Free Her Unexpected Detour by Kyra Jacobs

concentrated his sweeping on a particularly dirty spot on the floor and wished his cousin would let it drop. Which, of course, he wouldn’t.
    “I’ll be damned, you did! Phew. I was beginning to think you’d forfeited your man card. Though I should have put two and two together sooner. You know, after finding you gawking at the pretty sunrise.”
    “You done yet?”
    “Uh oh. Performance issues? Is that why you’re out here, instead of still up at the inn?”
    Brent resisted the urge to pummel Miles and instead wrapped both hands tightly around the broom handle. “Tell me—when, exactly, did you become such an asshole?”
    “Oh, come on, coz. I’m just messing with you. And you gotta admit, I don’t get very many opportunities to do that anymore.” Miles’s face sobered. “So what really happened? Why are you out here, hiding?”
    “I’m not hiding,” Brent said. “I wanted to get an early start on the day, that’s all. Since yesterday was mostly a bust.”
    “Which might not matter, if Ruby’s smart and takes a serious look at this offer. Maybe you could help me convince her to—”
    “I’m not going to help you bully her into a decision, Miles. And you’d better not be thinking of doing that, either.”
    “I’d never bully her, and don’t make it sound like I would. But this deal makes solid financial sense for everyone involved.”
    “That’s for Ruby to decide,” said Brent. “But until I hear otherwise, I’m going to keep working toward our goal of being ready to open in two weeks. Doesn’t leave me much time for—”
    “Enjoying yourself?” Miles took another sip of his coffee, then turned and started for the barn’s front entrance. “Nah,” he muttered. “You’re already good at avoiding that all on your own.”

    K ayla awoke to a pesky beam of sunlight hitting her square in the face. She shifted her surprisingly achy body into a sitting position and looked around, disoriented. The view didn’t make any sense to her semi-conscious mind. Pale blue walls. Sheer white drapes, parted. Queen-size bed, sheets in wild disarray.
    Sheets. Bed.
    Brent .
    That explained the whole naked thing. She tugged the nearest sheet over her and shot a look at the space beside her on the bed. Empty.
    Kayla lay back and breathed a sigh of relief. There would be no awkward morning after, no need for “thanks, and have a nice life” good-byes. Situations she’d read about, but never experienced herself. She’d never been part of a one-night stand before, let alone initiated one. Her past escapades in the bedroom had been few and far between, but always with someone she’d been dating for some time. Until last night, anyway, when she’d forced herself to just let go.
    Kayla’s pulse quickened as images of the night before surfaced in her mind. She’d been so worried her limited experience would be obvious, that she’d feel embarrassed and self-conscious. But Brent hadn’t made her feel that way at all. Instead, he’d made her feel…beautiful. Desired. Wanted.
    And she’d soaked up every second of it. Because, really, when was the last time anyone had made her feel that way? Hmm, that would be never.
    She could have stayed in bed all day reliving that memory. Okay, multiple memories. Instead, she eventually crawled off the mattress and headed for the shower. It was time to get back to reality, to the real world, where knights in shining armor simply didn’t exist.
    Nope, in her world, there were only computers and corporate a-holes. One, she could unplug and walk away from. The other? Well, if they thought she was going to tuck her tail and run, they had another thing coming. Because after the night Kayla just had, she felt ready to take on the world. Even, perhaps, the untouchable Joe Freimann.
    Forty-five minutes later, she headed downstairs, refreshed and eager to get on the road. At the bottom landing, Kayla paused to listen. Silence. Relief washed over her anew.
    But a different