Sara liked this woman’s style. If Karen had never done standup, she’d missed her calling. Sara could easily picture her waving to a crowd in front of a mic saying, “I’ll be here all week, folks.”
“You don’t look like a cat,” Charlotte observed. “You look like a bear. A big bear.”
“I’m sorry,” Sara rushed to apologize for her daughter’s comment.
Thankfully, Karen and Sly both laughed and took it in stride. Sly continued chuckling as he mumbled something about having to check on the AC unit and headed out the front door.
When her husband left, Karen winked at Sara’s daughter as she leaned over the counter. “You know what? I think you’re right, Charlotte. He’s a big teddy bear.”
Charlotte beamed up at the woman. There was nothing better in the life of a three-year-old than getting the right answer to something.
“Mom, look!” Trevor shouted excitedly, pointing his arm straight out toward the hallway. “I told you we’d see the man again.”
Ever since they’d left the gas station, Trevor had insisted they would see Stranger Danger again. Well, he called him the man, but Sara knew who he was talking about.
Goose bumps broke out on the bare skin of her arms before Sara even lifted her head. When she did, her gaze was met with green eyes so deep she could easily drown in them. Sara’s heart may have sunk when she’d thought there was no room at the inn, but the second their gazes met, it not only resurfaced, it rode the choppy waters of arousal.
“Oh, y’all know each other.” Karen clapped her hands. “Well, why didn’t you say so? I’ll give you the friends and family discount.”
“No!” Sara jumped to correct her. “Don’t. I mean…we don’t. Know each other. He just filled up my tires.”
Karen’s thin brows shot up and her eyes widened. “Okay.”
The second the words came out of Sara’s mouth, she realized they sounded like a euphemism for bow-chicka-bow-wow and she wished that she could take them back. First speechless and now flustered—two things that Sara Kellan never experienced—yet this man had reduced her to both by his mere presence.
“He has the same tattoo as my dad,” Trevor explained, shrugging his shoulders as if that cleared everything up.
“Right.” Karen nodded, her eyes shooting back and forth between Sara and the man.
As much as Sara’s heart and hormones were rejoicing at this new development, she tried to keep her head on straight and not get sidetracked by the sexy grin Stranger Danger—who apparently found this run-in amusing—was giving her.
Hoping to get out of this awkward situation with a shred of dignity, Sara pasted a smile back on her face. “So if we could get the room at the regular price that would be great.”
“Great,” Karen repeated. “We have the Crown Jewel suite—”
“They can take the King suite.”
It had only been an hour since she’d heard that baritone voice say he just couldn’t drive away knowing her tires were low. But somehow, hearing him speak again, she realized she’d missed it. That deep rumble was a sound she could all too easily get addicted to if she wasn’t careful.
“Oh, okay.” Karen tipped her head to the side. “I thought you said you’d be staying in the—”
“And the discount.” The finality in his tone left no room for argument.
But that didn’t stop Sara.
“No…I can’t… I don’t need…” She shook her head as she turned back to Karen, knowing that it was her only hope of finishing a sentence. “No discount, but thank you.”
When Karen didn’t look convinced, Sara blurted out, “I don’t even know his name.”
Wow. That was her big defense. Closing her eyes, Sara did an internal facepalm.
“Oh, well I can fix that,” Karen chirped. “Sara, Charlotte, Trevor, this is Austin, not the city. Stone, not the rock.”
Austin Stone.
Oh boy, even his name was sexy.
“You stole my line.” Austin grinned at Karen, who blushed and giggled like a schoolgirl as he crossed the entryway in two large strides. When he stopped in front of Sara and the kids, he held out his hand to Trevor.