“What are you doing?” Hope giggles, bringing me out of my perusal of the kitchen.

Smiling at her, I shrug then begin opening the cupboards one at a time until I come across the stuff necessary to make pancakes.

“Are you ready to be my mixer?” I ask her, putting some flour in the bowl and handing her a spoon.

“Yep.” She grins, stirring the flour, causing it to fly up out of the bowl and hit us both in the face. “Uh oh.” She covers her mouth with the spoon still in her hand, flinging flour at me and dumping some on her in the process. Then she begins to giggle louder, her little body shaking with the force of it.

Narrowing my eyes, I set my hands on my hips. “You did that on purpose.”

“I didn’t. I pwomise.”

“You did.” I laugh then tickle her while kissing her all over her face, making her squirm in my arms.

“Looks like I’m just in time.” Freezing in place, I lift my head and meet Jax’s sleepy gaze.

“We woke you. I’m so sorry,” I mumble, standing to my full height. I try to ignore the fact he’s shirtless and his hair is rumpled from sleep, giving me a visual of what it would look like if I were to run my hand through it.

You do not need that visual, Ellie, I scold myself.

“You didn’t. This house is too quiet; I could get use to waking up to the sounds I heard this morning.” He smiles, and I feel my cheeks heat up when his eyes drop to my legs. I know I have shorts on, but the shirt is so long that it hides them. His eyes turn darker then travel up, meeting mine again before dropping to my mouth when I pull my bottom lip between my teeth.

“We’re makin’ pancakes, Ax,” Hope chimes in, and his eyes go to her, the heat disappearing, and softness enters them.

“I love pancakes. What’s your favorite kind?”

“Ones wiff syrup.” She grins.

“I like chocolate chips in mine,” he tells her, making her eyes light up like he just told her there is a real life unicorn in the backyard and she gets to ride it.

“Chocowate chips,” she repeats then looks at me and frowns. I have never made her pancakes with anything in them, and apparently she thinks I’ve been holding out on her.

“We can make them with chocolate chips another time, after I have a chance to go to the store,” I promise her.

“We have chips, baby.” Pulling my gaze from Hope, I meet his again. “Like I said last night, use anything you want,” he says, picking up a dishtowel and smiling while wiping off my face then Hope’s.

“Thank you,” I murmur. I swear the only words I have really spoken to him have been thank you. He’s constantly doing things that are sweet and catch me off guard. I’m not use to anyone being nice.

“So can I have chocowate in my pancakes?” Hope asks, making me laugh.

Leaning in, I kiss her chubby cheek and whisper, “Yes, you can have them in yours.”

“Yay.” She smiles, rubbing her face against mine like a cat.

Feeling something strange coming from Jax, I turn my head, seeing a look in his eyes that sends a shiver through me. It’s tender and dark, but so soft, and I wonder what caused it.

Clearing his throat and running his hand over his jaw, he walks across the kitchen and pulls down a bag of chocolate chips from the cupboard, handing them to me.

“Thanks.” When I smile, his hand lifts and he runs his fingers down the side of my face then looks at Hope, tapping the end of her nose, making her grin before he moves to the coffee pot and starts it up.

“Do you want a cup of coffee?”

“Sure.” I nod, watching as he pulls a mug down from above the coffee maker. Forcing myself to look away from him, I go to the fridge and pull out milk and eggs to add them to the bowl. Once everything is mixed, Jax sets a large griddle on the counter and plugs it in.

I raise a brow at him and he smiles then shrugs. “My sister comes over for breakfast quiet a bit, and we always have pancakes.

“You gots a sister?” Hope asks.

“Yep, her name is Ashlyn. She works at the dentist office in town. I’m sure you’ll meet her soon.”

“I wanna sister,” Hope says, looking at me then back to Jax, the corners of her mouth lifting mischievously.

Is my three-year-old seriously trying to hook us up?

“Maybe one day, sweetheart,” Jax rumbles, raking his eyes over me, causing my pulse to spike and the space between my legs to tingle.

“Jax.”

Jumping at the sound of a woman’s voice, I turn to find a beautiful brunette wearing a button down silky-looking shirt, a tight skirt, and heels striding into the kitchen as she looks in her purse. When her head lifts, her eyes stop on me.

“Ellie,” she breathes, catching me off guard when she wraps her arms around me. Unsure what to do, I pat her back awkwardly as she rocks us back and forth.

“I… Do I know you?” I mumble, frowning at Jax, whose body is shaking with silent laugher.

“Oh, God, I’m sorry.” She pulls away. “I’m Ashlyn. I probably should have said that before I mauled you, right?,” she lets out in one breath while laughing.

“It’s okay. It’s nice to meet you.”

“You wook wike a pwincess,” Hope breathes, and Ashlyn’s body turns toward her and her face lights up.

“You must be Hope.” Hope nods and Ashlyn steps forward. As she runs her hand over Hope’s hair, she tells her, “I think you’re the one who looks like a princess.”

“I have a princess bed, and now a princess room in a castle,” she informs her, smiling from ear to ear.

“You’re a very lucky princess.”

“I know, and now we’re having chocolate chips for breakfast.” Hope bounces where she sits on the counter.

“Chocolate chips?” she asks, looking at Jax.

“Jax just told Hope that his favorite pancakes have chocolate chips in them, so now Hope wants to try them,” I explain to her while Jax moves, giving my side a squeeze before pulling down another coffee mug from the cupboard.

“Ahhh. Well, chocolate chip pancakes are my favorite too. Do you mind if I stay and have one?”

“Mama, can—” Hope pauses then looks at Ashlyn again.

“Hope, this is my sister, Ashlyn. Ashlyn, you already know Princess Hope,” Jax introduces them.

“I do.” Ashlyn curtsies, making Hope giggle and me smile.

“Here, Ash.” He hands her a cup of coffee, which she takes and nudges his shoulder with hers, muttering, “Thanks.”

Watching the two of them, I know that if things had been different, if my brother had lived, this is what our lives would have been like. We were always close, and after my dad passed away, we came to depend on each other even more.

“Mama, can Ashlyn stay?” Hope asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Of course.” I smile at her, dipping the ladle in the mix and pouring it on the griddle.

“The key to the perfect chocolate chip pancake is the sprinkling of the chips,” Jax tells Hope, picking her up off the counter, holding her on his hip. “Do you think you can help sprinkle them?”

“Yes.” She nods vigorously, sticking her hand into the bag. She dumps a handful of them on one pancake before he can show her what to do, making him chuckle.

“Like this, sweetheart,” he says quietly, making a smiley face on one, and then a heart on another. Watching, she leans her head on his shoulder, and my heart flutters inside my chest so hard it feels like a bird beating against my ribcage.

“My mom was saying you’re a hairstylist.”

Pulling my eyes from Hope and Jax, I look at Ashlyn, who is leaning with her elbows on the countertop, her coffee cup between her hands.

“Yeah, for a few years.” I nod, picking up my cup and taking a drink of coffee, wondering how Jax knew exactly how I liked it without even asking me.

“You have great hair.” She smiles, and I self-consciously run my hand down my tangled strands.

“I’m sure it looks crazy right now. I didn’t take the time last night to find my blow dryer after I washed it,” I mumble, and she shakes her head.