“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.
“It looks sexy, wild,” she assures me, which catches me off guard. Most of my life, I have been surrounded by women who are quick to cut you down or give a backhanded compliment. But there was no malice in her eyes when Ashlyn spoke. I’m getting the feeling the Mayson’s are all just very good people, and I really need good people in my life right now.
“Thank you,” I say for what feels like the billionth time in the last seventy-two hours.
“Just speaking the truth, girl.” She grins then looks at Hope, who is laughing at something Jax said. “She’s really adorable, and seems to have already wrapped big, bad Jax Mayson around her tiny little finger,” she whispers, winking at me.
Looking at Jax talking softly to Hope, I wonder how often he does this kind of thing. For all I know, he could have women with kids over all the time, I think, while something I don’t like settles in the pit of my stomach.
“Who’s ready for pancakes?” Jax asks.
“I am!” Hope yells loudly, making him chuckle.
“What happened to my little mouse?” I ask her, and she wiggles her nose at me over his shoulder.
“Inside voice, Angel,” I remind her softly.
“Okay, Mama.” She sighs.
“Do you have a table?” I ask Jax, looking around and trying to remember if I saw one last night when he showed us around the house.
“No. Shit,” he mutters, setting Hope back on the counter.
“You said a naudy word,” she tells him.
“I meant crud,” he says, trying to look mollified but failing.
Her head tilts to the side, studying him, then she looks at me. “Mama, is crud a bad word?”
“No, Angel.” I shake my head at her, pressing my lips together to keep from laughing when she starts mumbling “crud” under her breathe over and over again, making Jax grimace. One thing I learned early on is never tell a three-year-old not to say something, because suddenly that becomes their favorite word.
“I don’t have a dining table.”
“It’s okay; we can eat here,” I assure him, watching as Ashlyn goes to one of the cabinets and pulls down plates.
“I’ll pick up some stools for the island today while I’m out with my dad,” he says then looks around, his eyes going to the stuff on the floor. “And I’ll get this stuff cleaned up too.”
“Jax,” I say softly, waiting for his eyes to come to me. “It’s really okay. Please, don’t do anything. You’ve already done too much.”
“Ellie—”
He starts to say something, but is cut off when, “Honey!” is yelled through the house.
“Fuck, I need to take everyone’s keys back,” he grumbles, making me laugh, causing a smile to twitch his lips.
“You said a naudy word,” Hope pauses then adds, “again.”
His chest expands on a deep breath and his face softens when he looks at her, muttering, “Sorry, sweetheart,” as his parents walk into the kitchen.
“Ellie,” Lilly says in greeting, giving me a warm hug.
“Hi.” I smile then turn slightly to receive a hug from his dad, Cash, whom I met in the hospital before Jax took me to get Hope.
“How are you holding up, honey?” he asks gently while Lilly moves to Jax, kissing his cheek.
“Good,” I say sincerely then pick Hope up off the counter. “I would like you guys to meet Hope. Hope, this is Jax and Ashlyn’s dad and mom, Cash and Lilly.”