Happy Mother's Day everyone! I hope everyone is having a great day. I can't promise how often I will have updates on this story, but I will try my best to write as often as I can. Having a family and now working doesn't leave me much free time but I decided to give myself an outlet. I hope that my story will entertain...

We drove past a sign welcoming us to Summerville, South Carolina. It was in the early evening and I realized just how hungry I was. Rain drops started hitting the windshield, so I turned the wipers on and asked my daughter a question. "Lexine, are you hungry too?" " Yes, mommy." she whispered back. Keeping my eyes peeled for a place to eat I kept driving. A few minutes later I spotted a sign that said Bob's Diner in big letters. The place looked clean and there were plenty of cars in the parking lot. It seemed safe enough to me for a mom traveling with small child.

I pulled into an empty parking space and turned the car off. I grabbed a jacket and slipped it on and pulled my purse over my shoulder. Slipping out of the car and shutting the door I opened the rear car door and unbuckled Lexine from her car seat. Putting her jacket on her before pulling her out of car and locking it, I picked her up and rushed to the diner entrance before we got too wet from the rain.

Reaching out my hand to grab the handle I was startled when a hand from behind me got hold of it before me and pulled it open. Still holding onto my daughter I turned my head to see a chest. A big masculine muscled chest covered in a long sleeved shirt that enhanced the strength of this body instead of disguising it. Slowly I lifted my eyes up and up until I reached a square jaw, smiling mouth, dimples, then dark brown eyes topped off with light brown hair. His olive skin enhanced his good looks. I froze staring at this incredibly good looking guy. Lexine tightened her arms around my neck and that woke me up enough to mumble a Thank You to him and step inside far enough to leave room for the unknown man.

A blonde teenage boy with longish hair tied back stood behind the register and greeted me. "Let me get a table cleared for you ma'am. We've had a big rush tonight, so wait here and it will only take a couple of minutes." Looking behind me at the man, his grin grew wider and he exclaimed,"Hey Brady! I haven't seen you in a while. Is it just you tonight?" Brady replied,"Hey, Luke! No, I'm waiting on Jake. He should be here in a few." His stomach then rumbled loudly which made Luke laugh and say," Jake had better hurry up then huh? I'll look and see if I can get another table. It might take more than a few minutes though before another table becomes available. Unless you want to share one with the lovely lady here that you can't stop staring at."

I set Lexine down on her feet and took a peek around looking for the lady that he was talking about until I realized that they were both looking right at me. The teen named Luke must have been teasing because I'd been told often enough that I wasn't that great looking and besides I had a daughter. No man would be interested in me, a widow at 32 with baggage. Brady's stomach made a noise again and he looked at me hopefully. As I was hungry too, I felt a little sorry for him and turning to Luke I said, "That's fine, we can share a table." I couldn't believe I said that! As wary as I was about someone I didn't know, I think that deep down I felt a little safe with him and wanted to be near him.

Brady gave me a huge grin. Those dimples of his really got to me and I felt my stomach fill with butterflies. "Thank you so much!" he said to me. "You've saved me from starvation." I smiled back at him timidly and grabbed Lexine's hand. He looked down at her still smiling and Lexine ducked behind me and peeked around at him. With a sly smile Luke grabbed some menus and asked us to follow him.

He led us to a booth and Lexine and I took one side and Brady took the other. After we were settled and handed the menus, I started to feel awkward. Focusing on Lexine I avoided looking at Brady. Lexine leaned close to me and whispered that she wanted chicken strips and fruit. Luckily it was on the kids menu and I started to read the adult menu to see what I wanted to eat. I decided on vegetable soup and a turkey sandwich. Placing the menu flat on the table, I finally looked up and met Brady's eyes.

His gaze switched from me over to my daughter who immediately ducked down to hide under the table. Brady said, "Oh, so she is shy just like her mommy huh?" I blushed, looked down at the table and felt like a silly teenage girl. "Sorry I'm late!" a man's voice rang out and Brady slid over to give him some room to sit. "No problem Jake." said Brady. "I just had to finish that article before I lost my train of thought." replied Jake.

I looked at the new comer named Jake and felt the butterflies again. He was just as handsome as Brady. Jake had blonde hair and really bright blue eyes. "Well, I can see why you chose this table Brady." Jake drawled and winked at me. "The view is fantastic!" I felt like my face was on fire and wanted to crawl under the table with Lexine. I was not used to men flirting with me! "I'm Jake." and he reached out his arm across the table to shake my hand. "Delphine", I replied and shook his hand. His hand was warm and his long fingers wrapped around my hand. I almost didn't want to let go. Brady reached over too so I let go of Jake's hand and took his. His hand totally engulfed mine and I could feel the rough callouses. The feel of him sent sparks to my middle.

"What's your daughter's name?" asked Brady. Jake looked confused and glanced at him. Brady pointed down at the table. I leaned over and pulled Lexine up into my lap and introduced her. She turned and buried her face into my neck. "She's really shy around new people." I told them and they both smiled at me and nodded. I had taken her to counselors and she had been diagnosed with Selective Mutism. I didn't feel the need to inform everyone about it. It was a private matter and I had learned to keep things to myself. How on earth was I going to answer any more questions about us without giving away too much detail?