Ten fifteen.”

  Her eyes bulged. “Crap! Gotta go. I have a doctor’s appointment.”

  We slid off our stools and I followed her to the front door.

  “Good news, though.” She turned to me once she got to the foyer. “You won’t have to worry about the flowers.”

  A sigh of relief left my mouth in a hurry. “Thank God. I was worried about that.”

  “You were?”

  “Yeah. You’ll have the baby by then. I didn’t know if you’d want to do it or—”

  “Shut up,” she interrupted. “Of course I’d still do your wedding flowers for you. This baby isn’t going to change our day-to-day life, Kacie.”

  “Oh, really?”

  “Yes, really.”

  “Okay. We’ll see if you still say that once he’s here,” I replied confidently.

  She narrowed her eyes at me but kept quiet.

  “Or she.” I tried to stifle my laugh.

  Alexa shot me a quick glare and disappeared out the door.

  An hour later, the girls were playing out back with my mom and I was in and out of sleep on the couch in the living room when Brody sat down next to me, gently gliding his lips along my neck. His hot breath made all of my little hairs stand up. I cracked a smile as a small moan escaped my lips, but my eyes wer
e too heavy to open.

  “Wake up, Sleepyhead.”

  Still smiling, I shook my head.

  “No?” He laughed.

  “Shhh. I’m sleeping.”

  He gave my shoulders a small shake. “The girls are heading up the hill with your mom. Let’s tell ’em!”

  I cracked one eye open and peeked at him. The fact that he was as excited as I was about our engagement was beyond adorable, but wait…

  Sitting up quickly, I squinted at the bright sun coming through the French doors. “How are we gonna tell them? Are we just going to blurt it out? We haven’t talked about it.”

  “Kacie, not everything has to be planned out.” He grinned as he tucked a piece of my wild hair behind my ear. “Let’s just see what happens.”

  Before I could argue, the doors flew open and Lucy and Piper came into the room, arguing over whether the frog they’d just seen by the lake had yellow or blue eyes.

  “Morning, Twinkies!” Brody smiled at them.

  “Brody!” Lucy ran and jumped into his arms. Her tiny hands cupped his cheeks and she frowned at him. “Where were you this morning? We didn’t see you.”

  He leaned forward and kissed the tip of her nose. “I was waaaaaay in the back of the garage helping Fred organize a bunch of boxes and stuff.”

  Piper’s eyes grew huge as she took a step forward. “Did you see a spider?”

  “I did.” He laughed. “A few of them, actually.”

  Piper shuddered. “I hate spiders.”

  I reached out and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her in close so I could nuzzle my nose into her hair. She smelled like sunscreen and fresh grass. “I know you do, baby. But don’t worry. They’re way, way in the back of the garage.”

  “I hate spiders too.” Brody smiled sweetly at her as he grazed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “But I promise to always kill all the spiders for you.”

  Piper didn’t say anything, simply offering a shy smile in return.

  “Hey, I have a question for you guys. What’s your absolute favorite Disney movie?” Brody looked back and forth between the two of them.

  They looked at each other for a split second before blurting out, “Cinderella!”

  “Mine too!” He looked at me and winked before returning his gaze to them. “You know how after the prince tried the slipper on Cinderella and it fit, they got married and lived happily ever after?”

  The girls nodded, their eyes fixed on Brody’s face as they hung on every word he was saying.

  “Well, last night I asked your mom to marry me.” His hand slid over and covered mine, squeezing it gently. “And guess what? She said yes!”

  A tiny gasp sprang from Lucy, and Piper’s mouth dropped open, both of them looking stunned. Their big brown eyes looked back and forth between Brody and me until Lucy turned and threw her arms around Piper’s shoulders. They started hugging and jumping up and down excitedly.

  I frowned and looked curiously at Brody. While I was happy they were so excited, their reaction was unexpected.

  Then I learned why they were so thrilled.

  “We get to live in a castle! We get to live in a castle!” they sang out as they jumped in circles, pumping their little arms up and down.

  “Wait, wait, wait.” I held my hands up, trying to get their attention.

  “Do they think—”

  “Yes,” I interrupted Brody, quickly turning back to the girls. “Guys, guys, listen.”

  They stopped jumping, but their smiles still clung to their faces.

  I sighed, not wanting to crush their sweet little dreams, but unless Brody was the prince of some faraway country in Europe and forgot to tell me, we were most likely not gonna live in a castle.

  “Ugh, I don’t know how to break it to you guys, but we aren’t gonna live in a castle,” I said quietly.

  Their faces fell like someone had just given them a puppy and then quickly taken it away, or in this case a castle.

  “But… in Cinderella they live in a castle,” Lucy whined.

  “I know they do, baby, but we don’t have a castle,” I explained.

  “Where are we gonna live, then?” Piper asked.

  Crap.

  “Well… um…” I looked at Brody, desperately searching his face for an answer. “We’ll probably live—”

  “We’ll get a castle,” Brody blurted out, a huge grin spread across his face.

  “Yay!” they cheered and started dancing again.

  “Wait.” I reached out and tried to stop them, but they’d moved too far out into the room. They spun round and round as I turned toward Brody, staring blankly at him. “You know they’re six and they remember everything, right?”

  “I know.” He confirmed proudly, his mischievous green eyes smiling at me.

  “Brody, you just promised them a castle. Like… a castle!” I repeated incredulously, thinking he must not have heard me the first time.

  “I know.” He laughed as he watched the girls celebrate. “But look at them. How could I not? Don’t worry. I’ll figure something out.” He reached over and patted my thigh.

  Oddly enough, I believed him.

  “What the fuck is this, man?” Viper bellowed as he walked into Scooter Joe’s Café and dropped the newspaper on my table.

  “Good morning to you too.” I laughed, picking it up.

  Front page. Top story. Bold letters.

  SORRY, LADIES! MINNESOTA’S MOST ELIGIBLE BACHELOR IS OFF THE MARKET:

  BRODY MURPHY PROPOSES TO GIRLFRIEND KACIE JENSEN

  “What the hell? How do they know already?” I growled in frustration as I slammed the paper facedown on the table. As annoyed as I was with the headline, I was even more annoyed with the picture they added below it of Kacie and me at the zoo with the girls. Lucy and Piper were facing the other way, so thankfully no one could see their faces, but it still pissed me off. Kacie and I had talked long ago about my life and how it’s in the spotlight more than I’d like, and she swore to me that we were worth it and she could handle it, but when they start posting pictures of her daughters, all bets are off.

  Viper pulled the chair out and plopped down across from me. “The question is, how do they know before me?”

  I smiled at him and shrugged. “Sorry. It just happened a couple days ago. I wanted to tell you in person. That’s why I asked you to meet me for breakfast.”

  “Well, congratulations.” He reached across and shook my hand.

  “Thanks.”

  “You sure you’re ready for this?”

  “I’m more than ready.” I sat up, looking him straight in the eye. “I want to marry that girl today, before she realizes she can do way better than me and changes her mind.”

  Viper sat still for a minute, not responding. Just before I opened my mouth to talk, he batted his eyes at me and clapped his hands together. “Awww. There’s no one better than you, Brody Murphy,” he joked in an annoyingly high-pitched voice.

  “Cut the shit, Finkle.” I laughed. “You’re just jealous I didn’t save myself for you.”

  “True,” he agreed, “but we could always have some scorching affair and really give the magazines something to talk about. Do you like being on top or bottom?”

  I held my hand over my mouth, concentrating desperately on not spitting my coffee out. “Okay, that was a little much.”

  Viper laughed heartily and smacked his hand down on the table loudly, causing a couple people to turn and look at us. “All jokes aside, I’m happy for you, man. I really am. She’s a great girl, but you’re right… definitely out of your league.”

  I looked down at the table and thought about Kacie and how I couldn’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. Lucy and Piper, the kids we would eventually make together, holidays, graduations, vacations… Those were all the big things I was looking forward to, but with her I wanted more. I wanted all the awesome little things too. Sleeping in on Sundays, date nights at my favorite little Italian place in the city, all
of our weird inside jokes, her cinnamon rolls. I wanted all of it, every single day.

  “Jesus, wipe the goofy smile off your face.” Viper threw a wadded-up napkin at me, laughing when it bounced off my forehead.

  “Sorry.” I shook my head back to reality. “Hey, I actually asked you here for another reason, not just because I wanted to see your ugly face.”

  “Oh, this should be interesting.” He sat back in his chair and locked his fingers behind his head.

  “Unfortunately, there aren’t a lot of guys on the team I can stomach and my choices are limited,” I joked, “so I wanted to know if you would stand up with me in our wedding?”

  “Seriously?” he asked excitedly, sitting up straight.

  I laughed. “Yes. Seriously.”

  He clapped his hands together and rubbed them as an evil smile spread across his face. “I’m so ready. Do I get to be best man?”

  “Unfortunately, no. That job is reserved for Andy. Sorry.” I shrugged.

  “Really?” he whined. “Fine, but I get to plan the bachelor party.”

  “Oh, Jesus.” I sighed, dropping my head into my hands.

  Viper laughed wickedly and took his phone out.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  Frowning in concentration down at his phone, he moved his fingers back and forth as fast as he could. “Midget strippers. Jell-O wrestling. Camel rides. Booking it all now.” He looked up at me quickly. “You’re not allergic to maple syrup, are you?”

  “Oh my God, put the damn phone down.” I rolled my eyes, reaching over and grabbing it from him. I set it on the table in between us. “Let’s not talk about anything wedding, or bachelor party, related for ten minutes, okay?”

  “Fine.” He pouted like a child who’d just been scolded.

  “So, I haven’t talked to you in a few days. What’s new with you? Seen Darla lately?”

  “Actually, yes. We went to a movie Monday night.”

  My mouth fell open. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “Wait. You took her on a date? Like an out-of-the-bedroom date?”